It was only a couple of months ago that the rest of the baseball world couldn’t help but marvel at the combination of power and speed that was the Orioles’ starting lineup.
The O’s had two terrific base-stealers in Jorge Mateo and Cedric Mullins. They boasted a double-digit home run threat in almost every slot in the batting order, including a couple of young bombers – Gunnar Henderson and rookie Colton Cowser — with outstanding speed and defensive range.
It was an elite mix that spawned an exciting offensive chemistry and made life miserable for opposing pitchers, but it has been replaced with a midsummer malaise that has left the team struggling to play .500 ball since the All-Star break.
The power is still there, of course. Anthony Santander (3rd) and Henderson (6th) rank among the top home run hitters in the majors on a team that has hit more homers than any other, and the Orioles still rank third in the majors in runs scored (615) after leading the sport in that department for much of the first half.
The thing that’s been conspicuous by its absence recently is the great team speed that ignited that offensive magic, and it remains an open question whether the Orioles will be able to reconstitute it as they head down the stretch in a tight division race with the Yankees.
Manager Brandon Hyde concedes the point. He wants the Orioles to be more aggressive on the bases going forward, but a combination of factors – largely beyond his control – are making it difficult to force the action.
Mateo, of course, is out at least until late September after that freak elbow dislocation, and Mullins still is struggling to be a consistent presence on the bases, though he did steal second after getting hit by a pitch in the third inning Thursday night. Henderson and Cowser can steal bases, but the situational opportunities have been limited the past few weeks.
“It’s a little bit Mateo and Mullins … I think that’s definitely fair,’’ Hyde said before Thursday night’s game. “Those were our two primary base-stealers. Mullins not being on base as much. Mateo not being here. Mateo is one of the best base-stealers in the game and added so much of a speed factor for us. We also have young players that are still learning how to steal bases. Mateo just had the green light to go. But we do need to be more aggressive on the bases.”
Think about this for a minute. Mateo is a career.224 hitter with a .270 lifetime on-base percentage. How could he possibly have that much impact on this top-quality offense? But when he got on base with any kind of regularity, he was a run waiting to happen … and you usually didn’t have to wait very long.
There obviously is more to it than that, as Hyde went on to explain. Oft times, the game situation or opposing pitcher can keep a running game in check and that became more of a factor as teams steered more left-handed starters in the Orioles’ direction.
“Look at the last two nights we played [Tuesday and Wednesday],’’ Hyde said. “We had a lefty that was really quick to the plate to start the game. And then the righty that we were behind early was very quick to the plate also, so pretty much shut down the running game for us. We see a lot of left-handed relievers, which are also tough to run on. So we could definitely be better in that area, but I think the lack of Jorgie and our youth –the lack of experience – are the [main] reasons why.”