The Baltimore Orioles finished a successful homestand by beating the Chicago White Sox, 5-3. They have five of out six games in the past week, and eight out of eleven.
Not many of us knew what Zach Britton would bring to the table considering he was recovering from injury in the first half of the season; however, as of late, the young southpaw has really brought it on.
Britton (5-1), on Thursday afternoon, perhaps has the best start of his season. He stymied the White Sox for eight innings and only gave up a run. He struck ten, walked none and resembled an ace.
Jim Johnson got his 41st save by getting the final two outs of the game. Pedro Strop, who was brought in at the start of the ninth inning, yielded two runs in the deciding frame.
Years ago, I would have worried about a game like this; however, now, I feel the Orioles will win most of the time. If the Orioles lose on any given night, we know the other team earned that than it just being pissed away.
For all the talk of the Orioles needing pitching, their youngsters: Britton and Chris Tillman have done a bang-up job on the mound. Who know what the month of September will bring? Right now, the starters on the hill need to keep doing their thing and everything else will take care of itself.
The Orioles did all their damage in the fourth inning as Adam Jones’ 26th home run – a two-run shot – was the highlight. Taylor Teagarden also homered in the fifth inning – a solo shot. Every Oriole in the lineup aside from Lew Ford and Manny Machado had a hit.
Chiacgo rookie Jose Quintana (3-2) took the loss, as he gave up five runs in 3 2/3 innings worked.
The Orioles are 72-58 and trail the New York Yankees by only three games. The Yankees do not play tonight; however, they and the Orioles start a pivotal weekend series. It’s needless to say how it important this upcoming three-game set is for the Orioles.
If they manage to sweep the Yankees – or even take two of three – how huge would that be?
Who would have thought that the Orioles would be going toe to toe with the Yankees for supremacy of the American League East this late in the season?
The Orioles just have to keep winning – no matter what. They still have Oakland, Detroit, Tampa Bay and the Angels in the wild card hunt, but it would be something to see them tie the Yankees for the division lead this weekend.
