The Orioles have won eight of their last eleven games.
It wasn’t a big margin of victory, but in the Baltimore Orioles’ 4-2 road victory over the Boston Red Sox on Monday night, it was evident that the Orioles are refusing to keep their foot off the gas.
Baltimore has won eight of their 11 games, now sitting only three games under .500 for the first time since May 6. Monday’s win was similar to most in their recent hot stretch — the Orioles were efficient all-around as a squad.
Manager Craig Albernaz sees it. Elaborating on the Orioles’ recent stretch, he put it plain and simple as to what specifically has been clicking most.
"Everything. We're playing great team baseball right now. Running the bases well. Defense has been outstanding. Starting pitching has been great,” Albernaz said, according to Jacob Calvin Meyer of The Baltimore Sun. “Bullpen has been keeping us afloat, especially when we weren't playing our best. And offensively we're starting to hit our stride, just not being one dimensional.
The Orioles struggled badly against left-handed starting pitching to start the year, losing their first nine games against lefties. But since then, they have gone 7-4 against starting southpaws, including yesterday’s win against Boston’s Connelly Early.
One big improvement among the team is their overall approach at the plate. Baltimore recently held conversations about the subject, and have since seen success skyrocket in realizing the offensive situations at hand in the box.
Colton Cowser recently noted his mental adjustments have improved his game, which includes productive at-bats and situational hitting. At the same time, the team is able to do all at the plate, while not dismissing their power when needed and finding their spark offensively.
"We have the power, we have the thump, but now being able to play with small ball, getting the bunt, moving the runners over, running the bases as well, stealing bases,” Albernaz said after Monday’s win.
Pitching has even fed off of one another as the Orioles’ starters have recently been striding.
Shane Baz tossed seven innings of two-run ball against the Red Sox on Monday, continuing a stretch of five straight games in which an Orioles starter has completed six innings of work.
Camaraderie has boosted the squad all-around. Reliever Andrew Kittredge, who pitched a scoreless inning in relief on Monday, believes that to be the case.
"I don’t think anybody in this clubhouse ever really doubted that we could turn it around,” Kittredge said, according to The Baltimore Sun. “There’s a long way to go. We’ve still got a lot of baseball left, but definitely it feels like almost a 180 that we’ve kind of flipped there.”
