After struggling to score runs against the Yankees in New York this past weekend, the Orioles returned to Camden Yards on Monday night and acted as if they were the Murderers’ Row, pounding the Braves, 14-1. The 14 runs were a season high.
The victory snapped the Orioles’ five-game losing streak; they are now five games behind the Indians and Yankees for the final American League Wild Card spot.
“We had a rough series in New York, but we were able to leave it in the past. Nothing we can do about it right now. We just turned the page and [were] competitive,” shortstop José Iglesias said.
In fact, according to Stats by STATS, the Orioles are the first team in AL history to score one run or fewer in four straight games, then score 14-plus in their next game.
“I thought we did a nice job in getting in hitter’s counts. … We put some swings on some balls and [drove] them,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “I’m just really pleased with our at-bats. We scored a bunch of runs early. It’s easy on our pitching staff.”
The O’s had a 1-0 lead when they shellacked two Braves pitchers for nine runs in the third inning, hitting three homers. Right-hander Touki Toussaint was on the mound when DJ Stewart hit a three-run homer to give the Orioles a 4-0 lead. Ryan Mountcastle immediately followed with a shot over the center-field wall.
Right-hander Luke Jackson was on the mound when Cedric Mullins hit a two-run single and José Iglesias added a three-run homer.
“Tonight the team showed great energy all around, and we got the 'W,'” Iglesias said.
Orioles right-hander Jorge López took advantage of the run support by pitching seven solid innings and allowing just one run, on a home run by Freddie Freeman in the sixth inning. It was the longest start by an O's pitcher this year.
López began the game by retiring the first eight hitters he faced, and he ended up allowing five hits. López was successful because his entire arsenal -- sinker, two-seam fastball, curveball and changeup -- was working.
“We pound the zone. It’s really tough when you get a big lead like that. Even with the lead, I kept throwing the sinker for a strike and tried to keep the tempo as good as I could,” López said. “The guys made really good plays. They had my back. It was really fun to watch. We had a little of everything.”
Because the Orioles were short in the bullpen on Monday, they needed López to go deep.
“He did a nice job pitching with a lead. I thought his two-seamer was really good tonight,” Hyde said. “I thought he had one tough inning where he lost command a little bit, but he did a nice job of bouncing back. He gave us a few innings after that. He got his composure and pounded the strike zone with his two-seamer. Pitching with a lead is not as easy as it looks. He competed well and got ahead of hitters.”