The Orioles entered tonight with a 4-3 record, over half of their games decided by one or two runs. Friday night’s home opener was one such nailbiter, an early 4-0 Orioles advantage dwindling to a narrow 7-6 lead by the ninth inning, the tying run on third before Félix Bautista managed to shut the door.
There are two ways for a baseball team to avoid such stress-inducing drama. Option 1: win big. Option 2 is to pitch like crap, not hit, and lose.
On Saturday night, the Orioles inclined toward Option 2, combining a flat approach at the plate with a not-so-winning-recipe on pitching that’s becoming worryingly familiar despite the newness of the season: shaky work by the starter + big mistakes from the middle relief.