Baltimore Orioles make major league history against Cleveland Indians

The Baltimore Orioles made major league history on Saturday night. Surprisingly, it was for something positive.

2019 has been yet another brutal season for the Baltimore Orioles. They have the worst record in the game for the second consecutive year; their -165 run differential is also the worst in the game. Chances are, Baltimore will find themselves with the top overall pick in 2020 as well.

And yet, there are glimpses of hope. On Saturday, the Orioles became the first team in MLB history to win consecutive shutouts and score 13+ runs.

Yes, THOSE Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles that appear to be mired in a rut of mediocrity that will not end for years to come. The team that has four regulars with an OPS+ under 70. A team that started Andrew Cashner in the second game. A team that has won a combined 71 games since the start of 2018.

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For the Indians, this may well be the nadir. Cleveland had been expected to win the AL Central, and potentially contend for a World Series berth. With a rotation that was expected to be the envy of baseball, the Indians are the type of team that would normally be expected to annihilate Baltimore.

Instead, for the first time since the Orioles took two out of three games against the White Sox on April 23 and 24, they have managed to win a series. Over two months have passed since that series victory, with Baltimore ending that streak in emphatic fashion.

There are other positives from these games. Andrew Cashner has looked respectable lately, making him a possible option at the trade deadline. Chance Sisco, finally getting another chance at the major league level, is looking like a possible piece for the future. John Means could be a future mainstay in the rotation, even if he is not a top of the rotation arm.

The Baltimore Orioles have had an excellent two game run, literally making major league history at the expense of the Cleveland Indians. Who would have seen that coming?