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 can’t cash in on Alex Cobb’s quality start

Alex Cobb gave the Baltimore Orioles a quality start last night in Philadelphia. Heck, he even registered a base hit (playing by National League rules, of course). And it was no cheapie; Cobb made solid contact on a pitch and grounded it up the middle. Yet he had nothing to show for it but a loss and a pat on the back for a quality start. Cobb’s line: 6.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

Before the game started however it appeared that either the Orioles or Philadelphia had angered the baseball God’s, as one of the worst thunderstorms I’ve ever seen descended on south Philly. No exaggeration, some of the lightning bolts sounded like they were hitting right behind the grandstand. As Doc Brown said in Back to the Future II, it was “one hell of a storm!”

So the game began with a 90 minute rain delay, but when it did start Mark Trumbo led off the second inning with a solo home run to give the Birds a 1-0 lead. In theory Trumbo’s sudden resurgence is great news for the Orioles. However if there’s nobody on base ahead of him, it’s almost superfluous. Solo home runs don’t beat you, so in turn they don’t win games for you. Had that homer occurred in the first inning and a couple of runners were already on base, the Orioles would have really been in business.

Philadelphia led off the home half of the third with a base hit, and the starting pitcher Eflin actually bunted the runner over the first base in a typical National League-type move. Only that it surprised me to see them doing it in the third inning, however with a steady rain still falling there was question as to whether or not the teams would get a full game in. Following a walk, Hoskins’ RBI-double gave Philadephia the lead at 2-1.

However one inning later it was Trumbo again coming through for the Birds. His bloop RBI-single to right tied the game at two for the Birds, who at least were going to make a game of it. But one inning later an RBI-triple by Knapp gave Philadephia a 3-2 lead, which they never relinquished.

The O’s however threatened in the top of the eighth. With two outs and the bases loaded, Chris Davis grounded a ball to third, which Philadelphia third baseman Franco miraculously fielded. And I say that because it was in fact a deep ball in the hole, and it took a gold glove play to get to it. Franco proceeded to throw Davis out, although Davis hustled down the line – big time. And that’s to Davis’ credit, as he hasn’t ceased to play hard or to try. Say what you will about his prowess at the plate, but the effort is there in games.

The Orioles challenged the call, citing that the first baseman didn’t hold the bag. According to the umpire in New York, the replay was inconclusive. It did appear that the cleat was off the bag well before Davis crossed, and that it never quite made it back on. Buck Showalter used the term snakebit to describe that play (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

You’re just snakebit. I thought Chris (Davis) had some good at-bats tonight and hung in there and carved the ball the other way. It was a little offline at first. It’ll go down as a real good play by their first baseman.

If you read between the lines there, he’s calling the umpiring crew out. In fact, it was a great play by the third baseman. The first baseman appeared to come off the bag, however according to New York there wasn’t enough visual evidence to overturn the call on the field.

On a side note, the Orioles deactivated outfielder Colby Rasmus and put him on the restricted list. Earlier in the day Rasmus alerted Buck Showalter that he was heading home and wanted to “discontinue playing.” Showalter was very poignant in saying that there were personal factors involved in Rasmus’ decision – so fans shouldn’t rush to judgement in saying things such as Rasmus quit on the team, or anything like that. These things do happen, but once again they seem to have happened to the Orioles – who as a result of this and not being able to get someone to Citizens Bank Park in time for the game, had to play with only 24 roster spots last night.

The bried two-game series concludes today in a July 4th matinee. The Orioles have opted to start Yefry Ramirez, who’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Aaron Nola. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles feeling the hurt as they head to Philadelphia

The Baltimore Orioles are once again having injury problems. Darren O’Day is done for the season, and new addition Steve Wilkerson has what Buck Showalter is calling “the beginnings of an oblique injury.

This as the Orioles head to Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for a short two-game set with Philadelphia. Keep in mind that tonight and tomorrow the O’s will be forced to surrender their DH under National League rules. This means that the pitchers will have to hit. Anyone who’s read me along the way knows I refer NL rules. And big time at that.

