Luke Scott was named the Most Valuable Oriole prior for 2010 prior to last night's game against the Tigers. The Orioles' media votes on this award every year, and this season I would assume that it was probably between Scott and Ty Wiggington. You could have made an arguement for either one of them in my opinion. Nevertheless with one game to play, Scott's statistics are as follows: 445 AB (130 games played), 126 H, 27 HR (leads the team), 71 RBI, and an average of .283 on the season. The thing that struck me about Luke Scott's season is that he never seemed to go through the elongated slumps that he's had in previous years that have acted as buzz kills. Scott was always a streaky hitter in that when he was hot he was really hot, but when he was cold he was really cold. That wasn't the case this year. Scott also played at different positions for various reasons in 2010, including left field, DH, and first base. Although he's been spoken of as trade bait at times, there's no question in my mind that Luke Scott is a valuable member of the Orioles, and is without question this year's team MVP.
In the last night game of the season, the O's defeated the Detroit Tigers 2-1. Brian Matusz turned in another dominant performance, this time to close out his 2010 season. Matusz's line: 6 IP, 1 R (on a homer), 2 H, 2 BB, 9 K. Oriole pitchers have been striking out people left and right of late; whereas early in the season it appeared that hitters had adjusted to Oriole pitchers, now the opposite appears to be true. Nick Markakis tied the game in the fourth inning with a solo homer, and the O's took the lead for good on a Matt Wieters sacrifice fly in the fifth inning.
The way that the Orioles are closing the season is very important. Going into game 162 this afternoon, the O's have won five straight games. A lot of teams in similar circumstances (including the Detroit Tigers it seems) are simply playing out a string of games. That's been the case in Baltimore for the past several years, but not anymore. This team is seemingly gaining momentum, and we can only hope that it continues into next season with perhaps a few extra parts. So with one game left to go, we're poised to enter the off season. While the beginning of the year was extremely disappointing, it seems that 'dem O's have saved their best for last.
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