Monthly Archives: May 2019

Baltimore Orioles washed away for today

The Baltimore Orioles looked unstoppable last night against Tampa. That wasn’t the case this afternoon, as something did stop them: the weather. The series finale against Tampa at Camden Yards was rained out.

The game will be made up as part of a split admission day/night doubleheader on July 13th. Fans with tickets to today’s game can use them for the first game of the doubleheader, at 1 PM. Otherwise they can be exchanged on a dollar-for-dollar basis for any other game this season. The exchange must be done before July 13th.

The Orioles tomorrow will open a three-game set with Boston at Camden Yards. John Means (who was set to start today) gets the start for the Birds, and Boston is yet to name a starter. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles, Dylan Bundy turn the tables on Tampa

Dylan Bundy pitched the Baltimore Orioles to a quality start this evening at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. More importantly however, he pitched the O’s to a victory, in one of the best outings by an Orioles’ starter this season. Bundy’s line: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

The Orioles and Bundy literally turned the tables on the Tampa Rays tonight. All of the bounces and breaks went the Orioles’ way. Jonathan Villar set that tone in the Birds’ opening at-bat when he split the outfielders and sent a double all the way to the wall in the left field power alley. Tampa’s supposed to have the angle on hitting ’em where they ain’t – but not tonight.

That lead off double in the first inning led to a 1-0 lead. Following a Mancini single which left Villar at third, Dwight Smith Jr grounded into a double-play, scoring Villar. It’s perhaps the most unexciting way to score in baseball. But all of the runs count.

And again, the Birds really played Tampa’s game all night. Tampa’s the type of team who’s attitude is that if we score one run, that means you have to score two to beat us. And it’s true, however as I said that style can be anti-climactic at times. But all the runs count.

In the third Jonathan Villar would ground into a force out, allowing a second run to score. And again, that was fairly anti-climactic. It it counted, and it meant that Tampa needed to score three to beat the O’s.

However Dwight Smith Jr. would also provide the Orioles’ faithful with a third run. However this one came in more of a traditional Oriole method. Smith’s solo home run in the fourth extended the Oriole lead to 3-0.

Tampa tried to battle back into it in their typical fashion, however. In the eighth inning Adames grounded back to the pitcher, who’s errant throw to Davis at first allowed a run to score. There it was; Tampa was tired of losing at their own game and they were skipping their way back to victory. But there was one problem…

…Adames ran down the first base line WAY inside the line. As in it wasn’t even close. Home plate umpire Lance Barrett correctly called Adames out, as his positioning inside the line impeded the Orioles’ pitcher’s ability to throw him out. The runner was sent back to second, and Adames was called out. Again, those are breaks that usually go Tampa’s way. For at least one game, it was the Orioles who got those breaks.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. John Means gets the start for the Birds, and Tampa is yet to make a starter. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles bested by Tampa pitching

The Baltimore Orioles were lucky that they mustered five hits off of Tampa’s starter Glasnow this evening. He turned in a dominant performance, keeping the Birds off the base paths. Dan Straily started for the O’s, and Tampa was quick to pounce. Straily’s line: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

Straily surrendered a double to lead off the game, and then Pham’s RBI-single subsequently, which came on a check swing. Tampa’s good, but they’re also lucky. A check-swing base hit which ended up in the right field corner. Imagine that for just a moment – I suppose better lucky than good.

Straily settles down – for a short period. In the third he surrendered a three-run homer to Zunino, giving Tampa a 4-0 lead. Zunino came into the game hitting .195, and smacked a three-run homer.

Tampa would also muster two additional runs in the latter innings, which gave them some insurance in a sense. But Glasnow and later the Tampa bullpen dominated the Orioles’ lineup. The good news I suppose is that Glasnow won’t be pitching in either of the remaining two games in the series.

As I’ve said ad hoc, Tampa plays a lot of different oddities as part of their game. If there was an analytical stat which said they’d play better if they wore spandex they’d try it. You have to be prepared for their antics. Often they change defenses square in the middle of at-bats. Before you know what’s going on, you’ve hit the ball right to them.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and as this is being written Tampa is yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Opponents get fat on your negligence

The Baltimore Orioles dropped the nightcap of a twin bill last night in Chicago in walk off fashion. Andrew Cashner got the start, and became only the most recent Orioles’ starter to not go deep in a game. Cashner’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (earned), 2 BB, 8 K.

