at. RED SOX, 9/14

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Game 3 (7:05)

<IMG SRC="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_kRA0kohlwpI/TIQSBQQ2KRI/AAAAAAAADmY/_KuXbW6jxfg/s1600/Orioles+-+baby+bird+2009.gif" HEIGHT="80" WIDTH="80" BORDER="0"> |=======| <IMG SRC="http://vector.me/files/images/5/1/51997/boston_red_sox.png" HEIGHT="80" WIDTH="80" BORDER="0">

Team Records

79-65 |=======| 81-63

T-2nd, -2.0 |=======| 1st, +2.0

Streaks / L10

+1, Won 3 of 4 / 6-4 |=======| -1, won 5 of 7 / 6-4

Team Offensive Rankings (AL)

BA: .260 (7th) |=======| BA: .286 (1st)

OPS: .773 (2nd) |=======| OPS: .818 (1st)

Runs: 674 (6th) |=======| Runs: 779 (1st)

HR: 224 (1st) |=======| HR: 181 (7th)

Last 7 Days

BA: .260 (10th) |=======| BA: .280 (4th)

OPS: .799 (5th) |=======| OPS: .788 (6th)

Runs: 42 (4th) |=======| Runs: 39 (8th)

HR: 11 (6th) |=======| HR: 10 (8th)

Team Pitching Rankings (AL)

ERA: 4.39 (11th) |=======| ERA: 4.07 (5th)

WHIP: 1.39 (13th) |=======| WHIP: 1.28 (4th)

BAA: .261 (10th) |=======| BAA: .248 (4th)

TB: 2043 (9th) |=======| TB: 1905 (1st)

Last 7 Days

ERA: 3.25 (3rd) |=======| ERA: 1.65 (1st)

WHIP: 1.21 (2nd) |=======| WHIP: 0.88 (1st)

BAA: .228 (2nd) |=======| BAA: .198 (1st)

TB: 72 (2nd) |=======| TB: 61 (1st)

Starters

ERA: 4.84 (12th) |=======| ERA: 4.20 (3rd)

WHIP: 1.42 (13th) |=======| WHIP: 1.27 (3rd)

BAA: .268 (11th) |=======| BAA: .253 (3rd)

TB: 1338 (5th) |=======| TB: 1335 (4th)

Relievers

ERA: 3.65 (5th) |=======| ERA: 3.80 (7th)

WHIP: 1.34 (10th) |=======| WHIP: 1.30 (8th)

BAA: .249 (8th) |=======| BAA: .238 (5th)

TB: 705 (11th) |=======| TB: 570 (1st)

NEW: Quality Start minimum requirements

* - Game ERA must be 4.00 or less with at least six innings pitched

Kevin Gausman

(7-10)

3.61 (1.29/.261)

155K / 42BB, 23HR

QS: 13

</b>

Gausman struggled quite a bit against the Tigers though it could have been a lot worse. He pitched out of some tough jams and struck out seven. He allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings. Gausman has not pitched well against Boston and he's at his worst at Fenway for his career. Could be a tough one especially if Porcello can find a way to hold the Orioles down for once.

Splits & Sits

289 vs. left: .226/.271/.343, 7HR

353 vs. right: .292/.350/.439, 16HR

Bases Empty: .298

RISP: .206

RISP w/2 outs: .246

Men on w/2 outs: .208

Man on 3rd, < 2 outs: .190

2016 Away (15 starts)

(1-9) 4.80 (1.50/.292), 15HR

Career vs. BOS (7 starts, 5 relief)

(2-3) 4.74 (1.24/.238), 9HR

Career @ Fenway Park (3 starts, 4 relief)

(0-2) 6.30 (1.40/.260), 2HR

vs. Batter

Xander Bogaerts (19 AB) .316, 2B, 2RBI

David Ortiz (18 AB) .444, 3 2B, 2HR, 5RBI

Dustin Pedroia (16 AB) .375, S-HR

Mookie Betts (14 AB) .357, 2HR, 4RBI

Chris Young (11 AB) .273, 2B

Travis Shaw 2/8, 2 2B, RBI, 2BB

Jackie Bradley Jr. 0/6, 2BB

Hanley Ramirez 1/6, HR, 3RBI

Ryan Hanigan 2/5, HR, 2RBI

Brock Holt 0/4, 2BB

Bryan Holiday 2/2, RBI

Sandy Leon 0/2

Deven Marrero 0/2

VS

Rick Porcello

(20-3)

3.21 (1.02/.232)

161K / 29BB, 20HR

QS: 18

Porcello is now a 20 game winner and has won his last six decisions. He has rattled off nine straight sub-4/6+ starts and 11 of 12. He is a beast this season and is also a perfect 13-0 at Fenway Park. However, he has never been able to pitch well against the Orioles. In his only start against the Orioles this season, Porcello allowed five runs on six hits (3HR) in six innings in a 12-7 loss back in June.

