Jim Johnson Bounces Back

Orioles closer Jim Johnson has bounced back and picked up his 18th save of the season. This happened Orioles beat the Red Sox again last night and remained in 1st place. Johnson, had blown a save the previous game, but managed to win that game and pick up the save in this one. All Star?

The Orioles won 2-1 behind Johnson's performance. That means that other pitchers were very very good. Leading this charge was Pedro Strop. Strop picked up his 11th hold and lowered his ERA to 1.23. All Star?

Additionally, Wei Yin Chen had a quality start. Actually, a brilliant start. Chen only gave up 1 run in 7 innings of work. Chen is now 5-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.49 in the process. He is one of the few bright spots in the rotation. Hopefully, he keeps having outings like this.

Only a couple of Orioles had hits, but they had enough. The Orioles had 5 hits, including RBIs from Robert Andino and Endy Chavez. The runs were scored by Betemit and Flaherty. I keep saying let's see what the Flaherty kid can do with regular playing time. We have 2 outfielders and Brob out, and he should play everyday at least until Brob gets back. I'll take whatever I can get out of Chavez too, but I wouldn't lead him off. Let's see if the birds can keep up this momentum for the time being.

-Noland