Orioles Remain Patient At The Plate, Win Second Straight

The Baltimore Orioles are on a wining streak.

How about that?

For the second straight night they strung together quality at bats with men on base and didn’t try to do too much. Three of the hitters at the top of the order continued to do what they’ve done best – Pete Alonso blasting a home runs, Taylor Ward getting on base and Adley Rutschman hitting doubles – and young starter Brandon Young shook off a poor first inning to shutdown Miami after that. The Orioles won, 7-4, and actually didn’t have to sweat this one out too much.

If this team is going to be more than middling the lineup is going to have to carry it. That’s where the biggest investments have been made in free-agent dollars and trades and draft capital, and after a horrible time in New York this group has started to rebound. Alonso gave them a quick 3-0 lead with a first-inning bomb (he now has three homes, six extra-base hits and seven driven in over the last six games), Ward, who looks like an absolute steal to this point walked three more times and scored three more times (he also scored thrive Tuesday and has a .436 OBP) and Rutschman drove in two with a double down the left field line from the left side to provide a 6-3 lead in the seventh (he sports a .923 OPS).

“Some nights you string hits together and some nights you don’t,” manager Craig Albernaz told reporters after the game, pointing out the approach of batters “not trying to do toto much,” and noting they also walked five times.

The O’s also got clutch at bats at the bottom of the order from centerfielder Leody Taveras, who has been a total revelation, and right fielder Dylan Beavers, and if they could get Gunnar Henderson going, perhaps they could get truly hot in the upcoming homestand, with tough competition coming to Baltimore in the A’s and Yankees.

Henderson struck out three more times, he continues to look frustrated and over-anxious, and just out of sorts. Henderson has struck out two times or more on 15 occasions already this season – swing-and-miss has been an organizational plague - and has done so in nine of his last 17 games.

Young Was Restless Early, Then Great

The O’s staff has made a habit of giving runs back all season, incapable of a shutdown inning, and Young couldn’t make Alonso’s early homer stand. Miami got to him for three runs in the bottom of the first, but battled and recalibrated. Coming off his last outing, in which the Astros shelled him , there was reason for concern this might take a turn for the worst.

But Young allowed only two more runners to reach back – a walk and harmless single – over the next five innings, taking the game to the seventh with the lead. With Opening Day starter Trevor Rogers due to come off the Injured List shortly, and this rotation in flux, it was important for Young to present himself well, and the way he recovered Wednesday did just that.

“Young did a great job of staying on the attack,” Albernaz said.

Young said of rebounding from his rough start: "I stayed mentally focused and made my pitches."

The bullpen also bounced back after getting whacked around pretty regularly the last week or so. Anthony Nunez, a Miami native, surrendered back-to-back homers on Tuesday but provided four pivotal outs Wednesday, striking out former Oriole Connor Norby with two outs a runner on in the seventh with the lead at 6-4, and cruising through the eighth.

Bird Seed

This was a very clean game by Orioles standards but did feature a bizarre double play with Rutschman getting caught off second base with no one else on off a comebacker to the pitcher … The O’s can go for the sweep Thursday afternoon with young lefty Cade Povich getting the start. Top Marlins prospect Max Meyer starts for Miami in what might be his breakthrough season, with a 2.68 ERA and 1.03 WHIP thus far … Alonso now has 16 career home runs andn30 extra-base hits in 50 games in this ballpark, and he clearly loves hitting in this dome. “Love the batter’s eye, love the batter’s box,” Alonso said of hitting in this park during a post-game interview on MASN …

Blaze Alexander was again quite useful at the plate tonight, including a late triple to drive in a run. He’s been much better the last two series … Regular playing time remains elusive for slumping outfielder Colton Cowser … With young third-baseman Coby Mayo struggling at the plate, might be worth keeping an eye on Christian Encarnacion-Strand, 26, in AAA. The former top 100 prospect with the Reds has been mashing the ball and playing third base regularly for Norfolk. With Jordan Westburg (elbow) possibly lost for the season, third base is going to be under scrutiny on this roster

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