BALTIMORE, Maryland September 16, 2014 - The Orioles, to no one's surprise, have clinched the American League Eastern Division Championship, their first since 1997. Breaking on top in the first inning in Baltimore, the Orioles pummeled second place Toronto, 8-2, behind the determined pitching of Ubaldo Jimenez, and the homerun power of Steve Pearce and Jimmy Paredes. Pearce belted his 18th homerun of the season - a three-run blast - in the first inning after the Blue Jays had pushed across a single run in the top of the first to take a brief, 1-0 lead. After Toronto pulled back to within 3-2 in their half of the second inning, Paredes led off the bottom of the second with his second round tripper since joining Baltimore two weeks ago. The score remained 4-2 in favor of Baltimore until the bottom of the seventh, when Alejandro De Aza smashed a bases-loaded triple to put the Orioles ahead, 7-2. Jimenez, whom Baltimore acquired in the off-season for more money than it had ever paid to a free agent, struggled throughout the season, but given a start last night, he battled ferociously through five innings, and, even though he walked four and gave up two hits while throwing 97 pitches, he earned the win. He is now 5-9.
After the game the team celebrated with unrestrained joy on the field. When some of the players retreated to the clubhouse, where champagne and other adult beverages were on ice, the crowd, many of whom remained in their seats, chanted for them to return. Many of them did. Adam Jones, the All Star centerfielder whose resurrected batting style coincided with the Orioles' midseason surge into first place, ran around the warning track that surrounds the field, giving high-fives and throwing celebratory pies into the faces of willing fans. All season long Jones had put cream pies in the faces of game heroes as they were interviewed on local TV. Last night, fans called for their own pies and Jones obliged. Other players pulled their young children onto the field to share in the celebrations. Buck Showalter, the Oriole manager, and Dan Duquette, the general manager, both filtered through the on-field crowd, stopping to congratulate this player and that team executive.
For 14 of the 17 years that separate the last division title and this one, the Orioles languished in last place with woeful records. The team was often out of the title race by Memorial Day, and some years earlier than that. Team owner Peter Angelos, a Baltimore attorney, was charged by fans and media figures alike with interfering with the running of the team, to the team's detriment. To counter those charges, Angelos brought Showalter and Duquette to Baltimore and reportedly promised, as part of the agreement with Duquette, to stay away from team operations. Whatever the nature of their agreement, the fact is that Duquette has moved swiftly when situations warranted, something prior general managers could not do. The result has been a total restructuring of the Oriole organization, from top to bottom. The Orioles make more roster moves than almost any other team, sometimes placing regular players on the minor league rosters so that a certain player from the minors would be available for a given game. The turnaround came in 2012 when the Orioles ended 14 straight losing seasons and reached the American League playoffs. After defeating Texas in the new one-game Wild Card Playoff, they took on the Eastern Division Champion Yankees in an epic five-game series, finally won by the Yanks in Game 5 after they repelled two dramatic rallies. That game included a hotly disputed umpire's call on an apparent homerun by Baltimore's Nate McClouth in the sixth inning that would have cut the Yank's narrow two-run lead in half. The umps ruled McClouth's blast was foul, even though fans at Yankee Stadium admitted to TV reporters that the ball glanced off the foul pole. Then, last year, the Orioles narrowly missed the playoffs, but produced a second-straight winning season.
Now, in 2014, a quietly determined core of players battled through an up and down first half of the season that saw them 6 and one-half games behind the division leader nearing the middle of June. They have also overcome two season-ending injuries to key players who were All Stars in 2013 - Catcher Matt Wieters and Third Baseman Manny Machado - and a suspension meted out to First Baseman - Third Baseman Chris Davis that makes him inactive for the final 17 games of the regular season and up to 8 playoff games. Davis led all of baseball in homeruns and RBIs in 2013, and he had hit 26 homers and knocked in 72 runs this season before the early September suspension for having Aderall, an amphetimine used by persons suffering from Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Though Davis has been diagnosed with this condition and has taken the drug legally in the past, he did not have a prescription when tested randomly in early September. It was the second time he has been found in violation of the MLB Drug Policy, meaning that he was subject to a suspension.
