Baltimore Orioles Rekindle Distant Memories of Camden Yards

Jul 2, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Chris Tillman (30) pitches during the first inning against the Texas Rangers at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles are at home for the first time in 16 days to open a six-game homestand against the Angels and Mariners. Hopefully the staff at Camden Yards all remember their jobs, guessing also that most of them have been to Ocean City for a summer vacation in the past two weeks.

There is no vacation from defending the top position in the AL East. The Orioles went into the midseason break with a four-game lead that has now dropped to 2.5 over the pesky Blue Jays. As birds go, Jays are known as angry animals; and the Red Sox could testify to that after being beaten alive by Toronto yesterday 14-1. Apparently the break came at just the right time to revitalize the previously sagging Jays. The Yankees did lose yesterday to the Rangers 4-2, so there is that piece of good news.

On the surface of things, it would all look very good for the Orioles and their prospects for the rest of this season. They have the lead in the AL East, the West Coast trip is successfully behind them, they play and win even on the road, their starting pitchers are on the best extended roll in many years, and a slight majority of their remaining games are at home.

But it never gets easier, it seems … not this year with the crazy schedule that has the Orioles playing teams most often at their peak and against their best pitchers. Though the O’s are going to escape having to see King Felix over the weekend, they will have to face Jared Weaver tonight.

Weaver has been tough on the Orioles. His last outing was an eight-inning, two-run, six-hit victory over the Orioles last week in Los Angeles. He has won four of his last five starts against the Birds, though the Orioles did beat him most recently in June of 2013.

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Against Weaver the current Orioles roster is 46-for-218 (.220). Adam Jones is 6-for-20 with a home run and Nick Markakis also has a home on 8-for-28. Having faced him most often is, not surprisingly, Nelson Cruz who is 15-for-69 (.217) with two home runs. Chris Davis has never taken him deep in his 7-for-35, while J.J. Hardy is only 2-for-20. Those are painful numbers for the middle of the lineup. David Lough is 2-for-4 and hit the ball hard (with nothing to show) in Seattle… might we see him in left field?

The Baltimore Orioles send Chris Tillman to the mound to do battle against the Angels and Weaver as he did last week. In a no-decision, he gave up one run in six innings. This will be Tillman’s fourth career start against the Halos, and he is 2-0. The current roster against him is a combined 10-for-62 (.172). Josh Hamilton has the most at-bats and is 1-for-12. Erick Aybar is 1-for-9, Albert Pujols 2-for-6 and Mike Trout 1-for-4.

I’ll finish with this: Most of us who blog on networks like this totally awesome FanSided Network that The Baltimore Wire is a part of are guys with other careers. It could be anything, and in my case it is probably a bit unusual in that I am the pastor of a church. So, as a theologian with a doctorate in such, let me remind you that there are two types of angels: the good angels that are God’s messengers (the meaning of the word “angelos”), but also a category of bad angels – demons – who work for their leader Satan himself. Which category are these guys from Anaheim? You see where I’m going with that, right?

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