Joy R. Absalon- USA Today Sports
The starting pitching is a problem once again. The bullpen has gotten worse as well. Unless the Baltimore Orioles can find a trade to stabilize the starting pitching, they may just have to live with the situation.
The Orioles lost 5-2 on Monday night against the Cleveland Indians in a game they were controlling most of the way. O’s starting pitcher Zach Britton started off really well in the first five innings, and once again the pitching showed why they have been last in the majors in games where starter reaches eight innings, which has happened just eight times.
“Early in the game I was able to make pitches with guys on base, executing a little bit better,” Britton noted via espn.com. “I think I was trying to do too much after that leadoff double and things kind of escalated right there.”
The offense for the Orioles has cooled off since the Toronto Blue Jays series over the weekend. There is hope that by Friday second baseman Brian Roberts will return to the roster from his stint in the minors due to the hamstring injury he suffered in early April, and provide a spark.
With the teams in the AL East not running away with things, this is not a good time for the Orioles to lose their composure. They are currently third in the division with a 42-35 record, and can easily slide to last place if things don’t change in the next week and a half.
Whatever they do, they better figure it out, and figure it out soon. The bullpen may be showing signs of fatigue with the starters not being able to hold their own weight. And as hot as Chris Davis has been, his home runs won’t carry the team night in and night out.
