Baltimore Orioles Schedule: Need to Win Early in 2015
Oct 11, 2014; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder Adam Jones (10) and manager Buck Showalter (26) in game two of the 2014 ALCS playoff baseball game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Joy R. Absalon-USA TODAY Sports
In looking at the 2015 schedule for the Baltimore Orioles, there is much about it that is different than that of 2014. One thing is for sure: the O’s are going to need to win early and get off to a good start on the season.
When looking back at the past season, the win total in the final two-thirds was truly amazing! You may note from the chart below that at the end of May, the Orioles had a record of 27-27. This marks the exact one-third point of the season with 54 games played.
For the remainder of the year, the Orioles went 30 games over .500, posting 96 wins and the second-best record in all of baseball. If they had played at that pace for the entire season, their final win total would have been 110 or 111 wins!
| Month | Wins | Loses |
| March | 1 | 0 |
| April | 11 | 12 |
| May | 15 | 15 |
| June | 16 | 12 |
| July | 17 | 8 |
| August | 19 | 9 |
| September | 17 | 10 |
And no extra charge for this factoid: In the months of June through August, the Orioles had a combined record of 52-29 – with the allegedly irreplaceable Nelson Cruz batting .213 in that stretch.
A great feature about the Orioles schedule for 2015 is that there is a relative total absence of those situations where the Birds had a late night game in Baltimore, with the demand of travelling to the Midwest for an early evening game the next day. The travel demands of this schedule are quite reasonable, though some makeup games could yet bring about some complications.
But the Orioles are going to need to win early this season. Last year the O’s had a tough schedule in the first two months with a lot of road games. In the first 54 games, 30 were on the road; and of the first 58, the total was 34.
This year, there will be 12 of 22 at home in April, and 18 of 27 at home in May. So that is 30 of the first 47 games of the season at home. The Orioles simply cannot afford to have a mediocre .500 sort of beginning; they need to win and win again early in the year.
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The Orioles are a decent road team – going 46-35 in 2014. But they don’t want to have to be winning at a percentage higher than that late in the year because they did not take advantage of the home schedule early in the campaign.
The O’s were 47-29 against the AL East
The Baltimore Orioles are also going to need to continue their winning ways against the American League East, even though it would appear (at least on paper) that the Red Sox and Jays are much improved. In 2014, the O’s were 47-29 against the AL East. Of the 47 games in April and May this year, 18 of the home games and 14 of the road games are against the evil opponents in their division.
A good target for the first two months would be to go 19-11 at home, and either 10-7 or 9-8 on the road … for a total of either 28 or 29 wins.