But these injuries plus losing the DH compounds a lot of things for the Orioles. Do they make a roster move before tonight’s game? If in fact Wilkerson is unavailable, I think they have to – otherwise they’re left without a backup infielder.

These decisions aren’t easy. Especially when the Orioles are trying to time the addition of younger talent with trading veterans. But even in a down year, the urgency of today’s game always takes precedent.

As previously stated, the O’s will be at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia for tonight’s series opener. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Zach Effin. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Anaheim lapse leads to an orange donnybrook

This was perhaps the game for which the Baltimore Orioles had been waiting all season. The team was constructed to play games like yesterday’s. We thought that would be the norm. To this point, it hasn’t been. But yesterday we saw a different Orioles team – one that most fans would just as soon as see for the rest of the season.

The Birds got a gem out of Kevin Gausman, who set the tone for the team. Gausman’s line: 8.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 2 K. Anaheim had a flight to catch, and I suppose they assumed that Gausman would be just as hitable as the other Oriole pitchers they had seen this series. Save for a couple of exceptions, such as Pujols’ first inning RBI single (which gave Anaheim a 1-0 lead), that wasn’t the case.

We’ve seen strange things happen to this Orioles team all year. Balls falling in where they shouldn’t, balls being lost in the sun, balls sliding through the infield, etc. And often times, those small anomalies led to donnybrook-like innings which doomed the O’s on the spot. For once, those bounces fell the other way.

Adam Jones hit a lazy pop up towards Anaheim’s first baseman Cowart, who called for the ball. Couldn’t have been a more routine play, for what should have been the first out of the inning. But Cowart lost the ball in the sun, it fell in between first and second, and Jones was safe at first. It was only a single; but again, those are the types of plays which the Orioles have allowed to haunt them when they’ve happened to them.

And true to form, that play did in fact start a bit of a donnybrook. Manny Machado followed Jones to the plate, and smacked a two-run homer which gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead. That one mistake, that one mental lapse by Cowart…it gave the Orioles an opening, and they jumped through it. That was also a key point in the game because as much as I’ve written about teams holding the Orioles accountable for their mistakes, for once the O’s didn’t let an opponent off the hook.

Mark Trumbo came to the plate next, and the result was the same; Trumbo’s homer ran the lead to 3-1. Steve Wilkerson also smacked his first career extra-base hit later in the inning, which was an RBI-double and gave the Birds a 4-1 lead. And to cap things off, Tim Beckham‘s two-RBI double ran it to 6-1.

Again, think of how often the Orioles have made slight mistakes in games this year (such as Beckham hesitating to throw the ball to first base on Saturday), and how they’ve ballooned into bigger things which equaled big losses. That’s exactly what happened in the Orioles’ favor with Cowart losing that Jones pop up in the sun. I’m not suggesting that the O’s only won because of that, because when you’re given a gift it’s also about what you do with it. Most of the time when something like that has happened in the Orioles’ favor they’ve taken the aw shucks attitude and let the opponent off the hook Whereas when it’s happened to the Orioles (much more frequently than it’s happened for the Orioles, but I digress) the opponent hasn’t let them off the hook. For once the O’s took advantage today.

The O’s batted around in that fourth inning, which brought Trumbo back to the plate in the last of the fifth. And he delivered for the Birds, smacking a second solo home run. Later in the inning Trey Mancini would hit one as well, running the score to 8-1. Anaheim’s Calhoun would smack a solo shot of his own in the eighth, but that was as close as Oriole pitching was going to let Anaheim get as the Birds ran away with it in an 8-2 victory.

Buck Showalter addressed the quirky nature of the Jones single that was lost in the sun after the game (quote courtesy of Zachary Silver, mlb.com):

Those are the types of things that have been happening to us. I don’t care who you are, if the ball gets in the sun, it stays in the sun. … I thought one of the big keys today, the things we haven’t been doing, was the add-on runs. We get the six-spot and we add on some more runs. And that keeps a good mentality going.

