The Orioles have recorded back-to-back winning months to start the 2023 season. They look to continue at that pace as they start the month of June.
Standing in the way were the San Francisco Giants, who have been climbing their way back into the NL Wild Card discussion. The Orioles didn’t hear any of that and completed the series win with strong pitching and some timely hitting.
As the Orioles have won eight of their last nine road series, they will enjoy a day off on Monday before starting their series in Milwaukee. Let’s take a look at how the games unfolded in this set.
Game 1: O’s 3, SF 2
Dean Kremer was facing the Giants for the first time and pitching for the first time as a pro in his home state of California. Nerves were not the name of the game, as Kremer is proving why he is one of the Birds’ top starters.
Though the Giants scored two runs in the first three innings, Kremer continued his streak of games with three runs or less to six in a row. He would pitch six strong innings, allowing five hits and two walks while striking out six and would out-duel Logan Webb to earn the victory.
On offense, Jorge Mateo and Ryan O’Hearn collected RBI singles, but it was Gunnar Henderson’s go-ahead solo home run in the seventh that would provide the difference in the game.
Danny Coulombe (H,11) and Yennier Canó (H,12) each picked up holds before Félix Bautista (SV, 15) picked up the save. Anthony Santander threw out Brett Wisely at home in the third to hold the Giants from taking the lead, as the O’s took game one, 3-2.
Game 2: O’s 0, SF 4
Alex Cobb was making his 14th start against the Orioles, his former team. Coming off his worst outing of the season, he would put forth his best outing to improve to 8-2 in his career against the Birds.
Though Kyle Bradish wasn’t lights out, he was not horrible. He allowed three runs over four innings, leaving after 79 pitches.
The offense was held to five hits and no walks. They struck out seven times against Cobb and eight times total for the game. They were 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and failed to jump on any opportunity that was presented to them.
The Giants improved to .500 with the victory and set up a rubber game on Sunday. To pour salt on the wound, Gunnar Henderson exited with lower back discomfort in the O’s 4-0 loss.
Game 3: O’s 8, SF 3
Game three featured two pitchers who don’t give up many walks. Tyler Wells and Anthony DeSclafani would face off in a game that, on paper, looked like it would be a close one.
Once again, the game is played on the field, and the Orioles, one of the top teams in walks, forced DeSclafani to fall out of rhythm as he lasted just three innings. Using three walks, a hit batter and four hits, the Orioles would jump out to a 4-0 lead, as 11 batters would come to the plate.
That was more than enough for Wells, who would complete 5.1 innings, striking out a career-high nine while allowing two runs. Mike Baumann, Yennier Canó and Austin Voth would finish off the victory, as the Orioles won their major league best 20th road game.
The offense saw RBIs from Adam Fraizer, Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, Aaron Hicks, Josh Lester (2) and James McCann.
Lester picked up his first career hit, a bases-clearing single, while James McCann hit his third home run after getting hit by a pitch. Rutschman, Hicks and Mateo all had two hits as well.
The Orioles had four extra base hits out of their 10 total and collected two stolen bases to pick up win No. 37 on the season.
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
This series was a focus on the offense to capitalize when opportunities came about. This is why the BATTERY ❌-FACTOR was the O’s offense and who would step up in the lineup.
Though the offense totaled just 19 hits and 11 runs in the three games, they pulled out the series win. They hit .278 with RISP for the series, showing some improvement in that area.
It was late-inning heroics by Gunnar Henderson and capitalizing on the walks in game three that helped to secure the series victory.
Though the offense is still struggling with runners in scoring position, the timely hitting and strong pitching are becoming the difference makers.
The Orioles are off on Monday and will head to Milwaukee for a three-game set with the Brewers. Will the pitching and key hitting continue? Find out Tuesday, as the Birds take on the Brew Crew.
What do you think of this series win? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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