The Orioles are Saved by the Rain in Loss to the Red Sox

Aug 17, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Inclement weather moves in towards Oriole Park at Camden Yards during the sixth inning of the game between the Baltimore Orioles and the Boston Red Sox . Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

After falling behind the Boston Red Sox 8-1 after six innings, the downpour that made for a rain-shortened loss was a merciful ending for the third-place Baltimore Orioles.

The Red Sox are simply playing good baseball at this point, while the Orioles are struggling. I hate to make that statement as much as O’s fans will hate reading it, but it is the truth. And Toronto beat the Yankees to take sole possession of first place in the AL East, a game ahead of Boston and two ahead of the Orioles. Baltimore has not been two games out of first place since the first day of June.

Though Dylan Bundy was not as sharp as in some other recent outings, Boston simply put some good swings on fairly decent pitches. After Chris Davis tied the game at one run each with a homer, it was quickly erased by a two-run dinger by Jackie Bradley. The pitch was a good one, he just went out and got it and hit it over the wall.

Not having to put in three final innings of what would have most surely been a futile effort, the rain saves the bullpen and gets the Birds off the field and out of the stadium before an ungodly hour. Actually, Baltimore had Ubaldo Jimenez warming up, but even so, the point stands that it serves better as a relief to get ready to fight another day.

That day is today, with the Houston Astros coming to town for four games. They have lost four in a row, immediately having won four straight, though three of those games were over the Twins.

The Orioles need to bounce back right here, right now, and beat the tar out of these Astros. Can they do that? Not if you recall the games from the end of May that were played in Houston. The Baltimore Orioles were swept out of Houston by the Astros in a series of three games that was nothing short of a butt whipping.

The scores of the games (3-2, 4-3, 4-2) were not massive, but the inability of the Orioles to score runs and capitalize on opportunities was terribly absent. So also was contacting the baseball with the bat.

Houston struck out 19 Orioles in the first game, and then 18 and 15 in the final two. The three-game total of 52 set a major league record.

Orioles: Rain Is Merciful Ending for Third Place O’s

By Randy Buchman | Aug 18, 2016

After falling behind the Boston Red Sox 8-1 after six innings, the downpour that made for a rain-shortened loss was a merciful ending for the third-place Baltimore Orioles.