Tag Archives: Chris Davis

Orioles head to Philadelphia for two-game Set against the Phillies

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PHILADELPHIA- The Baltimore Orioles look to build on Sunday’s 8-2 win against the Los Angeles Angels as they head to Philadelphia for a two-game set to open up what will be a six-game road trip.

The Orioles avoided a three-game sweep and received another quality start from starting pitcher Kevin Gausman on Sunday. Gausman ran his record to 4-6 on the season with Sunday’s eight-inning, two-run effort. This was Gausman’s tenth quality start, tying fellow right-handed starter Dylan Bundy for the team lead.

The Orioles did drop two of three to the Angels, but saw the bats wake up on Sunday when they clubbed four home runs. It was the Orioles’ first three-homer plus game since June 19 against the Nationals.

The Phillies come into Tuesday’s series opener after taking three of four against the Washington Nationals in Philadelphia.  They received a walk-off pinch hit homer by catcher Andrew Knapp in the finale of that series on Sunday to give them the 4-3 victory.

Standings Check-In: The Orioles are currently sitting at 24-59 which lands them in the cellar of the AL East, 31.5 games back of the first place Boston Red Sox (57-29).  The New York Yankees (54-28, 1GB) are in second place with the Tampa Bay Rays (42-42, 14 GB) and the Toronto Blue Jays (39-45, 17GB) rounding out the division.

The Phillies (45-37) enter this series with the Birds in second place in the NL East, 3.5 games back of the first place Atlanta Braves (49-34).

Last Meeting: The last meeting between the two clubs took place on May 16 when the Phillies downed the Orioles 4-1 in the only game of the series. The game on May 15 was postponed due to rain. In the May 16 affair, Andrew Cashner started for the Orioles and gave up three runs on five hits over 5.2 innings. Nick Pivetta was better for the Phillies going seven strong and scattering just two hits while striking out 11.

Baltimore leads the all-time series against Philadelphia 29-24.

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The Orioles will look for Alex Cobb to right the ship in the series opener. Image Credit: PressBox

Game Times and Pitching Matchups:

Game 1: Tuesday, July 3, 7:05pm- Alex Cobb (2-9, 6.75 ERA) vs. Zach Eflin (6-2, 3.02 ERA)-MASN2, 105.7 The Fan

Game 2: Wednesday, July 4, 4:05pm- TBD vs. Aaron Nola (10-2, 2.48 ERA)- MASN2, 105.7 The Fan

Notes on the Phillies:

  • Nola, who starts game two for the Phillies, is quietly putting together an All- Star caliber season.  He is tied for second in the NL in wins with Nationals ace Max Scherzer.
  • At the plate the Phillies are led by center-fielder Odubel Herrera. Herrera is hitting .283 on the season with 14 home runs and 47 RBI to help pace the Philadelphia offense.
  • The Phillies appear to be on their way to their first winning season since 2011 when they were 102-60.

Notes on the Orioles:

  • The Orioles continue to struggle at the plate. Despite their eight-run outburst on Sunday, they rank last in the MLB in batting average and on base percentage and are 29th in runs scored.
  • Cobb continues to be a free agent disappointment for the Birds. In four full and healthy seasons as a starter for the Tampa Bay Rays, Cobb averaged a 3.33 ERA. This dwarfs his current ERA of 6.75.
  • Since his eight-game hiatus from the lineup, first basemen Chris Davis has gone just 6-for-34. Three of those hits have been home runs and Davis has walked three times.

Image Credit: Washington Times

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Orioles swept by Mariners in series full of frustration

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Game 1 (5-3 SEA): The Orioles returned home this week after picking up just their third road series win of the season this past weekend in Atlanta. For the visiting Mariners, this series marked the final stop of a lengthy east coast trip. It also marked their third straight series against AL East competition after they got swept by New York and only took one in Boston.

Seattle got back on track in Monday’s series opener. Dee Gordon got the scoring started with a two-RBI single in the second. It was a slim lead for the Mariners but the Orioles would end up playing from behind for most of the night.

A Jonathan Schoop solo homer put the O’s on the board in the fifth, but Denard Span got that run back in the next half inning with a homer of his own. The Orioles kept the offensive momentum going in the sixth and managed to tie it up thanks to a series of quality at-bats. Manny Machado got it started with a leadoff single. Mark Trumbo followed that up with a walk and then Chris Davis was hit by a pitch to load the bases.

