Ravens 23, Cardinals 17 : Week 2 – Recap & Grades :
Offense – Lamar Jackson makes history by passing for 272 & rushing for 120 to lead the way on the ground, averaging 7.5 yards per carry. They rush for 182 total & TE Mark Andrews leads the way w/ 8 grabs for 112 yards & a TD.
Grade : B-
Defense – This group gave up some big plays as Rookie QB Kyler Murray passes for 349 yards & Larry Fitzgerald & Christian Kirk each go over 100 yards receiving, but they also register 3 more sacks & get pressure all day long.
Grade : C
Special Teams – Justin Tucker connects on all 3 of his FG’s & Sam Koch punts it 3 times for a 149 yards, an average of 46.3 yards per punt. They total 91 return yards & also hold Arizona to just 59.
Grade : B+
Coaching : Once again the coaching staff had this team prepared, a couple lapses on offense & defense ended it up being huge but they were able to overcome it & work together to pull out the win.
Grade : B-
Overall Grade : B-
GO RAVENS!!
#ByAnyMeansNeccesary

Ravens 23, Cardinals 17 : Action Jackson – Lamar Jackson becomes the first QB to pass for over 250 yards & rush for over 120 in a single game in NFL history as the Ravens hang on to beat former Raven, Terrell Suggs & the Cardinals @ home & move to 2-0. Jackson leads the offense down the field for a TD on the first drive for the 2nd straight week, as the Ravens march 94 yards on 7 plays as they cap it off w/ a 27 yard TD pass from Jackson to TE Mark Andrews. Justin Tucker kicks a 33 yard FG in the 2nd & Jackson hits TE Hayden Hurst for the 1 yard TD & gives Baltimore a 17-6 lead @ the half. Tucker hits from 28 to pad the lead but RB David Johnson takes it in from 1 yard out w/ 12:52 left in the game & the Cards get the 2 point conversion to cut it to 3. Tucker hits from 51 to make it a 6 point game & the Ravens defense finally closes it out. Baltimore now heads to Kansas City for a heavyweight battle of 2 undefeated’s on Sunday.
Bal (2-0) @ K.C.
AZ (0-1-1) @ Car
GO RAVENS!!
#BirdFight

Tigers 5, Orioles 2 : Losing Battle – Jordy Mercer homers, Victor Reyes doubles & drives in 2 runs & the Tigers earn a split w/ the O’s in their 4 game series @ home. Mercer hits a 2-run shot (#9) off of O’s starter John Means in the 1st to put Detroit ahead early & Reyes doubles home Travis Demeritte & Dawel Lugo in the 5th to add more against Means, who allows 5 runs on 6 hits in 5 2/3 innings, he walks 2 & strikes out 3. Trey Mancini hits a solo shot (#33) off of Tigers starter Tyler Alexander in the 6th to get the O’s on the board, but Lugo adds a sac fly in the bottom of the inning to score Mercer & add more insurance. Alexander goes 6 innings, allowing 1 run on just 4 hits, walks none & strikes out 3. Austin Hays singles to score Jonathan Villar in the 7th against reliever Jose Cisneros but the O’s cannot get any closer.
Baltimore & Detroit are both still 50+ games under. 500.
Bal (49-101) Det (45-104)
WP : Alexander (1-3)
LP : Means (10-11)
S : Jimenez (7).
GO O’S!!
#TigerStyle

Orioles 8, Tigers 2 : Motown Mashin – Edwin Jackson allows 5 runs in 5 innings & the Tigers move closer to the first pick in the Draft as the O’s win their 2nd game of the series in Detroit. Jordy Mercer doubles to score Harold Castro in the 1st against O’s starter Asher Wojciechowski, who allows 2 runs on 8 hits, walks 0 & strikes out 2 in 5 innings of work. D.J. Stewart singles home Hanser Alberto in the 3rd & scores on a 2-run shot by Rio Ruiz (#11) off of Jackson. Jonathan Villar singles home Stewart & Pedro Severino in the 6th against reliever Nick Ramirez & the O’s led 6-2 before a 39 minute rain delay halts play in the 6th.
After the delay the O’s use 4 relievers to wrap it up as Evan Phillips, Tanner Scott, Dillon Tate & Tayler Scott each work an inning. Anthony Santander singles home Stewart & Villar against reliever Matt Hall in the 8th. Baltimore will look to take the series today.
Bal (49-100) Det (44-104)
WP : Wojciechowski (3-8)
LP : Jackson (3-10).
GO O’S!!
#TigersMilk

Tigers 8, Orioles 4 (12 innings) : Get Em, Tiger : Victor Reyes hits a game tying homerun in the bottom of the 9th & John Hicks hits a walk off Grand Slam as the Tigers rally to beat the O’s in extra innings. Harold Castro hits a solo shot (#5) off of O’s starter Gabriel Ynoa in the 3rd & Reyes singles home Willi Castro in the 5th off of reliever Tanner Scott. Ynoa goes 4 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, walks 1 & strikes out 1. Trey Mancini hits a 3-run shot (#32) off of reliever Bryan Garcia to give the O’s the lead in the late innings & Mychal Givens comes on to close it out in the 9th. However, Reyes hits a solo shot (#2) w/ 2 outs to tie the game & give Detroit new life. Rio Ruiz singles home Mason Williams in the 12th to put the O’s ahead against David McKay, but Hicks hits the walk off Grand Slam (#12) off of O’s Rookie reliever Ryan Eades to end it.
Baltimore has lost 23 of their last 31.
Bal (48-100) Det (44-103)
WP : Schreiber (3-2)
LP : Fry (1-9).
GO O’S!!
#MotownFunk

