Author Archives: Domenic Vadala

Welcome to Birdland Crush! Yes folks, for the record it's a spin off of the popular summer beverage native to the Mid-Atlantic Region - "orange crush." Nevertheless, I've been covering Orioles' baseball since 2009 in some capacity, and it's basically the greatest gig of all time so far as I'm concerned! But for those who aren't familiar with my work or bio, I'm familiar with pretty much every sport out there. But baseball is king - we all know that. So my hope is that you come back and check in after every Orioles' game, and throughout the off-season. I'm always on duty!

Baltimore Orioles: Colton Cowser prevents a shutout

Maybe it was the 14-pitch at-bat that got Shane Baz and the Baltimore Orioles today. However Baz also struggled from the beginning, giving up a double to start the game. That set the tone. Baz’s line: 4.2 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

Langaliers’ RBI-single following the leadoff double gave the Athletics a 1-0 lead. However the real turning point in the game was Soderstrom’s at-bat with two on and nobody out in the third. Soderstrom fouled off just about everything that Baz threw up there. To the tune of 14 pitches.

Soderstrom eventually popped out. However a few pitches later Rooker hit a three-run homer. Rooker, who’s hitting below the Mendoza Line. Did that long at-bat do Baz in?

The short answer is probably. Even though Naz recorded the out, that took its toll. On top of that, Langaliers’ sac fly-RBI in the fifth extended the lead to 5-0.

The O’s looked poised to battle back. They loaded the bases in the last of the fifth with nobody out. Yet, they let the Athletics off the hook with a strikeout and two fly out’s.

They had to score there. One big theme the last two years has been the O’s not holding their opponents accountable. That and their opponents refusing to return the favor.

Before the Athletics would tack on an insurance run in the ninth, the O’s did get on the board in the eighth. A single and a double put two runners in scoring position. Colton Cowser pinch-hit for Coby Mayo, and snacked a two-RBI single. But the O’s fell, 6-2.

Mayo’s hitting .158, and has multiple errors in the field under his belt. Between Cowser pinch-hitting, Pete Alonso taking ground balls at third before the game, and Jackson Holliday taking grounders at third (on his rehab assignment), it stands to reason that Mayo is trending downward. Is a move imminent? No idea. But it’s not sustainable.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Chris Bassitt gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by the Athletics’ Luis Severino. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Kyle Bradish done in by analytics?

Kyle Bradish pitched outstanding this evening for the Baltimore Orioles against The Athletics. It was by far Bradish’s best start of the season, and maybe one of the best of his career. And it was for naught. Bradish’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 10 K.

The Orioles are the only team in baseball who’s never won this year against a southpaw starter. And that continued this evening. Yet all things being equal, it probably should have been a 2-1 Orioles’ win.

Pete Alonso continued his hot streak with a solo home run in the last of the fourth to give the O’s a 1-0 lead. But it came unglued in the fifth – through no fault of Bradish. Wilson began the inning with a softly-hit but perfectly placed infield single to first base. Butler would then single to left, and suddenly the Athletics had a rally going. It started that innocently. And Gelof’s RBI-single tied the game at one.

Later in the inning a two-RBI triple by Kurtz gave the Athletics the lead at 3-1. The O’s would get one back in the sixth on a solo homer in the sixth. Bradish would leave after seven, and the newly called-up Kyle Gibson (who took the roster spot of the injured Cade Povich) would surrender a softly-hit RBI-single by Wilson. And the O’s fell, 4-2.

The Gelof single to left field I mentioned above in the fifth inning; it was curious. According to various internet stats’ sites, Gelof is a guy who a lot of teams play to bunt. That’s what the analytics say. And the Orioles appeared to do that, expecting a Gelof bunt.

However Gelof swung away. And he grounded the ball to Gunnar Henderson at short. Henderson did get to the ball; but he didn’t have time to quite get to it, and it trickled into left field. That set up an inning of consequence in the game, which ultimately led to an Athletics’ win.

Henderson would later bobble what should have been a double-play ball, further setting the inning up for the Athletics. That turned into a fielder’s choice, meaning it wasn’t an error. However that’s a play that has to be made. It would have been a double-play. Instead it was only one out.

Did the Athletics see the analytics behind Gelof’s at-bat and reverse-engineer it? Every opposing team knows the Orioles are married to these analytics. So would it not stand to reason that they would weaponize it? They think I’m bunting, so I’m going to swing away. And when the ball was put into play, the Orioles were slightly out of place.

