It was a busy, whirlwind of a weekend in Birdland, as over 137,000 fans came out to Oriole Park at Camden Yards to see the first installment of the Battle of the Beltway 2015. There were some highs, and boy, were there lows. The Orioles lost 2 of 3, and now limp into the All-Star Break at (44-44), trailing the AL East leading Yankees by 4.0 games in the loss column. Despite the rough stretch, at .500 at this point in the season, the Orioles have to consider themselves fortunate to be in the thick of things in both the division, and the jam-packed wild card standings. The weekend that was had a little bit of everything, and was a summary of how the 2015 campaign has gone so far. Orioles Manager Buck Showalter was quoted after Sunday’s loss that, “I think our best baseball is ahead of us.” I couldn’t agree more, and I think the vacation is coming at the right time. Here’s a look back at the first 3 games of the MASN Cup:
Game 1: Orioles 3, Nationals 2
This was one of the most fun-to-watch games of the season thus far. Jonathan Schoop was playing in his first home game since coming off the DL, and he put on a clinic. Jonny Baseball was superb in the field, showing off the rocket he disguises as an arm, and topped it off by going 2-4 at the plate. Did I mention that the second hit was a walk-off HR to send the O’s home in the #WinColumn? What a great moment, and an awesome scene at OPACY. So glad to see Jon back in Birdland, it’s tough to replace his energy, power and smile over at 2B. An Orioles Classic for sure.
Schoop’s blast gave the Birds their second walk-off HR of the season, as Jon joined David Lough in the unlikely hero category. This HR was an amazing ending for what was a great team-win. Chris Tillman continued in his attempt to silence his critics, posting 6 solid innings while only allowing 2 runs. Tillman hasn’t lost since May 31st, and despite all the heat he’s been getting from the media and fans, Tilly’s last three starts: (1-0) 17.2 IP, 4 R, 2 BB, 16 K, 2.04 ERA.
The Orioles bullpen was, not surprisingly, lights out, throwing 3 scoreless frames before All-Star Zach Britton earned his first victory of the season (1-0). This was another example of the Orioles recipe for success. Quality Start + Consistent Bullpen + Timely Offense = #WinColumn. It’s that simple.
*Side Note* Is there a better teammate relationship in baseball than Manny Machado and Jon Schoop? These guys absolutely love being out on the field together. I think that’s the energy, youth and excitement that can spark the O’s in the 2nd half of the year. Jonny has 5 HR in just 47 AB’s this season (15 G), while he had 16 HR in 455 AB’s last year (137 G). If Jon would have stayed healthy and produced at this incredible level all year, he would have been on pace for 48 HR in just 137 G. Manny Machado has already set a career high in HR thus far (19) and Schoop’s power production is through the roof. There really is no ceiling for how high these two youngsters can carry the Orioles this season and beyond.
Game 2: Nationals 7, Orioles 4
The recent roller-coaster of a ride for the Orioles took a downturn in the 6th inning on Saturday. With the O’s up 4-2, and Miguel Gonzalez cruising through his first 5, the wheels just seemed to fall off. Miggy allowed 4 straight hits to start the frame, including a solo shot from Bryce Harper and a 3-run HR from Danny Espinosa to give the Nats the lead. Miguel pitched much better than his final stat line of 5 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 K. One bad inning, a few bad pitches, combined with the lack of timely hitting, and there’s your loss.
The Orioles continued to struggle with RISP, going 0-8 on the night. Despite early HR from Caleb Joseph and Steve Pearce the O’s couldn’t get anything going, and their woes continued. Seemed as if the B-squad started this game. Chris Davis was out with the stomach flu, Schoop was down as Buck wants to limit his innings as he continues to recover from an injured knee, and Matt Wieters was out as he still can’t consistently catch consecutive days. Personally, I can’t wait for this Chris Parmelee experiment to be over, and it’s not because I question Davis in the OF. There just has to be a better option than Parm over at 1B. Last 7 games: .211/.211/.316. Last 15: .150/.171/.275. Next.
Game 3: Nationals 3, Orioles 2
In the rubber match of the Beltway Battle, the O’s went up against NL Cy Young candidate Max Scherzer. The Nats chose to start Scherzer on Sunday instead of allowing him the opportunity to start the All-Star Game on Tuesday in Cincinnati. I bet the O’s had wished otherwise, everyone except Adam Jones that is. Jonesy hit 2 HR off Scherzer, both solo shots in the 1st and the 9th. Jonesy did all he could, but he was a one-man show offensively. As a team, they only managed just 4 hits, including AJ’s 2 bombs. With RISP? 0-1. For those keeping track at home that’s a total of 0-16 with RISP in the series against Washington. That’s not going to get it done.
Wei-Yin Chen went toe-to-toe with Scherzer, posting 8 solid innings of his own, while allowing only 2 earned. WYC struck out seven and walked none, and somehow earned another L in yet another quality start. Chen’s price tag continues to escalate as he approaches free agency at the end of 2015, and as a team, the Orioles aren’t getting anything out of it. If the offense continues to struggle, we’ll continue to waste quality outings from starting pitching. Chen is now (4-5) with the AL’s 9th best ERA at 2.78. So, on average, we have to score 3 RUNS during his starts to get a win, yet Chen has a losing record to show for it. Give the man some run support! If things don’t turn around for the Orioles offense, the O’s will be watching as Chen signs elsewhere this offseason.
Other Notes
- The crowd at OPACY was tremendous all weekend. I was fortunate enough to be at the game on Sunday, grabbed my Hawaiian shirt, and enjoyed the energetic sea of orange. Well done, Birdland.
- Max Scherzer is unbelievable. He works quick, and is so deceptive on the mound. Seems like the Orioles hitters really had no idea what was coming and had to guess the whole game. Jonesy lunged at two breakers and took advantage of Camden Yards’ short porch, otherwise the O’s would have most certainly been shutout. Pleasure to watch that guy throw.
- Orioles prospect Zach Davies tossed 0.2 innings in the MLB Futures Game on Sunday. Davies allowed 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, while striking out 1.
- Manny Machado will take part in the HR Derby tonight. He takes on Joc Pederson in the first round of the new bracket-style Derby. Praying for the rain to stop, and for Manny to come out of this healthy.
- The Orioles are 1 for their last 36 with RISP dating back to Game 1 in Minnesota on 7/6.
- Orioles (2-8) their last 10 G, losers of 10 of 12. All of this post-Gnome Night.
- Pre-Gnome Night: winners of 18 of 24.
- That’s baseball.
The Win Column 