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Following Friday’s exciting walkoff win over the Angels, a reporter asked Buck Showalter one of the standard boring reporter questions along the lines of, “How big was this win?” Buck replied that it was nice enough, but they’ve got to win tomorrow and the next day and the next day and so on.
As Earl Weaver would say, momentum is your next day’s starting pitcher. And it really won’t mean a whole lot that the Orioles won in such a nice way last night if they don’t win either tonight or tomorrow as well. Preferably, both! But it’s one game at a time, and for tonight they should only worry about tonight.
It’ll be Kevin Gausman on the mound for the Orioles. He’s been good in the second half. If that continues, I will like their chances every time he pitches. Whether it’s going to continue - ah, that’s always the mystery.
O’s hitters will be going up against J.C. Ramirez, against whom they did very well out in Anaheim. Can they do it again? Also a mystery! They’ll have to do it without Chris Davis and Welington Castillo, who are both sick and out of the lineup a second straight game. That means another dose of Anthony Santander, who played a small yet memorable role in yesterday’s big ninth inning rally.
Maybe there will be some good vibes in the stadium for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of Oriole Park at Camden Yards, with many of the 1992 Orioles (who won 89 games) being in the house for festivities that include a miniature replica Camden Yards giveaway. Hopefully it goes a little bit better for the present day Orioles than did last year’s game honoring the 50th anniversary of the 1966 World Series.