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 fall in opener with Cincinnati

Cade Povich struggled against Cincinnati this evening for the Baltimore Orioles. As a pitcher, you’re never going to be on 100% of the time. Povich had issues locating his pitches, and this command. Povich’s line: 3.1 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 5 BB, 4 K.

The O’s started off on top. Cedric Mullins’ solo homer in the second gave them a 1-0 lead. But one inning later Cincinnati had the lead. And in semi-bizarre fashion at that. De La Cruz sent a deep fly ball to center that bounced off the lip of the wall. It was originally ruled a two-RBI double, but on umpire review it was ruled a three-run homer.

The fourth inning would see a solo homer by Candelario, and a three run shot by McLain. The latter of those two busted the game wide open, and the O’s trailed 7-1. This chasing Povich from the game.

Hays’ RBI-single in the seventh would extend that lead to 8-1. It was a fairly strange play, as it fell into a Bermuda Triangle in shallow right field. But as we’ve seen with the Orioles for years, it never seems to be how hard you hit the ball. It’s where it lands.

Heston Kjerstad would make it a more reasonable score with a two-run home run in the eighth. For what it’s worth, the Birds will have to make a roster move tomorrow, as Brandon Young will be called to the majors to make his big league debut. Might Cade Povich be on the business end of that transaction? Tough to say.

The series continues tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. The aforementioned Brandon Young will get the start for the O’s (his major league debut), and he’ll be opposed by Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: First series win

It’s been a strange early season for the Baltimore Orioles. Granted, injuries among other things have played a role. But tonight they got a strong start out of Tomoyuki Sugano, who gave the Birds an opportunity to win. Sugano’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Gunnar Henderson set the tone right off the bat. This meaning literally. His solo home run in the first inning gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. Cleveland would net things up in the third on a solo home run by Schneemann, and on they played in a 1-1 tie.

However Cleveland would go back-to-back with a solo home run by Hedges in the wake of the first one. But their 2-1 lead was short-lived. In fact, they would never be that close again.

This in a good way – from the Orioles’ perspective, that is. Gunnar Henderson smacked a three-run homer in the bottom of the inning. The umpires had to review the play, but it was ruled that the ball was a home run. And there O’s led, 4-2.

Heston Kjerstad would tack on a two-run shot in the last of the sixth, extending the Birds’ lead to 6-2. Seranthony Dominguez and Felix Bautista were solid in the latter innings, shutting Cleveland down. In taking two-of-three, the O’s won their first series of the season. And if you go back to last year, their first series since September of 2024.

Tomorrow the O’s welcome in Cincinnati to Camden Yards for the first of three. Cade Povich gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Cincinnati’s Andrew Abbott. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Yennier Cank for the win

Dean Kremer turned in perhaps his best start of the season for the Baltimore Orioles tonight. Maybe that’s slightly hollow given how early it is. But Kremer did what he was supposed to do – he put the Birds in a spot to win the game. Kremer’s line: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Kremer had some help. The O’s worked counts early and loaded the bases in the second inning. That brought Jackson Holliday to the plate. And his grand slam busted the Birds out of whatever funk they were in. And they led 4-0.

Cleveland would slightly battle back. Arias’ solo homer in the third cut the lead to 4-1. And there the game remained as it went on…and on. Until Ramon Laureano smacked a solo homer in the last of the seventh, extending the lead to 5-1.

But the game was won an inning later. With two runners on, Brandon Hyde went to Yennier Cano out of the pen. Cano would strike a hitter out, and walk another – loading the bases. He would proceed to induce a double-play, with the hitter grounding back to him. He went to the plate for one, sand Adley Rutschman threw to first for the second out ending the inning. (Interference was called at first to get the third out.)

The O’s would add on late, with a solo homer by Ryan O’Hearn among other things. They ran the final to 9-1. But make no mistake that Yennier Cano won the game for them. Cleveland threatened in the eighth, and a big inning would have changed the game. But Cano allowed nothing. End of the day, the O’s got the win. And now try to get on a streak.

