Orioles Finally Win 4 In A Row And Complete Sweep Of Royals

If ever the Baltimore Orioles were going to complete a win streak of even four-straight games, Sunday was going to be the day with the lowly Royals still in town. And so it was.

The Orioles completed a sweep of the feckless Royals with an 8-2 victory at Camden Yards to end the proverbial first half of the season with four wins in a row, perhaps offering a flicker of hope to those so inclined but definitely the exception to the rule. Alas, the Royals are no longer on the schedule and the Orioles face one of the more daunting slates in MLB after the All Star Break, opening on the road – where they are 18-26, with 19 of their next 28 games away from Camden Yards and almost all against teams in the playoff hunt (19-28 vs winning teams).

But even this came at a price as Blaze Alexander, one of the premier hitters in all of baseball for over two months, suffered a fractured left hand getting hit by a pitch late late in the game, which will cause an extended absence. “Definitely a gut punch,” manager Craig Albernaz said, with huge void now at third base with Jordan Westburg out for the season and Coby Mayo a liability at that position.

The reality for these Orioles is that their 46-52 record is born of terrible fielding and bad base running and suspect situational hitting, and Alexander was one of few excelling at all of that for the most part. Otherwise, the Baseball Gods were shining down on them Sunday (mostly) as they tried to win four in a row for the eighth time this season. The five-run 6th inning told the story.

The game was tied at two, with Orioles starter Shane Baz laboring, when things started turning Baltimore’s way.

Alexander, the MLB leader in hitting since April 28, continued his ridiculous first half (he’s now batting over .300 for the season with an OPS over .800, second on the team) got it started with a walk. Royals right fielder Jac Caglianone lost a ball in the sun and Leody Taveras, who had a two-run blast to center earlier in the game (second-longest by an Oriole this season at 448 feet), drove in a run before things exploded.

“All you got in your mind is make sure you are on time there and get the ball in play,” Taveras told the MASN broadcast after the game about the clutch at bat.

Then pinch-hitter extraordinaire Jeremiah Jackson delivered again with a ground-rule double, reliver Matt Strahm balked a run in, Gunnar Henderson drove in a run with a check swing. It was 7-2 when the inning ended and then Samuel Basallo, the best power-hitting catcher in MLB history under the age of 22 (more than twice as many homers catching than anyone else), added a run in the 8th with a 404-foot blast that he didn’t even seem to catch all of.

It was that kind of day for The Birds. The kind of that has been in such short supply. Once again they couldn’t do much against a struggling starter, but pounded the Royals bullpen all weekend long, an equation that works agains the worst team in the AL.

Baz Tried To Battle

Baz threw 19 pitches in the first inning and struck his way out of a jam, but it was a sign of things to come. Things don’t always come easy for him and the Orioles need him to provide length moving forward. He needed 104 pitches and couldn’t finish five innings, as the Royals fouled off 34 pitches and stacked some 10-pitch at bats. But unlike many starts early this season, Baz avoided the longball.

Kansas City scored an unearned run that reached on Alexander’s throwing error and plated another one off Baz in the third. Anthony Nunes, Grant Wolfram, Yennier Cano, Rico Garcia and Andrew Kittredge combined for 41/3 of scoreless relief, getting in work before the extended break.