It’s August, and the dog days of summer are approaching. So is the final stretch of baseball and a postseason push, and the Orioles don’t seem phased at all.
Losing Cedric Mullins for the second time this season was supposed to be a blow. Losing Aaron Hicks shortly after was supposed to create problems.
The Blue Jays found out that these Birds aren’t that easy to frazzle. Now the Mets, along with former Orioles manager Buck Showalter, have found out just how dangerous this group of players really is.
With the 1983 World Series Champs in town for the 40th anniversary celebration, the Orioles put on a display that even turned the heads of those champions.
Let’s see how the games unfolded, as the Orioles swept their three-game weekend series from the Mets.
GAME 1: O’s 10, NYM 3
Dean Kremer was tasked with opening the series for the Birds. Searching for his win No. 11, Kremer put forth an adequate showing but did not factor in the decision.
Kremer would go 5.1 innings, allowing just two hits. He would allow two earned runs, but his biggest issue was walks, as he handed out four of them.
Mike Baumann (9-0) would enter with runners on the corner and one out and induce an inning-ending double play that kept the game tied at two. He would pitch another inning, picking up his ninth win of the season. Cole Irvin and Shintaro Fujinami would close out the game, both getting an inning of work.
On offense, it was the James McCann revenge game, as the former Met would go 3-for-3 with a walk and a stolen base, driving in five of the Orioles’ 10 runs.
Gunnar Henderson collected two doubles, and Jordan Westburg blasted his second big league homer, a three-run shot, as the Orioles would crank out 12 total hits in winning game one, 10-3.
GAME 2: O’s 7, NYM 3
Kyle Gibson was in the zone from the start. He would retire the first nine batters, six via strikeout, before the Mets would get their first hit. Though he gave up a home run two batters later, he never seemed to lose control.
Gibson (11-4) would pitch seven innings, allowing four hits and three runs, walking one and striking out nine on 98 pitches (60 strikes). The 35-year-old veteran earned his 100th career victory.
From there, he turned it over to Danny Coulombe (H, 21) and Yennier Canó to finish the final two innings and preserve the win.
On offense, Gunnar Henderson opened the scoring with a two-run home run that helped set the pace of the game. The Orioles would score one run in the third, fourth, fifth and sixth inning, respectively, and added one more in the eighth inning.
Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Urías and Ryan McKenna all added RBI hits, while Anthony Santander blasted a solo home run, his team-leading 20th of the season.
The Orioles would pound out 12 total hits en route to the 7-3 victory. The win, their 69th, coupled with the Tampa Bay Rays loss, moved the AL-East-leading Orioles three games up on the Rays.
GAME 3: O’s 2, NYM 0
Kyle Bradish has been strong this year, but even good pitchers struggle here and there. Despite laboring through 4.2 innings, Bradish was still able to hold the Mets to no runs.
Bradish’s line looked like a preseason tune up, as he went 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, but walked five, hit a batter and threw a wild pitch. Bradish struck out five on 87 pitches (45 strikes) as he struggled to get through the fifth.
The bullpen stepped up and pitched 4.1 innings of one-hit, no-run ball to lock the Mets out and complete the sweep. Cionel Pérez (W, 4-1) led the charge, as Irvin (H, 1), Fujinami (H, 4) and Félix Bautista (SV, 30) denied the other New York team access to the run department.
The offense collected six total hits, as Ryan O’Hearn and Adley Rutschman picked up RBIs to lead the offense. The O’s only needed those two runs, as they would win 2-0 to complete the sweep and win their 70th game of the season.
BATTERY ❌-FACTOR
The BATTERY ❌-FACTOR for this series was the O’s pitching staff and how they would keep the Mets from scoring late in games and scoring fewer runs.
For the series, the pitching staff would go 3-0 with three holds and a save. Across the 27 innings, they would allow just six runs (five earned) for a 1.67 ERA.
Though they did allow 11 walks, they gave up 15 hits as well to finish with a 0.962 WHIP. The Oriole arms accounted for 26 strikeouts across the series, holding the Mets to a .165 average across the series.
As we predicted, the pitching was the key to winning this series, and it was the leading component in sweeping the series.
The Orioles are now 70-42, a season-high 28 games over .500, as they have become the second team (Atlanta Braves) to reach the 70-win mark this season.
The Birds have a much-needed off day on Monday before they welcome the Houston Astros to town for a three-game series. If The Nest isn’t packed for this series, you’re going to miss a big time battle.
It all starts on Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. EST. Will the Birds take down GM Mike Elias’ old team, or will the Astros show why they have been the best team in baseball for the past seven years?
What do you think of this series sweep of the Mets? 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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