What shitty timing this is. No jv, no Tucker, mariners are playing the marlins, and we have to play the orioles
On the bright side, run support for Burnes and Rodriquez is only 6 runs per game. Suarez is 3.5 and it will be a Sunday game.
they scored 17 last night. everyone knows only the real good teams come out and score <2 runs the next day
The Ms have the easiest remaining schedule in baseball. That’s the problem with hoping they will go on an extended slump. With their starting pitching, they are tough against bad teams. Ours isn’t hard either and is also one of the easier ones though.
It took the White Sox collapsing late just to win a series against the worst team in the league. I have zero expectations of a series win against the O's.
Don't need to win the division. Just need to beat out the Royals or Twins for a wild card spot. 6 back at the moment, more than doable.
Huge noticeable difference in attitude and demeanor between these two teams. I said “getting older “ not “old”. I made that distinction on purpose so that someone wouldn’t act like I said “old”. Oh well. The Astros are much older than the Orioles and definitely not as hungry.
I checked the two rosters and you might be surprised.... Average age: Baltimore - 28.46 Astros - 27.92* *This is without JV (41) and Tucker (27). ____ There's a bit of exaggeration going on about your 2nd favorite team. If the Astros' average age was high-balled to 30, it still wouldn't extrapolate to "much older than the Orioles". Other than JV and maybe Altuve/Pressly, the Astros aren't getting old at all. Ryan just needs to get over himself. Dude got two save opportunities recently and went ERA 0.00, WHIP 0.000, and K/9 13.5. Why can't he duplicate that in the 8th? --- buttocks pain. "Hunger" is an argument that could maybe hold weight -- but teams get demoralized losing 75% of 1-run and 2-run games. Pressly and Espada have something to do with that.
2nd favorite team? Probably yes I grew up there. Friends and family all O’s fans. I like beating them more than anyone else. Hate losing to em. Baltimore fans are great home team fans but they tend to only know about the Orioles.
Two of my neighbors -- who were born and raised in Asia -- lived in Baltimore before Houston. He and his wife sported their Orioles caps and really liked the team. The Orioles weren't overly ballin when they lived there. North East fans are noticeably passionate about their sports.
This. IMO don’t understand how you can question a team’s “hunger to win” that has gone to the ALCS seven straight times. You don’t do that if you aren’t “hungry”. I guess the Orioles just weren’t “hungry enough” in that pathetic showing they had against the Rangers last year in the playoffs. As for the getting old part, the only player that you can say that significantly impacted them is Abreu and he’s gone now. Pressly’s metrics say he’s been fine, and if anything, it’s been the role change that has impacted him more than age. Other than Abreu and the lack of a real replacement, the problems with this team, from most to least impactful, have been 1) injuries 2) situational hitting 3) the “younger” players in Chas and Diaz not performing anywhere near last year 4) Espada. Even with all of the above, this team still has a positive run differential on the season.
We nearly lost 2 games to the White Sox, so I don't think we have. Hopefully the Orioles have a letdown after winning a big series against NYY. If we can win 1 of 3 I'd take it, and I'd be amazingly excited if we could get 2 of 3.
As long as we have Diaz hitting cleanup followed by Singleton, this team is going to struggle to score runs. This team needs Tucker back and a real 1B badly. Hopefully they give Loperfido a look at 1B tonight but I’m guessing Espada won’t.
If they are serious about expecting to compete this is a necessary test. Unlike most who keep harping on must win games vs the dregs of the league, I think winning vs the teams above them in the standings is more important. Winning guarantees moving up in either the WC or division race, and those are the teams they must beat if they do make the postseason. They must win 1 or else Brown might as well start selling now. What's the point of making the postseason only to get swept? 1 win and 2 competitive losses that have positives will be OK. Of course the hope is this becomes a random unexplained baseball series where the Orioles fall flat and the Astros win 2 or even sweep.