The O’s had the lead at various points in this game, including early on. Dwight Smith Jr’s RBI-single in the first gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. One inning later however, Chicago would tie the game thanks in part to Oriole negligence. Catcher Austin Wynns threw to second base after a strikeout with two outs (when all he had to do was make the play at first base), allowing a base runner to go to third. Wynns apparently forgot how many outs there were. That led to an RBI-single by Engel, tying the game at two.

Abreu’s solo homer one inning later gave Chicago a 2-1 lead. However the O’s would take the lead right back in the fourth inning on Stevie Wilkerson‘s three-run homer. That should have been kind of a big blow in the game, however the O’s gave the lead right back in the bottom of the inning. Chicago loaded the bases with two outs following a triple and two walks. That brought Chicago’s heavy hitter (Abreu) to the plate, and he sent a bases-clearing single into center.

In reality, the game only should have been tied. However Joey Rickard seemingly took his time in getting the ball back in from center field. In fact, Stevie Wilkerson did the same in getting the ball over to first base on Engel’s second inning infield RBI-single. He took his time getting the ball to first base, and Engel best the throw out. Keep that in mind.

A sixth inning homer by Anthony Santander and a seventh inning fielder’s choice-RBI by Chris Davis however gave the Orioles the lead back at 6-5. However one-run leads are tough to protect in the ninth inning. Especially in the last of the ninth, when you lead off the inning with a walk. Alonso’s two-RBI single with the bases loaded lifted Chicago to victory.

It’s always easy to point to one or two things and say “all things being the same, things would have been different if not for this.” But that’s an unfair thing to say given that you can’t simply assume that all things would be the same. Furthermore it’s always a team effort – win or lose.

That aside, we saw Stevie Wilkerson taking his time getting the ball to first base in the second, resulting in a run. Later in the game we saw Joey Rickard doing the same in getting the ball back in from centerfield. That allowed a third run to score (from first), giving Chicago the lead.

In both instances the O’s overcame the Chicago lead. However the defense needs to tighten up in those situations. Chicago was literally gifted two runs on those two plays. Other teams aren’t letting the Orioles off the hook – they just aren’t. In fact, they’re getting fat on the Orioles’ negligence at times.

The Birds now come home after an off day today to open up a three-game set with Tampa starting tomorrow at Camden Yards. Dan Straily gets the fall for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Tyler Glasnow. Game time is set for 7 PM tomorrow night.

Baltimore Orioles, Richie Martin Livin’ La Vida Loca

On the south side of Chicago, the baddest part of town, the Baltimore Orioles used every manner possible to pull out the stops and win the first half of a twin bill. Rookie Richie Martin atoned for himself very well, as it was his triple that helped to propel the Birds to victory. Things started out rough for starter David Hess however, through very little fault however of his own. Hess’ line: 4.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 4 K.

Abreu’s run-scoring double in the first inning gave the ChiSox a 1-0 lead. That run came on the heels of an E4 on Alberto, so it was unearned. Due to various errors committed by the Oriole infield, the Birds were trailing 4-0 after three innings. When a young team’s lost four straight and they have that happen in the first game of a doubleheader, it all but makes sense to pack it in and start looking towards the next game. That didn’t happen.

Dwight Smith Jr. scored on a wild pitch in the fourth to get the O’s on the board. Later in the inning Stevie Wilkerson would ground into a fielder’s choice-RBI. And the O’s has started to chip away. Incidentally, Smith was on third base earlier because he stole third – all part of the aggressiveness that the Orioles are trying to show on the base paths.

Richie Martin would later plate Wilkerson with an RBI-double. That put the Birds right back in the game, as they trailed 4-3. They had several opportunities to tie or take the lead, but those were squandered. They went 3-for-17 in the game with RISP, including leaving the bases loaded in the sixth inning.

Dwight Smith however would smack an RBI-double in the seventh following a lead off walk, and the game was tied at four. Richie Martin would lead off the next inning with a triple. Keep in mind that the Rule 5 pick has played great defense to date, but he really excelled at the plate in this afternoon’s ballgame. He set the table to put the Birds in a spot to win.

With Martin on third and nobody out in the top of the eighth, Jonathan Villar would get him home with a sac fly-RBI. Make no mistake that while the RBI goes to Villar, it was Martin’s prowess at the plate and then his speed which manufactured that run. Not only was it the go-ahead run, but it was the winning run as the O’s broke a four-game skid with a 5-4 victory in game one of a twin bill.

The nightcap of the doubleheader and the series finale at Guaranteed Rate Field is coming up this evening. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Ivan Nova. Game time is…in just a few moments from when this is being written!