The Baltimore Orioles take two games out of the three-game series versus the Kansas City Royals highlighting some glaring issues. Jordan Westburg notched a career milestone by hitting his first-ever walk-off homerun in game one of the series giving the Orioles a 6-4 victory Monday night. In game three Wednesday night, the O’s started stale but woke the bats up when needed in the ninth leading to a walk-off single off the bat of James McCann, 4-3.
The young bird spreads his wings
Despite the loss on Tuesday night (4-1), Colton Cowser got his first start of the season and did not disappoint. Cowser tallied two hits with one being a double, scoring Westburg for the O’s only run of the game. Cowser has tallied three hits over six at-bats while playing great defense in the outfield throughout the series. With his stellar play this series, manager Brandon Hyde must consider improving his playing time.
Bullpen giving O’s chances
With some rocky starts for the Orioles’ starters, the bullpen swooped in and gave the O’s multiple chances by only allowing two earned runs over 11 innings pitched in the series. Newly acquired closer Craig Kimbrel would be the one lowlight in the O’s pen giving up a sac fly and blowing a save in game three of the series. It does pose a question could Yennier Cano see closing opportunities if Kimbrel struggles again?
Ready for Birdland
Down in the farm, the Norfolk Tides exploded for 26 runs in their win against the Charlotte Knights, 26-11. Looking at the box score it looks ripped straight out of MLB The Show. Heston Kjerstad went 5-7 with two home runs and an incredible 10 RBIs. Kjerstad was not the only one showing off the power, Kyle Stowers hit three home runs and tallied seven RBIs. While top prospect Jackson Holiday went 4-6 on the day with two doubles and two RBIs, Coby Mayo must be recognized for his 5-hit performance falling short of the cycle by missing a home run. Pressure must be on Mike Elias to let the kids play on the O’s roster with struggling players like Ramon Urias still being hitless in 13 at-bats.
On the road again
The Orioles will spend the weekend in Pittsburgh as they take on the Pirates in a three-game series. Flamethrower Grayson Rodriguez will be starting game one followed by Tyler Wells in game two, and Dean Kreamer in game three. The Pirates are currently 6-1 on the season after winning their three-game series against the Nationals. The O’s will be facing strikeout artist Jared Jones who struck out 10 batters in his first MLB appearance. The Orioles will look to use the walk-off wins as motivation to continue their winning ways in the 2024 season.
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