Coming up against the division-leading New York Yankees, the Baltimore Orioles won the first two games of the three game series but were unable to complete the sweep on August 1, losing by the score of 12-3. Phil Hughes picked up his eleventh win of the year for the Yankees, while Zach Britton had his first loss.
Zach Britton
After pitching well against the Cleveland Indians on July 22, Zach Britton was shelled for his second straight start against the New York Yankees, going less than three innings while giving up seven runs on seven hits to go along with three strikeouts for the night. Britton could never really get ahead of any hitters in the game, only throwing six first pitch strikes to 18 total batters, and because of that he had to pitch in the zone more often, which led to the floodgates opening up early on. Britton has given up at least four earned runs in three out of his four start thus far, and just does not seem to me to be fully back yet coming off of surgery. The Orioles really needed him to step it up with the way their rotation has been over the past few weeks, but with Zach's descent it can only spell more trouble for Baltimore's chances at a possible playoff berth this year.
J.J. Hardy
On the brighter side of things for the Orioles, J.J. Hardy had a great game on August 1, going 3 for 4 with a home run and a double. His offense has been anemic for some time now (.228 average), but Hardy finally looks to be getting things turned around, hitting .333 over the past week with three multi-hit games. The Orioles really need to have their offense going on all cylinders to make up for the lackluster starting rotation of late, and Hardy plays an integral role in it. If Hardy can continue to improve along with some other players such as Mark Reynolds or Matt Weiters, I think Baltimore could certainly cause some trouble for any teams looking to make it into the playoffs.
Upcoming Game
The Baltimore Orioles will look to continue their momentum on August 3 as they start a new series against the Tampa Bay Rays, with Tommy Hunter taking the mound against Matt Moore. Hunter has been very inconsistent all year for the Orioles and actually had to pitch in the August 1 game against the Yankees for nearly an inning, so it will be interesting to see which Tommy Hunter we will get this upcoming Friday. Moore is coming off of a great start against the Los Angeles Angels and will certainly give the Orioles hitters all that they can handle, making Hunter's upcoming performance that much more important.
Ryan Kekoufski has been following the Baltimore Orioles since Cal Ripken Jr. broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive games streak, and still enjoys watching games at Camden Yards from time to time.
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