John Means isn’t on the sector to expertise this, irrespective of how a lot he’d prefer to be, however the injured Orioles left-hander can really feel the vitality within the clubhouse as their profitable streak reached 9 straight and Baltimore’s report rose to .500 on Tuesday.
It’s so completely different than the primary three seasons Means spent with the Orioles. In 2019, when Means made his main league debut, he felt the burden that comes with the information that the group was firstly of a rebuild, with losses being an expectation — irrespective of how undesirable they could’ve been.
“We didn’t go out there to lose, but that was the aura around the team,” Means mentioned. And he’s proper, as Baltimore racked up 108 losses.
But now?
“I think the mentality has changed,” Means mentioned.
With a 4-2 win at Wrigley Field on Tuesday, Baltimore improved to 44-44 to achieve the .500 mark this late into the season for the primary time since 2017. And with right-hander Jordan Lyles grinding by way of seven innings, the Orioles’ profitable streak is longer than any they’ve had since 1999, when the membership received 13 consecutive video games that September.
Over the years, when Baltimore rattled off a couple of wins, the clubhouse had a unique vibe than it does now.
“It was like, ‘Look at us. Wow, we just did that,’” Means recalled.
The shock and shock that accompanied these transient streaks have departed, leaving solely a perception that these wins — regardless of a lot of them being shut video games — aren’t a fluke.
“Reaching .500 at this point of the season obviously is a feat that I think, not us as players, but I think a lot of people in the baseball industry did not expect,” right-hander Tyler Wells mentioned. “We’ve exceeded their expectations. But I actually suppose that the expectations inside the clubhouse and for ourselves is we are able to very a lot be a .500 workforce or higher.
“So, I think right now it does mean a lot. It’s a pleasant surprise for a lot of people. But for us, I don’t think we’re so much focused on that right now. We’re just focusing on trying to continue the streak, keep up the confidence, hold each other accountable, and just continue to attack guys and attack teams.”
But reaching .500 isn’t the top objective for the Orioles. And that concept hangs behind the minds of every participant within the clubhouse. It’s a benchmark, having as many wins as losses this deep into the season after a number of years of much more lopsided information.
It isn’t the end line, nevertheless, they usually understand it.
“The end goal is not to be .500,” mentioned first baseman Trey Mancini, the longest-tenured Oriole. “The organization has much bigger aspirations down the road. I think everybody’s focused on that. We’re enjoying every day, but we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves.”
Still, it doesn’t take away from the second Tuesday, when Orioles followers loudly chanted “Let’s go O’s” with two outs within the ninth inning at Wrigley Field.
Going into the season, supervisor Brandon Hyde didn’t know precisely what to anticipate from this workforce, significantly from his pitching employees. First baseman Ryan Mountcastle echoed that thought, admitting the bevy of latest arms out of the bullpen have been largely unknown commodities.
They’ve blossomed into spectacular back-end arms, with nearer Jorge López incomes an All-Star nomination Sunday and his seventeenth save of the season Tuesday. Félix Bautista, whom Hyde didn’t know whether or not he may throw strikes constantly, has used his 100-mph warmth to supply a 1.77 ERA. Cionel Pérez lowered his ERA to 0.93 together with his twelfth maintain of the season.
“I didn’t really know what to expect going into this year, but after the first month or so, you could see the potential we had,” Mountcastle mentioned. “Right now, it’s showing. In spring training, after the year before, you just want to be competitive, not getting blown out and stuff. That was sort of the goal there. And now we think we can beat every team.”
It’s simpler to give attention to a day-to-day method when a workforce is profitable, Mancini mentioned. In years previous, when losses have been compiled in droves — the Orioles misplaced 19 straight video games, probably the most in MLB since 2005, final August — there was an inclination to peek into the long run, desirous to skip forward to days similar to these.
The Orioles are nonetheless two video games out of the third wild-card playoff spot and in final place within the American League East. The New York Yankees are 17 1/2 video games forward within the standings.
But the Orioles are surging, taking part in their finest baseball in practically 5 years, once they have been 71-68 on Sept. 5, 2017, earlier than dropping 9 of their subsequent 10 video games and 12 of 14. A five-game dropping streak to finish that season was the ultimate straw to start the rebuild that, for the primary time, feels prefer it’s turning a legit nook in Baltimore.
“We may be last in the AL East, but they call it the AL beast for a reason,” Wells mentioned. “We can compete with any other team out there. I think right now we’re just kind of on the prowl, keeping our heads down, keeping ourselves focused and enjoying the time that we have with each other every day.”
ORIOLES@CUBS
Wednesday, 8:05 p.m.
TV: MASN
Radio: 97.9 FM, 101.5 FM, 1090 AM
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Source: www.bostonherald.com