3 Positives Takeaways From Orioles Opening Day Loss

Baltimore lost 7-2 on Opening Day against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium. Here, we’ll look at some of the positives from their first game of the 2019 MLB season.

Positives:

• No Errors

Last year, the O’s had over 100 errors on defense, finishing near the bottom of the MLB. On Opening Day, against a hard-hitting Yankees’ squad, they managed to avoid making any defensive errors.

• Heart of the Order

The heart of Baltimore’s batting order did pretty much all the damage on Opening Day offensively. Combined, their No. 3, 4, and 5 hitters collected seven of the team’s eight hits, highlighted by three hits from Trey Mancini, their cleanup hitter. Jonathan Villar, who hit No. 3 in the batting order, went 2-for-4, while Rio Ruiz and Hanser Alberto combined for a 2-for-4 performance from the five-hole.

• Middle Relief

While starter Andrew Cashner and finisher Paul Fry got banged around by the Yanks, the two arms in between them were effective. Mike Wright and David Hess combined for three scoreless innings (5-7) of one-hit relief, including three strikeouts. The pair did issue three walks, however, though none came around to score.

Baltimore will play their second game of the season on Saturday, March 30th at Yankee Stadium against the New York Yankees. Both teams will send newly-acquired arms to the hill; for Baltimore, Nate Karns will start, while James Paxton will make his first start as a Yankee.