Baltimore Orioles: Runs Scored, Runs Allowed Problems

Aug 31, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Tampa Bay Rays second baseman Logan Forsythe (11) scores before Baltimore Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph (36) can apply the tag during the second inning at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The inability of the Baltimore Orioles to score runs reminds me of a wisecrack my high school golf coach would make when I left a putt too short of the hole. He would say, “Don’t you realize it is true that 95% of all putts short of the hole don’t go in?” Of course it is 100%, just as 100% of baseball games are losses when no runs are scored.

But the problem is also that a startling number of baseball games are losses when few runs are tallied. Repeatedly over recent years it has been noted that when the Baltimore Orioles score four or more runs in a game, they win a high percentage of those contests. The trouble with the O’s has been scoring those runs this year.

For reference, let’s take the numbers over the past two years, looking at the records and winning percentages relative to runs scored (remembering that the 2014 numbers represent 162 games, whereas the 2015 stats are only through the current number of 131 games) …

Runs scored	2014	2014%	2015	2015%
0	0-11	.000	0-9	.000
1 or less	2-22	.083	1-22	.043
2 or less	10-40	.200	4-38	.095
3 or less	21-51	.296	9-52	.143
4 or more	75-15	.833	54-14	.794

Looking at these numbers, it may be concluded (with a lot of truth) that the pitching has actually been worse in 2015. Hey, there is plenty of blame to go around! But consider the next chart that shows what percentage of games played have had the number of runs scored in each category, and this demonstrates how much more poorly the Orioles are in terms of putting runs across the plate …

Runs scored	% in ‘14	% in ‘15
0	6.8%	6.9%
1 or less	14.8%	17.6%
2 or less	30.9%	32.1%
3 or less	43.8%	46.6%
4 or more	55.6%	51.9%

Though the Orioles have shown an ability to get runners on base in the ninth inning and even score some runs (rather than just rolling over dead), they have rather terrible numbers when coming from behind. When trailing as they begin the eighth inning this year, the Orioles are only 1-58 in such scenarios; and they are a perfect 0-60 when going into the ninth inning behind.