Orioles 6, Tigers 2 : The Low Life – In the first meeting in 50 years between teams 50 or more games under .500 the Orioles beat the Tigers to take the first game of the series in the D. Trey Mancini singles home Jonathan Villar in the 1st & D.J. Stewart hits a 2-run shot (#2) off of Tigers starter Jordan Zimmermann in the 5th to add to the lead. Jordy Mercer singles to score Christin Stewart in the 6th & scores on a single by Willi Castro to cut the lead in half against O’s starter Aaron Brooks who goes 5 1/3 innings, allowing 2 runs on 7 hits, walks 3 & strikes out none. Zimmerman allows 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings, he walks none & strikes out 3. Trey Mancini hits a 2-run shot (#31) off of Tigers reliever Jose Cisnero in the 7th to increase the lead for the Orioles. Both teams had a 201 combined losses coming into this game. Baltimore has still lost 22 of their last 30. Game 2 is tonight.
Bal (48-99) Det (43-103)
WP : Brooks (5-8)
LP : Zimmerman (1-11).
GO O’S!!
#TheBestOfTheWorst

Dodgers 4, Orioles 2 : Over The Hill – Rich Hill makes his first start since June 19th after coming off the DL w/ an arm injury but struggles w/ his control & injures his knee in the process. He walks Austin Hays w/ the bases loaded to force home Trey Mancini & give the O’s the lead. He departs after just 2/3 of an inning, walking 2 & striking 2 but doesn’t allow a hit. Gavin Lux singles home Cody Bellinger to tie it against O’s starter Dylan Bundy in the 2nd, but Pedro Severino hits a solo shot (#13) off of Rookie Tony Gonsolin to put the O’s ahead. Bellinger singles home to A.J. Pollock tie it against Bundy, who allows 4 runs on 6 hits in 5 2/3 innings, walking 2 & striking out 6. Cody Bellinger & Cory Seager score on a passed ball by Severino, on a strikeout by Russell Martin to put L.A. ahead for good. Jansen closes it out in the 9th.
Baltimore has now lost 22 of their last 29.
Bal (47-99) LAD (95-53)
WP : Gonsolin (3-2)
LP : Bundy (6-14)
S : Jansen (29).
GO O’S
#EastMeetsWest

Orioles 7, Dodgers 3 : Breaking The Mold – Jonathan Villar hits a tiebreaking 3-run homer in the 7th that not only puts the O’s ahead, but also breaks the major league record for total homeruns in one season as the O’s beat the Dodgers to snap a 6 game losing streak. Dwight Smith Jr. doubles home Trey Mancini in the 1st against Dodgers starter Ross Stripling, who is pulled after just 3 innings, he allows 1 run on 3 hits, walks 0 & strikes out 2. A.J. Pollock hits a 2-run shot (#14) off of O’s starter John Means to put Los Angeles ahead, but Villar’s 3-run shot (#21) off of Caleb Ferguson in the 7th is the 6,106th of the year in Major League Baseball – breaking the record for the most HR’s in 1 season & giving the Orioles the lead. Pedro Severino drills a 2-run shot (#12) in the 8th off of Adam Kolarek to add more. Baltimore wins for just the 7th time in their last 28 games. Game 3 is tonight.
Bal (47-98) LAD (94-53)
WP : Armstrong (1-1)
LP : Ferguson (1-2).
GO O’S!!
#HistoricalHomer

Dodgers 7, Orioles 3 : Dodger Blues – Corey Seager homers twice & drives in 5 runs as the Dodgers clinch the NL West Crown for the 7th straight year, beating the O’s & celebrating @ Camden Yards. Cody Bellinger singles home David Freese & Seager hits a 3-run shot (#15) off of O’s starter Ty Blach in the 1st as the Dodgers jump ahead early – Seager also adds a 2-run shot (#16) in the 3rd off of Blach to increase the lead. Rookie Gavin Lux hits his first career major league homerun (#1) off reliever Tanner Scott in the 5th as L.A. pours it on. Dodgers starter Walker Buehler goes 7 shutout innings, allowing just 4 hits, striking out 11 & walking none. D.J. Stewart hits a solo shot (#1) off of reliever Casey Sadler, who allows 3 runs – 2 earned in relief.
Reliever Caleb Ferguson strikes out Mark Trumbo looking to end the game as the Dodgers celebrate their NL West title. Baltimore has now lost 7 in a row.
Bal (46-98) LAD (94-52)
WP : Buehler (13-3)
LP : Blach (1-3).
GO O’S!!
#RoastedBird

Ravens 59, Dolphins 10 : Week 1 – Recap & Grades :
Offense – This group racks up a franchise high 643 yards of total offense, including 265 on the ground & 378 through the air. Mark Ingram rushes for 107 yards on just 14 carries for an average of 7.6 yards per carry & Lamar Jackson passes for 324 yards.
Grade : A+
Defense – This unit holds Miami to 200 total yards, registers 3 sacks & forces 2 interceptions. They hold Ryan Fitzpatrick to 185 yards passing & give up just 21 rushing yards on the day.
Grade : A
Special Teams – Anthony Levine runs 60 yards on a fake punt, Justin Tucker hits on his only FG attempt of 34 yards, Sam Koch punts it once for 56 yards & they recover a fumble by Miami WR Jakeem Grant.
Grade : A
Coaching – John Harbaugh & his coaching staff definitely brought their A game & were ready for that Miami heat, all the players looked focused & it showed. This team was more than prepared to take care of business.
Grade : A
Overall Grade : A
GO RAVENS!!
#GuttingTheFish