The Orioles and Mariners remind us why we love baseball
Orioles’ Spenser Watkins and Mariners’ Sam Haggerty (USA TODAY Sports)
The baseball world witnessed two of the most unprecedented winning streaks in recent memory. First, the Baltimore Orioles won 10 consecutive games before losing to the Tampa Bay Rays. I repeat. A team with a $45 million payroll did not lose a game in nearly two calendar weeks.
Over 2,500 miles away from Baltimore, another ball club is on a magical run. After defeating the Texas Rangers 6-2 before the All-Star break, the Seattle Mariners clinched their 14th consecutive win, the second-longest winning streak in franchise history. The 2001 Seattle Mariners won 15 straight games and tied the major league record for most wins in a regular season with 116. Now, let's look at each team’s winning streak.
Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The bizarre two-week success of the Orioles is primarily due to the bullpen. EIGHT of the 10 wins during the streak were decided by two or fewer runs. Contributions from Bryan Baker, Felix Bautista, Cionel Perez, Joey Krehbiel, and Jorge Lopez have played a crucial role for the Orioles. Lopez is the lone All-Star for the Orioles, becoming the first All-Star reliever for Baltimore since Brad Brach and Zach Britton in 2016. At the plate, Ramon Urías has been the best hitter for Baltimore during the winning streak, along with contributions from Cedric Mullins, Trey Mancini, Anthony Santander, and Ryan McKenna. As of July 20, Urías is batting .385 in July thus far.
The winning streak from the Orioles has been one of the biggest surprises this season. Their 10 consecutive wins are the second-longest winning streak in franchise history as Baltimore flipped the script. The Orioles are one season removed from one of the worst losing streaks in the past two decades, losing 19 consecutive games.
The success of Baltimore further establishes the AL East as one of the strongest divisions in baseball. As of July 20, every team in the AL East division is a .500 team making it the first time since 2012, according to Jeff Passan. This time around, the Orioles were on the right side of history, giving the city of Baltimore something to cheer about with momentum heading into the All-Star break and second half of the season.
Seattle Mariners
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners continue the magic giving hope to fans in the Emerald City. The offense for Seattle has been effective, with rookie sensation Julio Rodriguez at the forefront. Coming off a historic performance in the Home Run Derby, J-Rod has been having a remarkable season leading all rookies in homers and RBIs. Along with J-Rod are Adam Frazier, Eugenio Suàrez, Sam Haggerty, and 2022 All-Star Ty France contributing at the plate. On the mound, the Seattle bullpen has been exceptional with excellent production from Erik Swanson, Diego Castillo, and Paul Sewald. In the rotation, Logan Gilbert has had a great season with a 2.76 ERA, and Chris Flexen has shown promise when on the mound with a 1.10 ERA in July.
The Mariners' 14-game winning streak is the most in MLB history going into the All-Star break. The next 10 games for the Mariners will be against Texas clubs, with seven games against Houston and three against the Rangers. Following the bench-clearing brawl between Houston and Seattle in late June, the atmosphere will create must-see baseball this weekend.
The Mariners are the hottest team in baseball heading into the second half of the season, and the Orioles are a .500 ball club during the All-Star break, which is why we love baseball.
