Orioles escape Boston with a series win

Charles Whiting | July 28, 2020

IT’S HAPPENING!

It seems as though the Orioles have experienced their first dose of “Orioles magic” to start the season.

Over the weekend, the birds won their opening series against division rival, Boston Red Sox.

The series started exactly how most expected it to, with Boston pummeling the O’s 13-2. Tommy Milone was the opening day starter for the birds, after John Means was put on IL due to shoulder fatigue. He started off the game very well, shutting down the Red Sox in the first two innings and getting five strikeouts.

Things would quickly unravel for Malone in the third inning though. Once the Red Sox batted around for the second time, they absolutely began teeing off on Baltimore’s pitching, scoring four runs in the third.

The damage wouldn’t stop there. The Orioles would bring in three more relievers throughout the game, Cody Carroll, Travis Lakins, and, David Hess. Carroll couldn’t complete a single inning, as he was brought in the fourth inning, and would give up four runs himself.

This made for a bad combination, as Boston started their ace Nathan Evoldi, who was throwing fastballs touching 100 mph. He would give up just one run over six innings.

Things quickly turned around for the O’s in games two and three, as they went on to win both games 7-2 and 7-4. Orioles starters Alex Cobb and Wade LeBlanc earned their first wins of the season, giving up one run and four runs respectively. Along with the pitching, the bats really came to life. The first three batters in the lineup, outfielder Austin Hays, second baseman Hanser Alberto, and shortstop José Iglesias, all had multiple hits in the second game and six different batters would cross the plate to score.

Things were much the same for game three as Hanser Alberto would pick up two more hits and José Iglesias, who is looking like an absolute steal for the O’s, would have an incredible four for four night. The rest of the squad contributed as well, picking up four more hits for a total of seven RBI’s. The bullpen did well to hold down the Sox as relievers Miguel Castro, Tanner Rainey, and Cole Sulser would come in and give up zero earned runs on just one hit each.

Right now I have to believe that the birds are riding a wave of confidence going into the series against the Miami Marlins, after escaping Boston with a series win. I believe that the key for this team to continue to win ball games is their starters ability to go five innings in each game. So many people are expecting this team to have another failure of a season, and rightfully so, but I’m hoping that they can stay competitive for about three fourths of the season just to keep things interesting. I know it’s crazy early in the season, but so far, I see a team that has more fight than we saw last year, and that’s all we can ask for at this point.

The birds are over .500 in late July. Who would’ve thought? Right now, the beer is very cold for the “Bird Land” community.