After losing three of four to the division rival New York Yankees, the Orioles returned home to face the Cleveland Indians. This would be the final time these teams match up in the regular season in 2016.
Game One: Orioles: 5, Indians: 1
Believe it or not, Friday night’s game was the first time Dylan Bundy got to start for the Orioles in Camden Yards. I did not think it would have taken until 2016 for that to happen but here we are.
Bundy pitched well in his limited innings appearance, going five innings allowing one run on five hits with five strikeouts and no walks. He was later relieved by Odrisamer Despaigne and Zach Britton, who combined for four shutout innings out of the bullpen.
As for the Orioles on the offensive side, Mark Trumbo got things started with a three run home run in the first inning. Adam Jones would tack on a run in the second with a sacrifice fly followed by a home run from Manny Machado in the third inning, giving the O’s five runs in the first three innings.
Game Two: Orioles: 5, Indians: 2
In a game that Kevin Gausman started, the Orioles actually scored runs. I know, it’s a miracle. Gausman, himself, pitched outstandingly well going seven innings allowing no runs on four hits with seven strikeouts and three walks.
The two runs for the Indians came in the ninth inning off of Brad Brach, who struggled a bit this series, thanks to a RBI double by Lonnie Chisenhall.
Mark Trumbo unleashed his 30th home run of the season in the first inning, making it 3-0 at the time. Pedro Alvarez later connected for his 12th on the season, making it 4-0, which was followed with a Jonathan Schoop RBI single.
Game Three: Orioles: 5, Indians: 3
Vance Worley made a good case for inserting himself into the starting rotation today with seven innings of solid work allowing two runs on five hits with three strikeouts and three walks.
With the score at 3-2 in the top of the eighth, Brad Brach allowed an RBI single by Mike Napoli to tie the game up after the O’s had lead since the 5th inning.
Darren O’Day made his way back off the disabled list and pitched an inning of work in the ninth to hold the tie to give the Orioles a chance to walk off in the bottom of the inning, which is exactly what happened.
Coming off the bench in a pinch hitting situation, Nolan Reimold launched a two run home run to give the Orioles the 5-3 win and the sweep over the Indians. The win also gave the Orioles the best record in the American League, for the time being.
The O’s pitching was very impressive this series, especially against a very good Indians team. The one weak spot was surprisingly Brad Brach, who allowed three earned runs in his two appearances over the weekend. Hopefully that is just a minor slump for him; although with O’Day fully healthy and back on the team, Brach could possibly take some lesser roles in case he is struggling for longer than expected. Time will always tell, obviously.
The Orioles will now welcome in the Colorado Rockies for a three game series. This is the first time the Rockies are visiting Camden Yards since 2013. The series will start off with Yovani Gallardo facing off against Jorge De La Rosa. Game two will feature Chris Tillman and Chad Bettis with Dylan Bundy and Jon Gray going in the series finale.
