BALTIMORE — The Orioles are playing their worst baseball leading into one of the most important series of the season.
While there have been gaffes in the field, their bats are the bigger problem. The O’s have been shut out in two straight games. They have been held scoreless in 24 consecutive innings and scored two total runs in their latest three-game series against the Cubs, being outscored 21-2. They were swept at home for the first time in nearly three years.
Something has to change with a massive series beginning on Friday night. The Yankees come to town for the final three games before the all-star break. Baltimore leads New York by two games for first place in the A.L. East heading into the series.
“It seems like every team goes through this at some point,” said shortstop Gunnar Henderson about his team’s recent struggles. “Just got to continue to go out there and play hard. Baseball is a weird game. You can do this and then you can reel off six, seven, eight wins in a row.”
“That’s just baseball. You are going to go through some highs and some lows. Just keep doing your thing, stay to your routine and trust it and just got to go out there and play hard every day,” added first baseman Ryan Mountcastle.
“We kind of got to get back to what made us good in the first half. That was pitching really well, playing really good defense and taking good at-bats. We have kind of been hit and miss for the last couple weeks and hopefully we can end the first half strong,” said manager Brandon Hyde.
The Birds’ bats will be up against it again on Friday. The Yankees send reigning American League Cy Young Award-winner Gerritt Cole to the mound. The O’s counter with rookie Cade Povich at 7:05 p.m.
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