The O’s failed to record a hit through the rest of the inning but still managed to score a pair of runs on two sacrifice ground outs. The missed opportunity for a bigger inning came back and bit the O’s almost immediately with the Mariners scoring two runs in the seventh to retake the lead.

Miguel Castro replaced Andrew Cashner after the Orioles starter gave up three runs through six innings of work. Castro put himself in a jam by loading the bases to start the inning. A wild pitch allowed the first run to score and Mitch Haniger followed that up with a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-3 game.

Just like the O’s in the previous inning, the Mariners left some potential insurance runs on base but the necessary damage had already been done. Tanner Scott replaced Castro out of the pen and picked up a pair of strikeouts with the bases loaded to end the inning.

The Orioles offense failed to reach base in the final three innings as the Mariners bullpen made quick work of their lineup. Only 39 pitches were needed to retire the last nine Orioles hitters.

Game 2 (3-2 SEA):  Tuesday night saw another back-and-forth contest. This time the Orioles got on the board first when Danny Valencia hit a solo homer in the second inning. However, Kyle Seager responded by sending one deep to right field in the fourth.

The score would remain tied until the sixth inning when the O’s pushed a second run across. Unfortunately the inning played out very similar to the sixth inning of Monday’s game. The O’s opened up the inning by loading the bases but when Machado grounded into a double play, the momentum was killed instantly. The go-ahead run looks nice in the box score but there was some controversy surrounding the play since Machado did not run down the first baseline in an attempt to beat the relay throw.

The crowd responded by booing and Machado later apologized after the game. Whether Machado beats that throw or not, it doesn’t change the fact that the O’s offense has failed to cash in on some golden opportunities with these bases loaded situations.

This would become clearly evident once again when the Mariners mounted a small comeback in the eighth. With two runners on base, Seager got the best of the O’s pitching staff again with a two-RBI single to make it a 3-2 game. Seattle went on to close out the last two innings and walk away with another close win.

Darren O’Day was credited with both runs after putting them on base to start the inning. However, O’Day had to be replaced by Scott after re-aggrevating a hamstring injury during the second at bat of the inning. Jean Segura laid down a bunt toward the third base side of the mound but O’Day was not able to field it after taking a few steps and then slowing down with a limp.

After the game manager Buck Showalter spoke on the play and O’Day has been placed on the 10-day disabled list since. This is a huge loss for the Orioles who already had to watch their best reliever, Richard Bleier, go down with a season-ending lat tear a few weeks ago.

Game 3 (8-7 SEA): Wednesday’s game started and ended the same way as Tuesday’s game. Valencia struck first with a two-run homer in the first inning but the Mariners ended up coming out on top with a late inning comeback.

Seattle managed to tie the game up 2-2 in the third but Trumbo quickly put the O’s back on top with an RBI single in the bottom half of the inning. A second run scored on the play after a throwing error by Span and the Orioles had a 4-2 lead.

The Mariners would take it back in the fifth by jumping on the ever-inconsistent Alex Cobb. Seattle loaded the bases with just one out and later cashed in with a pair of runs via sacrifice fly and RBI single. The rough outing marked the seventh start this season where Cobb has surrendered at least five runs.

The score would remain 5-4 until the eighth inning when the Orioles got the best of Seattle reliever Alex Colome. Machado and Valencia led off the inning with a pair of first-pitch singles. However, the momentum slowed down significantly when Trumbo lined out and Schoop grounded into a fielder’s choice.

With runners on the corners, Davis came to the plate and worked himself in a favorable 3-1 count. Colome let his next pitch hang over the middle of the plate and Davis got all of it. The ball sailed down the right field line and landed on Eutaw street to give the Orioles a 7-5 lead going into the final inning.

In typical Orioles fashion, this would not be enough for a win. Zach Britton came in for the ninth and proceeded to throw away a late lead for the second time in a week. Haniger led off the ninth with a single and Seager followed with a two-run homer to tie the game up. The Mariners’ third baseman would go on to finish the four-game series with five hits and five RBI despite not starting on Thursday.

Britton did manage to close out the inning without surrendering the lead but the Orioles would end up losing in 11 innings. Span made up for his throwing error earlier in the game by driving in the go-ahead run in the eleventh.

Game 4 (4-2 SEA): With the first three games of the series all feeling like carbon copies of each other, it’s fitting that Thursday afternoon’s finale was another closely contested extra inning game.

