Baltimore Orioles Allowing Way Too Many Home Runs

The Baltimore Orioles are going to hit a lot of home runs, but how good the team is this year may depend on how well they limit home runs allowed.

How about that series with the Boston Red Sox? Many plot lines to walk away from that one with.

There is Mookie Betts, with five home runs in seven at-bats, which is just crazy. David Ortiz continues to destroy Oriole pitching, and O’s fans will be happy when he retires at the end of the year.

The Orioles getting totally outmatched in games one and two of the series, then slugging their way to victory in games three and four and remaining one game out of first place.

The offensive performance by the team, which appears to be putting it together offensively. But, what I want to talk about is not quite as happy of a topic.

The Baltimore Orioles’ pitchers are allowing home runs at an absurd rate, and it is mainly the starting pitchers.

Let’s look at the numbers.

In April, the Orioles allowed 17 home runs in 23 games. That is an average of .74 HRs per game, which is a very good number.

In May, the team allowed 33 home runs in 27 games. Which is an average of 1.22 HRs per game, which isn’t great.

From May 20-May 31, 11 games, the team allowed 19 home runs. That is an average of 1.73 home runs per game, which is bad.

In two games in June, the team has allowed 6 home runs, 3 a game. That is awful.

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It hasn’t been one pitcher who has been bit the long ball.

The starting pitchers have allowed 40 home runs, and relievers 16. Mike Wright has allowed nine home runs, and is now in AAA. But, Kevin Gausman has also allowed nine homers. Tyler Wilson has allowed seven, Chris Tillman six, and half of them came in one game, and Ubaldo Jimenez has also allowed six home runs.

For comparison, Max Scherzer has allowed 16 HRs, Anibal Sanchez and Hector Santiago 14, Chris Young, Cole Hamels, Chase Anderson 13, and several people including Clay Buchholz, Chris Archer, Matt Moore and Drew Smyly (half of TB’s rotation) have allowed 12.

So, maybe the O’s pitchers don’t look too bad anymore.

In the bullpen, only Darren O’Day is alarming, having allowed five home runs as a reliever. However, he has only allowed 7 RBIs total all year, so most of the damage against him is via the home run.

However, the recent home run binge against Oriole pitchers is certainly alarming. The team does not have the starting pitching to compete with some of the other teams in the majors (thinking of the Chicago teams, Seattle, NL West teams). If they can keep the ball in the ballpark, it really makes their job easier.

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So far, the team is 12th-best in baseball with 56 home runs allowed, which is below the league average. As long as they can reverse the recent trend and keep this number near the league average, this team has the chance to do some special things.

But, the balls can’t keep flying out of the park at the recent rate.

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