Author Archives: Vasilios Nikolaou

O’s Look to Take Flight in Motor City

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The Orioles escaped the cold in Boston, only to find themselves right back in frigid conditions in Detroit to take on the Tigers. For how poorly the Orioles (5-11) have played through their first 16 games, the Tigers (4-9) have been less than stellar as well. Detroit hasn’t been able to score runs, and even when they have, Jordan Zimmerman (8.18 ERA) and Ryan Carpenter (9.00 ERA) have allowed more than they should’ve.

 

If the Orioles are going to get it back in gear, this is the team to do it against. With Jonathan Schoop on the 10-day DL, the birds had to do some reshuffling on defense. Danny Valencia and Luis Sardiñas are the likely candidates while Manny Machado stays at shortstop. The Orioles, after a promising series in the Bronx last weekend absolutely fell apart against the division rival Blue Jays and Red Sox.

 

 

GAME 1: Tuesday, April 17th , 6:40 PM, 36 Degrees. Pitchers: Andrew Cashner (2.50)  vs. Francisco Liriano (2.13 ERA)

 

  • Cashner and Liriano have been lights out thus far this season, but although the low ERAs, they haven’t gotten much run support. Look for a low scoring affair in a chilly night in Detroit.

 

GAME 2: Wednesday, April 18th , 1:10 PM, 34 Degrees. Pitchers: Kevin Gausman (6.60 ERA) vs. Matthew Boyd (1.38 ERA)

 

  • Gausman has had a rough start to a season once again, trying too hard to become a finesse pitcher instead of using his power pitches. If he can find his niche, he will become a very solid pitcher. Boyd has attempted to switch more to a finesse style as well, but it has actually worked.

 

GAME 3: Thursday, April 19th , 1:10 PM , 28 Degrees. Pitchers: Alex Cobb (17.18 ERA) vs. Jordan Zimmerman (8.18 ERA)

 

  • After a disastrous debut at Fenway Park, Alex Cobb gets a chance to shrink his ERA against a lineup that’s had trouble against more experienced pitchers. Zimmerman has looked like a different pitcher this season thus far and his ERA shows it.

 

 

Games will be seen/heard on MASN and 105.7 the Fan

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Orioles Lose 2-1 To Toronto

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On a night that progressively got colder, the dwindling crowd had to endure the first 7 innings without a single Orioles hit. Andrew Cashner, the starting pitcher for the birds went an impressive 7 innings with 104 pitches, a serious improvement from his first start at Camden Yards. He improved his ERA to a very good 2.50. Aaron Sanchez (1-1, 3.66 ERA) who started for the Blue Jays had a no hitter until the 8th inning, which was broken up by a late rally started by Tim Beckham.

 

Orioles OF Trey Mancini made great contact with the ball, but luck was not on his side as 2 fell short of the outfield wall. He went 0-4 in this outing. The O’s only  hits of the night came in the bottom of the 8th when Beckham, Santander, and Sisco each found their stroke. But it was too little, too late.

 

Darren O’Day, who got the loss, disappointed tonight as well, surrendering a Curtis Granderson solo shot to right field to give the Blue Jays the go-ahead run. It would be the last score of the game as the Orioles went out with a whimper, Chris Davis lined out to right field in the bottom of the 9th, to which just over 8,000 boos rained down on him.

 

The Orioles fall to 4-8 on the season with one game left against Toronto. The Birds try to avoid being swept at home while trying to figure out what’s wrong with their offense that was supposed to be potent. Kevin Gausman (0-1, 8.00 ERA) takes on Marco Estrada (1-0, 2.77 ERA) Wednesday at 7:05 PM.

Best and worst case playoff scenarios for the Baltimore Ravens

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As you can probably tell by the name of this article, I will be guiding you through the best and worst case playoff scenarios for the Baltimore Ravens. Based on their play this season, I am also predicting the outcomes of the games they play if they make it that far. This is my opinion, with uses of factual data to make the best judgment. Currently Baltimore sits at the #5 seed, the first Wild Card spot in the AFC. It is week 17 and on New Year’s Eve the Ravens will play their final regular season game against the Cincinnati Bengals, who the Ravens shut out in week 1, 20-0. Kickoff is slated for 4:25 pm from M&T Bank Stadium.

Scenario #1: Baltimore comes into their home stadium with momentum and grit after last week’s hard-fought contest against the Indianapolis Colts. They beat the Bengals handily by a score or two and clinch a playoff berth. But somewhere else in the NFL, the Buffalo Bills succumbed to a smokin’ Jay Cutler resurgence and fell to the Miami Dolphins. Elsewhere, the Tennessee Titans may have saved Mike Mularkey’s job by defeating division winner Jacksonville Jaguars who have nothing to play for this week.

Baltimore keeps the #5 seed and moves on to Wild Card Weekend (where John Harbaugh-led Ravens teams have never lost) to take on Andy Reid’s Kansas City Chiefs. The home of the Chiefs, Arrowhead Stadium, is notorious for being one of the loudest in the NFL and it shows on multiple false start penalties for the Ravens. But with the stout run defense able to slow down upstart rookie Kareem Hunt to a crawl, the Ravens force Alex Smith to take it to the air. Chiefs wideout Tyreek Hill abuses the Ravens secondary but they make an adequate enough halftime adjustment to beat the Chiefs 30-27 on a last-second FG by phenom Kicker Justin Tucker.

The Tennessee Titans faced the Jaguars on Wild Card Weekend and got decimated in every sense of the word. The Jaguars defense, after being rested in week 17, was suffocating. The Jags ended up winning 30-7 and will travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers.

That leaves the Ravens with a trip to Foxborough to take on the #1 seed New England Patriots. The Ravens have consistently given Bill Belichick and Tom Brady headaches in January, but the Ravens don’t have the consistency or leadership this time around to stun the football world. The Ravens offense is not able to get it going and the absence of Jimmy Smith is noticed as they wind up losing in the cold 28-13.

Thats where their season ends.

Scenario #2: The Ravens drop the ball on Sunday against the Bengals, quite literally. Breshad Perriman’s last play as a Raven was a dropped pass in the end zone that would’ve won the game. Baltimore loses quick enough to watch the Bills and Titans both win, successfully edging them out of the playoffs. Baltimore hasn’t made the playoffs since 2014 and with this failure, even at 9-7, the John Harbaugh era has ended in Baltimore.

Sources: CBSSports.com & NFL.com

Photo Credit: CBSSports.com

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