The Baltimore Orioles are 11-9 through 20 games following an exhilarating 3 game sweep of the division rival Toronto Blue Jays over the weekend which they capitalized on immediately by dropping 2 straight to the Oakland A's. The O's remain 2 games back of Boston by virtue of the Red Sox sweep of the Yankees over the weekend followed by dropping 2 straight to Toronto.
The O's stand 3rd in the AL in pitching (ERA), 3rd in fielding (PCT) and 8th in hitting (AVG).
Their lofty standing in pitching is largely due to the bullpens' spectacular performance through 20 games. The starting pitching has been less than stellar, but has shown signs of strength. The O's just placed Scott Williamson on the DL with a right elbow problem. Could be the last we see of him.
O's fielding has tightened up since the opening week of the season standing at 12 errors committed through 20 games after committing 8 errors through 9 games.
O's hitting has been sporadic thus far. They've beaten a few left handers which is good, but they haven't beaten any pitchers who have pitched well. I don't know if you can fashion a winning record over the long haul by only beating lousy pitchers or good pitchers who have an off game. On the up side, Jay Payton is off the DL and having a good start. Ramon Hernandez is due to be available for today's game against Boston. Getting these two guys active significantly improves both the offense and defense.
The O's are 7-2 in the AL East.
So, it's Orioles vs. Red Sox in a 2 game set for AL East Supremacy! (of the first 22 games).
No comments:
Post a Comment