Showalter was also asked in his press conference who his started was going to be on the Fourth of July in Philadelphia. He said that he had to update a few things and that an announcement would probably made on today’s off day. Interesting response, needless to say. However ultimately for one day, Orioles fans left the yard happy after a nice win.

Baltimore Orioles: Tim Beckham’s mistake costs Birds the game

Even when things are actually going well for the Baltimore Orioles, all it takes it one mental lapse to send things into a tailspin. This time it was an ever-so-slight mental error by Tim Beckham at third base with the O’s and Anaheim tied at two. And that set off a sequence of events whereby Anaheim ran away with the game.

Many of these columns seem to run similarly – you can just change the names. In this case, it was Andrew Cashner turning in a quality start and having nothing to show for it. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K. Now I will say this; it seems that you can pencil almost any Orioles starter in for six innings each game, in what ends up being a quality start. You have to wonder if perhaps some pressure might be taken off the bullpen if starters pitched seven innings…?

The Orioles led this game most of the way. Manny Machado smacked an RBI-single in the first inning. However at that point it was Anaheim committing an error, and the Orioles taking advantage – for once. Jones advanced to third on an Upton error, and he later scored on a Valencia RBI-single.

However those were the only runs that the O’s could muster. And in the first inning at that. Overall, they went 1-for-5 with runners in scoring position, and left seven on base. If even one of those seven came around to score, perhaps the game plays out differently.

Anaheim would put a run across in the fourth in a Simmons RBI-single. And on we played with the Orioles holding a one-run lead until Anaheim put some runners on base in the eighth. Going back to Beckham’s mistake, it’s important to note that the O’s had already surrendered the lead before that. Pujols’ RBI-single tied the game at two. But in theory…

…they actually pitched out of the jam – before they didn’t, that is. With one out and the bases loaded, Young grounded to Beckham at third. He stepped on the bag for the second out of the inning. Then he seemed to get confused, and he hesitated for just a second. Just one short second…before he threw across the diamond. However Young was ruled safe by a hair, allowing a run to score and giving Anaheim a 3-2 lead. They would later put three more across in the inning, taking home a 6-2 win.

It’s tough to say what happened in that moment, however Beckham was definitely confused. I don’t want to be too hard on him, because if you look back to when he joined the team last year he’s done more good than ill as an Oriole. Furthermore he’s not playing his regular position of shortstop – Manny Machado is. However without that small hesitation, Young’s out at first base, the inning’s over, and the game remains tied.

Up to that point, this was a good game for the Orioles for the most part. Yet that one slight mistake cost them the game. But I’ll take it a step further; this game was lost back in December when the Orioles decided to acquiesce to Manny Machado and allow him to play shortstop, moving Beckham to third.

The O’s will attempt to get one game out of three tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Deck McGuire of Anaheim. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Two big league debuts in loss

The Baltimore Orioles fell 7-1 to Anaheim this evening, their sixth consecutive loss. David Hess got the start this evening, and was hit up for all but one of Anaheim’s runs. Hess’ line: 5.2 IP, 9 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

The tone was set early on when Hess gave up a solo homer to Trout, giving Anaheim a 1-0 lead. Simmons’ RBI-single in the third extended the lead to 2-0, and Anaheim would later score on a fielder’s choice-RBI by Valbuena. And true to form, sound baseball common sense failed the Orioles in that sequence. With one out they played the infield at double-play depth. Yet Valbuena’s grounder was slow enough that Schoop had to come in to field it, allowing Anaheim to stay out of a double-play. And allowing a run to score.

Anaheim would put four more runs across before all was said and done, including one on a solo homer. Adam Jones would add an RBI-single in the last of the ninth to keep the Orioles out of a shut out as well. With the loss, this Orioles team is currently one game behind the pace set by the 1988 team which began the season 0-21.

But not all of the news was bad for the Orioles. They did have two relievers make their big league debuts in this game, Ryan Meisinger and Paul Fry. Meisinger, a native of Dunkirk, MD, pitched 1.2 innings and gave up two hits and a homer (striking out one). Fry also pitched 1.2 innings, and struck out two.