With Dylan Bundy hitting the disabled list earlier this week, the O’s turned to Jimmy Yacabonis to make a spot start. The 26-year-old pitcher made his debut with the Orioles last season but didn’t appear in too many games. None the less, Yacabonis made a decent impression with a 4.35 ERA in a little over 20 innings of relief. However, that did not carry over into 2018 with Yacabonis struggling at the major league level so far this season.

Through the first three innings it looked like Yacabonis had a good grasp on the game. The Seattle lineup had proven deadly so far in the series but the young starter gave up just two hits while striking out four in the early innings. Yacabonis would get a rude awakening in the fourth, though.

After giving up a lead off walk to Haniger, Yacabonis fell victim to Nelson Cruz. The veteran slugger didn’t waste any time sending a fastball to right center field. Valencia made an attempt to snag the ball before it could get out, but Cruz’s towering shot came down fast and dropped just over the reach of Valencia for a two-run homer.

Yacabonis regrouped and finished off the fourth but his afternoon would come to an end in the next inning after giving up a pair of singles. With the O’s offense immediately responding in the bottom of the fourth, Buck was quick to pull his starter and go to the pen with the game tied 2-2. Solo home runs by Machado and Davis quickly erased the lead created by Cruz’s two-run blast.

Yefry Ramirez entered the game out of the pen and proceeded to turn in an amazing relief effort. Ramirez made a spot start a few weeks ago against Boston but did not fare very well against the Red Sox potent lineup. He made up for that on Thursday by tossing five scoreless innings of relief. Ramirez was outstanding and made quick work of the Mariners by getting 15 outs with just 52 pitches.

The Orioles offense could not take advantage of Ramirez’s impressive relief appearance and the two teams went to extra innings for the second day in a row. Once again the Mariners came out victorious thanks to their speed at the top of the order. Gordon led off the tenth with an infield single and Segura followed with a single to center field. Gordon got a great jump and was able to round second with ease but an error by Colby Rasmus allowed the speedy second baseman to keep going and head home for the go-ahead run.

Cruz added an insurance run later in the inning with an RBI single and the Mariners went on to close out another narrow win over the O’s and complete the four-game sweep. After their rallies in games three and four, Seattle is now 8-0 on the year in games that go to extra innings.

Image credit: Patrick Semansky / Associated Press

Podcast Episode 5: Is Terrell Suggs a future Hall-of-Famer? Ebony Bird’s Connor Brooks helps us find out

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Welcome to Episode 5 of the new Charm City Bird Watch Podcast with site owner Jake McDonnell and editor Nolan McGraw.

The hot topic of this episode is trying to figure out if Terrell Suggs is already a future NFL Hall-Of-Famer. Along with an introduction to this subject from Nolan and Jake, Ebony Bird contributor Connor Brooks calls in to dissect Suggs’s career and whether or not his resume will be good enough to land him a gold jacket in a few years. Brooks, also a Braves fan, breaks down this weekend’s series in Atlanta, as well as Nick Markakis‘s soon-to-be first All-Star season.

In-case you missed it, Orioles play-by-play commentator Gary Thorne had Orioles fans cackling at their TV’s on Monday night with another word botch. With this transpiring, Nolan and Jake spent some time going over their favorite Gary Thorne botches/funny moments.

Also on the show: Jake rants about Colby Rasmus, Tim Beckham, & Chris Davis, breaking down the latest Orioles injuries, and famous #5’s in Baltimore sports history.

Subscribe to the Charm City Bird Watch Podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. Please leave us a review, we love to hear your feedback and may read it on a future episode. Thank you for listening!

Orioles fall short of sweep in Atlanta but still pick up a rare road series win

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ATLANTA — Despite dropping the series finale 7-3, the Orioles

Game 1 (10-7 BAL): It’s hard to describe just how crazy Friday night’s series opener was. The unusualness of the game came pretty early before culminating into an insane ninth inning. With Alex Cobb on the mound, many expected the O’s to be forced to dig themselves out of a hole early on. However, Cobb turned in a great outing and held the Braves to just one run through seven innings of work.

The unlikely scenarios didn’t stop with Cobb. Chris Davis returned to the starting lineup after being benched for eight games and put the O’s on the board in the fifth with a solo homer to left field. Davis’ struggles at the plate have been well documented this season so no one expected the big man to make this kind of splash in his return.

