Baltimore Orioles: The Beginning of a New Winning Streak
Jul 26, 2015; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Baltimore Orioles center fielder
Adam Jones(10) and teammates high five after they beat Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. Baltimore Orioles defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
The Baltimore Orioles won their second consecutive game on Sunday by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2, so in an abundance of optimism, we here are The Baltimore Wire are going to call this the beginning of a new winning streak. And if not that, it is the beginning of the big turnaround wherein the Orioles will be winning well over 60% of their remaining 65 games. That is what it is going to take to return to the top of the A.L. East.
Finally the post-break road trip is over! Even though the Orioles won two out of three series, the total trip was a 4-5 experience that has dropped them three games further behind the division-leading Yankees, who are a very hot team.
We may recall last year that it was the West Coast road trip after the All-Star break the catapulted the Orioles forward. The O’s went 6-4, coming home and winning two of three, and three of four pretty much the rest of the year. We need to see that again.
It has been good to see some new life in the past two games out of several players – like Nolan Reimold getting three hits and David Lough and Caleb Joseph contributing. It was Joseph’s two-run homer that scored the fourth and fifth Baltimore runs that gave the Birds a workable cushion of comfort.
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For a sustained winning streak to eventuate, a number of the Orioles players are going to need to break out into their own streaks. And Chris Davis seems to be doing that. He has now hit safely in nine consecutive games, going 11-for-38 with three home runs and eight RBIs. Davis currently has a seasonal batting average of .242.
In each of the months of June and July, Davis has hit for a .257 average – totaling 10 home runs and 30 RBIs. These are not massive numbers, but if he can continue this pace for the remainder of the season, Davis can bat close to .250, while hitting 38 home runs and driving in 101 runs. We would have signed up for those totals from him at the beginning of the year.
Going the opposite direction with numbers is Nick Markakis, who will be making his first return to Oriole Park with the Braves on Monday night. Markakis is batting .288 on the season, but he has cooled in recent weeks. After batting .338 in April, he is hitting just .230 in July. Markakis has done better on the road for the Braves than he has in Atlanta. He is .318 outside of Georgia, but only .251 at home. I expect Markakis to get a huge welcome from the Orioles’ fans, and it will be one of the warm memories of this season.
The Braves are not lighting up the world with success right now. They are 46-52 and 6.5 games behind the Nationals. Like the Orioles, they are 4-5 since the All-Star break.