The Orioles Are Going Streaking...In A Bad Way
Today we look at the rough patch the Orioles have found themselves in over the past few weeks.
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Pregame Pepper
Did you know…
. .With a .309 winning percentage, the Baltimore Orioles are on a path to win approximately 50 games. They would be the first MLB team to lose at least 108 games in three straight full seasons since the 1962-65 New York Mets. Yikes.
. . . Talking about a good streak, with their 3-1 victory over the Orioles yesterday, the Atlanta Braves set a franchise record with 13 consecutive wins on the road. That's the longest road winning streak in MLB since the Cleveland Indians won 14 straight road games in 2017.
. . . Adding insult to injury, yesterday marked the anniversary of the Texas Rangers defeating the Orioles 30-3 in 2007, setting the American League record for runs in a game.
Leading Off
The Baltimore Orioles Can’t Buy A Win
By Tyler Maher
One of the great things about baseball is that because there are so many games, even the bad teams still win a lot of them. A team can be absolutely dreadful and still end up with around 50 or 60 victories, which is a lot of wins! Especially compared to other sports, where the worst NFL teams might win only one or two games (if any), while the worst NBA and NHL teams are lucky to win 20. Football teams can go months without winning games, but thankfully that doesn’t happen in baseball.
Unless you’re the Baltimore Orioles, however, who haven’t won a game in three weeks. Their last win came on August 2, a 7-1 victory over the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles were playing well at the time, having won 10 of their last 15.
Their promising start to the second half quickly evaporated, however, as they’ve completely collapsed during the dog days of August. They lost the next two games against the Yankees, getting blown out both times to end their road trip on a down note. Returning to Camden Yards following an off day didn’t help, as they allowed 31 runs to the Tampa Bay Rays in a three-game sweep. Another off-day didn’t stop the bleeding, either, as they were swept again by a mediocre Detroit Tigers squad.
Their struggles followed them on the road, where the slumping Boston Red Sox demolished them in three straight. Then they had to fly down to Tampa Bay, where they lost four in a row.
Baltimore is back home now, but the results have been the same. This weekend, the Orioles played better but still lost three straight against the Atlanta Braves, enduring their fifth consecutive series sweep.
For those of you keeping score at home, that’s 18 consecutive losses. Not only is that the longest skid of the season for any team, but it’s also the longest losing streak in the majors since 2005, when the Kansas City Royals lost 19 straight.
When the game is designed to limit such extreme stretches, how does a baseball team lose 18 in a row? For starters, the Orioles are not very good at baseball. They were already 29 games below .500 when their streak began, and they now own the worst record in baseball at 38-85. Barring an incredible finish, they’ll end up with well over 100 losses for the third time in four years.
It also hasn’t helped that most of Baltimore’s recent games have come against formidable competition. Tampa Bay has the best record in the American League, while Boston and New York aren’t far behind them. Atlanta is leading the NL East at the moment, and even Detroit has played much better than expected. The Orioles have been clearly overmatched on the field, which explains why 17 of their losses have been by multiple runs.
However, the main reason for Baltimore’s slide is that both their offense and pitching have fallen apart simultaneously. Their pitching staff has completely imploded, surrendering 149 runs during the streak – an average of 8.3 runs per game. They’ve allowed double-digit runs six times during that span and at least five runs in every game but two.
Simply put, Orioles pitchers haven’t been keeping their team in the game. Their struggles have also occurred alongside a prolonged cold spell for the lineup, which has produced just 47 runs during the losing streak – an average of 2.6 per game. Baltimore’s offense has been shut down on a nightly basis, scoring more than four runs just twice during the streak. As wise sports analyst John Madden once said, you can’t win if you don’t score.
Thankfully for the Orioles, they’re off today and even the worst teams can’t lose on an off day. They’ll look to regroup against the Los Angeles Angels, who have also been scuffling lately. Perhaps Baltimore’s lineup will bounce back against LA’s miserable pitching staff, and their pitchers should have a much easier time against a depleted Halos lineup that’s still missing Mike Trout and Anthony Rendon.
The Orioles should be able to win at least one game during that series. If they do, I hope they celebrate like they just won the World Series.
Tyler is a content editor for The Game Day who is glad he’s not an Orioles fan. You can reach him via email at tylermaher@comcast.net.