The game remained tied until the eighth inning. Tanner Scott gave up another pair of runs and the Braves took a 3-1 lead going into the ninth. What happened next was even more unexpected than Cobb’s quality outing or Davis’ flashy comeback. The O’s sent ten batters to the plate and came through with six hits to score six runs and take a 7-3 lead.

Adam Jones and Manny Machado led off the inning with a single and a walk respectively. Danny Valencia brought Jones in with an RBI single and Jonathan Schoop followed with a ground rule double to score Machado and tie the game. The Braves made a pitching change but it didn’t stop the next four batters from picking up RBI’s with either a hit or a sacrifice fly.

With this being a road interleague series for the O’s, a pinch hitter was needed when the bottom of the lineup came around late in the game. After making his major league debut on Wednesday, Steve Wilkerson got the opportunity to hit in the ninth in place of Brad Brach. The 26-year-old got a pitch he liked right away and hit a shallow line drive into right field for his first career hit and more importantly his first career RBI.

The game had already provided enough surprises but the Braves still had three outs to work with. Zach Britton came in to close out the final inning but encountered his first rough outing since returning from injury earlier this month. Britton quickly loaded the bases before recording an out, which certainly didn’t inspire much optimism, but he did have a four-run lead to work with.

Unfortunately, Britton never gained control in his appearance. The next three Braves batters all picked up RBI hits to tie the game up at once again. As fate would have it, former Oriole Nick Markakis was responsible for driving in the game-tying run with a double to right field. To make things even worse, only one out had been recorded and it seemed that the most heartbreaking loss imaginable was now unavoidable.

Darren O’Day came in after Britton’s implosion and was tasked with the seemingly impossible mission of keeping the game tied 7-7. However, with the winning run at third base, O’Day dialed in and picked up a crucial strikeout. He later finished off the nightmare inning two batters later by getting Dansby Swanson to fly out to right field.

The O’s were fortunate enough to survive the bottom of the ninth and force extra innings but there was a lot of baseball left to be played before the wild ride ended. It didn’t help that both offenses failed to keep their momentum going after scoring a combined ten runs in the ninth. Through the next five innings the Braves only managed to pick up three hits and the O’s only reached base once via walk.

The Orioles finally broke through in the 15th. Craig Gentry led off the inning and reached base after being hit by a pitch. Two at-bats later, Machado put the O’s back on top with a two-run homer down the left field line. Just like the ninth, the Orioles added an insurance run after taking the lead as Colby Rasmus picked up a hit and later came around to score on an RBI single by Schoop.

The O’s bullpen was locked in through all six extra innings. Miguel Castro pitched three hitless innings and Mike Wright finished off the game with two strong innings to earn his first win of the season.

Game 2 (7-5 BAL): It’s difficult to turn around and play the next day after going through a game like Friday night’s series opener. The important thing is the Orioles walked away with a win, but it took over five hours to get it with the final out being recorded around 1:00 am on Saturday.

The quick turnaround didn’t have an effect on the Orioles lineup. In the first inning, the top of the lineup loaded the bases very quickly for Mark Trumbo. The O’s cleanup hitter fell behind in the count but still managed to blast a grand slam to center field and put the Orioles up 4-0 right away.

The Braves got one back in the bottom half of the inning but Dylan Bundy held the Atlanta lineup down for most of his 6.1 innings of work. A second run was manufactured by the Braves in the fifth, but the O’s offense had already scored three more in the top half of the inning, so the score remained comfortable in Baltimore’s favor.

Atlanta did manage to make it a closer game after Bundy exited. Most of the reliable bullpen arms had already been used the night before so Donnie Hart was called upon to pick up where Bundy left off. Hart was making just his seventh relief appearance of the season and couldn’t quite get into a rhythm. The Braves loaded the bases and then Markakis brought two home with an RBI double to make it 7-4 game. Buck Showalter was quick to pull Hart and replace him with Mychal Givens who finished off the inning with just nine pitches.

Givens and Britton combined to close out the final two innings. Britton’s ninth inning appearance was strange considering how bad he performed with a bigger lead the night before. However, Britton rebounded and earned his first save since Sept. 17 of last year.

Game 3 (7-3 ATL): The Orioles had already secured a rare road series win but a sweep was still on the table Sunday afternoon. David Hess got the start for the Orioles and turned in another rough outing. It marked the third straight start where Hess gave up five runs in less than five innings of work.

