Baltimore Orioles just keep winning with walk-offs, pitching

The Baltimore Orioles did it again on Friday night with another walk-off win, then followed that up with an incredible pitching performance on Saturday to grab their seventh consecutive victory.

Running their winning streak to seven games, the Baltimore Orioles are finding a new hero almost every day

So much has been made with this series against the Los Angeles Angels because of the two teams’ records being nearly identical. Many have used what has happened in the series so far to rip on the Angels, but it’s now time to praise the Baltimore Orioles.

This team is now 42-44 and they are creeping closer to 500. The Orioles have shown that they aren’t a fluke and that they have plenty of young talent to sustain this run, although it was the veteran leader Trey Mancini who delivered the walk-off hit on Friday night.

The O’s were down 3-0 for the majority of the night and shutout through six innings. Their bats came to life in the seventh, when Ramon Urias hit an RBI single. They then closed the gap to 3-2 after a Ryan Mountcastle RBI single. Shohei Ohtani gave the Angels an insurance run with a solo shot in the ninth.

Rasiel Iglesias came in for the save and he looked like he had it locked down with two outs, but after that is when the magic happened.

Baltimore’s Rougned Odor was down to his last strike when he hit a single and then proceeded to steal two bases. Rookie top prospect Adley Rutschman stepped up with an RBI double also on his last strike. Cedric Mullins hit an RBI single with … you guessed it, two strikes, then Mancini worked a full count and ripped the ball to left field for the win. What a gutsy performance by this mixture of young players and vets to steal a win. Camden Yards was incredible and the energy has returned to the beautiful ballpark.

Mountcastle, Mullins, and Rutschman are all 27 or younger and these three give the Orioles a solid foundation to build around. Mountcastle flies under the radar, but he has been solid leading the team with 14 home runs. That’s along with 43 RBI and an OPS over .800. Mullins has been as good as ever leading the team in hits with 88 and 16 stolen bases. Rutschman has been so much more than his numbers would suggest with four home runs and 12 RBI in 143 at-bats. His arrival was a signal that the team was serious about winning and not manipulating service time. He has been a great presence for the pitching staff as his bat continues to improve.

Entering Sunday, the O’s are only 3.5 games out of the last Wild Card spot. Could this seven-game winning streak change the Orioles from buyers into sellers? It’s a question being asked as Baltimore continues to surprise.