Last week Bob Melvin said that the closer battle was between Brian Fuentes and Grant Balfour. Melvin announced today that Balfour is his huckleberry.
This was really a battle between a Proven Closer and, you know, the better pitcher, with Fuentes being the former and Balfour the latter. Fuentes had problems last year. Balfour was better, throwing 62 innings with a 2.47 ERA and 59/20 K/BB ratio.
The Orioles’ pitching staff is on pace to obliterate the Reds’ record of 258 homers allowed in the season. When O’s starter David Hess yielded a three-run home run to Yankees outfielder Clint Frazier in the fifth inning of Tuesday night’s game, that marked the 100th homer given up by a Baltimore pitcher this season. They have played 48 games so far, putting them on pace to allow 338.
The homer was Frazier’s second of the night. He had also gone yard with a runner on in the third inning. Gary Sánchez opened the scoring in the first inning with a three-run blast of his own. As of this writing, the Yankees are leading 11-3.
Not that it comes as any surprise, but the Yankees’ offense has the Orioles’ number so far this season. The club has hit 73 homers on the season with 26 of them — 36 percent — coming against the Orioles. The Yankees have played 10 of their 47 games — 21 percent — against the O’s. The Orioles have also allowed 23 home runs to the Twins in six games so far this season
