Baltimore Orioles: Winning Streak Badly Needed
Jul 23, 2015; Bronx, NY, USA; Baltimore Orioles starting pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez (31) is relieved during the third inning against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports
Before I join the ranting about the Baltimore Orioles, let me say that the season is not over. There is still a lot of baseball to be played – 68 games, to be exact.
But the Orioles are now seven games behind the Yankees. And though they are technically now in fourth place, the Jays and Rays are right there with them.
Speaking of the Rays, the Orioles begin a three-game series with them this evening. And the Orioles need to start a winning streak; they need it desperately before more time passes. This hole they are in can be exited, but little time remains to get it together and make it happen.
Reflecting on the Butt Kicking Just Received
There is not much to say or explain about the butt kicking that the O’s received from the Yankees. They were simply beaten in just about every way. We all have to live around Yankees fans, and it is embarrassing. The licking in this series is what the Birds have been doing to New York in the past couple of years.
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The only positive statistic from the series that can be presented is that the Orioles out-homered the Yankees five to three over the series. Unfortunately, only six runs were scored on the five long balls.
The Yankees outscored the Orioles 16-8. For the series, New York was 31-for-99 (.313) but Baltimore was merely 16-for-93 (.172) … yes, only 16 hits in 27 innings!
The O’s did not have many baserunners overall, let alone runners in scoring position; so they were a total of 2-for-14 in RISP situations.
The first two games were at least reasonably well-pitched by the Orioles, but overall their ERA for the series was 6.00, while the Yankees were 2.67
Taming Tampa Bay
The Rays are a team the Orioles should pound, but that could be said about most teams. They just aren’t doing it.
The O’s need Chris Tillman to step up like never before. The old Ubaldo Jimenez returned to the mound on Thursday afternoon, so now the old Tillman needs to show up. He takes his 7-7, 4.96 record into the game, though he is 3-1 over his past four outings with a 1.40 ERA.
The Orioles also need some hitters to group some base hits off Chris Archer. The All-Star for the Rays is 9-7 with a 2.73 ERA – not what the O’s need to be seeing right now! However, over his past four games he is 0-3 with a 5.61 ERA.
Just win!