Baltimore Orioles: Will two NL games foul things up?

The MLB season ebbs and flows for every team, including the Baltimore Orioles. One aspect of the modern league of course is interleague play, in which the Orioles are engaging right now. However the home series with Philadelphia ends after tonight’s game, and along with it the home stand – which has been wildly successful, I might add.

After tonight’s game the O’s will pack up and head up I-95 to Philadelphia, where they’ll open up a two-game set with the same Philadelphia Phillies, this time at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. This of course means that the Orioles will have to surrender their DH and their pitchers will have to swing the bat. For the record, the scheduled starters for the Birds in Philadelphia are Ubaldo Jimenez and Bud Norris.

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Since arriving in Cleveland on June 5th, the O’s have been able to achieve some offensive synergy so to speak. And it was a

Courtesy of Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

long time coming for sure, as Oriole bats were silent for much of May. This of course also is when Matt Wieters returned to the lineup from injury – which may or may not be a coincidence. However let’s assume for a moment that it is not a coincidence. What could this mean for the immediate future?

The point here is that the Orioles need to ensure that losing their DH for two games doesn’t have long-term affects on the team down the road. Presumably Jimmy Paredes will head to the bench, or perhaps play second base for one game. But the question is whether or not the Orioles’ lineup is versatile enough to stand this minor tweak and then get back to normal. Because keep in mind that it’s not just the fact that the DH is gone; with the pitcher hitting ninth, that means everyone slides up a peg.

This is an important road trip coming up for the Orioles, and the last thing they’re going to want is their bats going back to sleep. Toronto is obviously a team that’s given the Orioles fits, and the fact is that the Birds don’t play well in that dome north of the border. Strange things tend to happen there, be them balls off the turf or something else. After an off day the Orioles will visit the struggling BoSox for three games at Fenway – always a tough place to play.

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