Baltimore Orioles Tied for 1st in AL East: Enjoy It While It Lasts

The Baltimore Orioles earned their second win of the season against the Boston Red Sox, and it sure does feel good.

As the Baltimore Orioles are tied for first in the AL East, fans should enjoy it while they can. If two consecutive wins against the Red Sox proves, you just don’t know what the season will hold.

Hopefully, the Orioles can continue the wins as they travel to Miami to face the Marlins, who at 2-1 are sitting atop the NL East – at least for now.

The Sunday matinee was the most competitive game between the AL East rivals, and the highlights of the game belong to Anthony Santander, Jose Iglesias, and veteran lefty Wade LeBlanc.

Santander’s highlight came from a catch that robbed Xander Bogaerts of a home run in the fourth inning. Of course, there is video, courtesy of MLB.com:

Santander also hit a two-run home run in that same inning. Orioles Twitter responded to the right fielder’s days like this:

Santander wasn’t the only O to hit the long bal. Rio Ruiz hit his second home run of the season to get the team on the board in the first. Orioles Twitter shared the video:

The hitter of the game was Jose Iglesias, who after three games and 13 at-bats has a .538 batting average. He is currently sitting in 5th place, tied with Nelson Cruz. Not to be forgotten is Hanser Alberto, who is right behind Iglesias, with a batting average of .500. Iglesias’s three doubles puts him in second behind the Dodgers Justin Turner. Iglesias has never been one to hit for power, but getting on base has been his strength.

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The other highlight of the game belonged to Wade LeBlanc. He held the tough Red Sox to four hits and four runs. He struck out four and gave up two home runs. It wasn’t as dominant an outing as Alex Cobb’s on Saturday afternoon, but he got the job done in 5.2 innings. The bullpen also did its job not allowing any hits or runs in the remaining 3.1 innings.

This is an interesting statistic on the day, especially consider the Orioles pitching: the team did not give up any walks. On the flip side, the Red Sox walked eight Orioles batters.

And, on a positive note, Chris Davis got his first hit of the season. We’re waiting on Chance Sisco, DJ Steward, and Cedric Mullins to do the same.

The Orioles travel to Miami to face the Marlins at 7:10 PM ET on Monday night. Asher Wojciechowski and his flow will face Pablo Lopez. The Marlins shortstop Miguel Rojas is on a similar hitting tear as Iglesias. This series has the possibility of being rather interesting, as both teams are in the midst of a rebuild (at least I think that’s what’s happening in Miami).