Baltimore Orioles: Ridiculous Loss in Ridiculous Fashion

Aug 18, 2016; Baltimore, MD, USA; Baseball fans cheer after the Baltimore Orioles score during the fourth inning against the Houston Astros at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

An evening after the Baltimore Orioles pounded out 18 base hits in a 13-5 rout of the Houston Astros, they turn around and allow 18 hits in a 15-8 loss. Ridiculous.

It is a good thing when you do something so awesome that it has never been done in the modern era of baseball, right? Something so great that it has not been accomplished in well over 100 years, right? Hitting four home runs before an out is registered is totally amazing, right? You’re going to win a game like that, right? The answers = right, right, right, WRONG!

On Friday night the Orioles would get a total of five home runs on 10 hits, scoring eight runs. That should win a vast majority of baseball teams, unless your pitching is awful. And it is.

So, we’re going to dump on the pitching here today, but in doing so, let us recall that a tremendous number of games that were decently pitched this year have been lost due to a lack of run support. A number of those sorts of games account for some the O’s nine losses in August.

Particularly awful for Baltimore have been the expensive veteran pitchers the Orioles have now accumulated, like Wade Miley and Ubaldo Jimenez – combining last night for nine runs allowed in 4.2 innings. Here are their combined records and salaries for 2016 (along with Gallardo). You might want to sit down if you are not already doing so.$

Name	Record	IP	ER	ERA	$alary
Jimenez	5-10	94.2	73	6.94	13.0
Gallardo	4-4	83.1	48	5.18	9.0
Miley (O’s)	0-2	17.0	18	9.53	6.167
Total	9-16	195.0	139	6.42	28.167

That graph is as horrific as it is instructive.

Here in this column over the years of publication we have consistently criticized the expense and acquisition of sketchy veteran arms. Young pitchers have been traded away, and these expensive toys become a blocking pattern for development of pitchers within the system. Even so, it is not that Tyler Wilson and Mike Wright have distinguished themselves and seized opportunities. But again, maybe the lack of prior experience is yet a barrier not overcome.

Let’s find some silver linings for the Orioles right now: The Blue Jays were beaten yesterday, Chris Tillman is pitching today, and the appearance of the offense breaking out will pay off if it can be sustained.

Here at the FanSided Network, we write from the fans’ perspective. We are not beholden to the team or players, risking access by criticisms published. This team may yet win it all, but the flight so far this season is irretrievably memorable for excessive turbulence no matter how glorious the ultimate landing could be.