This might be part of the reason for the struggles the past two years. Since June of 2024 in reality. To me it stands to reason that many teams just look at their own tendencies and try in many cases to do the opposite. They think we’re going to bunt, so we’ll do everything BUT. That’s why you have to use some situational awareness in games, as opposed to dealing only in stats.

And when Samuel Basallo smacked an RBI-single in the last of the ninth, all of the runs truly mattered. Perhaps the line between winning and losing is at times that fine. Especially when you consider that the Orioles had the winning run on base in the last of the ninth.

The series continues tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Shane Baz gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by the Athletics’ Aaron Civale. game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall on late error

First and foremost, the Baltimore Orioles potentially received suffered a new injury this evening, this to starter Cade Povich. With no injury outwardly apparent as having occurred, Povich was lifted after three innings. The Orioles later said that he was suffering from left forearm discomfort. Povich’s line: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

Povich surrendered a two-run homer to Hicks in the first inning, putting the Birds behind the eight-ball 2-0. For the record, the runner who was on base was Norby, who walked on four pitches that were well out of the strike zone. Did analytics say not to touch the zone against Norby?

The Birds put two runners on in the third, and Gunnar Henderson smacked an RBI-single to cut the lead to 2-1. Keep in mind, the Birds absolutely need Henderson to get back on track to get the season itself back on track. This was a start. But again it was Norby who stepped up for Miami. His RBI-single in the last of the frame extended Miami’s lead to 3-1.

Yet, back-to-back hits by the O’s got them back on the board in the fourth. Samuel Basallo led off the inning with a double, and he later scored on Tyler O’Neill’s RBI-single. That cut the Miami lead to 3-2. It was also in the bottom of that inning that Craig Albernaz inserted Yennier Cano in lieu of Cade Povich.

Again, we learned later of the left forearm discomfort. However the question is whether this really affects the O’s that much. It does – make no mistake. But Trevor Roberts is eligible to come off the IL on Monday. Does it stand to reason that Povich goes to the IL? Do the O’s have to make a roster move for the bullpen before then?

The Oriole bullpen was outstanding overall tonight. Cano, Dietrich Enns, et al. And Pete Alonso continued his big series on top of that with an RBI-single in the eighth to tie the game at three. Which was a big moment.

The O’s would easily record the first two outs in the last of the ninth inning. However following a Mack double, Sanoja would send a bouncer to third. Coby Mayo would bobble the ball, but easily recovered. However that probably caused him to press, and he made an errant throw to first on what should have been the final out of the ninth.

Instead it was an error, allowing the runner to score. That also walked the O’s off losers, 4-3. Manager Craig Albernaz highlighted after the game how good the bullpen was. They gave up one unearned run. The winning run, yes. But needless to say, they did everything they could have.

Tough loss. But a good series overall in Miami. The Orioles have to hope that Pete Alonso and the bullpen stay strong. Despite the walk off error, Coby Mayo also had a decent game at the plate. Needless to say, the O’s took two-of-three in Miami, and left town in a much better spot than when they got there.

The O’s now head for home to take on The Athletics tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Kyle Bradish gets the start tomorrow for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by the Athletics’ Jacob Lopez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Polar Bear sets the tone

After a horrendous series in New York, the Baltimore Orioles have played two games in Miami in a back on track sort of manner. Tonight Brandon Young got the start, and Pete Alonso set the tone. Young’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

After a HBP and a walk, Pete Alonso set the tone for the Birds. his three-run home run in the top of the first on Miami tonight gave the Orioles a 3-0 lead. However Miami battled back. Marsee’s RBI-single in the last of the first cut the Orioles’ lead to 3-2. Caisse’s RBI-single later in the inning tied the game at three.

This has been a tough road trip for the O’s. And here, both last night and tonight, they have the opposing team (Miami) infernally insisting on tying the game after they take an early lead. But the Orioles and Brandon Young played on. And luckily they had a couple of big innings in them.

Dylan Beavers’ RBI-double in the fourth, and. Adley Rutschman’s in the fifth, gave the Birds a 5-3 lead. Rutschman would add an additional RBI-double in the sixth, extending the Orioles’ lead to 6-3. Following a sixth inning triple, Edwards’ RBI-groundout would cut the lead to 6-4 in the seventh.

An RBI-triple by Blaze Alexander in the top of the eighth would put the Birds over the top, and they went home 7-4 winners. Make no mistake, last night was a big win for this team. But so was tonight. After a series like the Birds had in New York( you always want to win a series. And the O’s did just that.

