Stock Up, Stock Down: Dodgers, Angels, Red Sox, Orioles

Stock Up: Baltimore Orioles continue to keep pace with Tampa Bay Rays

One of the more interesting races in September is going to be in the American League East between the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays. Whoever wins the division is likely the No. 1 seed in the AL Playoffs. I bet you didn’t envision reading that when the season began in March.

Well, here we are and for as good as the Rays have been, the Orioles have had to be better and they have been. They took two out of three over the weekend from the Colorado Rockies and then two out of three from the Chicago White Sox.

Offensively Baltimore continues to pile up the runs, putting up 23 against the White Sox, including nine runs on back-to-back nights in the first two games. Anthony Santander belted five home runs on their homestand. Scoring runs is going to be key for the Orioles and there is going to be more pressure on their starting pitching after the loss of closer Felix Baustia.

The Orioles have a big nine-game road trip coming up with three games against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Angels, and Red Sox. That’s a tough travel itinerary from Los Angeles to Boston, but they will have their work cut out for them if they are going to keep the Rays at bay. For now, they are doing what good teams do, win series against teams like Colorado and the White Sox late in the season.