Baltimore Orioles: Headed to sick bay

The Baltimore Orioles seemingly had their entire lineup out sick last night, and Adam Jones was injured as well in their 5-0 loss to NY.

The Baltimore Orioles’ losing streak has now hit four games with last night’s 5-0 loss in New York. Furthermore they’ve now dropped the first three of four games in the Bronx, and have slipped into second place in the AL East – a half game behind the now first place BoSox. It’s been a tough few days for the O’s, and not just on the field.

Adam Jones exited last night’s game after feeling what was described as back spasms during his eighth inning at-bat. It’s definitely something to watch, however Jones said after the game that he’s planning on playing in this afternoon’s series finale. Chris Davis was out of the lineup again last night, as he’s still feeling the effects of a pretty severe stomach flu – which has now also claimed Manny Machado (who was out last night). Matt Wieters was out again last night as well due to a sore foot. To top it off, the Birds were without manager Buck Showalter, who was the latest victim of the stomach virus.

But the show must go on, and while Yovani Gallardo pitched better than his numbers indicated, he didn’t get the job done. Gallardo’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H 4 R, 4 BB, 5 K. Gallardo bent but didn’t break for most of the night. The issue was that he had to bend too many times, and the O’s couldn’t give him any run support. After stranding the bases loaded last night, they’re 3-for-33 with RISP since the all-star break. They did get a hit with a runner in scoring position last night, however the runner could only advance to third. 

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NY took the lead early on Beltran’s sac fly-RBI in the first. Teixeira would add a solo homer in the last of the fourth, and in the sixth he would walk with the bases loaded to run the score to 3-0. Gardener’s sac fly-RBI in the seventh and Beltran’s solo homer in the eighth rounded out the scoring, as New York defeated the limited-power Orioles 5-0.

Odds are the Birds are pushing just a bit as it stands right now, however you also have to keep in mind that they were without three regular players last night. If you remove Davis, Machado, and Wieters from the lineup, this is a very different team. That isn’t to say that they aren’t or shouldn’t be capable of winning games with the likes of Alvarez, Flaherty, and Joseph in the game. All three of those players are big leaguers, capable of doing damage…

…however the lineup is constructed in a way that if you start removing players like that things are going to look vastly different. The hope is that Davis is going to try to play this afternoon. It’s unclear if Wieters and Machado will be able to go, however. Call it a gametime decision.

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The stomach flu issue will work itself out in time, however the bigger concern is that more guys come down with it. Buck Showalter is expected to manage today’s game, however something like that can totally ravage a clubhouse. That combined with Wieters’ foot injury cost the Orioles three of their best players last night.

And another concern is Jones, who didn’t look comfortable in that eighth inning at-bat. Granted he said he’d be ready to go today, however it certainly depends on how sore he is when he wakes up this morning. And I suppose it’s also worth mentioning that it depends on whether or not he’s come down with the stomach flu. As I said, these types of things can totally ravage a clubhouse.

Next: Baltimore Orioles getting NY back on track

The O’s will attempt to salvage one game in New York today, and they’re hoping to be closer to full strength than they were last night. Chris Tillman will take to the mound for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s C.C. Sabathia. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.