It’s now been a week since the last time the Orioles lost a game.
What a difference a week makes. This time last Friday, the Orioles were on pace for a 56-win season as they continually lost games for all kinds of reasons on different days. The idea of any kind of prolonged winning streak seemed impossible to achieve for this team. Then, seemingly out of nowhere: Six straight wins, with the chance to extend that against a slumping Athletics team this weekend.
In today’s episode of the podcast, I’m delighted about the good things that are finally starting to happen, especially the ascent of Adley Rutschman from the depths when it comes to batting. And even though I know better than to indulge in the math, I tried to figure out where things stand for the Orioles to get to a place where, by the trade deadline, the idea of making a run seems to be doable:
Beat writers and others on social media seem to have settled on: Get the team to .500 by July 31, the trade deadline. Before the current winning streak, the Orioles would have had to go 35-18 to get to 54-54 after July 30’s game. That’s a 107-win pace pace over a full season. Basically impossible to imagine. However, banking the first six in a row out of of that stretch, now they’re down to needing to go 29-18 over the next 47. It’s still daunting, it’s more doable, but tough to imagine.
As I discuss going from there, making it happen surely involves this pitching improvement proving to be durable, and also involves Orioles players continuing to make their way back from the injured list and doing well. The early returns on the rehab assignments of Ramón Laureano, Gary Sánchez, and Jordan Westburg are encouraging on this front. And as far as keeping the good vibes going, it does help that the O’s are playing a massively slumping Athletics team this weekend. Or at least, it helps as long as the Orioles play well enough to avoid disappointment.
Episodes are released at midnight every Monday and Friday. Subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or your preferred podcasting platform to get them all.
Any topic or question you’d like me to tackle in the next episode? Let me know what’s on your mind in the comments below.