The Orioles can clinch the division by taking two of the three games from Toronto, so you can expect they'll be trying to do exactly that.
You have to like the way the Orioles respond to adversity by just flicking it from their shoulder, like so much dust. Matt Wieters, already a two-time All-Star and two-time Gold Glove winner
behind the plate, was finally swinging the bat in the manner that had
long been expected (remember, he tore through the minors in one year,
hitting .355/.454/.600) when his season ended in May. Manny Machado,
who had hit .283/.314/.432 in his first full season while winning a Gold
Glove and making the All-Star team - all this at age 20, moreover -
didn't start his season until May coming off knee surgery, and he was
knocked out for the season in early August. Meanwhile Chris Davis, the
heart of their offense, saw his BAVG plummet below the Mendoza Line
while hitting literally half as many HRs as the year before. And then his season was ended by a
suspension. And of course, their big free agent signing, Ubaldo Jimenez, was a) lousy, and b) injured.
None of this seemed to matter. Davis had been playing mostly 3B since the Machado injury, with Steve Pearce at first base. Pearce was caught in a numbers crunch early on, was DFA'd and released by the Orioles in April. He was claimed on waivers by the Blue Jays, but he chose free agency instead and signed right back with the Orioles (who suddenly needed him, after Davis got hurt.) That worked out well. Over seven seasons, with four different organizations, Pearce had hit
.238/.318.377; for the 2014 Orioles, he's been bashing away at a
.290/.365/.532 clip. Chris Who? Third base is now being covered by a Kelly Johnson-Jimmy Paredes platoon, which will certainly field the position better than Davis, and have a decent chance of hitting better than .196 as well.
Pitchers! Tonight's matchup looks like a honey on paper. That usually means a 13-11 game, of course. And tomorrow, Jimenez makes his first start since August 16. So maybe the Orioles are easing up on the throttle a little bit.
Stroman (10-5, 3.61) vs Chen (15-4, 3.59)
Hutchison (10-11, 4.36) vs Jimenez (4-9, 4.96)
Happ (9-10, 4.28) vs Norris (13-8, 3.74)
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