After a solid week where the Orioles defeated the Yankees twice and opened up their series with the Blue Jays with a win, things once again got crazy on Saturday.
Kevin Gregg – the Oriole closer who has been a source of consternation among fans this season – blew yet another game as the Jays won, 5-4. The closer was not good – again – and yet another team took advantage.
Once again, he was brought on to close out the game in the ninth inning, and he could not. Baltimore held a 4-3 lead going into the final frame, but Gregg allowed two runs to score. That would snap the Orioles’ three-game win streak.
Rick VandenHurk only lasted 2 1/3 innings, but the Orioles fought through thanks to Kyle Hudson, Chris Davis and Vladimir Guerrero – who has been a lot better at the plate.
Despite the loss, it’s good to see the Orioles not folding and playing a tad better as of late. Jeremy Guthrie looked good on Friday despite having perhaps the worst record of any pitcher in all of baseball, and the games on Wednesday and Thursday showed the grit of the Orioles.
The Orioles have 18 games left in the 2011 season. While it looks like they will not lose 100 games, who knows what the future holds for the upcoming season?
I’ll be curious to see what happens in the offseason and wonder if some of the farmhands brought up stick around. I do know this – the organization has to get better and hopefully it is not sooner rather than later.
