Compared to the beginning of the year, things have been a bit bumpier for the Baltimore Orioles.
They are currently 20 games over .500, but have cooled off from their hot start, going 17-17 since the All-Star break and 10-11 in August.
The Orioles weren’t bad by any means, but it’s surprising to see them in the bottom half of the standings during those two time periods considering how much talent there is on that roster.
On Friday, Baltimore looked set to lose another game and a series when they trailed 5-2 against the red-hot Houston Astros in the bottom of the eighth inning. Their offense struggled to get going against Hunter Brown, and when they had to face one of the best backend units in all of Major League Baseball, things looked bleak.
Then Anthony Santander hit a grand slam 403 feet over the right-center field wall, giving them a 6-5 lead and ultimately leading them to the win.
“I was looking at the fastball… I just said to myself, ‘This is a guy who throws a lot of sliders, but I’m going to stick with the fastball here.’… I was a little aggressive at 2-1 and I was looking at the fastball,” he said, according to Roch Kubatko of MASN.
It was a big moment that not only had short-term implications, but could also be the turning point of their season.
The Orioles have been looking for a way to get back to being the consistently dominant team they were earlier in the year, and they are now using this moment as a potential turning point in their season.
“We’ve had a few struggles the last few weeks and that’s an important point. It’s a reminder of who we are as a team. We stay focused the whole game, we fight for 27 outs. (Colton) Cowser and Adley (Rutschman) did a really good job of getting on base in the inning, they set it up. This is a great win,” added Santander.
During a long season like the MLB, there are lulls. It’s easy to let the low points dictate the year, causing otherwise good teams to start playing like mediocre teams.
This could have happened to Baltimore.
Without multiple starting pitchers, it will certainly be an uphill battle for them to win the AL East and make it deep into the playoffs, but that also means other players will have to start stepping up.
It is fitting that it was Santander again.
He was absolutely sensational, posting a slash line of .238/.305/.526 with a career-best 38 home runs, 60 extra-base hits, 86 RBI, and an OPS+ of 135.
“I haven’t seen our team react like that in a long time. It seemed like we were just taking a deep breath in our dugout,” manager Brandon Hyde said.
Now it’s up to the Orioles to seize this moment and play like competing teams should and dominate their opponents like they did in the beginning.
