Orioles pitch themselves into the MLB record book for all the wrong reasons
The Orioles entered the record book Friday, but did so begrudgingly. For the 20th consecutive game, they allowed at least five runs – matching a mark set by the 1924 Phillies.
And there wasn’t much drama in this one, as the Rays scored five runs by the second inning in their 15-5 victory over the O’s. It was the third straight loss for Baltimore, which fell to a season-worst three games under .500 at 35-38.
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This time, the role of ineffective starting pitcher was played by Ubaldo Jimenez, who was rocked for nine earned runs in just 2.1 innings.
"Never really got in step," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Jimenez, via MLB.com. "We're trying to squeeze every out we can out of him. We're trying to take some load off the bullpen, but we just couldn't get him through any type of length of an outing. Just command. He comes out and walks the first two guys, it doesn't bode well."
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Prior to this game 20-game stretch – during which the Orioles are 6-14 – they were 2.5 games out of first place in the AL East. They now trail the Red Sox and Yankees by six games, and they are 3.5 games back in the race for the second wild-card spot.
For the season, Baltimore starters rank 29th in the majors with a 5.79 ERA, and its relievers are 20th with a 4.38 ERA.
Dylan Bundy, who has been the Orioles’ most effective starter this season (3.72 ERA, 1.22 WHIP), will start Saturday and try to prevent the team from taking sole ownership of this record for pitching futility. In his most recent start, however, Bundy was tagged for six earned runs in 4.1 innings – his worst start of the season.
