Baltimore Orioles: More Twists and Turns

Jun 15, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10) hits a solo home run in the eighth inning against the Toronto Blue Jays at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Toronto Blue Jays defeats the Baltimore Orioles 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Of the Baltimore Orioles, I wanted to say “more ups and downs.”  But I have already written that so many times this year, I chose the twists and turns instead. In any event, it is frustrating to watch.

I think most every Orioles fan thought there would be better results than have been produced to date, along with a belief that this is truly a better team than 35-33, including a losing record at home.

Sunday’s loss to the Toronto Blue Jays kept the Orioles at a 4.5-game deficit in the standings, and now the O’s head out on the road again. Maybe that is good.

The loss to J.A. Happ really should not be something that happens that often. The Orioles should be able to handle a pitcher like him. “J.A. Happ was really good. He’s always capable of that” … nice words from Buck Showalter. But how many times have we heard him have to applaud the starting pitcher for the other team who is most often an unheard-of name to typical Orioles fans?

The Baltimore Orioles put together a nice week of pitching, with the staff at 1.54 ERA over the past seven games. Unfortunately, the offense was only able to muster enough to win four of those quality-start ballgames.

Y’all out there go ahead and be impressed with the Toronto Blue Jays if you want. They have some nice pieces for sure and are a decent team – better than any thought they would be.  Buck Showalter said, “I think the team everybody thought they might be last year, they are this year.” But the Orioles should be able to beat them, and I think others will be doing just that as the weeks go by. So I think there is some good news that the Jays are not going to run away and hide at the top of the division.

Now, the Orioles need to get into a sustained winning pattern – have you read anybody else writing that?  Could it begin tonight?

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The Orioles are in Tampa for a three-game set with the Rays. Wei-Yin Chen will take his 7-2, 3.76 record and ERA to the mound, facing off with Jake Odorizzi who is 2-7 with a 4.85 ERA. Surely this will be a Baltimore Orioles win, right? Ugh.

The Orioles and Miguel Gonzalez beat Odorizzi on April 16^th 3-0, as the Orioles managed five mostly weak base hits to advance runners and push a couple across the plate. Gonzalez, Zach Britton, and Tommy Hunter pitched five, three, and one shut-out innings respectively against the Rays for the win.

Chen is pitching well in only yielding three runs in his past 18.2 innings. He was the winning pitcher in a 7-1 Orioles win on April 14^th – giving up one run in 6.1 innings. Chen did not give up a hit that evening until the fifth inning.

So, yep, this one is in the bag for the Orioles! What are you worried about? The Rays have the worst record in all of baseball. What could go wrong?