Yard Work podcast: Episode 8

Hey, O's fans. Welcome to this week's episode of Yard Work.

We're back after the Orioles return home from a long West Coast road trip. Steve Melewski traveled with the team so we weren't able to record last week, but we're all back in Charm City for this week's episode as the team begins a brief three-game series at home with the Angels.

We always talk about the ups and down over the course of an entire baseball season, but rarely are those extreme highs and lows within a two-week span. The Orioles finished up a lengthy homestand by earning a four-game sweep of the Rays, followed by a two-game sweep of the Padres in San Diego. That was part of the Orioles' third seven-game winning streak of the season. That winning streak was stopped dead in its tracks once the team moved to Seattle, however, as the Orioles suffered a four-game sweep at the hands of the Mariners. The team finished up the trip by taking two of three from the Dodgers, resulting in a 4-5 road trip and a hold atop the American League East. We'll look back during our weekly recap.

The road trip saw more struggles from the starting rotation, but a tremendous effort from the bullpen, particularly reliever Dylan Bundy. Bundy was once touted as top starter in the major leagues, but health issues derailed that goal. Now Bundy appears to be healthy and he is dealing from the bullpen. Could a spot start in the rotation be on the horizon? Melewski and I will talk about the young hurler's future.

Also, All-Star selections were announced earlier this week, and the Orioles will be well represented in next week's festivities. Hitters Mark Trumbo, Manny Machado and Matt Wieters were all selected for the American League squad, as well as pitchers Zach Britton and Brad Brach. Machado will start for the AL at third base, while Trumbo will also compete in Monday night's Home Run Derby, marking the fourth straight year an Orioles player will represent the Birds in the showdown. Meanwhile, a few All-Star hopefuls didn't quite make the cut for the O's, including pitcher Chris Tillman and hitters Jonathan Schoop and Chris Davis. Should they be packing their bags for San Diego? Let the debate begin.

It's almost time for the All-Star break, but the Orioles still have a series with the Angels to take care of. The Birds will try and head into next week atop the AL East and halfway toward their goal of capturing their second division crown in three years.

Note: The Yard Work podcast will be recorded each week; therefore, all Orioles records and statistics will be current at time of recording, but may be different when podcast is downloaded. Please don't hold that against us!