Nick Markakis, Chris Tillman, and Zach Britton help make the last week of the 2014 season memorable.
Results
The Orioles went 3-4 against New York, Boston, and Toronto. That's not a surprise considering they scored 24 runs and allowed 28.
Standings
The Orioles finish the regular season at 96-66, first place in the AL East by 12 games over the Yankees.
Best Hitter / Worst Hitter
Only three hitters played enough to qualify this week, but Nick Markakis dominated them all. He hit .381/.500/.714 with two bombs for an eye-popping wRC+ of 236. Talk about finishing the season on a strong note! Adam Jones also two dingers, but otherwise he hit .192/.192/.432 to notch a 66 wRC+.
Best Start / Worst Start
Chris Tillman looked good in his final outing of the year. He pitched six innings in Toronto, struck out five, and didn't walk a batter or give up a home run. Tillman has really turned it around from the beginning of the year; in particular his walk rate dropped from 9.3% in the first half to 5.1% in the second half. His strikeout rate also jumped from 14.3% to 21.5%. That'll do. But this week's worst starter was once again Ubaldo Jimenez. I'm geting tired of writing his name in here! Thankfully I won't have to anymore this year. In five innings against New York, he walked three and struck out three. He didn't give up any home runs, thankfully.
Clutch PA of the Week
You probably remember this one. On September 25th, the Orioles were in Yankee stadium, down 5-4 in the top of the 9th and facing David Robertston. Adam Jones had just injected some life back into the game with a two-run shot. That's when the man, the myth, the legend, Steve Pearce strode to the plate and whacked the first pitch he saw to deep left field. Watching the MASN broadcast, I didn't initially think it was going to leave the field. But it did, and all of a sudden it was a tie game at 5. The Orioles would lose the game on a walkoff hit by Calm Eyes Jeter, but he only got that opportunity because Pearce played hero.
Clutch Relief Appearance of the Week
This week's clutch relief appearance was a regular ol' one-run save by Zach Britton. It happened yesterday, the last day of the season, in Toronto when the Orioles entered the bottom of the 9th leading 1-0. Edwin Encarnacion singled to start the inning and was replaced by Juan Francisco. It didn't matter, as Danny Valencia lined out to Steve Pearce, who then slapped the tag on Francisco who was trying to return to first. After that, all it took was a Dalton Pompey strikeout to end the game and the 2014 regular season.
Upcoming Week
The Orioles host the Detroit Tigers in the AL Division Series that starts on Thursday. Chris Tillman takes the ball for the Orioles; the Tigers' starter has not been announced yet. I'm guessing it will be Max Scherzer, as David Price pitched on Sunday.