*FAN SUBMISSION by Bennett Rhodes.*
Courtesy: Rant Sports
The Baltimore Orioles found themselves only two games above .500 and out of a playoff spot entering Monday’s nine game road trip. However, with the dominating win over the Oakland Athletics in their series opener, now is the perfect time for the Birds to jump ahead in the playoff race. Taking on the A’s to start their west coast swing is a chance to rack up some wins against one of the worst teams in the league.
Although the A’s have troubled the O’s in the past, the offense has just not sparked this year for Bob Melvin’s team. If the Baltimore Orioles can continue to jump on the A’s, they keep in the wild card race against teams like the Blue Jays, Twins, and Angels. The O’s should be able to pitch effectively against an Oakland team that cannot produce runs (as seen in game one by Tyler Wilson), but it won’t be simple considering Oakland’s pitching actually hasn’t been that bad.
The O’s will then find themselves in Los Angeles to take of the Angels, a team who sit at 56-49. Even though the Angels are in the first wild card spot, they struggled as of late losing 6 in row and 9 of their last 10. A series win against them could close the gap into that first wild card spot (and possible home wild card game).
However, this won’t be a walk in the park, the Los Angeles Angels have a dynamic duo in Albert Pujols and Mike Trout, who sit atop of the AL in home runs (30 and 32 respectively). Even with all that power, the Birds can still match them as Chris Davis and Adam Jones begin to heat back up. While the Baltimore Orioles pitching staff has been turning the corner, as Chris Tillman and Wei Yin Chen have been quite successful as of late.
To finish their road trip, the O’s will finish the west coast trip against the Seattle Mariners; a team who similarly to the A’s, has not live up to expectations. The once preseason favorite by many pundits to make the playoffs is not sitting at the bottom of the AL. The Mariners do have some big bats in the order, they just can’t get it done on the mound, with their starters (except Felix Hernandez) struggling to produce quality starts. If the Orioles can hold off the bats of guys like Nelson Cruz, a star on last year’s Orioles, then they should be able to produce enough runs to walk away with a possible sweep.
To add to the wild card race excitement, the Minnesota Twins find themselves also slumping. This will allow not only the Baltimore Orioles, but also a revamped the Toronto Blue Jays to make runs in the coming weeks. This road trip is crucial in the Baltimore Orioles run down the stretch and don’t be surprised if they capitalize on all three team’s weaknesses and come back home with a strangle hold on a wild card spot.
