Baltimore Orioles Opening Weekend and the Team Moving Forward
By Nate Wardle
Opening weekend was not overly kind to the Baltimore Orioles and their fans, and that leaves several items to unpack as they head to face the World Series champions.
The Baltimore Orioles got off to a start that many fans didn’t see coming. Andrew Cashner was supposed to be a key piece for the team who kept the ball in the ballpark. Then he leaves up three home runs in his first start.
Kevin Gausman looked like second-half Kevin Gausman, not the guy who maddens fans on a consistent basis. Then he left up a home run to leadoff hitter Brian Dozier (I’m not going there…) and several more before the day was done. He looked like first half Gausman.
That’s the pitching staff.
The offensive stars looked pretty good all spring long. Which of course means that once the season starts, they won’t look like ghosts of themselves, right? Hmmm…
Chris Davis is 0-fer, despite only striking out once. Adam Jones has one hit, a game winning solo home run in game 1. Tim Beckham has one hit, a two-run home run in game two. It has not been a good start.
So, let’s look at whether these opening weekend indicators should be a cause for concern, or just something the Baltimore Orioles need to get through.
The Starting Rotation
Time will tell. The Baltimore Orioles always go as far as the starting rotation will take them, although it is hard when the offense is silent. But, the Orioles have been playing from behind in their two losses. Seriously, they were losing when the came to the plate for the first time.
Miguel Sano, who wore out the Orioles, took Cashner deep, and Dozier did the same to Gausman in the first inning. It didn’t really get a lot better from there. The Orioles scored two runs total in games two and three of the series, and they came in the ninth inning of a 6-0 game. Dylan Bundy looked excellent.
It was a good day for American League aces as Corey Kluber, Chris Sale, Justin Verlander and Luis Severino -- the four best starting pitchers in my opinion -- combined to allow just two runs and 12 hits over 25.2 innings. Both of those came courtesy of... https://t.co/d0xWH2a2ta
— David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield) March 30, 2018
Two national writers said he had the best Opening Day start, with Dan Plesac being the other on MLB Network. Gausman and Cashner did not. But, there are 159 games to go, and each of them will ideally pitch 29 more times (at least).