Despite these setbacks - and losing three All Stars in one season is a staggering set back, to say the least - the Orioles have continued to win, with other players stepping in for those unable to play, and performing so well that the All Stars were hardly missed. When Wieters went down with a throwing arm injury in late April, the Orioles recalled promising young catcher Caleb Joseph and made him the everyday catcher. He has responded with nine homeruns and a defensive performance that has made the loss of Wieters, one of the best defensive catchers in all of baseball, a loss that the team has not felt nearly as much as many feared. When Machado went down, Showalter juggled players depending on their statistics against the pitcher the Orioles were facing that night. At first he moved Davis to third and put Steve Pearce at first. Davis proved an excellant choice because his overall athleticism enabled him to play third base in a competent and professional manner. It also seemed to help his hitting. Davis had hit .286 last season while smashing 53 homers and knocking in a staggering 138 runs. This year he struggled often and his average had plummeted to under .200. He was still hitting with power when he made contact, as the 26 homeruns indicate. But he had struck out an alarming 173 times in 127 games, and seemed unable to lay off breaking pitches that dove away from him into the dirt. Duquette combed the waiver wires and talked endlessly to other GMs, finally making a trade with the defending World Champion Red Sox for infielder Kelly Johnson. The team also recalled Jimmy Paredes - whom they acquired from Houston - and both Johnson and Paredes have played several games at third base since joining the team. Another acquisition, De Aza, has made a huge impact in his short time with the team. In 31 at bats over ten games, Paredes is hitting .419 with two homers and 7 RBIs. De Aza, who came over from the White Sox at the end of August, has regained the form that saw him hit 17 homers and knock in 62 runs for Chicago in 153 games last season. For the Birds, he has 3 triples, 2 home runs and 9 RBIs in 49 at bats over 12 games, and will apparently start against right handed pitchers in the playoffs. Johnson's avergae doesn't compare to Paredes and De Aza - it is under .200 - but he smacked a walkoff double in the last week in a key game against the Yankees.
The real story of the Orioles success is the pitching staff. When the Orioles struggled in the early season the starting pitching was inconsistent. Even No. 1 starter Chris Tillman wasn't on his game, and Jimenez, installed at the start of the season as the No. 2 starter, was having even less success. But as the weather warmed, the starting pitching stepped up their collective game, and the starting rotation has now emerged as one of the best in baseball. Chris Tillman is 12-5 with a 3.29 ERA while striking out 139 hitters in 194 and one-third innings. No. 2 starter Wei-Yin Chen is an astounding 16-4 with a 3.58 ERA in 173 and two-thirds innings. The No. 3 starter is the dependable Bud Norris. He is 13-8 with a 3.74 ERA in 150 and two-thirds innings. The No. 4 Starter is Miguel Gonzalez. Hit hard at times early in the season, he, like many of the starters, has finished very strong. Overall, Gonzalez is 9-8 with a 3.28 ERA in 148 and one-third innings. In his last ten starts, covering 67 and one-third innings his ERA is 2.13 and he has compiled a 5-3 record. The fifth starter is one of the brightest stars in the Oriole camp, Kevin Gausmann. He started the season in Norfolk and was up and down over the early part of the season. At one point Showalter said publicly that if Gausman wanted to be a major league pitcher he could be a major league pitcher. He apparently wants to be a major league pitcher. Gausman, a No. 1 Draft Pick by the Orioles out of Louisiana State University, is 7-7 overall with a 3.57 ERA. He consistently throws in the mid and upper nineties, and his control has been outstanding. When five starters take the hill, day after day, and pitch in a way that always gives their team a chance to win, it gives their team a growing confidence. When the starters give way, it is to one of the best bullpens in all of baseball. Zach Britton unexpectedly emerged as the Oriole's closer in May after Tommy Hunter was injured. He has recorded 35 saves in 39 games, and his ERA over 72 and one-third innings - including the opening months when he wasn't a closer - is a miniscule 1.74. Andrew Miller has emerged as the prime set-up man, and he has been equally phenomanal. Coming over from the Defending World Champion Red Sox in August, he has pitched to a 1.04 ERA over 17 and one-third innings, and has struck out some 30 hitters. That is almost two strike outs per inning. Darren O'Day pitches in the same stratosphere as Miller and Britton. He is 5-1 with a 1.53 ERA over 64 and one-third innings. The side-armed O'Day has struck out 70. The fourth late-inning arm in the bullpen is Tommy Hunter. He started the season as the closer and has racked up 11 saves. Overall he has pitched 58 innings in 56 games, striking out 43 and walking only 12. He has won 3 and lost 2. Like many of the Orioles' pitchers, he has been incredible of late. Over his last ten outings he is 1-0 with a 1.04 ERA.
The Orioles will open their playoff quest on either October 2 or 3. They are currently 91-60, and stand 13 and one-half games ahead of the Blue Jays and 14 and one-half ahead of the Yankees. They still have 11 games left to play, beginning tonight when they host the Blue Jays in the final game of the three-game series.
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