| 16 September 2010
Of course, the lackluster record against the Jays was pre-Showalter.
On Wednesday, the Orioles took the three-game series and swept the Jays. In one of the shortest American League contests I've watched in a long time -- or at least in Baltimore -- Brad Bergesen pitched a masterful game, defeating Toronto, 3-1.
The sinker-baller only needed 115 minutes and 95 pitches to defeat the Jays. Jose Batista hit his major league leading 47th homer in the opening inning, but other than that, the Orioles prety dominated in all facts of the game - on the offensive front and also defensively.
Kyle Drabek - son of former pitcher Doug Drabek - made his major league debut on the evening. Drabek was decent, going six innings and giving up three runs, but had no chance at a win with Bergesen's effort.
As James stated in an earlier post this week, I am astonished how much the Orioles have improved since August. Aside from the players who returned from injury - the team is pretty much the same.
They are hitting in the clutch, look better on defense, but the key thing is that the pitching - starting and reief have improved greatly. I'm not sure how long this run is going to last, or if we are indeed seeing the real Orioles, but at least for the frist time in a long while, they are finishing out the season strong.
The Orioles are 58-88 and with 16 games to go, it does not look they will lose 100. Heck, if all goes well - who knows, they might even win 70.
Not that we should be happy with that, but it's a majoe improvement from the gloom-and-doom pre-Showalter.
Now, let's not get a false sense of security that these Orioles will go and contend in the American League East in 2011. I don't see that happening unless they buy out the free agent market.
They have a lot more work to do; however, the future looks a whole lot more promising. Now that some of Andy MacPhail's moves have worked out and with a strong manager - Showalter - at the helm, the future with the Orioles may soon resemble that of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Orioles are currently finishing up the season with the meat-grinding part of their schedule and so far, they are passing that test with flying colors.
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