The series concludes tomorrow night at loanDepot Park. Cade Povich gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Miami’s Max Meyer. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Adley Rutschman steals a win

The Baltimore Orioles won ugly tonight, but in doing so snapped a five-game losing streak. That’s often how it goes; losing streaks don’t go easily. One might have thought the O’s would get a better outing from starter Chris Bassitt, but he alarmingly seemed to struggle midway through his outing. Bassitt’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

The O’s were swinging from the beginning. With two on and one out, Pete Alonso’s two-R I double gave the O’s a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Alonso would later score on an RBI-double by Samuel Bassalo (who finished the game a home run short of the cycle), and the O’s led 3-0.

Bassitt would surrender a run in the last of the first on a wild pitch – a bit of a harbinger in a sense. However he started to struggle with control in the second inning, loading the bases with two outs. There’s that two-out number again – the Birds seem to let their guard down after the first two outs of an inning. Hicks’ two-RBI single would tie the game at three.

But the Orioles got the lead right back. Samuel Basallo’s two-RBI single in the third gave them a 5-3 lead. Miami would narrow it to 5-4 on Mack’s RBI-single in the bottom of the frame, but Bassalo came back up in the fifth. And his RBI-triple extended the lead to 6-4. Colton Cowser would reach on a fielder’s choice later in the inning which scored Basallo. And the O’s led, 7-4.

This was lining up to be a big team win. Again, the O’s had lost five straight coming in (including four against New York). Call this whatever you want, my term being a series of consequence. But Miami spoiled the party with back-to-back home runs in the seventh. They would then tie it in the eighth when Ruiz stole third base, and Samuel Basallo double-clutch on the throw, and tossed it into left field scoring the tying run.

The O’s are going through adversity right now, make no mistake. However we also saw a little bit of their character in this game, as they put two on in the ninth with one down. Both runners were the result of walks, which again is a good thing. With Basallo’s spot coming up, Craig Albernaz sent up Adley Rutschman as a pinch-hitter.

Miami played Rutschman very deep in the outfield. Incredibly deep – similar to how the O’s played their outfield last year. And Rutschman made them pay, dumping an RBI-single into left field and giving the O’s an 8-7 lead. They would even get an insurance run on Leody Taveras’ subsequent RBI-single.

Rico Garcia made quick victims of Miami in the ninth, shutting them down 1-2-3. Make no mistake, despite the massive struggles to date this was a huge win for this team. What happens going forward is anyone’s guess. But stopping a losing streak like this is a big deal. And onward we go.

The series continues tomorrow night at loanDepot Park. Brandon Young gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Miami’s Eury Perez. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles derailed by lack of attention to detail

Shane Baz pitched well enough to win tonight for the Baltimore Orioles. And the Birds had their chances. But even the best pitcher on earth can’t win games if the team around him can’t pay attention to detail in games. That’s as Baz’s fate tonight at Yankee Stadium. Baz’s line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 6 R (5 earned), 5 BB, 4 K.

After the O’s stranded one in the first, New York led off their half of the frame with a Grisham double. That brought up Judge, who’s always an at-bat of consequence. Baz worked Judge to a 2-2 count. He threw an 89 MPH slider, and it was called ball three.

The pitch track seemed to indicate that it caught the bottom of the box. There isn’t one person in the ballpark, or watching at home on television who thought that wouldn’t be overturned by way of an ABS challenge…

…except Adley Rutschman. To be clear, Rutschman is cerebral, which is a good thing. However the ABS system doesn’t reward that. It rewards decisiveness – right or wrong. I agree with Rutschman’s apparent conservative philosophy in terms of challenging, Play it safe, and ensure that you have an option to challenge toward the end of the ballgame.

But maybe Rutschman took that too much to heart. Again, play it safe. But that pitch was in the zone; literally every replay and pitch track showed that. It would have been strike three upon review, and the Orioles would have been out of the inning. Instead, Judge hit a two-run home run, giving New York a 2-0 lead.

Grisham would double in the third, and advance to third base on a throwing error by Leody Taveras. Bellinger’s sac fly would tack onto New York’s lead making it 3-1. Again, the result of a mental lapse.

Colton Cowser quietly had a good game at the plate. He walked in his first at-bat, and then came up with the bases loaded in the sixth. He didn’t drive the ball and net a power hit with runners in scoring position. But he didn’t drive draw a walk. And in doing so he cut the NY lead to 3-1.