The series concludes tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Tanner Bibee. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles outlasted by Toronto

Cade Povich got the start this afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the series finale with Toronto. It was meant to be the third game, but of course the series was shortened to two games due to rain. Povich’s line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Luckily for the O’s, they got at it quick. With runners at the corners and two outs, Toronto starter Berrios uncorked a wild pitch. Gunnar Henderson scored from third, and the O’s led 1-0.

Toronto battled back immediately with a solo homer in the second tying the score at one. But…the Orioles can hit homers also. And Ryan Mountcastle did just that in the second – a solo shot. The O’s led 2-1 – for a short period. Guerrero’s RBI-single in the third tied the game at two.

However Adley Rutschman would give the Orioles the lead back in the bottom of the inning. With a runner at third he would hit a grounder to the second baseman Gimenez, who inexplicably decided to throw home. The angle wasn’t exactly the best, and Gunnar Henderson had a good lead off the bag. Henderson would slide in safely, and the O’s led, 3-2.

Toronto’s an aggressive team. Their aggression worked against them in that instance. One inning later it was the Orioles’ aggression – but theirs worked. Tyler O’Neill smacked a solo homer, extending the lead to 4-2.

Toronto would pick up a run in the sixth, but the O’s extended the lead in the bottom of the inning. With two runners on Jackson Holliday sent a deep liner to right that was misplayed by the Toronto outfield. Two runners scored, and the O’s led 6-3. At the time, that felt like a death blow.

As I said above, Toronto’s aggressive. They’re also patient. Which is tough to outlast. They chipped away against Gregory Sotto in the eighth. After an RBI-double, an RBI-groundout, and an RBI-single, they had tied the O’s..

Toronto would get an infield RBI-single in the tenth to take a 7-6 lead. They would close the Orioles out, stranding the tying run at third in the tenth to split the shortened series. Frustrating loss, but the ball bounces the other way at times.

The worst part is the final run came in on a slowly hit infield single. Opponents are getting on base and driving runs in using at times the most humble ways possible. Manager Brandon Hyde was ejected in the third inning for arguing balls and strikes.

Baltimore Orioles: Powder blue hue to an Orange Crush

Tomoyuki Sugano had his struggles this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. First off, Toronto came up swinging early, and he wasn’t getting borderline pitches at home plate. And Toronto wasn’t hitting the ball hard, they were fouling off pitch after pitch, driving up Sugano’s pitch count. Sugano’s line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 0 K.

Toronto put a run on the board in each of the first three innings, including former Oriole Anthony Santander hitting his first home run in a Toronto uniform in the third. Speaking of uniforms, the O’s wore their all-orange uniforms for the first time since 2010. They wore them in the early 70’s, but it was short-lived; they’ll wear these uniforms for every Saturday home game.

And Toronto followed suit, wearing their own alternate uniforms, all in powder blue. And that was all we saw for the first half of the game – those powder blue dressed guys celebrating. Oriole bats squared up a lot of pitches; they were just balls hit to fielders.

But this lineup is too good to go that quietly. The Orioles couldn’t get a base runner until the fifth inning when Cedric Mullins drew a one-out walk. Two hitters later Heston Kjerstad recorded the Orioles’ first hit of the game. Funny thing though, that one hit changed the scope of the game. Because it was a two-run homer that cut the Toronto lead to 3-2, and propelled the Birds back into the game.

One inning later it was tied following an Adley Rutschman solo home run. The O’s would later put two runners on base, and Cedric Mullins broke up the tie with a two-RBI double. He would also take third on a throwing error, and before you knew it the Orioles had the lead.

Toronto would push one across in the seventh when Guerrero grounded into a double-play with a runner on third, setting up Felix Bautista’s first save opportunity since 2023 in the ninth with a one-run lead.

With two outs Toronto had two runners in scoring position, and Bichette striding to the plate. It’s never easy with Toronto. However Bautista sent Bichette down swinging, netting his first save since August of 2023, and sending the Orioles home winners. That last part being the most inportant.

