Baltimore Orioles: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble

The Baltimore Orioles are lucky in the sense that they played a doubleheader yesterday. When you lose a game by the score of 15-2, the best cure is to get right back on the field and play. The twin bill afforded them that opportunity. Miguel Gonzalez was ineffective in his first start off the DL – but so was every other Oriole pitcher in the game. Gonzalez’s line: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

The O’s got ineffective pitching from almost everyone that came out of the bullpen when the gates swung open in game one. In fairness, only ten of those fifteen runs were earned; the Orioles’ defense committed four errors in the game. All in all, it was a forgettable game for the Orioles, and one that clinched the AL East for Toronto.

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Again, the best way to put a loss like that out of your mind is to get right back on the field. So approximately 25 minutes after the first game ended, game two began. You’ve heard the term a whole new ballgame I presume? Nothing illustrates that better than this. Kevin Gausman gave the Orioles as good of an outing as he could have – which was key given the way the ‘pen was used in the first game. Gausman’s line: 8 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 10 K.

Courtesy of Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The ten strikeouts were a new career high for Gausman in a game. Unfortunately at first, the Orioles’ offense seemed to be as slow to the fight as it was in the first game. We were scoreless until Manny Machado stepped to the plate to lead off the last of the seventh. And his 100th career homer gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. That brought Chris Davis to the plate behind him, and Davis uncorked a solo shot of his own.

Later in the inning the Birds got a Hardy RBI-single (with the bases loaded), and a Reimold two-RBI double to run the score to 5-0. While a team like Toronto is rarely going to be out of it (in their minds at least), that effectively ended the competitive portion of the game. Toronto’s Barney did smack a solo homer in the eighth, but that was as close as Toronto got.

Davis would put out a second solo homer of his own in the last of the eighth, and for good measure Wieters would add a two-run shot to cap off the scoring in an 8-1 Orioles’ victory. Incidentally, that second homer was the 200th of Davis’ career, and his 158th as an Oriole. However the big question is whether or not it was the final homer of his Orioles’ career. There are still four games left in this season obviously, but what happens after that is anyone’s guess.

While the story of the second game was offense, the fact that Kevin Gausman made it through eight innings really helps the Orioles moving forward. They used multiple relievers in the first game, so the fact that the bullpen got some rest in game two is big as the team goes into today’s game, and this weekend’s series with New York to close the season.

Today’s game has been moved forward to an early afternoon matinee due to the impending foul weather that’s coming to the Baltimore area – and seemingly might never leave! The Orioles, Toronto, and MLB all worked together to move the time; if fans can’t attend the game this afternoon, the tickets can be exchanged for a game this weekend or next year on a dollar-for-dollar basis. Tyler Wilson will get the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Drew Hutchinson. Again, please note the new start time, as the game will begin just after 12 noon.

Next: Baltimore Orioles: Hidden advantage on Chris Davis?

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