Baltimore Orioles: Like sand running through your fingers

The Baltimore Orioles used Keegan Akin as an “opener” last night. In general I’m not a fan of the practice, as it’s a little too non-traditional for me. That’s never been how baseball was intended to function. Akin’s line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Chase McDermott was the pitcher of consequence in a sense. On a side note there’s little point in me writing the starter’s final line if it’s an “opener” situation. But I digress.

McDermott surrendered a solo homer to Turang in the third, and a two-run home run to Frelick in the fourth. That was a two-run homer because the leadoff hitter reached on a shallow pop up in the outfield. Ramon Laureano appeared to have it in his sights, but he collapsed over his feet and the ball fell in.

Laureano was later lifted from the game and Tony Mansolino said after the game that he was day-to-day (quote courtesy of Brendan Mortensen, MASNsports):

Sounds like he’s going to be kind of day-to-day. Something with his ankle, I don’t want to be specific as to what it is, but right now, indications are that it will be just a couple of days.

On a side note it’s unclear why he can’t go into specifics. Not that it really matters, but interesting choice of words on Mansolino’s part. The good news is that Laureano is probably only going to miss a couple of games. And if the O’s get rained out Thursday in Boston, maybe it’s only one for all I know, (The forecast appears to be foreboding.)

Ramon Urias’ RBI-single in the seventh cut the lead to 3-1. The problem with that was the O’s had two runners on, and Heston Kjerstad grounded into a double-play. That left a runner on third, but with two outs. While that “wounded” a potentially bigger rally, at least Urias got a hit with a runner in scoring position.

Jackson Holliday’s subsequent RBI-triple however put the Orioles more in business in the game. That cut the Milwaukee lead to 3-2. However Hoskins’ eighth inning solo homer and Ortiz’s RBI-single padded the lead, and Milwaukee walked away with a 5-2 win. The Orioles will need a win today to avoid being swept in their third straight series.

Going back to Heston Kjerstad for a moment, one has to believe that he has a bit of shell shock in a sense. We remember his injury problems that almost prevented him from progressing through the minors as it was. When he finally got here, he was viciously hit in the head last year against New York. When he came back he was never the same.

This year he was somewhat starting to get untracked – slightly. Then he was hit by a pitch against Cincinnati, and the struggles have continued. It’s unfortunate, as he has a lot of talent. In short, he’s a victim of circumstance.

As I said above, the forecast in Boston looks foreboding for Thursday night with a 70% chance of “heavy rain.” Given that analytics are so big in baseball today, I would submit that the probability of playing is slim. An impromptu day off might be good, however if that happens you have to hope that they reschedule the game for a different day. This as opposed to a doubleheader.

The series concludes this afternoon at American Family Field. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Milwaukee’s Chad Patrick. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.