Alex Cobb's take on the O's bats and other notes

We've talked often here this season about how individual Orioles have improved from last year and how that has made the team better overall. Players worked hard during the winter and continued that during baseball's shutdown that began in mid-March. They used coaching tips and guidance along with data and analytics and a lot of hard work to make themselves better.

The product is seen both in their stats and the team's won-loss record.

On Friday, O's pitcher Alex Cobb was a guest on the "Vinny and Haynie show" on 105.7 The Fan and had some interesting comments about the Orioles' hitters and their offense thus far.

"You know, there's no book on these guys yet," said Cobb. "We don't know what type of players they are. They can all be perennial All-Stars. I mean, we have guys that are just starting off their career and took a major hit last year, performance-wise, as a team. And all took that back in the offseason and knew things to work on and got better.

"You're looking at a team that took it on the chin last year and brought it to the offseason, and each and every one of them went and worked on their craft and got better. And you're seeing a product of that so far this year. So, you know we might look back in five or six years and we have a really good year and you look at the roster and say, 'No wonder they had a good year. They have four or five All-Stars.' We just don't know that yet, because they are all starting out.

"Tell you what - just as a fan or watching the games on TV with the at-bats these guys put together - they're legit. I mean they're scrappy, they're aggressive. They feed off one another. I think we brought some guys in that know how to make people feel comfortable. (José) Iglesias has done a really good job with our offense and relating to them. Helping them feed off each other."

Impressive words from Cobb about an O's offense that has produced 100 runs during an 11-8 start. The O's are second in the American League in team batting at .261 and are also second in slugging at .459 and team OPS at .789.

"So, they've just got it. Whatever it is," Cobb said on The Fan. "When they are in the box, they never look overmatched. We have faced some top-quality arms in the big leagues and not once did they look like they didn't belong there. So, it's going to be really fun to see how this goes. We had a little bit of a slump against the Marlins. But it was a big sign, for me, how quickly they came out of it. That shows a lot of character, bouncing back like that."

After winning the completion of Sunday's suspended game yesterday, the O's have to bounce back again after they got smoked 15-3 last night by Washington. That ended a six-game winning streak. And with the suspended game counting on the Aug. 9 date, the Orioles went 3-0 in both Washington and Philadelphia.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles with Friday's win completed their first back-to-back road series sweeps since April 22-26, 2005, when they went 3-0 at Toronto and 2-0 at Boston. The last time the O's swept a road trip of at least six games was in July 1987, when they went 7-0 after going 4-0 at Kansas City and 3-0 at the Chicago White Sox.

Right fielder Anthony Santander hit a solo homer in the first inning of last night's 15-3 loss to the Nationals. Santander has now driven in at least one run in eight consecutive games. The club record is 11 in a row by Doug DeCinces. His run went from Sept. 22, 1978 through April 6, 1979.

Santander has a nine-game hitting streak. During the streak he is batting .308 with a 1.017 OPS. In this span he has eight extra-base hits with three homers and 13 RBIs.

Last night's loss was the Orioles' first since Thursday, Aug. 6 at home versus the Marlins. Had the O's won last night they would have a seven-game win streak, their longest since August 2017.

Zimmermann's update: In this story, published here yesterday, O's pitching prospect Bruce Zimmermann updated his condition. He said he is feeling great after a bout with COVID-19. He tested positive on July 8 during intake for players at the O's alternate-site camp in Bowie.

Zimmermann is a 2013 graduate of Loyola High School in Baltimore and pitched two seasons at Towson University. The local product could make his big league debut this year.

But dealing with the coronavirus, even though he barely had any symptoms, provides some perspective for Zimmermann about family, baseball and life.

"I guess the biggest lesson is probably to not take anything that you do every day for granted," said Zimmermann. "Baseball has been a part of my life for 20 years or so. The most important thing that people are thinking about is their health and wellness and keeping their family safe. It was definitely an interesting time."