Garceau: 8 Things About The Orioles After 8 Games

For the second straight year the Orioles are off to a good start. Last year, the Orioles won their first 7 games before finishing 89-73 and clinching a Wild Card spot in the playoffs. The 2017 Orioles started 4-0 and sit at 6-2 as they get ready for the Blue Jays tonight in Toronto.

Here are a few first impressions from this tiny slice of the 2017 season. Welington Castillo looks good at and behind the plate and the power will come. How far can Buck go with a rotation that consists of Gausman, Bundy, question mark, question mark and question mark? Get well Chris Tillman.

O'Day and Britton are a little out of sorts but they've set the bar a mile high and if healthy should be fine. Trey Mancini can hit major league pitching and has earned his AB's and if he keeps this up we'll be seeing Mancini jerseys all over Baltimore.

Here's 8 after 8...

1. Zach Britton leads the American League with 4 saves. He's converted 53 straight saves the third-most all-time since saves became an official stat in 1969. The streak is the longest active streak in the Major Leagues (dating back to October 1, 2015).
2. New catcher Welington Castillo has hit safely in 6 of the 7 games he's played, his .385 batting average is second best in the American League.
3. The Orioles led MLB in home runs in 2016, they currently rank 15^th. Baltimore has 10 long balls in their first 8 games with 5 coming Wednesday night in Boston.
4. Rookie Trey Mancini became the first in Orioles history to homer 5 times in his first 10 games; he joins Curt Blefary (1965) as the only Orioles with 10+ RBI in first 10 career games.
5. Adam Jones and Chris Davis can deliver a firm 1-2 punch. The pair homered in the Orioles win in Boston Wednesday night. It was the 37th time that they've homered in the same game since they became teammates in 2011, the highest total for any teammates over that period.
6. The Orioles have 3 quality starts (Bundy 2, Gausman 1) what they get from Tillman (DL), Jimenez and Miley will have a lot to say about their 2017 chances.
7. Relief pitcher Brad Brach has been lights out! The All-Star has pitched in 5 games and has given up only 1-hit, no runs with 4 holds.
8. The Orioles are 3-0 against East rival Toronto. The Blue Jays won the season series from the Orioles in 2016, 10-9.

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