Bird Watching - O's Take Series From The Yanks and Phillies, Inch Closer To First
The O’s are playing much better baseball as of late. The are winners of 11 of their last 14 games and are now 34-32, sitting just 3 games back in the division. Despite twitter eggs jumping off the bandwagon and asking when football season starts after a few losses, it appears the season isn’t over. Bats have been smoking hot this month, and the pitching is settling down. It feels like the bullpen has given up one run since May. We will need all hands on deck during this upcoming road trip, as they hit Toronto for three and then three in Boston. The O’s just concluded an 8 game home stand going 7-1, so they will be looking to stay hot on the road where they are only 12-19 this season, as opposed to 22-13 at home. Normally I’d go over the previous series, but I’ll keep this quick. O’s ripped apart the Phillies, they are not a very skilled team. End scene.
Red Hot June
As cold as the Birds bats were in May, they’re that hot in June. They’re averaging 5.7 runs a game over their last 14, including the 19-3 drubbing on the Phillies. They are second in the league in runs scored this month, second in home runs with 12 coming in four games, and continue to put up runs night after night. Even with Adam Jones missing some games this month, the team is still hitting as well as anyone.
This is encouraging because of how silent the bats went in May. Trying to hit every ball 400 feet, not hitting with RISP, not moving runners over, etc. Maybe it was Wieters returning, maybe it’s the weather getting warmer, maybe it’s the garbage teams they’ve been playing. Some guys are playing for their jobs now, so that is definitely bringing a spark to some of them.
Manny Machado
Speaking of hot, Manny Machado is as hot as they come. Won player of the week for slashing .458/.519/.750 with 2 Hr/5 RBI/9 runs, and that was for last week. He has stayed hot this week, hitting three dongs in the Philly series.
Manny has been the Orioles best player this year, there I said it. He is just locked in. Already tied his career high in home runs (14), on pace to hit 34, batting .289, and playing gold glove defense. Strikeouts are down thanks to his much improved eye at the plate. Manny is taking that next step right in front of our eyes.
All the concerns about his surgically repaired knees have disappeared as he hasn’t missed a game. He’s running extremely well and not afraid to accelerate or hit the base hard. He said before the season he wanted to go 20/20, and he’s on pace, as he’s leading the team with 10 SBs. Jones is the captain and soul of this team, but Manny has played the best this year. If he keeps up this pace, you should see Machado get some MVP votes.
Injuries/Roster Changes
-Jonathan Schoop is scheduled to play tonight in Bowie, which is one step closer to him rejoining the lineup to make them that much better. I expect to see Schoop back with the team before the All Star Break.
-Adam Jones has been banged up recently. He dove for a ball the other night and landed kind of awkwardly. You could tell when he got up something was wrong, Buck said it was nothing major and he won’t miss any major time. I’m fine with him sitting some games, especially against the Phillies. Save him for September/October.
With Chris Parmelee coming up due to his opt out clause, someone had to go. That someone was Wei-Yin Chen. Chen is a free agent after this season, and represented by the worst man in all of sports, Scott Boras. Chen was sent down because it was reported he had “body fatigue”. This may or may not be true. What is true, is that Chen was not happy. “He” sent out two tweets after being sent to Fredrick and voiced that.
0% chance Chen said that. He doesn’t speak to the media unless his translator is present, and theres no way he’s putting together sentences like that. Boras is all butt hurt, but Buck is doing what’s best for the team. Chen will skip a start against Toronto, and he’ll be back in 10 days. It’s happened to Gausman, Wright, Norris, and Gonzo. It happens, now sack up, and we’ll see you next week.
Upcoming Schedule
Big series against Toronto now. They’re the one team that has scored more than Baltimore this month, so look for a high scoring series. Should be interesting to see if anything heats up with Joey Bats and Jones again. The O’s are throwing Wright, Gausman, and Tillman this series, and need to take two of three to keep pace with the rest of the AL East.
Off to Fenway after that to face Instagram star Pablo Sandoval, and the rest of the last place Sox. I’d love nothing more than to kick these guys when they’re down. O’s went into the last series with them tied, and now they’re now 6 games up on them. Lets send these clowns into another free fall. O’s win this series.
No O’s cream pie of the week since MLB sniped my Vine account, whatever, Bad Boy of Vine I guess.
Lot of people asking for Os shirts, last years shirt was awesome, but I’d like a new one. Have an idea for one? Shoot me a tweet @BarstoolRDT if you think you have a good one.
O’s had a nice win streak going earlier, lets get another one of those going. Close some ground in this division and start making a run. Lets go Birds!