First off, it’s always a neat moment when someone makes their big league debut. But Ryan Meisinger grew up an Orioles fan, attended Orioles games with his family, etc. In sports it’s all but known and understood that you’re going to be working away from where you’re from. But stories like Meisner’s where the player makes his debut for his hometown team are rare. And they’re awesome to tell. What a thrill for him, and for his family.

Meisner of course gave up the homer, so on that basis Fry looked better of the two. However they both showed promise. It remains to be seen whether or not these guys will remain with the Orioles or be sent back down for whatever the reason might be. But we’re starting to see some of the players grown in the Orioles’ system coming up. Again, for better or for worse.

The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Tyler Skaggs. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles haunted by errors in extras

The good news for the Baltimore Orioles is that they were in all four games of this series against Seattle. The bad news is that they found ways to lose all four of them. And it was in different manners in each game. In the case of this afternoon, it was a Colby Rasmus error in center field. (Jones had the day off.) This game can play some nasty tricks on you if you allow it to.

The Orioles started Jimmy Yakabonis, who made his first big league start. And with semi-favorable results; Yakabonis’ line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 5 K. You might ask why Yakabonis only went four innings; keep in mind that this was in essence a bullpen game for the Orioles given that Bundy is on the DL. And the two runs Yakabonis gave up? A two-run homer by Cruz in the fourth. He’s done that to a lot of people.

But the O’s battled back Manny Machado smacked a solo homer in the fourth. Later in the inning Chris Davis followed with one of their own. And we played on, with a tie score. The Orioles brought in Yefry Ramirez in relief of Yakabonis, who was incredibly impressive. Ramirez pitched three innings and gave up three hits – striking out three hitters as well. Between him and Jakabonis, they put the O’s in a spot to win the game.

But they couldn’t do that, because they couldn’t get a clutch hit. And they were playing against seemingly the most clutch group of guys of all time in Seattle. Segura’s single in the tenth shouldn’t have scored a run. It just shouldn’t have. However Rasmus bobbled the ball, allowing a run to score. Cruz would also send a run-scoring single into the outfield later in the inning, giving Seattle a 4-2 victory and a sweep.

The Orioles can’t seem to get anything right one way or the other. Adam Jones is their leader, he’s having a great season, and he got a well-deserved rest today. And it’s his replacement in the lineup who commits the error which loses the game for the O’s. However we also have to be fair to Rasmus. He certainly didn’t commit that error purposely.

Seattle had a few ducks on the pond in that inning, so the odds of them scoring were already pretty good. But the fact remains that the Orioles find different ways to lose. And again, they were playing a team that only needs a small opening in order to win. Give them a small window, and they find a way to jump through it, make a play, and win a game. And that’s pretty much what they did in all four games in Baltimore.

The Orioles will open a three-game set with Anaheim tomorrow at Camden Yards. David Hess gets the call for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Felix Pena. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Defeat from the jaws of victory

You had to believe that the baseball God’s were smiling on the Baltimore Orioles for once when Chris Davis smacked a three-run homer to give the Birds the lead in the last of the eighth. It felt like the type of death blow that AL East teams can often shove in your face, and furthermore all the Orioles had to do was record three outs to win the game. But they forgot one thing; they were playing baseball’s newest version of the comeback kids who refuse to lose.

Alex Cobb got the start for the Orioles last night, and with somewhat mixed results. Cobb’s line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 1 K. That stat line doesn’t look great, and it isn’t. But Cobb recorded some quick outs in his outing. He was pitching-to-contact – and it just so happened that Seattle was all about making contact.

The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead off of another Danny Valencia home run in the first inning – this one of the two-run variety. But in a harbinger which pointed to the end of the game, Seattle inched back in with a second inning solo blast by Healy. One inning later Span’s RBI-single tied the game at two. Seattle’s the type of team that you really have to put away good in order to beat. But they’re also the type of team that refuses to be put away. Kind of a catch-22.

