With the Orioles continuing a red-hot April to open the 2023 season, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. A 15-7 record would be good enough for first place in every other division except the AL East and the NL Central. Instead, the Orioles trail by 4 1/2 games to Tampa Bay, who continues to do quite the 1984 Detroit Tigers impression. Go figure on 16-7 Pittsburgh too.
2. Boston brings better competition, but the recent pitching uptick — three runs allowed over a 54-inning span — did come against softer clubs in Washington and Detroit. That said, this staff allowed some crooked numbers to woeful Oakland just a couple weeks ago. Good starting pitching makes life so much easier.
3. The Orioles have averaged 3.9 runs per game, batted .225, and hit only three home runs over the course of their seven-game winning streak. Again, strong pitching makes those inevitable offensive slumps that much easier to navigate.
4. After the Red Sox series, the Orioles will begin a 10-game road trip with seven against the Tigers and Kansas City, who entered Tuesday with a combined 13-31 record. This club is doing exactly what you want to see against lesser competition to remain viable playoff contenders.
5. Brandon Hyde noted after Monday’s win how much he enjoyed seeing his club go an entire game without striking out, a rarity in today’s game. You have to go back to Aug. 8, 2010 for the last time Baltimore did that, which was Buck Showalter’s sixth game as Orioles manager.
6. Doing that against seven-time All-Star pitcher Chris Sale was particularly notable as the Boston starter registered just two swinging strikes in 83 pitches. He wasn’t happy about it either. First in the AL in walks and third in on-base percentage, Baltimore has impressed with its overall approach.
7. Since his rough performance on Opening Day, Bryan Baker has tossed 11 1/3 scoreless innings that include 15 strikeouts, three walks, and just two hits allowed. He’s been really impressive and quite reliable as a late-inning reliever thus far.
8. Speaking of late-inning relievers, Yennier Cano went from pitching at Norfolk two weeks ago to recording his first major league save on Monday with Hyde wanting to stay away from Felix Bautista. Cano’s combination of sinker, slider, and changeup has been night and day from what we saw last year.
9. You’d be forgiven if you hadn’t heard of 33-year-old lefty Danny Coulombe prior to the Orioles acquiring him in late March, but he’s looked a lot like the 2022 version of Cionel Perez in the early going. Coulombe has allowed one earned run and struck out 12 in nine innings.
10. With young outfielders like Colton Cowser and Kyle Stowers waiting in the wings at Norfolk, Austin Hays needed to stay healthy and get off to a good start. He has an .894 on-base plus slugging percentage and registered his second outfield assist of the season on Monday night.
11. The Orioles are now 8-0 in series openers, which obviously makes it that much easier to earn series wins. Some regression is likely for that number as well as their 7-2 record in one-run games, but they’re mostly doing the little things well after a rocky start in that department.
12. Baltimore is 15-7 or better for the fifth time in team history, the first being 1966 and the most recent being 2005. That’s a reminder of how unpredictable this season could still be as the former club won a World Series and the latter collapsed in July and finished 74-88.
Austin Hays after Orioles' seventh straight win: "There's nothing more fun than winning in the big leagues, so we're just enjoying the ride right now. … I think our team has grown in the areas we needed to and made some adjustments. It's really fun right now. It's good to see."— Luke Jones (@BaltimoreLuke) April 25, 2023
