Here is what is absolutely true about the Baltimore Orioles. They spent the first two months of the season wandering around, waiting for a point, no starters and no energy. And then since their series with the White Sox began last weekend, they've only lost 2 games and won 7. The Tony Mansolino era of the team is now above .500, and, with Colton Cowser back and Zach Eflin healthy and surging, the O's actually look decent for the first time all season.
So I've been taking credit for this. Cause a winning stretch isn't a winning stretch til it gets past like 2 games. Winning two games is easy, anybody can do that. Winning six in a row is a lot tougher. So I was at game #3 of the six game streak, last Sunday. O's-White Sox. Charlie Morton vs. Adrian Houser. They wont that game, against all odds, and since then they've looked a lot better.
First of all, I never need much of an excuse to go to an Orioles game. It's only a couple hours from where I live, it's a cozy and homey place to watch a game, and I like the team. I honestly don't get there enough for how cheap the tickets are. But this was a good excuse. A family friend was celebrating his kid's wedding, so he got some suites at Camden Yards, and so there I was, watching an O's game from a suite. I've watched games from the nosebleed section over home plate, that's a fun view, but this was nice. And y'know, people were coming back with Natty Bo's and pit beef and old bay chips and such, and it was awesome. People kept handing me beers, so I enjoyed myself. And the thing about me is that I'm not usually very good at the social stuff, I'm a born introvert. But damn if I didn't talk up every last person in that suite. It was a fun group. One rogue Pirates fan, that was a fun conversation, PNC or Camden Yards.
I bring this up because I don't remember a hell of a lot about the game. I remember Ryan O'Hearn and Gunnar Henderson whacking hits into the OF and batting runs home. I remember Charlie Morton actually being pretty smooth through 6, only letting a renegade homer by. I remember the White Sox looking anemic, which didn't shock me. But like...I don't remember a ton else about the game. I tried watching it, and to give you an idea of how much I'd had, I could have sworn I saw two batters in the box.
But the O's won, and they deserved the win. Their bullpen shut the Sox down, and people like Bryan Baker and Andrew Kittredge looked great. These guys can contact-hit their way through even when the homer guys don't show up. It wasn't the most exciting game, but a win's a win, isn't it? So since I was there, the team's been pretty great. I think Sugano getting rocked yesterday is a little worrying, especially when they're keeping Trevor Rogers in the minors in favor of Povich and Morton, but the hope is that as they straighten out people start coming back and it balances out. Either way, the team looks better than it has all year, and I hope they can keep the momentum going.
And if they need more...I guess I can go to another game. Y'know, if that's needed and all.
Coming Tonight: A early front runner for NL All-Star starting 1st Baseman.
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