Finally, The Orioles Earned Their 20th Win

It's not all bad in Birdland. I mean, it's almost entirely bad -- but it isn't 100% bad! That's because yesterday, with a 10-4 win over the Marlins, the Orioles earned their 20th win! That elusive 20th win, which the O's had been trying to earn for 10 days, means that now every major league team has at least 20 wins.

Every other team has 22 wins or more, but let's not focus on that for the moment. It's time to rejoice! The big hero was Jace Peterson, who knocked in four runs on two extra-base hits. In the second inning, he put the Orioles on the board with a pair of runs by crushing a two-run double:

At the end of this clip, a fan unfortunately misses the ball when it hops right to him off of the warning track. It's a shame, of course, but it also serves as a tip of the cap to how the Orioles have played defense this season. That's an impressive display of fan loyalty.

In the third inning, Mark Trumbo knocked in a run with a long "double" that Derek Dietrich clearly misplayed at the wall:

Nope, I can't imagine why that play should have been ruled an error, but the Orioles will obviously take any break they can get.

With the Orioles up 6-1 in the fifth inning, it was time for Peterson to again make his mark:

That no-doubter was Peterson's 16th career homer and his first in 2018. That put the O's up 8-1, and Trumbo would add a solo shot to right field in the seventh.

Still, before that Trumbo homer, the Marlins cut into the lead thanks to two home runs from Justin Bour off of Dylan Bundy. In the top of the seventh and the score 8-4, the Marlins loaded the bases with no outs against Miguel Castro (two singles and a walk). Mychal Givens took over for Castro, getting a strikeout and then a fly out to left field that did not advance the runners. With Bour due up again, Buck Showalter summoned Tanner Scott. Scott did the job, getting Bour looking on a nasty slider:

Bour had no chance, and the Marlins' best chance for a comeback was neutralized.

The Orioles' 10 runs were the most they've scored in a game since they somehow put up 17 on the Rays in mid-May. They put runs up on the board, pitched well enough, and played adequate defense. It was a welcome sight.

Who knows how many more times this season the Orioles are going to reach a multiple of 10 in the win column? Maybe two more times? Can the Orioles reach 50 wins? I sure hope so! But for now, one thing's for sure: The Orioles cannot win fewer than 20 games in 2018. Take a bow, fellas.