Backing up a bit, there was a big moment that occurred in the fifth that was really key. Santander had two runners on base and he flied out to right. However it ended up being a double-play, as the runners both tagged up however runner on first was found to have left too early. That helped keep the threat of a big inning down, keeping the game within reach.

To date, this was the biggest win of the season for the Orioles. Coming off of a semi-listless road trip, an off day, and a rain out, the O’s needed a spark to keep the season from spiraling. They got it. Not at the beginning, but they got it.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Cade Povich gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Jose Berrios. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles rained out

Tonight’s Baltimore Orioles game against Toronto has been rained out. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on July 29th at Camden Yards. I don’t think it took a genius to see this was going to happen. For the record.

So now, the O’s will open this home stand and series with Toronto tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards (weather permitting). Cade Povich gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Jose Berrios. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Clipped by a reverse-lock?

The Baltimore Orioles had Dean Kremer on the mound, and a slew of lefty hitters in the lineup this afternoon at Chase Field in Arizona. After sending Zach Eflin to the IL earlier in the day, that setup should have been a pick me up for the O’s, facing a righty starter. But it wasn’t to be. Kremer’s line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

According to pitch track, Kremer was getting a lot of the plate. In short, too much of the plate. Arizona had their pick of pitches to hit.

Already leading 1-0 in the third, Carroll’s solo homer in the third doubled the lead to 2-0. In the fifth Arizona would put up two homers, a two-run shot by Smith followed by a solo shot by Naylor. Tawa would add a two-RBI double opening the game wide open, and the O’s trailed 7-0.

Arizona would tack two on in the eighth as well, sending the O’s back to Baltimore with a lopsided 9-0 loss. Not a good road trip at 2-4. However the O’s now go home for the longest road trip of the season. They also had a bit of an odd start to the season, heading to Toronto, back home for three games, and then back on the road. Perhaps an elongated home stand helps to even their mindset a bit.

As I said, Brandon Hyde loaded the lineup with lefties and switch hitters today. This against a righty starter, Arizona’s Pfaadt. You almost wonder if teams are ready for that sort of thing. Because it would stand to reason that the Orioles would have had a decent day at the plate today. But they didn’t,

End of the day remember, this is a team loaded with guys who were can’t miss prospects. They’ll figure it out in the end, especially when they start getting their pitching back.

Baltimore Orioles bring the heat, but Zach Eflin leaves early

The Baltimore Orioles hope they got off the schnide last night in Arizona. I say that figuratively in a sense. Zach Eflin turned in a great outing, and the bullpen functioned exactly as it was designed to do. Eflin’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 6 K.

The O’s were on the board early when Ryan O’Hearn hit a solo homer in the first inning. Two innings later Adley Rutschman’s RBI-single extended the lead to 2-0. Rutschman especially, but really the entire team…the Orioles were patient last night. They worked the count, and they forced Arizona pitchers to throw the ball over the plate.

Gurriel got Arizona on the board in the fourth with a sac fly-RBI, however in the fifth Cedric Mullins would tick the Birds further along with an RBI-groundout. Later in the inning the O’s had two runners in scoring position, who were played by Ryan Mountcastl’s two-RBI single. And the O’s led 5-1.

Eflin and the bullpen were stout. So the result of the game was never in doubt. But Zach Eflin is now.

Eflin left the game after the sixth with shoulder fatigue. Eflin on his shoulder (quote courtesy of Brendan Mortenson, MASNsports :

Just fatigue. I think it was precautionary. Evaluate tomorrow and see how I feel after sleeping tonight.

Let me be blunt for once; the O’s are in a lot of trouble if Zach Eflin has to miss any substantial time. Luckily pitchers only pitch once every five games. But shoulder “situations” can be tough. All you can do is hope for the best.

There’s every chance that Eflin wakes up this morning and is fine. Or in time for his next start. Something else that works on his side is that the Orioles have an off day Thursday. So in theory they could skip him in the rotation and it wouldn’t make a huge difference.

The series continues tonight at Chase Field. Charlie Morton gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Arizona’s Merrill Kelly. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Did the lineup sink the Birds?

