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Good morning, Camden Chatters.
It wasn’t always pretty, but the Orioles did what they needed to do on their longest homestand of the season, winning or splitting all three series. The rotation was mostly solid, especially in the Mariners series with three straight quality starts. The offense had its troubles at times but showed signs of life in the last few games.
Yesterday’s win was a well-played one all around. Corbin Burnes pitched brilliantly, Gunnar Henderson bashed yet another leadoff homer, Colton Cowser smoked the ball all over the field and played great defense, Cedric Mullins contributed two RBI singles, and Craig Kimbrel reclaimed the closer role with a perfect ninth. Check out Tyler Young’s recap for all the lovely details.
Frustratingly, despite going 5-3 on the homestand, the Orioles actually lost ground in the division, going from half a game ahead of the Yankees to two games behind. That’s because the Yanks have won eight of their last nine games, and six in a row, sweeping a Twins team that is historically pathetic against the Yankees, then doing the same to the woeful White Sox.
The good news is that now it’s the Orioles’ turn to face some theoretically soft opponents, with a seven-game road trip that will have them visit St. Louis (20-26) for three games and the White Sox (an MLB-worst 14-33) for four. As always, never overlook your opponent, no matter how bad their record is. The White Sox swept the Rays earlier this year, after all. But on paper, the Orioles outshine both these upcoming opponents, and anything less than a winning road trip would be tremendously disappointing.