In the home half of the frame New York appeared to record the final out of the inning at home plate when Baz uncorked a wild pitch and a runner from third was called out. Yet..:New York did what the Orioles didn’t. They challenged. And they won.

Somehow, they were rewarded for rolling the dice. They put two additional runs on the board before the inning ended. And six more in the eighth, defeating the Orioles 12-1. Needless to say, this was another one which got away from the O’s. The game was closer than the score indicates. But still a loss.

It’s too easy to point at that minuscule moment in the first inning – the Adley Rutschman challenge. I thought it was a strike. I thought it might have been worth challenging. I also have replay. Rutschman did not. The rules mandate that he goes out on a limb and runs a risk to potentially get a call.

Of course, Judge hit a home run. And while the final said 12-1, it wasn’t a 12-1 game – until the end. However that moment did set the tone. And it illuminates the fact that the Orioles refuse to be bold. New York, despite their talent, fights for everything. They were challenging calls late into the game, and well after the outcome wasn’t in question. They didn’t care. They weren’t about to give away outs. The Orioles weren’t sure, so true to my own philosophy, they sat on their hands.

The O’s now head to South Beach to open a three-game set with Miami at loanDepot Park. Christ Bassitt gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Miami’s Sandy Alcantera. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall due to defensive mishaps and poor lineup construction

Trey Gibson was put in an impossible position by the Baltimore Orioles today. Beat New York in the Bronx, while they’re having everything in their grasp bounce the right way. Also to be the Orioles’ stopper – this in his major league debut. In what should have been the most exciting moment of his life, he was thrown into a pressure situation. And he delivered. Gibson’s line: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Unfortunately for Gibson, he was also pitching against New York’s Fried – their ace, and one of the best pitchers in baseball. While Fried didn’t have a great game and looked uncomfortable at times, he still is who he is. As a result, the Orioles used what I would term a less than impactful lineup, in an effort to stack the deck with all righties.

Gibson gave up two home runs. One to Rice in the first, and one to Judge in the third. Home runs are going to happen, especially to rookies the first was a solo shot – no harm no foul. The Judge home run SHOULD have been a solo shot. But Weston Wilson and Blaze Alexander almost collided in shallow left field, allowing Rice’s flair to drop as a double.

However Wilson also got aboard in the second and promptly stole second base. He would score on an RBI-single by Blaze Alexander. This of course before that defensive mishap.

The Orioles did hang around in this game. They would take advantage of Fried not being himself and load the bases with nobody out in the fourth. Leody Taveras’ infield RBI-single cut the lead to 3-2. It also kept the bases loaded, and the O’s would eventually tie it. This as Jeremiah Jackson grounded into a double-play, scoring the third run of the game for the O’s.

That was a huge moment. The Orioles could have put a crooked number up on a few different occasions, but they opted for piecemeal runs. Mind you, that’s not the worst thing – no runs would be worse. But if you play for one run, that might be all you get.

The game remained tied until the sixth when NY put a runner at third with one out. McMahon grounded to Coby Mayo at first base, who appeared to try to throw the ball home before he cleanly had it. Instead, the run scored and McMahon was safe at first base. The O’s got out of the inning without further incident, but they trailed 4-3.

That was ruled an infield RBI-single. But it’s also a play Coby Mayo has to make. Of course you want to cut off the run. It goes without saying. But you have to know when to live to fight another day. The correct play there was to take the out at first base.

New York took a one-run lead into the last of the eighth, and then exploded. They put up eight runs against Oriole pitching, resulting in an 11-3 win. Much of that against Andrew Kitteredge. The play that really glares however was once again on Coby Mayo. With two runners on, Caballero sent a swinging bunt up the third base line. Mayo I explicably tried to field the ball, presumably to make the play at first base.

It was a play he wasn’t ever going to make, despite having a good arm. However the ball was clearly rolling foul. Instead by touching the ball, it was an infield hit. And New York made the Orioles pay.

Analytics say to load your lineup with righties when you face a guy like Fried. I understand that, however is it really worth sacrificing defense for that? You leave a guy like Gunnar Henderson on the bench for that reason? I think you’re handicapping the lineup doing that.

Analytics are important. But not at the price of sound logic. Coby Mayo made two massive mistakes in this game, ironically from both corners of the infield. (He switched to third later in the game.) You can’t allow that to happen. The mistake at first led directly to New York taking the lead.

