Baltimore Orioles: Hang Around Until You Win
The Baltimore Orioles came from behind for the 19th time this season to win over the defending champion Kansas City Royals on Monday night, 4-1.
The O’s accomplished this on the strength of a three-run seventh inning (including home runs by Mark Trumbo and Matt Wieters) and an eighth inning solo shot by Manny Machado.
Seventh innings have been very, very good to the Orioles in 2016. Over the season they have plated 54 runs in this inning alone; and with 56 games played, that averages to almost a single run per contest.
This far exceeds any other inning, the next closest being 32 runs in sixth innings. This may speak to the nature of Orioles bats getting to tiring starters and also beating up on some of the first relievers out of a bullpen.
This also relates to the title chosen today. Orioles pitchers, particularly starters, have to be encouraged that if they can minimize damage and hang around for a while, the bats may very well explode and score a pile of runs in a short time.
Mike Wright did just that on this evening with a stellar start. He only gave up a single run in the seventh inning, while allowing just five hits and two walks. The right thing that Wright did was right away establish his two-seamer at the bottom of the zone… a right choice. (It is difficult to not write Wright right sorts of things!)
Looking a bit deeper into the runs scored in innings versus runs allowed in innings, it is quick to see the strengths of this Baltimore Orioles team. For example, between the seventh and eighth innings, the Orioles have scored 81 runs while only allowing a total of 45. This speaks not only to the power of the lineup as pitchers tire, it also illustrates the strength of the O’s bullpen.
On the other hand, the rotation troubles can be seen as well in the numbers. The Orioles have given up the most runs in an inning in sixth innings (44). This has been true of a variety of starters being unable to sustain their stuff long enough for a quality start and to bridge deep enough to the bullpen. The second-most runs given up in an inning is in first innings (33). This does not speak well of starters, and we know that several of them have historic problems at the beginning of games.
Helping the Orioles against the Royals is the loss to injury of two historic nemeses of the Birds in KC’s Mike Moustakas and Alex Gordon. If it seems to you (as it does to me) that these guys have been Oriole killers in the past, it is simply true.
In 32 games against Baltimore, Moose is only hitting .258. But he has eight home runs and 28 RBIs in those contests.
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Likewise with Gordon. Though hitting .283 (good, but not stellar), over 57 games he has hit 14 home runs and driven in 36 RBIs.
Tonight’s game two of the series features the next effort of Ubaldo Jimenez to get straightened out and do something to fix a 6.58 ERA. He goes against Yordano Ventura, who has a far from stellar 4-3 record with a 4.59 ERA and WHIP of 1.52.