Baltimore Orioles fans finally have a reason to cheer for the first time in recent weeks.
Baltimore Orioles’ Michael Bourn, right, beats a throw to New York Yankees first baseman Mark Teixeira for a single in the seventh inning of a baseball game in Baltimore, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Orioles opened the month of September with two straight wins over the New York Yankees, an 8-0 victory on Sept. 2 and a 2-0 win on Sept. 3. The back-to-back victories gave Baltimore its first series win against an A.L. East rival since July—they had lost five straight series against AL East foes. The pair of wins also allowed the O’s to gain ground in the race for the division lead. Baltimore now trails the Toronto Blue Jays and Boston Red Sox by just two games for the AL East lead. The Orioles hold a 74-61 record, while Boston and Toronto both sit at 76-59.
Surprisingly, Baltimore won both games with outstanding pitching. Dylan Bundy got the start for the O’s on in the series opener and surrendered just two hits over six innings of work. Kevin Gausman had an excellent start on Sept. 3, giving up just two hits with eight strikeouts in six innings.
Baltimore Orioles’ Chris Davis, left, singles in front of New York Yankees catcher Brian McCann, center, and home plate umpire Paul Emmel in the fourth inning of a baseball game in Baltimore, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016. Baltimore’s Mark Trumbo scored on a fielding error by Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge on the play. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
The Orioles offense was on fire in the opener, as Mark Trumbo hit his 41st home run while Manny Machado and Chris Davis each cracked their 33rd homer of the season, but that wasn’t the case in the second game of the series. Baltimore needed its pitchers to show up and win, and that’s exactly what they did. Baltimore fans need to see more of this as the final month of regular season play continues.