The Orioles’ front office has more data than they know what to do with. You can’t win games on computers – this isn’t Atari or Nintendo. This is baseball. Computers don’t play the game. Humans do.

Incidentally, I’m not saying that the Orioles should throw in the towel on this year. It’s too early for that. But toss the computer analytics out the Warehouse window. And maybe look around and see if a trade can be made for a veteran or someone with some experience to help steady the ship.

The series concludes tomorrow night at Yankee Stadium. Shane Baz gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Cam Schlittler. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Attacking the strike zone wins games

Kyle Bradish actually pitched better than the numbers indicate today at Yankee Stadium. Not great, but better than the numbers might indicate. He didn’t get much help. Bradish’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 earned), 4 BB, 4 K.

Bradish gave up a solo homer in the second to Bellinger. A walk and a double in the third put two runners in scoring position. Rice struck out for the second out of the inning, however a run would score on a pass ball by Adley Rutschman. After an intentional walk, Bellinger’s RBI-double extended the lead to 3-0.

Granted, Bradish put the runners on base. But a run scoring on a pass ball in the wake of a strikeout doesn’t exactly reflect on him. Needless to say, it’s a team effort. Unless of course you’re hitting solo home runs, which Pete Alonso did in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-1.

Bradish, along with just about every other pitcher on the staff, doesn’t attack the strike zone. Oriole pitchers are trying to live under and outside of the strike zone. Opposing teams know this, which is why they at times look unbeatable against the Orioles. That’s why you see so many wonky plays. The ball goes all over the place. That’s why so many times balls are just outside the reach of fielders, or line drives split defenders.

You can’t win games that way. It could also be why we see so many two-out rallies. Teams know what to look for. They have analytics also. And they can almost predict what’s coming. That should be glaring to the people in the front office who chart out the direction of the organization, especially as it happened again in the last of the fourth when Grisham smacked a two-run home run with two outs to extend the lead to 5-1.

Following a second solo homer by Bellinger in the fifth, the O’s did try to come back in the sixth. Tried. They loaded the bases with nobody out. However Pete Alonso would only plate one with a GIDP. However later in the inning Samuel Basallo would smack a pinch hit RBI-double, cutting the lead to 6-3.

Dylan Beavers walked to lead off the seventh, and would later steal two bases. Taylor Ward would ground out, scoring Beavers. It’s risky to attempt two steals – but Beavers did, he was safe, and he later scored, bringing the O’s to within two at 6-4.

Bellinger was a pest all day. With two on in the home half of the seventh his infield RBI-single extended the lead to 7-4. It ticked off of Jeremiah Jackson’s glove. Valiant effort, but just out of reach. Again, you wonder if the strategy of staying out of the strike zone doesn’t work counteractive to the Orioles’ intentions. All guys have to do is make contact and get the ball in play – and all bets are off.

Later in the inning Chisholm’s RBI-single would extend the lead to 8-4. Tyler O’Neill flubbed the ball slightly in right field. When he played the ball back into second base, Gunnar Henderson seemed to forget there was a runner behind him at third. The sad thing is Bellinger (the runner) didn’t appear to be looking to score. When Henderson didn’t make an attempt to throw home, he broke for the plate and scored easily. Ruled an RBI and a run scored on an error – charged to O’Neill.

The error may have been on O’Neill, but Gunnar Henderson can’t have mental lapses like that. And he wasn’t the only one who did things like that – today, or this season. You have to focus and pay attention. That’s something that shows up in the scorebook as an E9, but it’s an intangible thing which can’t be allowed to happen.

The Orioles need to start attacking the strike zone and clean up the mental lapses – and fast. When you look at the great Oriole rotations of the past, they had power pitchers – like Jim Palmer and Mike Flanagan. As hellbent on analytics at all costs as the current Front Office is, would it shock anyone if their attitude is they’d rather guys fly or ground out to save pitches?

That’s a theory – not an absolute. Strikeouts usually take a lot more pitches. So since efficiency is at a premium, the only explanation for infernally having your pitchers throw pitches outside the zone is you want to get them to put the ball in play early and record an out.

Again, this needs to be figured out quickly. It would also attest for how often we see soft contact. Opposing teams are doing everything they can to just put the ball in play. And the fielders are positioned in spots not anticipating wayward contact. Accounting for the number of softly hit singles, AND two out rallies.

On top of that, the Orioles are calling up pitching prospect Trey Gibson to make tomorrow’s start. A rookie, making his big league debut, against New York, in the Bronx. And being asked to be a stopper.