The Orioles did get the lead back, however. Mark Trumbo‘s RBI-single put them ahead 3-2. A second run scored on an errant throw, and Trumbo took second. When the smoke cleared, it was 4-2. Not only that, but the Orioles caught Seattle in a mistake. Surely since the Orioles can’t seem to shake their mistakes, Seattle must be the same – right? That mistake must stick in the backs of their heads and make them crazy…they’re only human, right?

That’s the thing about teams like Seattle. They put things like that out of their minds fast. Whereas the Orioles would probably let a little thing like that linger in the backs of their minds for the rest of the game, Seattle shook it off quickly. Healy’s sac fly-RBI in the fifth cut the lead to one, and Zunino’s two-RBI single later in the inning gave them a 5-4 lead.

Interestingly, Buck Showalter walked Gamel to get to Zunino – who had been struggling at the plate. It was the smart move with two outs, even though it loaded the bases. Yet it backfired. This isn’t a reflection of Showalter, who mind you is a brilliant manager. As I said, walking Gamel was the smart thing to do from a baseball perspective. However it was also a look back at the 2014 ALCS in which the Orioles “wheeled and dealed,” while the opponent (Kansas City in that case) just sat back and literally did nothing. They let the Orioles make the moves. And while all of those moves showed baseball savoir faire, they didn’t work. Point being, is it better to just let the game develop as opposed to wheeling and dealing your way through games with IBB’s, matching up, etc?

With Seattle still leading 5-4, Davis’ aforementioned homer gave the O’s a 7-5 lead. And it was a blast, folks. The only question was whether it would stay fair. It curved around to the left of the foul pole, and landed well past the right field grandstand onto Eutaw Street. Davis actually had a good night at the plate (and a great night in the field), producing a base hit against the shift earlier in the game. But that home run was as big as they come…

…until it wasn’t. With Britton on for the save, surely this game was in the bag, right? It certainly looked that way. That is until Seager’s two-run homer tied the game at seven. There was a sense of are you kidding me? written on the face of almost everyone in the ballpark. Usually you get a dramatic home run like what Davis produced in the end of a game and it’s over. Not with Seattle. It’s one thing to play until the last out. It’s another to literally know that you’re going to win regardless of what the opponent does.

And sure enough, Span’s sac fly-RBI in the 11th won it for Seattle. I don’t want to say that this type of game is typical for the Orioles, although they once again let an opponent take what was theirs. But in reality it was typical of this Seattle team. This is how they win games. They aren’t flashy or powerful. They probably wouldn’t have smacked that three-run homer like Chris Davis did. But they find one small opening to win a game, and they find a way to leap through it.

The series concludes this afternoon at Camden Yards. The Orioles will start Jimmy Yacabonis, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Mike Leake. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.

Baltimore Orioles lose game, possibly Darren O’Day

The Baltimore Orioles lost perhaps more than just another game this evening; they may have lost reliever Darren O’Day. The sidearm thrower had to leave the game in the top of the eighth after appearing to injure himself after coming off the mound to field a bunt. It was later revealed to be a hamstring injury.

Kevin Gausman gave the Birds another quality start, and another one in which they couldn’t get the job done at that. Gausman’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K. Danny Valencia smacked a solo homer in the second inning, which gave the Orioles the lead. However two innings later, Oriole-killer Seager smacked a solo shot of his own which tied the game at one.

The O’s did get the lead back later, but not under the greatest of circumstances. They loaded the bases in the sixth with nobody out, and Manny Machado at the plate. The Birds had a similar circumstance last week in Washington – and similarly this week to last, he grounded into a double-play. Of course that did net the Orioles a run, but in my view that’s a win for the defense.

The Orioles aren’t Seattle. They aren’t this small ball team that readily accepts one run here and there. They look for the big inning. Seattle would be a team that would readily accept that one run on the ground ball double-play. From the Orioles’ standpoint, it’s a win for the defense.

