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 Flying high Orioles surging into series with Red Sox, Yankees
Posted: Monday June 21, 1999 03:28 PM
BALTIMORE (AP) -- Two weeks ago, the Baltimore Orioles were 15 games under .500 and solidly entrenched in last place. Manager Ray Miller appeared to have a tenuous grip on his job, the starting pitching was downright awful and the offense led the league in runners left on base. There was no reason to believe things would change by September, let alone by the end of the month. Even in victory, the Orioles had their problems. Coming off a humbling doubleheader loss to Florida, Baltimore rebounded to beat the Marlins 4-2 on June 9. But in the ninth inning, Albert Belle and Miller engaged in an expletive-laced shouting match in the dugout after Belle jogged to first base on a grounder and was removed in a double switch. Since that time, Belle has gone 16-for-38 and the Orioles are on a 10-1 roll that has lifted them out of the AL East cellar and in position to make an impact on the AL East standings. The starters are 8-1 during the streak and the Orioles have been consistently clearing the bases behind an impressive home run spree. Miller's biggest problem these days is figuring a way to get all his hot hitters into the game. During a stretch in which they played 18 of 24 games on the road, the Orioles turned a 13-game deficit to just 8 1/2 and climbed within a game of third-place Toronto in the AL East. Their only loss since that doubleheader fiasco in Florida came against the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, and Baltimore followed that by hitting 10 homers in three straight wins. Now things get real interesting for the Orioles, who follow an off day Monday with a six-game homestand against the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, the top two teams in the division. "We have a ways to go yet, but we feel good about our club," Miller said after the Orioles raised the team batting average to .284 with a 12-hit effort in Sunday's 8-4 win over the White Sox. Baltimore's recent run was a long time coming. The Orioles came out of spring training with a $78.5 million payroll and high hopes of being a contender, but they've been struggling to reach .500 since dropping two of three to Tampa Bay in the season-opening series. The recent surge is not unprecedented. Last year, Baltimore stumbled into the All-Star break with three straight losses to the Yankees and a 38-50 record. A nine-game winning streak followed and the Orioles eventually got 10 games over .500 before fading to a 79-83 finish. There's no telling if this streak will also be in vain. But if the Orioles continue to play as they have over the past two weeks, anything is possible. "We've gotten solid pitching. We've swung the bats very, very well," said B.J. Surhoff, whose career-high hitting streak stands at 21 games. Even when the bats are silent, the Orioles have found a way to win. During the current streak, Baltimore has won by scores of 4-2, 3-2 and 2-1. Here's another sign that perhaps things really are turning around for the Orioles: Boston ace Pedro Martinez (13-2, 2.10 ERA) pitched Sunday against Texas and is not scheduled to throw in the series that concludes Thursday.
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