Chief Editor
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The Baltimore Orioles are one loss away from being eliminated from postseason play by the Texas Rangers.
The Orioles lost a close match-up in game one. The Rangers bats have been on fire and if they continue to hit this way the Birds look doomed.
The Rangers have been one of the hottest offensive teams all playoffs long. In this series alone, Texas is hitting.264 with two homers and 14 runs scored. Josh Jung has three hits including double and home run; Mitch Garver hit an epic grand slam during game two to open it up, as well as being their sole home run hitter (he also hit one other home run later). No Rangers pitcher has gone more than five innings; nonetheless Texas has struck out 14 batters while walking seven.
Orioles pitchers must produce another solid performance if they wish to avoid being swept. With no clear starter named yet, Orioles will depend heavily on him/her to step up big-time. My guess would be Kyle Gibson or Dean Kremer; both are consistent starters for Orioles with Bradish not available yet; both Gibson and Kremer make good options nonetheless.
The Orioles may have lost in close fashion in game one, but game two never seemed close until late in the ninth inning. Offensively, Jorge Mateo has not been out in four at-bats and boasts two doubles and an RBI. Gunnar Henderson, Anthony Santander, and Aaron Hicks have also gone yard so far in this series. Kyle Bradish made an outstanding start but did not go beyond five innings; as a pitching staff the Orioles have given up 19 hits while walking 16 batters over this series – something no other pitching staff had done in both games!
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At first, it might come as a shock for many; however, it might not be as unexpected. Baltimore lacks experience in postseason play with their young roster while the Rangers appear to be the superior team here. I will take the Rangers in this one..
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