Orioles Will Continue Giants Losing Streak

Giants vs. Orioles, 6:35 ET

Giants vs. Orioles, 6:35 ET

We returned to the diamond yesterday and we took the only play we had as the Dodgers cruised to a 9-0 win over the Braves. It was nice to not have to sweat a winner yesterday. I can’t say they will all be this easy, but I can tell you that when they are easy, I really enjoy it and want to celebrate it. Now we head back to the baseball fields and look to build a winning streak before the teams stop for the season with the exception of those that make the playoffs. Tonight, I have a game circled between the Giants and the Orioles.

The Giants season is over. Technically they aren’t, but they are six games below .500 and they are on the verge of putting together a losing season if they lose four more games. How did they get to this point in the season? Well, a four-game losing streak, including being swept by the Padres in their past five games certainly hasn’t helped. They’ve been a streaky team most of the season, losing a few then winning a few. In the second half of the season they are 25-28. The start was pretty good with the Giants getting to three games over .500 on August 10th. Since that point, they are 11-20 in their last 31 games and have dropped to 10 games back in the race. Tonight they have as good of a chance as any team to win a game because they have Blake Snell on the mound. Snell has been outstanding since basically July. Over the last 68.1 innings, he has allowed a total of 11 earned runs. He did only go one inning against the Diamondbacks and threw 42 pitches in the game. It wasn’t due to injury, it was just too many pitches for the team to be comfortable letting him go back out to the mound. He went out in his next start and completed five innings against the Brewers, allowing four hits and one earned run. Snell has held Orioles hitters to 12-for-60 with three homers. 

May 22, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA;  San Francisco Giants starting pitcher Blake Snell (7) delivers a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Orioles are destined for the playoffs and as the season is winding down, it looks more and more like they are going to end up as a Wild Card winner instead of the AL East division winner. There is still a possibility they could get the AL East title, but they need to make a move quickly as they are three games back with just 12 games remaining. They do have three games against the Yankees remaining, so those could decide the division winner. I’m not sure it is a huge benefit for all teams to get a bye in the first round anyway, so it could be a good thing for an Orioles team that has struggled in the second half. They are two games below .500 in the second half of the season. Tonight they put Albert Suarez on the mound tonight. Suarez is 8-5 with a 3.39 ERA and a 1.29 WHIP. He put together a great August, going 32 innings and allowing just seven earned runs. September has been a bit of a mixed bag as he has allowed seven earned runs in 10.1 innings. Six of those runs came in 4.1 innings against the White Sox. He rebounded against the Red Sox in his last start, allowing just one earned run over six innings. Only one Giant hitter has ever faced Suarez. It was Matt Chapman and he is 0-for-1 with a strikeout and a walk.

The Giants are playing really bad baseball right now, but the Orioles aren’t exactly the team that they were in the first quarter or half of the season. Baltimore has lost three of their past four and San Francisco has lost four straight. The Orioles are still the better team and probably will take this game at even money. I’ll back the Orioles to win the game, and hope that Snell doesn’t go deep into this one. 
 

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