Orioles Pitching Struggles Continue Against Blue Jays

Photo by Cole Burston/Getty Images

August 9, 2024

The Baltimore Orioles‘ pitching struggles continued against the Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles lost two out of the three games due to two poor outings by pitchers. They had consistent pitching and hitting throughout the series. However, as is the nature of baseball, one pitcher having a bad day can make the difference. Furthermore, concerns are being raised as starter Grayson Rodriguez has been placed on the 15-day IL.

Orioles Pitching Struggles

In the opening game of the series, the Orioles originally planned on starting Rodriguez, but he was scratched due to lat/teres discomfort. In his spot, the team turned to Albert Suárez. The 34-year-old provided a strong start for such short notice with six strikeouts and no earned runs. However, the team lost 5-2 so the struggles had to take place somewhere else.

After Suárez, the team turned to Burch Smith, who gave up one run. Then the team sent out Gregory Soto. The former two-time All-Star was traded to the Orioles last week from the Philadelphia Phillies. The Orioles were hoping he could return to his All-Star form by acquiring him, but that has not been the case. In his outing against the Blue Jays, his struggles continued as he could only record one out and gave up four runs. This led to his fifth loss of the season to bring his record to 2-5 as a reliever.

In their second game, the team started Trevor Rogers, acquired from the Miami Marlins at the deadline. He only gave up two earned runs in five innings and the bullpen took it from there. The Orioles won game two, 7-3.

Pitching Struggles Continue in Game Three

The Orioles’ pitching struggles returned for the final game of the series. Dean Kremer was given the start and he has been struggling all season. He has had issues finding consistency and has not recorded a win since the beginning of July. Unfortunately, this game would be no different for him. In 4 1/3 innings Kremer gave up five earned runs and was ultimately handed his ninth loss of the season. After Kremer’s poor outing, the team sought relief from Keegan Akin who was recently called up. Akin has also had pitching struggles this season and gave up two runs in his 48th appearance.

Jackson Holliday Stays Hot, Orioles Hitting Stays Strong

One spot that has not been a concern this season for the Orioles is hitting. Overall against the Blue Jays that remained mostly the same. Anthony Santander hit two home runs in the second game of the series. Eloy Jiménez, acquired from the Chicago White Sox at the deadline, has provided solid help by recording three hits in the series. Furthermore, Jackson Holliday continued to stay hot.

Holliday continues to make his case for a permanent spot in the majors as each game goes by. In the second game of the series, Holliday became the youngest player in American League history to have home runs in three consecutive games. He finished the series with four RBI with at least one in each game.

Orioles Travel to Tropicana Field

Today the Orioles will begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays. Zach Eflin will get the start to lead off the series in his first appearance against his former team.