Splits & Sits

414 vs. left: .224/.262/.329, 8HR

360 vs. right: .240/.283/.375, 12HR

Bases Empty: .228

RISP: .262

RISP w/2 outs: .273

Men on w/2 outs: .219

Man on 3rd, < 2 outs: .185

2016 Home (14 starts)

(13-0) 3.03 (1.03/.243), 6HR

Career vs. Baltimore (13 starts)

(3-7) 5.61 (1.45/.313), 12HR

vs. Batter

Adam Jones (37 AB) .270, 2B, 2HR, 8RBI

Chris Davis (29 AB) .276, 2B, 3HR, 7RBI

J.J. Hardy (22 AB) .409, 2 2B, 2RBI

Manny Machado (21 AB) .381, 2B, 2RBI

Mark Trumbo (19 AB) .316, 2HR, 5RBI

Michael Bourn (15 AB) .200, 2B, S-HR

Matt Wieters (13 AB) .308, 2B, 2RBI

Ryan Flaherty (11 AB) .545, HR, 2RBI

Nolan Reimold (10 AB) .200

Drew Stubbs (10 AB) .300, 2B, 3B, RBI

Pedro Alvarez 1/6

Jonathan Schoop 0/6

Caleb Joseph 1/4, 2BB

Steve Pearce 0/3

Hyun-Soo Kim 1/3

Turns out giving Pomeranz seven days rest isn't such a good idea as he wasn't sharp at all in this game. His command was all over the place, but he threw more strikes than Marquez was giving him. Bundy got a few bad calls one of which cost a run and Hembree got like six bad calls in one inning on pitches that were strikes. The pitches were very close, but they were strikes and Marquez missed a lot of close pitches. No atrocious calls, though. Missing close pitches is way more forgivable than missing pitches that are easy strike calls or calling strikes on pitches six inches off the plate for sure. Bundy allows three runs in 5.1 innings and labored most of the night. Not horrible, but hardly good either. Boston hitters got themselves out several times swinging at the first pitch as well most notably Ortiz in the second inning. I can't believe he swung at the first pitch in that situation, but he did and it got Bundy out of a huge jam. Red Sox hitters were also swinging for the fences too much themselves and ended up hitting a ton of pop ups in the second half of the game. They were just missing, but missing nonetheless. They blew too many chances and the Orioles were able to get one run after the second inning, but the five turned out to be more than enough. The Orioles face Porcello tomorrow. Toronto, Houston and Detroit also lost tonight.

Gausman may be coming off his impressive hot streak after his last start while Porcello has been as consistent as consistent gets over the last two months. He is a 20 game winner for a reason and will go for win 21 here. He does have quite a bit of trouble with the Orioles for his career, though. Same with Gausman and Boston at Fenway Park. Porcello is at least strong at home.

Wild Card Standings

*Boston +2.0

*Toronto --

*Baltimore --

Detroit -2.0

NY Yankees -2.0

Seattle -2.5

Houston -4.5

KC Royals -5.0

"...and the Orioles were never able to score again after the second inning..."

Schoop homered in the 9th.

"Boston scores 5.6 runs per game, so (the Orioles) were lucky it was enough."

The Orioles scored 6 runs.

"The Orioles and Red Sox have split 14 games in the season series with the Orioles going 2-4 at home and 5-3 at Fenway Park.

In the 14 games, the Orioles have scored 73 runs to Boston?s 82 and have hit 23 homers to 26 for the Sox. The Orioles have been out-hit with Boston batting .300 with an OPS of .887 to the Orioles? .234/.745.

Here are the batting averages of some Orioles in the season series with Boston: Matt Wieters (.135), Chris Davis (.170), Mark Trumbo (.204), Hyun Soo Kim (.217), J.J. Hardy (.227) and Jonathan Schoop (.231).

