Orioles Pitching (??) Leads Them To Series Win Over Cincinnati, Head Home With 10-4 Record
What the hell is going on out here? After Kevin Gausman lays an egg, Ubaldo Jimenez and Wade Miley put together back-to-back unbelievable starts. Together they combined to go 15.2 IP, gave up 1 R, 4 H, 12 Ks, and 5 BBs. That is how you save your bullpen and win a series. I talked about Jimenez’s start yesterday, and that was followed up by an absolute gem by Miley. The Orioles used a Jonathan Schoop solo shot, and a JJ Hardy extra inning single bringing in Mark Trumbo to beat Cincinnati 2-1 in extras. They won the series over the Reds, and finished the 9-game road trip at 6-3 as they head home for 6 before getting out on the road again. They won this Reds series not by putting up the numbers we thought they would.
I personally thought they would tee off on the the Reds starters, boy was I wrong. They scored 7 runs in the 3 games, and won 2 of them, both by 1 run. These were games the 2016 Orioles were losing, they now are 6-1 in one run games this season. They homers and bats aren’t propelling them to wins yet, but that time will come, in the meantime, it’s great to see they can win these close ones.
We also should talk about how good Brad Brach has been in his 2 appearances as closer since Zach Britton went down. Brach is 2-2 in his save chances, but has looked nearly unhittable. Guys can’t square anything up, and he’s getting weak popups, or ground outs. This is some of the best stuff I have seen from Brach, and that is including his first half last season when he was lights out. Are the Orioles better without Zach Britton? Makes you think.
Wade Miley Is SHOVING Right Now
We like to poke fun at Wade Miley and call him water trash. He has not been water trash over his last 6 starts for the birds. Going back to last season, his last 6 games he has an ERA of 1.91. Even though he didn’t get the win last night for his 8 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 11 K, 1 B start, he did lower his ERA to 1.89 and WHIP to 0.84. Remember his first start where he walked 7 in 5 innings? Since then he has 19 Ks and 1 walk in 14 innings. With the bats not coming alive this series in Cincinnati, Wade Miley really won that game for the Birds last night. He only gave up 2 hits, it just stinks that 1 of them went 430 feet for a homer. It seems that he and Caleb Joseph have a nice little tandem going here, they seem to work well together. Joseph has caught all 3 of Miley’s starts this season, and as I mentioned, Miley has looked great.
As much as we shit on the pitching coming into the year, it has been the combo of Dylan Bundy and Wade Miley holding down the fort while Ubaldo and Kevin Gausman are trying to keep their head above water. With Chris Tillman on track to make his season debut on May 2nd, the Orioles rotation looks like it may start to take shape and help this ball club. Wade’s World. Party time, excellent!
Upcoming Schedule
Friday, April 21 vs Boston- Dylan Bundy (2-1 1.86) vs Drew Pomeranz (1-0 5.23)
Saturday, April 22 vs Boston- Jason Aquino (0-0 0.00 Season Debut) vs Steven Wright (1-1 8.36)
Sunday, April 22 vs Boston- Kevin Gausman (1-1 7.23) vs Eduardo Rodriguez (0-1 4.76)
Boston comes to town after taking 2 of 3 from the god awful Jays and have a record of 10-6. Luckily for the O’s, they’ll miss Rick Porcello and Chris Sale again. I’m not complaining there. Give me Wright and E-Rod over Porcello and Sale anyway. I’m not counting on them being able to put up 9 again on Steven Wright, but I think they could be able to knock these guys around. It goes the same way with our guys, who knows which Kevin Gausman we see, and none of know what Jason Aquino has to offer, but neither do the Sox, so that could work towards Aquino’s advantage. My gut tells me Mookie has another hell of a series here, and of course, after he was hitting like .150 a week ago, he’s over .300 and back to the Mookie that was robbed of the MVP last season. Mitch Moreland is raking balls off the walls and collecting doubles like they are pogs too. It’s just a dangerous lineup, and the young guys for the Birds have to keep the ball down, and not place balls dick high for these guys to hit.
Manny Machado is so god damn lost at the plate right now, it isn’t even funny. He’s swinging at pitches 2 and a half feet off the plate, and just doesn’t look confident. Maybe it was the early start for the WBC, maybe he’s not seeing the ball well, maybe he is a 24 year old having a rough 3 weeks. That average won’t stay under .200 for long. It looks like Seth Smith is hitting the DL, and Rickard will be back soon, so look for maybe a Joey appearance in the outfield soon. With 2 lefties starting in the series for Boston, I do expect to see Hyun-Soo Kim on the bench, and Trey Mancini getting starts. He loves hitting against Boston, so look for him to continue his hot hitting. 10-4, best record in baseball, baby. Keep it up Birds!
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