The Baltimore Orioles have their first four-game winning streak of the season after last night’s win in Seattle. Tomoyuki Sugano was strong, and he set the Birds up for success. It all begins and ends with starting pitching, and that’s seemed to stabilize a bit of late. Ever so slightly. Sugano’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K.
Aside from the starting pitching, the Orioles did something key that trickled down to success later in the game. They jumped on Seattle starter Kirby early. They didn’t score a plethora of runs out of the gate, but they drove his pitch count up and put guys on base. Granted that did pay off a little early on, as they took a 1-0 lead on Ramon Urias’ sac fly-RBI.
The only slight blip in Sugano’s game was a second inning solo homer by Tellez. And make no mistake, this is still a game played by humans. It’s never going to be perfect. Luckily this wasn’t one of those games where the margin of success or failure was that stringent,
The game remained tied until the fifth when Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single put the Orioles back in the lead at 2-1. This game was also notable because it marked the return of Colton Cowser to the lineup. Cowser of course broke a finger in game four sliding into a base. I’ll maintain to my grave that losing him might have been the biggest blow to this season (offensively at least). But wouldn’t you know it…the old boy came through in the sixth with a solo homer.
That almost drives home my point; Cowser streamlines the lineup. I’m not even sure there’s a tangible manner to measure his value – aside from WAR, which I see as a made up stat. But the energy he brings combined with his prowess at the plate does something to this lineup.
And again, it’s not always a tangible effect he has on the lineup. Sometimes it’s just his energy. How many times have we seen the Orioles tack on insurance runs late this year? And how many times has it bitten them? Not last night. Heston Kjerstad added an RBI-double in the ninth, and Jackson Holliday an RBI-single. And again, the Orioles now have their first four-game winning streak of the season.
Is this a turning point? Is it too late? Nobody knows. But it COULD be. It could also be fool’s gold. But keep this time period in mind if the O’s find themselves stabilizing a bit.
The series continues late this evening at T-Mobile Park. Cade Povich gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Emerson Hancock. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 