The other issue was that Machado didn’t run out of the box. It wasn’t that he lollygagged out of the box, he flat out didn’t run. I’m nor sure if he was confused or what he was thinking, but unless there’s a legitimate reason for this it’s a fairly inexcusable offense. And it’s not just the obvious point from the outset – not running and thus not playing hard…

…it goes beyond that. The Orioles are shopping Machado. Scouts from numerous teams are at the Orioles’ games on a daily basis looking at him. A move like that won’t make it easier for the Orioles to get what they’re looking for in terms of a return on Machado. This isn’t the first time he hasn’t hustled in a game – so whispers about this are already out there. For him to do it now when he’s really under the microscope…just makes things all the more tough on the Orioles.

But there is one slight flip side to this. Would Orioles fans, many of whom boo’d Machado as he walked off the field, rather he run full throttle to first base, get called safe, and pull up lame with a torn ACL? He’d obviously be untradable at that point, and quite honestly it would set the Orioles back years in terms of prospects for their farm system.

There has to be a happy medium. I would totally agree that running full throttle on what was a routine ground ball double-play would have been dumb – and for reasons stated above. However it’s not unreasonable to expect a player to run out of the box at half or three-quarter speed. Or to run out of the box at all. I can’t tell you what his response will be, but it should be interesting.

And that brings us to the O’Day situation in the eighth inning. With a runner on first, Segura laid down the aforementioned bunt and O’Day injured his hamstring trying to field it – forcing him from the game. Seager would later come back up, and smack a two-RBI single to win it 3-2 for Seattle.

The Orioles were decimated by injuries – today. Before the game they had to send Dylan Bundy to the DL with a sprained ankle, which occurred while he was running the bases in Atlanta over the weekend. (I’m still not a fan of the DH, but that’s another story for another day.) After the game they announced that he would be joined on the DL by Craig Gentry, who was hit in the ribs over the weekend. And now presumably O’Day.

You never know why injuries occur, and you can never really blame anyone for them. They just happen. However the O’Day thing makes me wonder if in fact there isn’t a correlation with the balk call last night. While Stu Scheurwater wasn’t calling balls and strikes last night, he was still on the field and perfectly capable of calling O’Day for another phantom balk. Is it not possible that O’Day tinkered with his delivery to avoid that, causing him to pull up lame?

I’m not a doctor, but I do know that injuries can occur for reasons like that. My personal opinion was that O’Day didn’t balk last night. If one umpire is the only guy who’s seeing the “transgression,” odds are he isn’t the only one who’s right.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Orioles had a run wiped off the board early when Schoop was ruled out at home plate. He was initially ruled safe, but Seattle challenged. Replays seemed to at best confirm the call of safe, as it didn’t appear that the catcher tagged him. But at worst, there didn’t appear to be evidence to overturn the call on the field. In what ended up being a one-run game, that’s a call that to me shouldn’t have been overturned against the Orioles.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Wade LeBlanc. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Christmas in July for Seattle

The Baltimore Orioles and starter Andrew Cashner were beaten this evening by the Seattle defense. And squarely by the Seattle defense, mind you. Granted Seattle scored more runs than the Orioles, which played a role. But I’m not sure how many times the Birds hit ’em where they ain’t, only to find that a Seattle defender was nimble enough to get there to make the play.

And mind you folks, we weren’t talking routine plays. We’re talking plays that would have either netted the Orioles a run or two, or put an additional runner on base to give them a shot at an additional run. And some of these plays defied logic. But this entire season defies logic for the Orioles.

Cashner put forward another quality start, although he had a lapse in the second inning which played a huge role. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K. Cashner recorded the first two outs of the second very quickly – as quickly as he sent Seattle down 1-2-3 in the first. And then suddenly he couldn’t find the strike zone. Before you knew it the bases were loaded, and then Seattle had a 2-0 lead after Gordon’s two-RBI single.

However in between failing to get on base due to another fine defensive play by Seattle and Seattle putting more runs on the board, the O’s did battle back. Jonathan Schoop smacked a solo homer in the last of the fifth, cutting the lead to 2-1. However in a sense Seattle had the Orioles right where they wanted them; this is a team that always seems to win one-run games.

