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: Pedro Alvarez lifts Birds in game, series against Detroit

Pedro Alvarez wrote the closing chapter of today’s Baltimore Orioles game with his bat. Subsequently, he also wrote the closing chapter of this weekend series with Detroit, and the just-completed home stand. While said home stand will go as a disappointment, the way that it ended should give Orioles fans a sliver of hope – albeit a small sliver.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Alvarez’s two home run day was the fact that he wasn’t supposed to have been in the lineup to begin with. Danny Valencia was scratched about twenty minutes before game time with a sore hamstring. Enter Alvarez, who ended up with a rare start against a southpaw (Detroit’s Norris, who ended up leaving the game in the third inning with an injury himself). And boy did he take advantage of the opportunity that he was given.

But first off, we all know that it begins and ends with starting pitching. Kevin Gausman was solid, but he had to labor to put out the batters he put out. Gausman’s line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K. The Birds would like their starters to go deeper than Gausman did today, however that was high a high pitch count more than anything else.

Luckily for Gausman however, the O’s gave him a lead early and they never looked back. Trey Mancini led the game off with a solo homer, and before the crowd had even settled the O’s led 1-0. One inning later Alvarez stepped to the plate with a runner on base, and he sent a deep liner to center, which gave the O’s a 3-0 lead after clearing the wall.

Again while the O’s led the entire way, Detroit did threaten. Hicks’ solo homer in the fifth cut the Orioles’ lead to 3-1. However on this day at least, the O’s seemed to understand that the opponent was coming for them if they weren’t careful. In other words, they added on a couple of insurance runs at the end. Gentry’s RBI-single in the sixth ran the score to 4-1…and it’s a good thing that it did. Because back-to-back Detroit RBI-doubles in the seventh cut the Orioles’ lead to one at 4-3.

The O’s still held the lead. But it was precarious at best. The grandstand seemed packed chock full of fans who already had a loss plastered on their faces. And understandably so, as they had seen this movie several times this season. The O’s battled hard in a game, and ended up losing it at the end because they couldn’t plate any insurance runs and the opponent decided to be pesky and not give up. The game was basically over in a lot of people’s minds…

…but again, enter Pedro Alvarez. He sent a deep pop fly towards the out-of-town scoreboard in right field. The ball never really stopped carrying, and just made it over the scoreboard to count as a solo homer. Whereas Detroit had seemingly taken a bit of momentum with their two previous runs, the Orioles this time said NOT TODAY! The Orioles’ bullpen was also able to finish the job, and the Birds took home a 5-3 victory.

Make no mistake about the fact that this was a big win. If the Orioles are going to get back into the race, they have to start somewhere. This was a tough home stand, but it concluded on a very positive note with the Birds not only winning the finale, but with them also winning their first home series of the year.

The O’s, off their eighth win of the season, will have a day off tomorrow and then Tuesday they’ll open up a three-game set in Anaheim. All-in-all, that opens a six-game road swing through Anaheim and Oakland. Joining the Orioles in Anaheim will be Mark Trumbo, who’s expected to come off the DL and make his season debut on Tuesday.

Baltimore Orioles: Command issues hurt Andrew Cashner

Andrew Cashner‘s had a tough go in his first month as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. He’s had a tough go of things, and in fact that trend continued last night against Detroit. Cashner’s line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R (6 earned), 3 BB, 4 K.

Cashner suffered from command issues in last night’s game, which had the Orioles playing catch-up literally from the beginning. Cashner gave up an RBI-single in the first inning. One inning later Martin’s RBI-single ran the tally to 2-0, which was followed up by a Cabrera three-run home run. And before we knew it, the Birds trailed 5-0.

Cashner was throwing strikes. If anything he was getting too much of the plate with his pitches. And that can be as big of a problem as not catching the plate. Because if you’re catching too much of it, you’re going to get hammered. Buck Showalter on Cashner (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Just, you could see the very first hitter, that’s something that’s not very characteristic of him. His command. He just didn’t have a good feel for it. He’s trying to go off the plate and almost bounced a breaking ball I think to Cabrera and kind of centers it up a little bit. Just never really got into sync, so to speak. He’s been pitching so well for us for the most part. I know that’s frustrating for him.

Detroit would plate two more runs in the fourth and one in the seventh, but the O’s would start a comeback attempt in the fifth on Gentry’s RBI-groundout. However it was the last of the seventh which really put them in business. The Birds would load the bases with one out, and Chance Sisco was hit by a pitch – scoring a run. Jace Peterson would then walk, netting another run. And Manny Machado‘s two-RBI single would bring the O’s to within 8-5. However Martinez would smack a solo homer in the top of the ninth, giving Detroit an insurance run and an eventual 9-5 win.

As Buck Showalter says all the time, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other side. Detroit starter Liriano was really good last night. And that’s a quality that a lot of Oriole opponents have shown this month. The question is whether or not opposing starters have been good BECAUSE of the Orioles, of if they’ve just been really good. I suppose it matters how you want to look at it.

