With the Orioles winning their second straight game in a 12-1 final over the Texas Rangers, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. A starter giving up six runs before recording his first out sounds right out of the script of the 2017 Orioles, but Tyson Ross fell victim instead. It was good for Buck Showalter’s struggling club to have a laugher for once with its biggest margin of victory of the season.
2. For someone with more than one three-homer game in his career, Chris Davis setting a new career high with six RBIs in a contest was somewhat surprising. I would have guessed he’d done that at some point over the last five years.
3. Dylan Bundy hadn’t pitched in nearly two weeks, but he settled in nicely after a rocky beginning to record his club-leading 13th quality start of the season. His 13 swinging strikes were the most he’d had since June 14 as his slider induced five of those.
4. Having seen starters squander so many large leads this season, Bundy loading the bases in the second was an unsettling development, but he was able to escape unscathed when Shin-Soo Choo grounded out. The Rangers never threatened again.
5. Bundy finished strong with a 1-2-3 sixth that included his best average fastball velocity of the outing and culminated with a swinging strikeout of Mike Napoli. That was encouraging to see on the night he eclipsed his innings total from last year.
6. With the 24-year-old allowing one run in six frames, the Orioles registered back-to-back quality starts for the first time since June 1 and 2 when Wade Miley and Alec Asher did it against Boston. I realize how ugly the starting pitching has been, but that’s still remarkable.
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7. The 12 runs were the most scored by the Orioles in a month. The starting pitching is the easiest — and most deserving — target for criticism, but it’s no secret that the offense has disappointed this season.
8. Seth Smith homered for the second straight night and now has 11 for the season. He’s hitting just .241 since mid-May, but he could be a fringe trade piece for a contending club looking for a left-handed platoon outfielder, especially if his bat stays hot over the next 10 days.
9. Showalter has been conservative in his use of Zach Britton since his return from the disabled list, but he struck out two and registered six swinging strikes in the ninth. He sure looks ready to return to the closer role with contenders eyeing him as a major trade target.
10. Jonathan Schoop drew his 20th walk of the season and is now one shy of his career high set last year in 273 fewer plate appearances in 2017. That improved plate discipline is a major reason for his breakout campaign that landed him in the All-Star Game.
11. Caleb Joseph made his second career appearance at third base in the ninth inning. That kind of novelty is much more enjoyable to watch when on the right side of a blowout.
12. The Rangers would like to fancy themselves as buyers at the deadline, but they sure haven’t looked like it over the last two nights. The 2016 AL West champions are now just a game ahead of the Orioles in the wild-card standings.
