BALTIMORE, Maryland, Thursday, September 15, 2016 - Throughout this tumultuous 2016 Major League Baseball Season, the Baltimore Orioles have played marvelously when at home in Camden Yards. No team in the game plays better at home than the Orioles, save for those 'Amazin Chicago Cubs. Sadly, through August they had not been nearly as effective away from home. In fact, they were below .500 on the road. It is difficult, if not impossible, to play below .500 either home or away and make the MLB playoffs.
Suddenly, just as the Orioles left home on a make or break ten day, nine game, road trip, something happened to this team. Suddenly, they were winners on the road. They won all three series on this trip, taking two out of three in Tampa, two out of three in Detroit and two out of three in Boston. The Red Sox are in first place. Had they won tonight's game, their lead would have been three games over the Orioles. The Sox had the big leagues' only 20 game winner on the mound, in Rick Porcello. And not only does Porcello have 20 wins, he is 13 and 0 in Fenway. The Orioles started Kevin Gausman. The big man has very quietly developed into one of the best starters in the game, and that talent was on full display in Fenway. He pitched eight shut-out innings against the powerful Red Sox, surrendering just four hits. It was pure September magic. Over his last four starts he has amassed an ERA of under 0.70,
Gausman gave way to Zach Britten in the ninth, and all that Britten did was mow the Sox down in order, earning his 42nd save in 42 tries. The one and only run of the game came in the Oriole half of the second inning, when the American League home run king, Mark Trumbo, unloaded a monster shot over the Green Monster in Left Field and completely out of Fenway Park.
With Toronto losing again at home to last place Tampa, the standings in the AL East now look like this:
1. Boston Red Sox: 81 wins, 64 losses, .559 pct
2. Baltimore Orioles: 80 wins, 65 losses, .552 pct, 1 game behind
3. Toronto Blue Jays: 79 wins, 66 losses, .545 pct, 2 games behind
4. New York Yankees: 77 wins, 68 losses, ,531 pct, 4 games behind
5. Tampa Bay Rays: 62 wins, 83 losses, .428 pct, 19 games behind
Meanwhile, the American League Wild Card Race is just as congested. The three current division leaders are not listed in the standings because they will receive a playoff berth by virtue of winning their division. The Wild Card only considers the teams not leading their respective divisions. The two non-division winners with the best overall records will play a one-game wild card playoff game at the home park of the team with the better record. Thus, if the season ended today, the Wild Card game would find Toronto visiting Baltimore. The up-to-the-minute Wild Card Standings:
1. Baltimore Orioles: 80 wins, 65 losses, .552 pct, +1 in Wild Card Race
2. Toronto Blue Jays: 79 wins, 66 losses, .545 pct,
3. Detroit Tigers: 78 wins, 67 losses, .538 pct, 1 game behind in Wild Card
4. New York Yankees: 77 wins, 68 losses, ,531 pct, 2 games behind in Wild Card
5. Seattle Mariners: 77 wins, 68 losses, ,531 pct, 2 games behind in Wild Card
6. Houston Astros: 76 wins, 70 losses, .521 pct, 3 and one-half games behind in Wild Card
7. Kansas City Royals: 74 wins, 71 losses, .510 pct, 5 games behind in Wild Card
Football: Ravens Seek Improvement in First Road Test
Unlike last season, when they lost their first two games while on route to a miserable five win season, the Ravens won their season opener this season. The trouble is, nobody really knows whether it was an impressive win over a vastly improved Buffalo Bills team, or a narrow win over a ho-hum Buffalo team. Time will tell. Buffalo plays the Jets tonight. The Jets had Cincinnatti down late last Sunday, only to lose on a late field goal. If Buffalo can beat the Jets, it will begin to tell the story of a vastly improved Bills team under the coaching of a defensive wizard, Rex Ryan, and his brother, Rob Ryan, who is officially listed as "Assistant Head Coach Defense" (Dennis Thurman is the defensive coordinator). If, on the other hand, the Jets annihilate the Bills, one will wonder if the 2015 Ravens are there, right below the surface, just waiting for a game against a good team to reappear. The Ravens are in Cleveland on Sunday, and while it is a road game, it is not in the stadium of a powerhouse. The Eagles beat up on the Browns on opening weekend, and nobody is thinking that Philadelphia is heading for the Super Bowl.
There was good news that came out of the Buffalo game for Baltimore. Joe Flacco looked to be his old self as he displayed his strong and accurate throwing arm and calm offensive leadership. He also scrambled well when protection broke down, and even threw accurately when on the run. The Ravens new receiving corp, bolstered by the return of Steve Smith Sr. and Dennis Pita, also looked formidable. The biggest splash made by one of the new receivers came courtesy of Mike Wallace. The former Steeler caught a touchdown pass from Flacco after running an effective deep post pattern. Overall, he caught three passes for a total of 91 yards. Smith led the Ravens in receptions, snaring five Flacco passes. Sadly, the five catches only netted 19 yards. Flacco threw 33 times, completing 22, for a total of 258 yards and one touchdown. He was sacked four times, losing a total of 33 yards. His quarterback rating was 100.3. The running game was not all that good. Starting halfback Justin Forsett carried ten times for 41 yards, while former Towson star Terrence West carried 12 times for just 32 yards, an average of just 2.7 yards per carry. Wallace carried once on an end around, picking up 11 yards. This is a play you'll see again. Other receivers making important contributions included Pita, who had three catches for 39 yards, Kamar Aiken, who had two catches for 14 yards, Breshad Perriman, who made one spectacular catch for a whopping 35 yards, and Chris Moore, who also had one important catch for 13 yards. Moore's catch came late in the game after the Raven coaching staff conceded that some of the other receivers weren't getting separation from the Bills' defensive backfield and inserted Moore into the line-up. I wonder how many on the staff were wondering why in the heck the team had cut Jerrard Butler after his many catches in the preseason. Last year's starting Tight End, Crockett Gilmore, had one catch for five yards. Overall, Flacco coaxed catches from 10 different receivers, which has to give defensive coordinators on teams the Ravens still have to play some real nightmares.
A win in Cleveland is imperative for the Ravens even though it is very early. Both the Bengals and Steelers notched road wins over the first week of the NFL season. The Ravens need to show right from the start that they, too, are prepared to stay in the hunt in the AFC North with their fair share of road wins.
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