It Only Took 134 Games, But The Orioles Have Swept A Team In A 3 Game Series For The First Time This Season

Don’t count this team out just yet, after 134 games, they earned their first 3 game sweep of an opposing team. The team on the end of the whooping stick this week was the Blue Jays, who previously swept the Os in Toronto last week, oh how the timetables have turned. But seriously, the Orioles just got their 40th win of the season and the race to 50 is still on! They came into this series on a 8 game losing streak, but rebounded quite nicely due to the offense finding their bats again. Sitting 52 games back, it’ll be a hard fight to get back into the the playoff convo (they were eliminated 2 weeks ago) but who am I to rain on their parade?

Part of the reason the Orioles were able to rebound nicely this week was the hitting of Trey Mancini, and frankly, he’s been mashing since after the All Star Break. I’m not making excuse for his poor first half, but he didn’t look comfortable in the box, and him banging his knee on the wall early on didn’t help calm him either. But since the ASB, he’s been easily the Oriole best overall player. In that time he’s hit eight homers, including homers in three of his last four games, 22 driven in, a .301 average, and 8 doubles. He’s really rebounded from a rocky start, and we knew he would, he’s a much better hitter than he showed early on. His homer last night was his 20th of the season and it gave him 8 extra base hits in his last 5 games, decent!

Adam Jones had a 5 RBI game last night, including his 2nd grand slam ever. Yes, you read that correctly. 2nd grand slam of his career, first since 2008 and his first at Camden Yards. It’s insane to me that guys can play in the league for over 10 years and have so few grand slams. I was also alerted that Andrew McCutchen hit his first last year, wild stuff. Adam is just being Adam, leading the team from right field, he had a 4 hit game 2 nights back, and the grand slam to put them up last night, on this bottom dwelling team, he’s still leading by example.

Just a quick note here on Mark Trumbo, he’s going to get surgery on his right knee for some discomfort that has been bothering him all season. He had a pretty good season after missing a good chunk of time in the first half, and was looking like a guy who could be traded to a contending team who needed a right handed power bat. Right around that time is when he cooled down and that knee injury flared up, obviously he’s done for the year and won’t be traded, so it’s time for him to rehab in the offseason, come into next season in great shape and play his way into a trade next season as well.

This is the big series everyone in baseball is talking about, Kansas City vs Baltimore. No, it’s not 2014, it’s 2018 an these 2 teams have the 2 worst records in baseball. Just 4 years after facing off in the ALCS, they are a combined 82-185, not too shabby! They’re both fighting for the top pick in next year’s draft, and the right to pick Bobby Witt Jr. Will it be good baseball this weekend? No. Will it be entertaining? Nope. Do we want the Orioles to win and get closer to 50 wins or lose and get closer to the first pick? I guess first pick, who knows.

PS. I’m actually dying without twitter.