MLB Rewind: The Baltimore Orioles are MLB’s Lone Unbeaten Team
Sunday marked the start of baseball’s second week of the season. It’s hard to believe that it’s only been seven days with all of the news that has come out of the past week. The baseball world was introduced to Trevor Story, who now has seven home runs in his first six games. Matt Snyder helps to put his impact in perspective when he notes that Story has hit more home runs than 16 MLB teams combined!
The past seven days included the Diamondbacks and their new additions stumbling out of the gate. Kenta Maeda made an impressive debut on the mound and at the plate. Not only that, but on Friday night baseball fans were treated to their first serious no-hitter bid of the season. Even though he was unsuccessful, fans are now well aware of Ross Stripling.
There was a lot of news over the past week, and Sunday was no exception to that trend. The Rangers called up highly touted prospect Normar Maraza, and he made a big impact in his debut. The Cincinnati Reds continued to be one of the surprises of the baseball season, and they now sit at 5-1 in the NL Central. Sunday also provided fans the opportunity to watch Jake Arrieta mash a 440 ft. home run.
Those stories were fun to watch on Sunday, but what were the most important stories of the day? Let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly from MLB action on Sunday.
Next: MLB's Last Unbeaten Team
The Good – Baltimore Orioles are Undefeated
Prior to the start of the season there would have been a handful of teams expected to be baseball’s last unbeaten team. The Chicago Cubs would have been a popular pick to accomplish this. Some might have chosen the Los Angeles Dodgers. Maybe others thought the Mets pitching staff could keep New York from experiencing a loss for a short time. Although many had serious concerns about their rotation, Kansas City is always a worthwhile pick to do something unexpected.
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However, the one team remaining as MLB’s lone unbeaten squad couldn’t have been predicted this spring. That team is the Baltimore Orioles. Baltimore spent the offseason taking a lot of criticism from analysts over how they handled potential free agent signings. Their attempt to sign Yovani Gallardo was held up by an issue with his physical. The Orioles also found themselves on the losing end of the Dexter Fowler sweepstakes even though they believed they had a deal done. Add to that the Hyung Soo Kim saga, and fans could find any number of reasons to be down on their team.
Yet the Orioles stand alone with baseball’s best record after the first week of the season. They opened the year with a three game sweep over the Twins, and then they knocked off the Rays twice (one of their scheduled games was postponed).
Baltimore’s hot start due in part to the continued success of third baseman Manny Machado. He opened the season hitting .429/.455/.905 to go with 3 HR and 4 RBI. Last season, Machado established himself as the star the Orioles knew he could be, and this season it appears he’s poised to be even better.
Baltimore can’t keep this up forever, but at least for the first week of the season, baseball fans have to respect what they’ve done.
Next: Two Star Pitchers' Struggles
The Bad – Two Star Pitchers’ Struggles
Sunday featured a pair of star pitchers who struggled on the mound. Johnny Cueto was making his second start for the Giants, and it just so happened to come against their divisional rivals the Dodgers. Cueto struggled over his seven innings of work. He surrendered ten hits, six runs, and two walks.
Los Angeles got to Cueto early by scoring five runs in the first, and they picked up their sixth run off Cueto from a Corey Seager single in the fourth inning. Luckily for Cueto, the Giants’ offense was up to the challenge. Buster Posey, Brandon Belt, and Angel Pagan all homered on Sunday. In spite of his struggles on the mound, Cueto was still able to get the win and the Giants improved their record to 5-2.
Adam Wainwright also had his share of struggles on the mound Sunday. Pitching against the hapless Braves he surrendered six hits and five runs over five innings of work. Atlanta got on the board early when Nick Markakis doubled home Erick Aybar. Drew Stubbs added a three run homer in the fourth, then Markakis scored on a sac fly in the fifth.
Like Cueto, Wainwright benefited from an offense that was ready to come to his aid. Brandon Moss and Matt Carpenter provided support with the long ball. The entire St. Louis offense seemingly had a hand in the effort as they rattled off 12 runs from 10 hits.
Cueto and Wainwright struggled on Sunday, but their teams were still able to find a way to win. There might be some days that these teams can overcome poor performances from their top tier arms, but for the Cards and Giants to fulfill their potential, they’re going to need much better performances out of these two pitchers.
Next: A Team Still Searching for a Win
The Ugly – Minnesota Twins Still Winless
If the Orioles have been one of baseball’s biggest surprises this season, then the Twins have been one of the biggest disappointments. Last season the Twins shocked baseball by going 83-79 and missing the playoffs by only three games. Minnesota appeared to arrive as a contender earlier than expected, and fans wondered if they could continue their climb to contention in 2016.
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The Twins have been close in almost every game they’ve played this season, but they’ve been unable to get over the hump. They were swept by the Orioles in the first series of the season losing by scores of 3-2, 4-2, and 4-2. Following their trip to Baltimore they headed to Kansas City to face off with the defending world champions. Just as in Baltimore, the Royals proceeded to sweep the Twins and send them to an 0-6 record.
What’s gone wrong this season? So far, several key contributors have struggled. Brian Dozier is hitting a disappointing .182/.308/.364. Last season’s break out prospect Miguel Sano has also had his share of struggles. The young slugger is hitting .158/.273/.158. He’s yet to hit a ball out of the park, and he’s already struck out eleven times. Byron Buxton and Byung Ho Park have also contributed to the offense’s struggles. Outside of Eduardo Escobar and Joe Mauer, the Twins haven’t really had anyone produce offensively.
Fans had high hopes that the Twins core of young talented players could build on last season’s success and make a push in the very competitive AL Central. Unfortunately, they’ve already dug themselves a hole right out of the gate in 2016.Unless the bats wake up soon, there’s little chance that they’ll have any opportunity to be competitive this year.