masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgIt is not hard to figure out how the Orioles have lost three straight games by a combined score of 23-5. Not when you see their starting pitching ERA in those three games is 12.27 and they have hit just 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position in those games.

As pointed out in my previous post, the O’s need a starter not named Zach Britton or Jeremy Guthrie to step up soon and tonight with Jake Arrieta on the mound in New York would be a good place to start. Britton and Guthrie have pitched…It is not hard to figure out how the Orioles have lost three straight games by a combined score of 23-5. Not when you see their starting pitching ERA in those three games is 12.27 and they have hit just 1-for-15 with runners in scoring position in those games.

As pointed out in my previous post, the O’s need a starter not named Zach Britton or Jeremy Guthrie to step up soon and tonight with Jake Arrieta on the mound in New York would be a good place to start. Britton and Guthrie have pitched to a combined ERA of 0.65 so far while the ERA of all the other starters is 7.46.

It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the Britton/Guthrie duo can’t keep up an 0.65 pace and that the others will improve on 7.46, a number would be good for an airplane or area code but not an ERA.

But back to the stat about hitting with RISP. Through a 6-1 start, the O’s were averaging nearly five runs a game and batting .429 with runners in scoring position. They were getting clutch hits all over the place. Of course, you can’t keep up that average either and they didn’t with just one such hit in losing the last three games. They have scored just five runs total in those three contest.

Here is the O’s RISP stat, game-by-game for 2011:
Game 1 versus Tampa Bay: 2-for-3 and won
Game 2 versus Tampa Bay: 1-for-4 and won
Game 3 versus Tampa Bay: 5-for-12 and won
Game 4 versus Detroit: 2-for-8 and won
Game 5 versus Detroit: 1-for-1 and lost
Game 6 versus Detroit: 5-for-10 and won
Game 7 versus Texas: 2-for-4 and won
Game 8 versus Texas: 0-for-3 and lost
Game 9 versus Texas: 0-for-5 and lost
Game 10 versus New York: 1-for-7 and lost

This just in: Clutch hitting and solid starting pitching lead to wins. The O’s need to get back to doing both.