The good news is that players are starting to return from the injured list, providing depth and the ability to play match-ups even better for the Baltimore Orioles.
The bad news is that the Orioles went 2-4 this past week, and with just 12 games remaining, time is quickly running out to catch the New York Yankees, who are three games up in the AL East.
The Orioles lost both their series to the Detroit Tigers and the Boston Red Sox this past week. They did manage to get some strong performances from starting pitchers, collecting four quality starts and falling just an inning short of five straight quality starts.
Let’s take a look at who made The Great, The Good & The Ugly this week.
The Great: The Starting Pitchers
It’s hard to look at a 2-4 week and say the starting pitching was the great part of the week. But outside of one game, the starting pitching recorded four straight quality starts and was one inning away from a fifth straight.
Zach Eflin pitched one of the best games of the season in Friday’s 1-0 loss to Detroit. Going 6.2 innings, Eflin allowed just one run, which was a first-inning home run, which was all the scoring for the game.
Corbin Burnes followed that up with seven innings of no-run ball. Both Albert Suárez and Dean Kremer had one-earned-run outings, and Cade Povich followed up to end the week by allowing two earned over five innings.
Overall, the starting staff pitched a combined 36.1 innings over the six games, allowing 10 runs (nine earned), which equates to a 2.23 ERA for the week. The one thing that is not hindering the Birds’ success has been the starting pitching, and it’s come on strong in the second half.
The Good: Adley Rutschman
Adley Rutschman has struggled mightily since the All-Star break, barely cracking the .200 mark since that time.
However, Rutschman appears to be coming out of his slump, as he currently is in the midst of an eight-game on-base streak.
The de facto team leader, Rutschman posted two multi-hit efforts last week. He walked three times, drove in four runs and also hit a home run, his first since August 16.
Rutschman coming out of his slump would be a huge boost to the offense but also to the moral of the team as a whole.
The Ugly: The Offense
For the pitching to be great and the team to go 2-4 for the week, there has to be an opposite reaction. That aspect belongs to the offense and the pattern put forth.
The O’s offense collectively scored a combined 16 runs across the six games for an average of 2.7 runs per game.
In their two victories, the Orioles scored four and five runs, respectively. The one area that has plagued the Birds for most of the season is the ability to capitalize with scoring opportunities.
For the week, the Orioles went 8-for-42 (.190 avg) with runners in scoring position. This is the biggest culprit and the primary reason that the O’s are struggling in the second half of the season.
The O’s are off Monday before welcoming the San Francisco Giants and the Detroit Tigers to Camden Yards for the final homestand of the 2024 season.
Will the pitching continue to remain strong? Is Adley Rutschman turning things around in time for October? Will his bat be the spark the offense needs?
Tune in next week to see who makes the next edition of The Great, The Good & The Ugly.
Who stood out to you the most this past week for the O’s? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter (X) and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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