To Brandon Hyde, the beginning of a baseball season affords no clear benchmark that calcifies how good a given workforce is. Ideally, the fifth-year Orioles supervisor mentioned, a workforce improves because the yr goes on.
That would bode effectively for what his 2023 squad can accomplish.
Although Tuesday night time’s 8-6 loss to the Boston Red Sox ended Baltimore’s seven-game successful streak, the run earlier than it and the rally inside it confirmed what sort of workforce these Orioles might be. Plenty of time stays for them to show whether or not their 15-8 begin is actually a mirrored image of how good they’re.
“I had no idea what kind of club we were going to be at this time last year. I still don’t know this year,” Hyde mentioned over the weekend. “I’m excited. I’m pleased with our begin. I believe we’ve performed pretty effectively. Would love simply to get higher over the course of the yr like we did final yr. That’s actually, actually vital to me, that we enhance, that we simply don’t get off to an excellent begin after which keep there, however we enhance over the course of the season.
“For me, that’s what the really good teams do.”
Last yr, a 10-game successful streak in July surprisingly propelled the Orioles into playoff competition, the place they stayed till the ultimate week of the yr. But none of these victories got here towards groups that reached the postseason, with every of the 4 groups they beat — the Minnesota Twins, Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and Chicago Cubs — ending with shedding information.
The similar may show true of this yr’s streak. Before ending it, the Red Sox have been 12-12, and the opposite three groups the Orioles beat previously week-plus — the Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals and Detroit Tigers — have been all not less than 5 video games below .500 coming into Tuesday. Throw in taking three of 4 from the hapless Oakland Athletics earlier than the streak, and the Orioles have accomplished their half by beating up on unhealthy groups.
“You definitely can’t take teams lightly, and anybody can beat anybody on any single day,” Hyde mentioned. “I think when you look at your schedule, you can forecast, ‘Well, this could be a tough stretch right here. These teams are playing really well.’ But if you look at teams like the Baltimore Orioles of last year, teams weren’t expecting us in the second half to be a tough series, and there’s gonna be teams like that again this year.”
Every collection within the American League East figures to be a problem, and that’s been the case thus far. Boston’s victory Tuesday means each workforce within the division as soon as once more has a successful report. The discount in divisional video games below Major League Baseball’s new scheduling format — with 52 such matchups moderately than 76 — means that development can proceed, with fewer alternatives for them to beat one another.
The Orioles’ successful streak moved them to second within the division, however they gained simply half a sport on the Tampa Bay Rays (20-4), who personal the perfect report within the majors. Entering Tuesday, every of the AL’s three wild-card groups would have come out of the East, although greater than 5 months separate these standings from being finalized.
“The teams in our division are built-to-win teams that [have] huge payrolls, starting pitching, back-end relievers that make a lot of money and superstar middle-of-the-orders, for the most part, and that’s why it’s tough,” Hyde mentioned. “But there’s other major league teams that are really good also, and you’re not going to take anybody lightly ever, and you honestly just try to win every game you possibly can.”
What occurs after the streak will much more closely decide the result of Baltimore’s season than what occurred throughout it. Hyde famous that accidents, the commerce deadline and different baseball happenings imply “teams could look totally different in the second half than they do in the first half.” But that doesn’t imply these seven video games didn’t showcase their capabilities.
A rotation that seemingly didn’t get sufficient upgrades within the offseason had a stretch during which it allowed one run over 38 innings. The bullpen appears to be on observe for a repeat of final season, with sudden breakouts and nasty stuff. An offense that was dominant early slowed its tempo however continued to indicate improved plate self-discipline and the power to return by way of when wanted. Even in Tuesday’s loss, Baltimore’s hitters quickly put collectively a five-run ninth, even when it wasn’t sufficient to beat an early deficit.
“The talent here is incredible,” mentioned veteran catcher James McCann, one of many membership’s handful of offseason additions. “The chemistry from the young guys that have been together is very apparent from the moment you walk in the clubhouse. And now, they’re learning how to win and win together.”
The streak confirmed these classes are taking maintain. With it over, the Orioles might want to carry them by way of the remainder of the season to get the place they wish to go.
Red Sox at Orioles
Wednesday, 1:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com