Baltimore Orioles: Beat the Best to be the Best

Jun 5, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baltimore Orioles catcher Matt Wieters (32) hits a two run single during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The Orioles won 3-1. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

The Baltimore Orioles took two out of three games from the New York Yankees over the weekend, laying two losses upon the NY bullpen.

Every win counts the same at the end of 162 games, but we all know that some are better than others. And Sunday’s comeback 3-1 win over the Yankees fits in the “excellent” category. It could have gone the other way. A good, quality start might have been wasted.

There were more than a few opportunities for a clutch hit. Two of the best were bases loaded situations for Mark Trumbo, but six pitches total gave Sabathia a pair of clutch strikeouts. Trumbo can look totally lost for two or three games, but then hit five homers in the next three.

In the bottom of the eighth inning after a rain delay, with runners on first and second, the Orioles were a combined 0-for-9 at that point. New catcher Francisco Pena (who is now 4-for-7 and loving the major leagues) broke the streak with a single to right field, though not scoring the runner and leaving the Yankees with a 1-0 advantage. The Pena hit was off fireballing Arnoldis Chapman, going triple digits as always.

Finally, pinch-hitting Matt Wieters broke through with a two-out, two-strike, two-RBI grounder up the middle as the key hit of the game. On comes our lefty, Zach Britton, who nailed his 17^th consecutive save of the season. Baltimore Orioles: first place.

Wieters is now hitting .324 with runners in scoring position. The bat has very much come alive for the Orioles’ catcher. Hitting only .214 in April, he improved to .333 for the month of May. Currently he sits at .287 for the season. Having started 35 of the 55 games so far, we can probably expect that pace to pick up.

Both the Yankees and Orioles have strong bullpens. But it was the Baltimore relief corps that came limping into the series just a bit with Darren O’Day going to the disabled list.

But for the series, the O’s bullpen gave up three runs in 11.1 innings, whereas the Yankees’ relievers yielded four runs in 8.2 frames. Beyond that, the Orioles touched up Dellin Betances for the two losses, raising his ERA from 2.81 to 3.54. And Chapman suffered his first blown save.