It started right away in the first inning when Freddie Freeman drove in two runs with an RBI single. The next three came in the third inning on a pair of doubles by Markakis and Charlie Culberson. Markakis had a great series against his former team by going 6-for-14 at the plate with four doubles and five RBI.

Trumbo also had a standout weekend despite not being in the starting lineup on Sunday. Buck Showalter still found a way to get Trumbo’s bat into the game as a pinch hitter in the fifth and the right fielder came up big with a two-run homer to make it a 5-3 game. It marked Trumbo’s fifth home run in the last seven games and gave him his sixth RBI of the series.

That would be the end of the afternoon for the Orioles offense as they only picked up one hit through the final four innings. The Braves padded their lead in the eighth with a two-run homer by Swanson and went on to close out a 7-3 win. By salvaging a win on Sunday, the Braves avoided what could have been just their second sweep of the season.

Up next: The Orioles will return home this week to open up a seven-game home stand against two west coast teams. It starts with a four game set against Seattle and then a weekend series against the Angels will follow.

Image credit: Daniel Shirey / Getty Images

Podcast Episode 4: Pop the champagne, Chris Davis has been benched!

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Welcome to Episode 4 of the new Charm City Bird Watch Podcast with Nolan McGraw and Jake McDonnell. Things sound a little different this week with Nolan hosting the show as Jake enjoys his vacation.

The podcast begins with a look at a few of the famous figures in Baltimore to wear the number four in their career. The guys follow that up by diving right into a few of the big Orioles stories from this past weekend, including Chris Davis being benched and the Orioles interviewing Ned Colletti.

After discussing the tough news surrounding Richard Bleier and his injury, the guys transition into some Ravens talk. Lamar Jackson got the opportunity to run the offense during practice this past Thursday which quickly caught the attention of the national media. Nolan and Jake give their opinions on Jackson’s progress thus far and comment on the media circus forming around the rookie QB and starter, Joe Flacco.

Subscribe to the Charm City Bird Watch Podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. Please leave us a review, we love to hear your feedback and may read it on a future episode!

Podcast Episode 2: Yes, we talked about hockey

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Welcome to Episode 2 of the new Charm City Bird Watch Podcast with site owner Jake McDonnell and editor Nolan McGraw.

We don’t normally talk hockey here on the podcast, but we would be remiss if we didn’t kick off the show by discussing the Washington Capitals 3-1 (2-1 during recording of podcast) lead in the Stanley Cup Finals over the Vegas Golden Knights. After years of coming up short, will Alex Ovechkin and the Caps finally bring the cup home to D.C.? Nolan and Jake discuss.

The Orioles are now 17-41 and on a seven-game losing streak. Over the weekend, Dan Duquette said that the team needs to “put a sharper focus on the future.” Will the ownership actually go for it, even with Duquette and Buck Showalter’s contracts expiring after the season? The CCBW crew dive into this ever-important debate.

There’s not much new to report on the Ravens front this week, but Nolan and Jake spent some time digging into OTA nuggets and contemplating the potential starting offensive line combinations. Hear who the guys see winning the spots at left guard, center, and right tackle.

Last but not least, we debut our second newest segment in as many weeks, What an idiot! And guess what? There are multiple culprits this week!

Subscribe to the Charm City Bird Watch Podcast on SoundCloud and iTunes. Please leave us a review, we love to hear your feedback and may read it on a future episode!

Orioles must change offensive approach to end losing ways

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The Baltimore Orioles (17-41) enter the week of Jun. 4 with the worst record in the Majors. Losers of seven straight games, the 2018 season is already over. Now over two months into the season, Orioles ownership faces a cloud of uncertainty with the contracts of both general manger Dan Duquette and manager Buck Showalter expiring after the season. That’s not a good situation for a team like the Orioles who sit 22.5 games out of first place in the American League East.

Whether Duquette sticks around or leaves town following the 2018 season, the Orioles’ offensive approach needs to change in order for the team to find success again. Since Duquette arrived in Baltimore, the Orioles have relied on lineups full of power bats to carry the team via the long ball. From 2012-17, the Orioles finished in the top 3 in home runs, and they led the major leagues in 2013, 2014, and 2016. Also in that time span, Baltimore finished within the top 10 in strikeouts three times. So far this season, the Orioles rank fifth in strikeouts (523) and 14’th in home runs (65). They’re also 27’th in walks taken (159), 27’th in average (.230) and 29’th in both on-base percentage (OBP) (.293) & runs scored (210).