The Baltimore Orioles sent Cade Povich to the mound this afternoon in the series finale in Kansas City. Jorge Mateo was sent to center field, a position which he’s played very sparingly in his career. To the tune of 20 games in his career (11 of which were starts). Povich wasn’t lights out, but he probably pitched well enough to win. Povich’s line: 6.0 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Povich was pitching-to-contact slightly too much. The zero walks and 13 hits speaks to that. And Kansas City’s a contact team in that they’re aggressive. After recording the first out of the game, Povich induced a routine fly ball to center field by Witt. It appeared to be a quick second out.

That is until Jorge Mateo misjudged the ball, and it sailed on him. It slightly ticked off the very tip of his glove and Witt ended up on third base. What should have been the second out, ended up a triple (surprisingly the ball was ruled a hit instead of an error). Witt would score a moment later on a sac fly-RBI by Pasquantino.

Following two singles, Kansas City would plate two on a two-RBI double by Massey. Kansas City would extend their lead an inning later on an RBI-single by Fermin. Now the good news for the O’s is that they held Kansas City off the scoreboard the rest of the way. And Kansas City had a few other opportunities to score. The O’s and Povich just pitched out of it.

The bad news is that they ran into a buzzsaw in Kansas City starter Bubic. He stymied Oriole bats at every step of the way. The lone Oriole run came when Ryan Mountcastle scored on a wild pitch in the seventh. This after he led the inning off with a triple, but just when it looked like the Birds might rally, Kansas City shut them down again and that’s the only run they scored.

The key to the game was that Witt triple in the first inning. It appeared to be a routine play. Mateo appeared to lose the ball in the sun, which happens. But does it happen as often to a regular outfielder such as Heston Kjerstad?

This game was very typical of matchups with teams such as Kansas City. One small thing magnified into three runs. If Mateo makes that play, there are two outs and nobody on. For all we know, Kansas City goes on to have a bigger inning than they did. But end of the day that was the key play of the game.

This isn’t to knock Jorge Mateo. He’s an asset to this team, especially with his speed. He’s just not a natural outfielder. And it may have cost the Birds royally today.

The O’s now head to Phoenix tomorrow to open a three-game set at Chase Field against Arizona. Zach Eflin gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Arizona’s Zac Gallen. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: First big league win for Tomoyuki Sugano

Baltimore Orioles’ bats came alive this afternoon in Kansas City. This behind starter Tonouki Sugano, who was making his second major league start. This at 35. Sugano’s line: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

One of the many keys to winning games is to get the lead. Goes without saying, right? You haven’t start somewhere…and with two on in the top of the second, the Birds did just that. Gary Sanchez’s two-RBI single gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead.

Sugano cruised through four, but ran into some slight trouble in the fifth. With nobody out he put two runners on base. For a split second the Orioles’ 2-0 lead appeared slimmer than previously thought. This is what Kansas City does, right? Paper cut you to death?

But Sugano thrived under pressure. He induced three straight pop outs to end the inning. It wasn’t the biggest crisis on planet earth, but that could have cost the O’s the lead. Or worse yet, turned into a big inning. Sugano zoned in and shut that down.

And that seemed to inspire Oriole bats a bit. Heston Kjerstad and Ramon Urias added RBI-singles in the sixth, doubling the Orioles’ lead. Later in the inning Jackson Holliday’s two-RBI single extended it to 6-0.

Sugano came back out for the sixth, and promptly surrendered a solo homer to Witt Jr. Following a single and an out recorded. Brandon Hyde took the ball. Sugano left the game with a big lead, and in line for his first major league win.

And Tyler O’Neill would give the Birds two insurance runs in the seventh with a two-RBI triple. But it begins and ends with starting pitching. Sugano earned his first major league win this afternoon. Which is a big deal. And with Oriole bats coming to life, the Birds as a team snapped a modest three-game losing streak.

The series concludes tomorrow at Kauffman Stadium. Cade Povich gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Kris Bubic. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.