At the beginning of the season, the pitching staff for the Orioles couldn’t get out of its way giving up four or more runs 11 times in the first 15 games which resulted in an 8-7 record. During the current 6 game-winning streak Oriole pitchers have given up four runs on one occasion, one run or less five times, and had two shutouts.
A big factor in the pitching staff’s stability and ability to keep the team in games has been command. Oriole pitchers entering Sunday have walked the third-fewest amount of batters in the MLB with 54. Only San Francisco and Minnesota have issued fewer free passes. Grayson Rodriguez was dominant in this outing and managed to avoid the early game struggles which have plagued him in his previous starts. Rodriguez would pitch five shutout innings to keep the Orioles in the game despite the offense not getting their first hit until the 7th inning.
Boston comes to town Monday night, a team that the Orioles began the season with and dropped two out of three to while surrendering 27 runs. Boston will be a test for this young Orioles team but an opportunity for the Orioles to prove they can win games against AL East teams. Baltimore is 2-4 to begin the season against the AL East.