Despite those numbers, Hardy and Schoop both homered last night. In five games this season at Fenway Park, Hardy is 5-for-16 with five extra-base hits. He has two doubles, three homers and eight RBIs."

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2016/09/after-yet-another-bounce-back-win-os-look-for-series-win-in-boston.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Happy Defender's Day, Mobtown!

"...and the Orioles were never able to score again after the second inning..."

Schoop homered in the 9th.

"Boston scores 5.6 runs per game, so (the Orioles) were lucky it was enough."

The Orioles scored 6 runs.

Again. It was the opposing team's lousy pitching and mistakes. Never a good game by the Os.

"...and the Orioles were never able to score again after the second inning..."

Schoop homered in the 9th.

"Boston scores 5.6 runs per game, so (the Orioles) were lucky it was enough."

The Orioles scored 6 runs.

Yeah, I just realized that and came here expecting someone to point that out. I wrote that part before the home run because I didn't think Boston had a chance to win once it got into the eighth inning. Game was over

for me at that point. I'll correct that now.

Again. It was the opposing team's lousy pitching and mistakes. Never a good game by the Os.

Yeah, I should have put something more like this:

"Pomeranz was at his absolute best. He was locating perfectly on every pitch, didn't miss his catcher's glove a single time and looked absolutely fantastic at the top of his game. He was just no match for the Orioles who

hit every pitch and weren't fooled by Pomeranz's best stuff of his career. Boston released him after his departure in the third inning and Fenway fans chased him out of the park and egged his car. Pomeranz is expected to

announce his retirement this week."

Pomeranz WAS lousy and he was on seven days rest. It was a factor, but by all means sit here and act like it wasn't.

Yeah, I should have put something more like this:

"Pomeranz was at his absolute best. He was locating perfectly on every pitch, didn't miss his catcher's glove a single time and looked absolutely fantastic at the top of his game. He was just no match for the Orioles who

hit every pitch and weren't fooled by Pomeranz's best stuff of his career. Boston released him after his departure in the third inning and Fenway fans chased him out of the park and egged his car. Pomeranz is expected to

announce his retirement this week."

Pomeranz WAS lousy and he was on seven days rest. It was a factor, but by all means sit here and act like it wasn't.

You honestly haven't noticed a certain pattern with your game write-ups? It's always comments like this:

*The Orioles got fortunate that [opposing starter] wasn't on his game.

*[Opponent] made a terrible pitch-calling decision, otherwise they could've easily struck out [Orioles hitter].

*[Opposing offense] was too aggressive at the plate, which bailed out the Orioles' pitchers.

*[Opposing team] just hasn't pitched well or hit well in this series.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times you've actually given the Orioles credit for playing well. It always comes across as "The Orioles should've lost this game, if not for the opponents' mistakes." It's amazing how lucky the Orioles have gotten this year that their opponents have bungled their way to 79 O's wins!

Yeah, I just realized that and came here expecting someone to point that out. I wrote that part before the home run because I didn't think Boston had a chance to win once it got into the eighth inning. Game was over

for me at that point. I'll correct that now.

o

A 5-3 game in the 8th inning against the Red Sox in Fenway Park is "Game Over"?

Wow.

I don't think that I have heard an assertion like that any time recently. If anything, I've heard the opposite quite often. For example, something along the lines of, "With the Red Sox' explosive offense in Fenway Park, the game is far from over with a 2-run lead."

You honestly haven't noticed a certain pattern with your game write-ups? It's always comments like this:

*The Orioles got fortunate that [opposing starter] wasn't on his game.

*[Opponent] made a terrible pitch-calling decision, otherwise they could've easily struck out [Orioles hitter].

*[Opposing offense] was too aggressive at the plate, which bailed out the Orioles' pitchers.

*[Opposing team] just hasn't pitched well or hit well in this series.

I can probably count on one hand the number of times you've actually given the Orioles credit for playing well. It always comes across as "The Orioles should've lost this game, if not for the opponents' mistakes." It's amazing how lucky the Orioles have gotten this year that their opponents have bungled their way to 79 O's wins!

