The Baltimore Orioles finished their West Coast road trip 4-2 after going 2-1 against both the Seattle Mariners and the Oakland Athletics. It was a fairly quiet week for the bats as nobody really got going or had a consistent bat throughout the entire week. However, we did see some solid pitching, aside from the two losses, which saw the O’s give up 7 runs to the Mariners and 19 to the A’s. Yes, you read that correctly… and we can move on.
The Orioles have proven that they can win games in a number of ways. It may not always be pretty, but this team continues to find ways to win week in and week out. That is what truly matters and is what makes a great team. Let’s take a look at this week’s who’s hot and who’s not:
Batting
Who’s Hot: Anthony Santander
No single batter for the Orioles stole the show this week, however, we did see some solid stuff from Anthony Santander. Tony Taters batted .318 this week, as he continued to find his way on base. He blasted one home run, his first ever at the Oakland Coliseum, and drove in 2 runs while collecting 11 total bases.
Santander likely should have been an All-Star this year considering he is 4th in the league in home runs, but he will not let them deter him. He is going to continue being a huge part of this team’s success offensively. He will look to continue his hot bat into a big week against the Chicago Cubs and the New York Yankees.
Weekly Stats: .318 Avg / 1 HR / 2 RBI / 1 BB / 3 K / 1 2B / 0 3B / 11 Total Bases / 0 SB
Who’s Not: Jorge Mateo
To say Jorge Mateo has been struggling recently may be an understatement. After a strong couple of months for the speedster, Mateo has found himself unable to get on base with any consistency. In fact, there has even been some speculation that Mateo could be dealing with an injury as he has been jogging out a couple of ground balls, missing some defensive plays that we typically see him make, and of course, struggle to hit the ball.
Whatever the case, Mateo will want to figure it out as he is a crucial part of this team. When Mateo is hitting well for the O’s, it provides a huge boost to the offense as a whole. He is as dangerous on the base path as anyone in the league and that threat is much needed. He batted just .143 with 2 total bases and a walk to go along with 5 strikeouts. Mateo will look to get some more consistent at-bats heading into the All-Star break. The upcoming All-Star break could be beneficial for a guy like Mateo right now.
Weekly Stats: .143 Avg / 0 HR / 0 RBI / 1 BB / 5 K / 0 2B / 0 3B / 2 Total Bases / 1 SB
Pitching
Who’s Hot: Craig Kimbrel
There is no doubt that Craig Kimbrel should have been an All-Star this season. He had one rough stretch this season, but outside of those few games, he has undoubtedly been one of the best closers in the entire AL. He continued to prove that this week with a number of great, and nearly identical outings. Kimbrel made 4 appearances, striking out 2 in all four outings for a total of 8 on the week, while allowing no runs on only 1 hit. That is 4 saves in the Orioles’ 6 games this week for the biggest All-Star snub of the year.
We have said it before and will say it again, there is no replacing, Felix Bautista. However, Craig Kimbrel is doing a great job filling in. He has been as sure as sure can get in the back end of games for the Orioles this season, which will be crucial down the stretch and into the playoffs. Early in the season, there were talks about the O’s potentially making a move for a more reliable closer, but those have all been put to rest. This is the Orioles’ guy for the rest of this season, and you can expect that he will find himself in some high-leverage situations come playoff time.
Weekly Stats: 4 IP / 1 H / 0 BB / 0.00 ERA / 8 K / 4 Saves / 0 HR Allowed
Who’s Not: Cade Povich
It is safe to say that rookie pitcher Cade Povich has cooled off from the hot week he had last week. The rookie had by far the worst outing of his young career against the Oakland A’s in a 19-8 loss. Povich only lasted 1 inning, allowing 8 earned runs on 5 hits and 3 walks. He only struck out one batter and gave up two home runs.
It was starting to look like Povich found his stuff, as he was locating his pitches well and lowering base traffic. That could not have been further from the truth in his lone outing this week. He started the game with a handful of pitches that were not even remotely close to the strike-zone, and never recovered. The O’s are hoping Povich can step up and be a reliable starter going forward with the number of injuries they have suffered to the starting rotation. His performance will continue to be monitored closely, as his inconsistency may only add to the need for General Manager Mike Elias to make a deal for a starter at the trade deadline.
Weekly Stats: 1.0 IP / 5 H / 3 BB / 72.00 ERA / 1 K / 0-1 / 2 HR Allowed
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