Orioles have sure packed a lot into 15 games

By Steve Melewski

Orioles

August 11, 2020, 9:33pm

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On a night when both teams had a lot go wrong and the bullpens combined to allow 13 runs, the Orioles bullpen at least steadied at the very end. Paul Fry got the second out of the last of the 10th and Travis Lakins Sr. got the third as they outlasted Philadelphia 10-9.

The Orioles have had two extra-inning games, both rather eventful, and have won them both. They improved to 8-7 with that wild win and now they are 25 percent into a 60-game season. If the season ended after Tuesday's games, the Orioles would be in third place in the American League East but they would be the No. 8 seed for the AL playoffs and face Oakland.

On my radio show after the game on 105.7 The Fan, the fans are already wondering about the playoffs and how the club will handle the Aug. 31 trade deadline, which is fast approaching. Will they continue to trade for prospects looking to the future and perhaps take away from the 2020 club that might have a surprising shot at something in a year of expanded playoffs? Is it crazy to think the club might look to acquire talent than can help down the stretch?

These seem crazy possibilities to be pondering, but 2020 is already bizarre for so many reasons. Is this 2020 club channeling the 1989 "Why Not?" Orioles?

Last night, the Phillies scored in the eighth, ninth and 10th innings - and still lost. That's because the Orioles scored in the sixth, seventh, ninth and 10th. From the sixth on, the Birds scored 10 runs. Since they scored just one run over three games last Wednesday and Thursday at home against the Marlins, the O's have scored 38 runs in the last five games and one of those games is not over yet.

They've scored seven, 11, five, five and 10 runs since the offensive slump over two days last week at Camden Yards. The Major League Baseball computer has input already the player and team stats from the Sunday suspended game. So the O's offense has 16 games worth of stats, even with a chance to add to that come Friday.

After last night's games, the Orioles now rank first in the AL in team batting average at .260. They are second in OBP at .331, first in slugging at .457 (yes, ahead of the Yankees) and second in team OPS to New York at .788. The O's 36 doubles are tied for third in the league and their 22 homers rank seventh. They are averaging five runs per game. In their eight wins, they are averaging seven runs a game and batting .310 with an .890 OPS.

The Orioles continue to post prolific stats when putting the 0-0 pitch in play. They are batting .492 on the first pitch to almost lap the field with Detroit a distant second at .378. They have a team OPS of 1.454 on an 0-0 count.

Here is a strange stat: The O's got their first win last night of a game played from Monday through Thursday. They were 0-6 in such games against the Yankees and Marlins. But they have been 7-1 in weekend games versus Boston, Tampa Bay and Washington.

While the O's bullpen struggled in the win, starter Alex Cobb allowed three runs (two earned) over 5 1/3 innings. O's starting pitchers have allowed two earned runs or less in 10 of the last 11 games, with an ERA of 2.25 in those 10 games.

Austin Hays' inside-the-park homer in the 10th was the first by an Oriole since Robert Andino in September 2011. Andrew Velazquez almost recorded a steal of home last night. If he had, it would have been a first for the club since last Aug. 30 by Jonathan Villar at Kansas City. So not very long ago for that one.

Before Tuesday's game, manager Brandon Hyde talked about strong chemistry in the clubhouse, which really began last season. He has said before that the Orioles are playing for each other. How big has that aspect been?

"Extremely important. All winning teams have it," Hyde said on a Zoom call. "Different feel in the clubhouse where you care about the guy next to you. There is an attitude that we will pick each other up. It's a next-guy-up kind of mentality with everyone supporting each other. Even though our record didn't show it last year, I think especially in the second half, there was that feeling in the clubhouse. Where guys were competing on a nightly basis and I thought the team became full of really good teammates at the end of the year. There was a nice bond going in our clubhouse, especially the last couple of months."

No doubt the Orioles needed to draw on this last night.

"Sometimes playing in a lot of tough games, a lot of tight games, you grow together," Hyde said. I think that that's what happened toward the second half of last year and we carried that feeling into this year. Then we added some good clubhouse guys. Guys that have stepped right in and are likable teammates.

"(Alex) Cobb being here is big. Some veteran guys, too, like (JosÃ©) Iglesias and Cobb and Tommy Milone and (Wade) LeBlanc - guys that have been around for a while. They fit right it. They've been a nice voice in our clubhouse also."