Orioles hitters were too aggressive at times which bailed out the Boston pitchers as well. Pomeranz didn't pitch well. Sometimes catchers make terrible calls including our catchers. I don't feel I need to point out when the

Orioles do well because it is mistakes and shortcomings of opposing teams that the significant majority of people here seem to be completely oblivious to and it's never, ever the result of bad plays by the opposing team.

Maybe I should start doing that more? I don't think I even mentioned the Pearce situation or Buck not switching players out in the blowout or anything like that. If a team doesn't hit or pitch well against the Orioles, it's

somehow bad to point that out? I should just not mention it at all and kiss ass on the Orioles instead? Pomeranz was terrible on seven days rest and it WAS a factor in the game since it was Pomeranz who gave up the

game winning runs. Pomeranz not getting through the third inning after pitching so well for so long was the biggest story of the game and it was the thing that factored in the most into the game. He didn't pitch well and

the Orioles made him pay for it. Bad pitch selection gets pointed out when it comes to our pitchers, but it's bad to point it out when it's against the Orioles because it's never a factor in anything? It's like mistakes by the

opposing team never factor into anything in the minds of many here. It's all Orioles superiority and never the opponents giving games away and making terrible in-game calls and decisions. It's NEVER that. Of course the

Orioles play well. Part of playing well means taking advantage of mistakes and pitchers who do not have command. It gets pointed out when Orioles pitchers don't have command, but doing so for the opposing team is a

big no-no because it's never a factor. It is a factor and it was with Pomeranz in game two. It was the BIGGEST factor of the whole game since it decided who won.

o

A 5-3 game in the 8th inning against the Red Sox in Fenway Park is "Game Over"?

Wow.

I don't think that I have heard an assertion like that any time recently. If anything, I've heard the opposite quite often. For example, something along the lines of, "With the Red Sox' explosive offense in Fenway Park, the game is far from over with a 2-run lead."

I didn't feel Boston was going to score on Brach or Britton especially Britton. I also thought Buck would bring in Britton before Brach would ever have a chance to let the lead get away. It is more my confidence in Britton

than anything.

Yeah, I just realized that and came here expecting someone to point that out. I wrote that part before the home run because I didn't think Boston had a chance to win once it got into the eighth inning. Game was over

for me at that point. I'll correct that now.

o

A 5-3 game in the 8th inning against the Red Sox in Fenway Park is "Game Over"?

Wow.

I don't think that I have heard an assertion like that any time recently. If anything, I've heard the opposite quite often. For example, something along the lines of, "With the Red Sox' explosive offense in Fenway Park, the game is far from over with a 2-run lead."

I didn't feel Boston was going to score on Brach or Britton especially Britton. I also thought Buck would bring in Britton before Brach would ever have a chance to let the lead get away. It is more my confidence in Britton

than anything.

o

Britton has been excellent all season long, but Brach has been very shaky in the 2nd half of this season. I wouldn't come close to saying that it was "Game over" in the 8th inning.

I suspect that there weren't 5 Oriole fans in the world that were not concerned right up until the final out of the game ...... and especially in the bottom of the 8th inning, when Britton gave up a single to the first batter that he faced, leaving runners on 1st and 2nd base with the potential go-ahead run at the plate.

o

Britton has been excellent all season long, but Brach has been very shaky in the 2nd half of this season. I wouldn't come close to saying that it was "Game over" in the 8th inning.

I suspect that there weren't 5 Oriole fans in the world that were not concerned right up until the final out of the game ...... and especially in the bottom of the 8th inning, when Britton gave up a single to the first batter that he faced, leaving runners on 1st and 2nd base with the potential go-ahead run at the plate.

Perhaps. I knew that if the game got into the eighth and the Orioles still had the lead, it would be highly improbable that they came back to win. I think Britton is that good and I don't see him collapsing now. He is still

strong and he has started throwing his slider more which is just devastating. Britton is damn good and using his slider more just makes it even harder to hit his sinker. Once he started doing that, I felt he has been even

more automatic than he was in the first half prior to that change. Britton was fresh and was going to be used while the Orioles still had the lead whether in the eighth or ninth inning. Britton is just that good especially now

that his slider has improved and is being used more. He got one of the Boston hitters to wave effortlessly at a slider for strike three last night. I don't remember who it was, but it was embarrassing.

Anyway, yeah, I think when it comes down to Britton at this point, it's game over no matter who the opponent is until proven otherwise.

