The Baltimore Orioles honored their 1983 World Series champions team before starter Kyle Gibson took the mound and threw a pitch. Whether or not the 2023 Orioles go down in history next to that 1983 team remains to be seen. But one thing is sure, the current roster has the makeup and the camaraderie that the 1983 team had. And it shows on the field. Gibson’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 9 K.
The 1983 team got the party started. And they flavored the evening with their presence. However the story quickly turned to the 2023 version of the Orioles, beginning with Gunnar Henderson’s two-run homer in the last of the first. That gave the Birds a 2-0 lead – and…we were off!
Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single in the third extended the lead to 3-0. However New York tried to chip away. Severely overmatched, the New York Mets tried to claw their way back in. McNeil’s two-run homer in the fourth briefly cut the Orioles’ lead to one at 3-2.
But the Birds got right back at it in the last of the fourth. Ramon Urias’ RBI-double extended the lead back to two at 4-2. One inning later Anthony Santander’s solo home run extended the lead back to three at 5-2.
New York tried to put up a fight – as any Buck Showalter-led team is apt to do. McNeil’s RBI-single in the sixth cut the lead back to two. However the O’s seemed hellbent on the lead being three runs, and Ryan McKenna’s RBI-double did just that. It also closed out the Orioles’ 6-3 lead, which translated into a 7-3 win – following Adley Rutschman’s RBI-single in the last of the eighth.
The hope is that the energy from the 1983 team rubs off on the current Orioles. There’s an interesting parallel between the two teams. In 1981 there was just a partial season due to a players’ strike. And in the wake of that, a couple of years later the O’s won it all.
We saw a partial season in 2020, due to COVID. Could the Orioles again win it all just a couple of seasons later? The answer is yes – they COULD. But will they? They remains to be seen. However the current Orioles have a championship pedigree about them, make no mistake.
The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Jose Quintana. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.
Birdland Crush 