Span’s homer in the sixth would give Seattle their two-run margin back, however the Birds came back and tied it in the last of the sixth. They loaded the bases with nobody out, and Trey Mancini and Jonathan Schoop grounded into a run-scoring force out and fielder’s choice respectively. You might recall last week in Washington the Orioles had the bases loaded with nobody out, and only netted one run on a ground ball double-play. This result was only marginally better, however needless to say that got more than one run out of the deal.

Seattle would take the lead right back however when they loaded the bases in the seventh and Heredia scored on a wild pitch. Later in the same count Haniger would smack a sac fly-RBI, which gave Seattle their final score of 5-3 in defeating the Orioles. I can’t stress enough however, on “halfway to Christmas night,” the Orioles seemed to give Seattle gifts all night. Many of those balls would have been outs any other time. But somehow they found Seattle mitt’s and became outs.

There was a bizarre sequence towards the end of the game, with Seattle hitting in the top of the ninth. Darren O’Day was called for what might be termed a phantom balk by home plate umpire Stu Scheurwater. O’Day became incensed, and was eventually ejected (first ejection of his career). Buck Showalter came out of the dugout to continue the argument, and he was promptly shown the door as well – the 32nd ejection of his career, and first of this season.

Replays seemed to back up O’Day’s point that what he did wasn’t a balk. He didn’t do anything more than he usually does, and yes he has a hurky-jerky windup. However, Scheurwater actually called O’Day for a balk last season as well. So either Scheurwater’s the only one who’s right, or he’s seeing something that isn’t there. But needless to say, he himself was consistent with how he’s called O’Day’s windup in the past. But again, not many people saw anything there.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the call for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s James Paxton. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles unable to complete the sweep in Atlanta, take two-of-three

The Baltimore Orioles couldn’t complete the sweep in Atlanta this weekend with a win this afternoon. Now that said, the weekend in the south for the Birds was an overall success as they took two-of-three. But Atlanta’s a contending team, and you’re only going to hold them down for so long – if for no other reason than pride.

David Hess struggled on paper for the Orioles, although he made quite a few very good pitches. Hess’ line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K. You can make quality pitches in games, but often times those quality pitches are those that get hit. Atlanta got on the board almost immediately on Freeman’s RBI-single in the first, but the Orioles tied it two innings later. After sitting for a couple of games due to a knee problem, Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer in the third to tie the game at one.

However Atlanta took the lead right back in the bottom of the inning on Markakis’ RBI-double. Markakis has had a good series against his former team, although perhaps with the exception of today he hasn’t torched them to the point of beating them. Personally I thought it was tragic that a lifelong Oriole who had been through so much and who cared so much for the organization was allowed to walk. However Orioles fans should also keep in mind that Markakis was having major issues as a result of a procedure done on his neck at the time. And in reality, this is the first season he’s had with Atlanta in which he’s really been tearing the cover off the ball.

Culberson’s two-RBI double later in the inning would run the Atlanta lead to 5-1. However the O’s did make a run of it. They were going to lift Hess after the fourth inning anyways, and sent Mark Trumbo up to pinch hit. And Trumbo, who previously had been given the day off with a slight injury, smacked a two-run homer to cut the Atlanta lead to 5-3.

And that’s another reason that I love the National League game. First off I’ve always believed that a pitcher should have to hit. It’s part of the game, and he’s a part of the lineup. However National League baseball allows for moments like that, where a guy’s used only in the one at-bat and he comes through in the clutch. I suppose American League teams could do that as well, but it would be a waste of a potential field player or DH. So it’s squarely a National League phenomenon; of course, moves like that used to be prevalent in both leagues.

However Atlanta would extend their lead to 7-3 on a two-run homer by Swanson in the last of the eighth, which sealed the deal. However make no mistake about the fact that the Orioles had a good weekend down in “hot ‘lanta.” And while they struggled at times in D.C., they also now come home after a .500 road trip. That’s not going to get you back into contention, but it’s a start. Had this exact road trip happened a month ago, they would have headed home after either a 1-5 trip or after two sweeps.

The O’s will open up a four-game series with Seattle tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Felix Hernandez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.