Red Sox Series 6 Pack: Baltimore Orioles
There was a time in the last few years when the Baltimore Orioles came to Fenway Park it was good for a couple of wins for the Red Sox. Not anymore.
Not only are the Orioles near the top of the AL East, they are playing great baseball and are known to give the Red Sox issues and challenges; need I remind anyone of September 28, 2011. Do you believe in curses? The curse of the Andino has been thrown around because of that fateful day, built up by clutch hit after clutch hit by Robert Andino and now the Red Sox will have their chance at redemption, albeit on a much smaller, minuscule scale. There is no more looking past the Orioles and the Red Sox need to start winning so this series is a pivotal given it’s against an AL East foe who the Sox are looking up at.
To help us get a better understanding about the upstart birds, we asked Bird Watcher’s editor Dominic to answer a few questions. Enjoy.
1. The Orioles are within striking distance of the AL East lead after the first month of the season. There is a ton of baseball left to play but how optimistic are Orioles fans about the start of this team? Is it realistic to think they could continue this great play and contend?
It’s realistic IF the pitching holds up. The Orioles have gotten excellent work out of their starting staff, and their bullpen is statistically one of the best in MLB. If that continues there’s no telling how far they can go.
2. What has been the biggest reason for the nice start for the Orioles?
Two things; lack of losing streaks, and the bullpen. The ‘pen (referenced above) has been strong. Last season the O’s would bring relievers in late in games with no confidence that they would get the job done if the team was up by a run or two. Now the O’s have better relief pitching and Buck Showalter can have the confidence that most of the time that guy will get the job done to preserve the lead. As a result, the O’s haven’t had elongated losing streaks. In 2010 they started 2-16, and in the first month of 2011 they had somewhere along the lines of an 8-game loss streak. Much of that had to do with faulty bullpen play. That hasn’t been the case this year, preventing epically long losing streaks.
3. Jake Arrieta outpitched Ivan Nova the other night. Tell us more about this guy and is he the real deal? Someone to build around?
I think he is the real deal. His fastball tops out at 92-94 MPH, and of late his breaking pitches have been downright “wicked.” He can definitely be built around as a staff ace.
4. Mark Reynolds is struggling at the plate in April. How concerned are you over his lack of power? Could you see the O’s looking to replace his big bat if his struggles continue?
I think the O’s will stick with Reynolds through the season. Last year he started like this and ended up with 37 homers. That’s not power to be scoffed at. Come July if he’s still struggling to find power perhaps they might make a move, but I don’t see it as overly concerning at this point.
5. which players could be game breakers in this series?
Chris Davis – lefty first baseman with power (with the Pesky Pole in RF)
Adam Jones – Speaks for himself!
Oriole Bullpen – For the above mentioned reasons, however Chen is a flyball pitcher and might not be able to go too long at Fenway as a result. The Orioles’ pen will need to remain strong in order for the Birds to come out on top in this series.
6. The pitching matchups are:
Chen vs. Lester
Hammel vs. Cook
Hunter vs. Buchholz
Two of these guys are fairly unknown so give us an inside look as to what we can expect from them and briefly break down each game and give us your predictions.
Hammel almost pitched a no-hitter in April, and the late movement on his fastball is fairly good, as is Hunter’s. Chen has pin-point accuracy but when someone does get a hold of one of his pitches they tend to pop them up. Honestly, I think that the O’s might struggle against Buchholz a bit, but that’s not to say that they can’t beat him. If they can put runs on the board and the bullpen remains solid, I think the O’s have a chance at taking two-of-three (maybe losing to Buchholz).
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