For the second time in just over five weeks, the Orioles have been swept on the road by a team that, going into the series, they figured to win two out of three against. Instead, the Orioles got swept in St. Louis from May 20-22 and now this most recent ill-fated three-game sweep against a previously under- performing Houston Astros team.
So, are we suddenly going to be questioning just how good a team can be that could lose three straight twice in five and a half weeks? Is it again time for panic in Birdland?
Let me give you my take: The Orioles went into the Bronx sky-high and determined to meet the moment and show the Yankees a thing or two. And after losing the first game, the Orioles did in fact show the Yankees more than a little something in winning those last two, including a 17-5 win against the best pitcher in the AL up to that game, Luis Gil.
It’s not uncommon for a young team to not quite be prepared for the day(s) after a big emotional series. I think collectively they went into Houston as flat as the proverbial pancake.
I expect the home-field advantage and a few really loud and big crowds will wake the Orioles up against a very, very good Cleveland Guardians team (their 49-26 record is actually a game better than the Orioles) in this three-game series.
Then the defending World Series champs come in for four games before the hellish month of June ends and the Birds get a day off.
One last bit of evidence that these two series sweeps aren’t any sort of proof positive that the Orioles are lacking something that makes them unable to go all the way? The 1983 Orioles, the city’s last world champions in baseball, twice lost seven games in a row, from May 20-26 and again from Aug. 6-12.
How do you think that team felt about themselves during those two losing streaks? Resilient teams are confident teams, and sometimes that confidence is because they have a lot of character and something in their DNA that sets them apart.
One way to make up for a couple long losing streaks is to have a well-timed hot streak, like the 1983 Orioles’ 29-12 race to the end of the season to finish 98-64.
Sure, there are practicalities and it’s more and more looking like Orioles GM Mike Elias will be compelled to look for pitching, both a starter and a reliever.
But, guess what? So will everybody else.
Without further ado, here are my MLB Power Rankings:
1. Philadelphia Phillies (51-26, No. 3 last week): The Phillies steadied themselves with two series victories at home vs. Arizona and San Diego and quietly extended LHP Christopher Sanchez to a four-year, $22.5 million dollar deal.
2. New York Yankees (52-28, No. 2): Yes, the Yankees have a plethora of injuries, but until this past week only one of them (Gerrit Cole) meant anything. Ironically, they got him back and lost two starting players from the everyday lineup — Giancarlo Stanton for about a month with a hamstring strain and Anthony Rizzo until mid-August with a fractured right arm. The club did pick up corner infielder J.D. Davis from the A’s.
3. Baltimore Orioles (49-28, No. 1): The Orioles’ misery month of June still has seven more days and seven more games before they get an off day to fly to Seattle July 1. The three-game sweep in Houston by the Astros was a bummer. My read: A young club had gotten sky-high to beat the Yankees and came in flat against a team that was due for better. But the club must win a lot of games that Corbin Burnes and Grayson Rodriguez start.
4. Cleveland Guardians (49-26, No. 4): Stephen Vogt’s Guardians have been exceeding expectations now for 75 games. They lead the AL Central by 7.5 games over the Twins and nine games over the Royals. This three-game series in a very steamy Camden Yards will give some real insight into how good they are.
5. Los Angeles Dodgers (48-31, No. 7): They didn’t exactly face a stiff level of competition, but despite two big injuries to Mookie Betts and Yoshinobu Yamamoto, they did take care of business at a 4-2 clip.
6. Milwaukee Brewers (45-33, No. 5): The Brewers lead the division by five games over the rampaging Cardinals. All five teams in the NL Central are currently within 8.5 games, and it’s hard to see it not tightening some more.
7. Seattle Mariners (45-35, No. 5): Mariners skipper Scott Servais has a team that never makes it easy. First, they went to Cleveland and lost the series, two games to one, and then they went to Miami and lost that series to a very banged-up Marlins pitching staff. And this long road trip still has three games in St. Petersburg against a Kevin Cash club with its back against the wall.
8. Atlanta Braves (43-32, No. 9): Just when we were ready to stick a fork in them, the Braves take two of three against the Rays, sweep the Tigers and drop by Yankee Stadium and win that series. Let’s carefully remove that fork.
9. Minnesota Twins (43-35, No. 8): I know it was against the A’s, but the past two days the Twins got a combined 17 innings from Bailey Ober (complete game) and Pablo Lopez (eight shutout innings) and allowed two earned runs with 24 strikeouts.
10. Boston Red Sox (42-36, No. 11): If pitching coach Andrew Bailey can get Brayan Bello turned around, the Sox could scare everybody. As it stands right now, nobody is having fun playing Alex Cora’s squad.
11. St. Louis Cardinals (39-37, No. 12)
12. Kansas City Royals (42-37, No. 10)
13. San Diego Padres (41-41, No. 13)
14. Houston Astros (38-40, No. 25)
15. Arizona Diamondbacks (38-40, No. 18)
16. Washington Nationals (38-39, No. 21)
17. Tampa Bay Rays (38-40, No. 22)
18. Texas Rangers (37-40, No. 23)
19. Chicago Cubs (37-41, No. 20)
20. Pittsburgh Pirates (37-40, No. 19)
21. Detroit Tigers (36-41, No. 15)
22. Cincinnati Reds (36-41, No. 14)
23. Toronto Blue Jays (35-42, No. 16)
24. New York Mets (37-39, No. 24)
25. San Francisco Giants (36-42, No. 17)
26. Los Angeles Angels (30-46, No. 26)
27. Oakland Athletics (29-51, No. 28)
28. Miami Marlins (27-50, No. 29)
29. Colorado Rockies (27-51, No. 27)
30. Chicago White Sox (21-58, No. 30)