Maybe I should start doing that more? I don't think I even mentioned the Pearce situation or Buck not switching players out in the blowout or anything like that. If a team doesn't hit or pitch well against the Orioles, it's

somehow bad to point that out? I should just not mention it at all and kiss ass on the Orioles instead? Pomeranz was terrible on seven days rest and it WAS a factor in the game since it was Pomeranz who gave up the

game winning runs. Pomeranz not getting through the third inning after pitching so well for so long was the biggest story of the game and it was the thing that factored in the most into the game. He didn't pitch well and

the Orioles made him pay for it. Bad pitch selection gets pointed out when it comes to our pitchers, but it's bad to point it out when it's against the Orioles because it's never a factor in anything? It's like mistakes by the

opposing team never factor into anything in the minds of many here. It's all Orioles superiority and never the opponents giving games away and making terrible in-game calls and decisions. It's NEVER that. Of course the

Orioles play well. Part of playing well means taking advantage of mistakes and pitchers who do not have command. It gets pointed out when Orioles pitchers don't have command, but doing so for the opposing team is a

big no-no because it's never a factor. It is a factor and it was with Pomeranz in game two. It was the BIGGEST factor of the whole game since it decided who won.

It's a mix of both. Sometimes opponents make mistakes against the Orioles, and sometimes the Orioles outplay them. There's nothing wrong with pointing out opponents' mistakes, but it seems like that's all you ever focus on. It's rare when you say something like "[Orioles player] had a great at-bat, made some great pitches, etc." It tends to be things like "[Opponent] didn't do their homework-- they should've known that you can easily get Orioles hitters out by throwing this pitch."

There's a strong implication that the other team is constantly just handing wins to the Orioles on a silver platter, rather than the Orioles earning them.

It's a mix of both. Sometimes opponents make mistakes against the Orioles, and sometimes the Orioles outplay them. There's nothing wrong with pointing out opponents' mistakes, but it seems like that's all you ever focus on. It's rare when you say something like "[Orioles player] had a great at-bat, made some great pitches, etc." It tends to be things like "[Opponent] didn't do their homework-- they should've known that you can easily get Orioles hitters out by throwing this pitch."

There's a strong implication that the other team is constantly just handing wins to the Orioles on a silver platter, rather than the Orioles earning them.

That has happened a lot. As I said, more this year than any other year that I remember and the Orioles have the type of team that punishes that kind of stuff more than any other team in baseball and more than in years

past. Ausmus killed his team's confidence by starting Zimmermann in game two of that series. The Tigers did not have the energy they had in game one after that happened and it was easily felt just watching the game

and how they were playing. Maybin's lackluster effort in the first inning on the first AB of the game showed it even more so. Does that mean the Orioles didn't play well? No, but it was a carryover from what happened the

previous night.

Second, when Jake Odorizzi throws seven straight fastballs to Manny Machado or Matt Andreise throws a two strike fastball right over the plate to Chris Davis when he was set up for a breaking pitch under the zone, it

deserves all the criticism it gets because they are both BAD calls and shows a lack of awareness of what the game situation calls for. I said that pitch to Davis should have ended up in the seats and they were lucky it

didn't, but it was a TERRIBLE call. The Rays have been making terrible calls during our games against them all season long and I won't stop pointing that out. I am aware of pitch sequences and what a situation calls for

based on who is at the plate at the time and who the pitcher is. I sit here watching the game and call them myself and more times than not, it's the opponents that make the bad calls. I am constantly looking at stuff

like that and the catcher's glove etc. It just so happens more of these mistakes happen against the Orioles than for. Orioles pitchers just have inconsistent command, but it's not often Weiters calls a bad pitch and

shows that lack of awareness. He calls a great game behind the plate and it is probably his biggest asset.

Also regarding the Rays, I'm pretty sure I said that the Rays catching situation was a reason their pitching has struggled all season long and not just against the Orioles. It's that bad and the Rays pitching staff isn't

nearly as bad as they have been this season. When I see consistent bad calls from the Rays catchers, that is the conclusion I come to pretty easily. Bad game calling by the catchers and the pitchers letting them call

the games and trusting in them, but it all starts with the catcher for them. Hank Conger and Luke Maile are terrible and surely, you remember how many pitches Maile let get past him in the last series? He's not a good

catcher.