A look at the Orioles by month -- 2022

[Frobby]

September/October 2022

15-18 record 

8-12 at home

7-6 on the road

7-13 vs. AL East

4-2 in one-run games

0-1 in extra innings

Batting

3.97 runs per game was 10th in the AL

.236 BA was 11th

.310 OBP was 7th

.396 SLG was 7th

.706 OPS was 8th

1.12 HR/game was 8th

.243/.319/.354 with RISP (282 PA, 243 AB, 59 H, 90 TOB, 86 TB) 

Pitching

4.57 ERA was 13th in the AL

4.82 runs allowed per game was 13th

1.00 HR/game was tied for 6th best

4.38 starters' ERA was 10th

4.92 IP/Start was 10th

4.80 bullpen ERA was 14th

9 saves was tied for 4th 

11 save opportunities 

2 blown saves

Defense

11 unearned runs was tied for 8th lowest in the AL

0.45 errors per game (15 errors) 

+5.0 fangraphs defense 

+23.3 UZR (+5.7 OF, -+ 17.6 IF)

+5 OAA (-1 OF, +6 IF)

+6 Rtot 

+1 Rdrs 

Cumulative through Year End

Batting

4.16 runs per game was 10th in the AL

.236 BA was 11th

.305 OBP was 11th

.390 SLG was 9th

.695 OPS was 10th

1.06 HR/game was 8th

.243/.315/.389 with RISP (1474 PA, 1267 AB, 308 H, 461 TOB, 493 TB); .704 OPS was 11th

Pitching

3.97 ERA was 9th in the AL

4.25 runs allowed per game was 9th

1.06 HR/game was 7th lowest

4.35 starters' ERA was 10th

4.95 IP/Start was 12th

3.49 bullpen ERA was 7th

46 saves was tied for 5th

59 save opportunities was tied for 10th

13 blown saves was fewest in the AL

Defense

56 unearned runs was 6th best in the AL

0.56 errors per game (91 errors) was 6th worst

+15.9 fangraphs defense was 4th

+25.6 UZR was 3rd (+6.7 OF, +18.9 IF)

+3 OAA was 6th (-4 OF, +7 IF)

+6 Rtot was 10th 

+37 Rdrs was 5th

Conclusion

A lot of people blamed the offense for the Orioles' weak finish, but the pitching was equally if not more to blame.   The offense was very close to its season averages in most categories, slightly below average.   RISP hitting was spotty, especially extra base hits with RISP.   On the pitching side, the starters reverted back to throwing under 5 IP per game for the first time in a couple of months, and slipped from their above average performance of the previous month or two.  The bullpen, perhaps showing the wear and tear of having to cover more than their share of innings over a long season, had by far their worst month of the year, 14th of 15 teams in bullpen ERA and dropping them from 3rd best bullpen ERA to 7th for 2022.   This didn't show up in blown saves (9 of 11 still very strong), but just a lot of games where the bullpen let the opponents build their leads to the point where a comeback was unlikely.   The defense, by almost any measure, closed the year strongly and was above average for the season.

All in all, this was an improved team, yet there is plenty of room for more improvement.   The bottom line is we were below league average in scoring runs (4.16 was 10th), and we were worse than league average in allowing runs (4.25 runs allowed per game and 3.97 ERA were both 9th).  That's not a formula for making the playoffs.   The team needs to be better in both phases next year.

[LA2]

Thanks for compiling all this. With stats like those, it's a pleasant surprise that we managed to finish 83-79. We'll have to play better to replicate the record next season--and a lot better to make it into the playoffs.