The series continues tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. The aforementioned Trey Gibson gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Max Fried. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: You have to attack the strike zone

Chris Bassitt attacked the strike zone in game one of this afternoon’s doubleheader against Houston for the Baltimore Orioles. Brandon Young tried to live on the corners and outside of the strike zone in the second game. The Birds blew Houston out in the first game. Not so much in the second. Young’s line: 4.0 IP, 10 H, 10 R (7 earned), 2 BB, 2 K.

In short, Houston had two big innings in the ballgame. Those being the first and the fourth. Harris’ two-RBI single in the first set the tone, giving Houston a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning a three-run home run by Smith extended the lead to 5-0.

Alvarez would tack on a solo home run in the second, before Houston would tack on six in the fourth inning. They led 10-0 at that point, and sent nine to the plate in the inning. However the fourth inning was also noteworthy because Pete Alonso got the O’s on the board with an RBI-double, and Leody Taveras would cut the lead to 10-3 with a two-RBI triple.

Houston would tack on an additional run in the fifth on a wild pitch. But the O’s would tack on two more before all was said and done. Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-double in the seventh, and Coby Mayo’s sac fly-RBI in the ninth. But the O’s fell in the second game of two, 11-5.

I wrote this a lot last year; you HAVE to attack the strike zone. Whichever AI program the Orioles use which tells them to live off the plate isn’t working. We often hear that pitchers don’t want to give in and throw a fastball. Sometimes that’s how you make your living.

If you don’t attack the strike zone, firstly you’ll walk a lot of guys. But the second phase of this is that opposing teams seemingly know where the ball is going to be – BECAUSE they have the same AI/analytical programs. So they’re sitting on your cutter or sweeper off the plate, similar to how they might sit on a fastball. Which defeats the purpose.

You have to attack the strike zone. I’m not suggesting that you should live in the middle of the plate – BAD IDEA. But that’s why mixing your pitches is important. And we saw that contrast in game one vs. game two.

All of that said, fans should keep in mind that the Orioles did take two of three from Houston. They split a doubleheader, which is the law of averages. In fact, teams in generaly dislike doubleheaders – not because of the lack of rest, but because it’s all but accepted that you end up splitting it. Meaning it’s a guaranteed loss.

Again, two of three. That should be the goal in every series. So consider this a bounce back series after the Boston series over the weekend.

The O’s now head to New York to open up a four-game weekend set at Yankee Stadium. The Birds are yet to announce a starter for tomorrow night’s game, but whomever he is will be opposed by New York’s Will Warren. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Shane Baz leads the night

Shane Baz took the mound tonight at Camden Yards for the Baltimore Orioles against Houston in what shaped up to be a huge game. Houston was dominated this past weekend by New York, and the Orioles dropped two-of-three to a previously hapless Boston team which dismissed its manager while in Baltimore. Luckily for the Birds, Baz delivered. Baz’s line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

The biggest factor for Baz? He attacked the strike zone. This as opposed to us seeing over the past year-and-a-half or so where pitchers tried to live on the corners and off and under the plate most games. And early on at that. Baz attacked the zone and attacked Houston hitters from the beginning, which set the tone.

That combined with a solid approach at the plate set the gears of this game in motion for the Orioles. Gunnar Henderson led off the last of the first with a double. He would later score after being moved to third on an RBI-single by Adley Rutschman. After Rutschman himself was sacrificed to third he would score on Samuel Basallo’s RBI-double.

The Orioles exercised a bit of small ball there. Which kind you isn’t always perfect because in short you’re playing for one run. But they did it twice, and in fact yielded two – one run each time. But it got them an early lead. Which again set the tone.

That lead would hold up until the top of the fifth when Houston would get on the board with a solo homer by Matthews. However Oriole bats were also poised to come to life again that inning. Pete Alonso smacked a two-run home run in the bottom of the inning, giving the Birds a 4-1 lead.

Adley Rutschman would also have a great day at the plate, tacking on an RBI-single in the seventh. Houston would threaten once more, putting two runs on the board in the eighth. But the Birds got out of the inning without further incident, and took game one of three, 5-3.

After a lackluster effort this past weekend and an off day yesterday, this was a huge win for the O’s. This was one they needed. With an outstanding effort by Shane Baz, it brings them back to a game within .500.

The series continues tomorrow evening at Camden Yards. Chris Bassitt gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Peter Lambert. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.