V332 Series Wrap-Up - What a Difference a Series Makes

I type this as I listen to the delicious Yankee Stadium boos following Chris Davis's sac fly in the top of the ninth, but more on that game later. First lets set the stage with a discussion of the first two games of the series. 

The deck was stacked against the Orioles in game one.  It's tough to beat any team in their home opener. Too much energy. The offense showed signs of breaking out, but was still struggling to adjust to Hardy being out of the lineup (see prior entry). Jimenez provided an improved performance, but needs to get that pitch count down.

Game two was beautiful. All the empty seats were nice to see. The O's pummeled New York 14-5. Everyone contributed. Fantastic performances by Young and Flaherty, who both needed it. Wieters showed us with a 100 mega-ton circus-bomb that Chris Davis isn't the only bird who knows the sound a baseball makes when it dies. Chen struggled mightily again, but the Orioles would not let the Yankees off the mat.

All that set the stage for game three's matchup with the Yankees new $175 million import.

Turn thee Tanaka...

Look upon thy death!

Schoop delivered a three-run shot that would have made Earl proud and allowed the Orioles to get into a close game late...where the better team usually prevails and it did here. A clutch double by Flash and some manufactured runs took the series for the O's (they never took one in New York last year) and achieved a 3-3 record on the road trip, which we would take every time at the Tigers and Yankees. Matusz gets a well-deserved victory for bailing the team out of trouble in the 8th.

What I liked: (1) I'll take 2 of three against the Yankees any way we can get it; (2) Delmon Young 6-11 in two games killed New York; (3) Wieters keeps hitting going 4-11 with 4 RBI and a homer in the series; (4) gutsy bounce back quality start from Gonzo despite not having his best stuff; (5) Schoop coming into his own.

What concerns me: I'm finally ready to throw something out here. Three series in, the starters are not pitching enough innings. Jimenez, Chen, and Gonzo left 11.1 innings for the bullpen to absorb in this series.  That's too many if it continues. I'm not a fan of the "quality start" as a stat, but it's worth noting that the Orioles have only two through nine games.