While these stats span just over two months total, it’s not hard to figure out that these numbers do not point to a successful offense. While ranking 14’th in home runs still puts the Orioles in the middle of the pack, they’re not scoring enough runs, not getting on base enough, and they’re striking out at an alarming rate.

Currently, only four regular starters in the Orioles lineup – Manny Machado, Adam Jones, Trey Mancini, and Mark Trumbo – own OBP’s above .300. This means that over half of Baltimore’s lineup is failing to reach base in seven-of-10 at-bats. Guys like Jones and Trumbo have done all they can to carry the offense, but even they carry free-swinging power bats who will see large strikeout totals when the 2018 season comes to a close.

Easily, the biggest disappointment for the Orioles dates back to the 2016 offseason, and that’s Chris Davis. Since signing a seven-year, $161 million deal in the winter preceding the 2016 season, Davis has hit an alarming .196 with 68 home runs and 487 strikeouts. Things seem to be hitting rock-bottom this season with Davis hitting .152 with just four home runs. Davis has hit at least 21 home runs in seven of 11 seasons, but he’s on pace to finish 2018 with 12 home runs (and about 219 strikeouts).

One factor playing into the declining offensive numbers has to be age. The Orioles are a veteran-heavy team with Jones, Davis, and Trumbo all at the age of 32. Pedro Alvarez, who’s been playing fairly often in the DH spot, is 31. Jonathan Schoop and Mancini are both 26, and Machado turns 26 on Jul. 6. When Davis, Jones, and Trumbo were in their late 20’s, relying on the home run got the Orioles by. Now, a lot of these guys are well above 30 and have started to decline. None of them will admit to it, but the Orioles are a veteran team in need of a turnover that includes plenty of youth.

This should not come as a surprise, but the Red Sox (40-19), Yankees (37-17), Astros (37-23), and Braves (34-24) are the highest scorers of the 2018 season to date. Boston, Atlanta and Houston make up the top three teams in hits while the Yankees, Red Sox and Astros hold the top three spots in RBI. Meanwhile, the Rangers (25-36), Padres (26-34), Giants (28-30) and Orioles make up four of the top five teams in strikeouts this season, with third-place Philadelphia (31-25) being an exception. The stats don’t lie. Teams that hit consistently, score runs and play small ball see success more often than not. Home runs will only get you so far, and strikeouts are the killer.

The scary part about this situation is that the Orioles’ front office appears to be very naive to the issue with no real drive to change the offensive approach. Despite a plethora of designated hitter, power bat types already on the roster (in the forms of Davis, Trumbo and Alvarez), Duquette recently expressed interest in 34-year-old free agent Hanley Ramirez. Duquette has prior experience with Ramirez from his tenure with the Red Sox, but signing a 34-year-old power bat to a team that should be selling makes no sense. With a 17-41 record and a lineup full of aging, undisciplined batters, comments like these from Duquette are extremely concerning.

Another frustrating practice the Orioles implement is neglecting their farm system of international talent. In May, Ben Badler of Baseball America wrote a story highlighting Baltimore ownership’s refusal to spend money in the international market. As Badler wrote in the piece, Duquette’s input only goes so far since the decisions on talent are ultimately made by the Angelos family. The decision to not dip into the international market not only limits the scouting the Orioles can do, but the return the team gets for sending off their international pool money amounts to almost nothing.

The struggles of the 2018 Orioles must not all fall on the offense. The pitching has not been perfect either, with the starting rotation sporting a 5.43 ERA and a bullpen that’s dealt with several injuries. However, since defeating the Red Sox 7-4 on May 18, the Orioles scored three runs or fewer in 13 of their last 14 games, going 3-11 in that span. Even if Dylan Bundy or another Orioles starting pitcher delivers a quality start, the chances of the Orioles’ offense providing just three runs have not been good as of late.

With just under two months remaining before the 2018 MLB trade deadline, there’s still time for Duquette and Orioles’ ownership to make some moves to better the club beyond 2018. All aspects of the club could use some work, but the offense appears to be the biggest issue plaguing the team. The scary reality Orioles fans are faced with is that the team’s ownership has been extremely reluctant to make any sort of changes to the way they construct their team, and no recent events point to that pattern changing. The reliance on the home run worked for a few seasons, but it’s time to change the offensive approach. Until the Orioles do that, the team’s losing ways will continue indefinitely.

Image Credit: Beyond the Box Score