The O’s will have a shot to win the series in the finale this afternoon at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Daniel Norris. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: El Toro looked bullish on Tillman Island

This was the game for which the Baltimore Orioles had seemingly waited all year. The Birds got multiple homers from Pedro Alvarez, and Chris Tillman was about as cool a customer as was humanely possible. Tillman’s line: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

That type of game should give a morale boost to a clubhouse that’s been reeling of late. And one that got a tongue-lashing from manager Buck Showalter earlier this week at that. In all phases of the game, the Birds put everything together tonight. And it came at a moment when something like that was desperately needed.

This was looking to be a good night for the Birds from the outset, when Manny Machado smacked a solo homer in the first inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. And this was one of those games whereby had the scoring ended right there, that would have been fine. Because all things being equal (which is always a tough argument to make), Detroit put zero runs across in the game.

The O’s held that 1-0 lead until the last of the fifth when Alvarez smacked a solo shot of his own, extending the lead to 2-0. One inning later newly acquired Jace Peterson‘s RBI-double left it at 3-0, and an inning after that Alvarez smacked his second homer of the game, this one of the two-run variety.

Machado would add an RBI-single in the eighth to round out the scoring at 6-0. It’s unclear however what or who should be the big story of the game. You have Alvarez and his two dingers, or you have Tillman. Ultimately this was a good team win across the board. Everyone who was in the lineup participated, and played a role. And that’s how all wins should be.

The Birds snapped a five-game losing streak with this win, however mind you that this team has been here before. One week ago tonight the Birds snapped a losing streak, and then immediately began another one – which just ended tonight. They need to now play off of this win, and bring it forward into tomorrow. The idea being to now start a winning streak of some sort.

Incidentally this was probably Chris Tillman’s best performance in over a year. It was better than any game he pitched last year. It was also noteworthy because the O’s avoided using the likes of O’Day or Brach, both of whom worked last night in a losing effort.

The series with Detroit continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Francisco Liriano. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: If the Birds sell who is possibly in play?

With the manner in which the season has started, many fans are screaming for the Baltimore Orioles to sell. Before I go any further, let me remind you that it’s only the end of April. Granted things have started out as poorly as they could for this team (regarding things that are both controllable and non-controllable), however it’s only April. Even teams that ultimately sell aren’t about to do it now, because it sends a horrible message to you the fans.

But let’s say that the Orioles go ahead and break up the band at some point closer to the deadline. It would be a given that the likes of Manny Machado would be in play. In fact, he’d probably be the guy on whom the Birds would be most focused in terms of moving. You might even move someone like Adam Jones, who’s contract is up at the end of the season. (That sounds tough to hear for sure; but mind you that the O’s could re-acquire Jones as a free agent if there was a mutual interest. And I think there would be.) Anyone else?

How about Dylan Bundy? Or Kevin Gausman? Not to mention Jonathan Schoop…?) Those names might sound more surprising than throwing Jones’ name out there. Of the “youngish” players the Orioles have, those are the most promising for sure. One would think that it would behoove the Orioles to keep them if in fact they decide to sell. Keep them and build around them, right?

In a perfect world, yes. But in the ever-changing landscape of sports and the world, sometimes apparently we have to think outside the box. As I said, those three names are probably the guys who have the most value to the Orioles moving forward. So…would they not have value also on the trade block?

Point being, I suspect that they’d give the Orioles the most bang for their buck in terms of a return haul. Machado or Jones are potentially half-season rentals for a team. Now they’ll still probably bring big league-ready talent in the form of a young minor leaguer. You aren’t going to trade one or both of them for a single-A prospect, which is a step away from a bag of balls.

But the likes of Gausman, Schoop, or Bundy are under team control going into the 2019 season. That makes them more than a half-season rental. And when it comes to trades, that makes one heck of a difference.

I’m not advocating that this takes place. It would leave one heck of a hole in the franchise, and in the immediacy of today it would leave one heck of a hole in the starting rotation and lineup. Furthermore, teams generally like to get pitching in return for a superstar player. So would it make that much sense to sell pitching and get pitching in return?

Again, the point is that selling off some or even all of the aforementioned players would probably bring lots of major league-ready talent in return. And potentially re-stock the Orioles’ farm system as well. But I maintain that all of these decisions come back to one man: Buck Showalter.

Regardless of what we’re seeing on the field now, next year’s managing job is Buck’s if he wants it. I think that John and Lou Angelos (and Peter) would re-sign him now to some sort of extension if he said he wanted to remain in the dugout. And if that were to be the case, he would have a significant say in how the roster shapes up.

In saying that, he’ll probably want some sort of continuity. Now on the flip side, if Buck decides to hang ’em up (or move to the front office, which is also an option I think the Angelos’ would offer him), then I see the Orioles going with a much younger manager next season. Probably a guy who’s been a bench coach for awhile and who the industry feels is ready to take the plunge and become a manager.

And if that ends up being the case, then perhaps they do in fact decide to sell off more pieces – so as to allow that guy (whomever he ends up being) to start from scratch. Young team, young manager. And here’s the other thing folks; I say that as someone who doesn’t put much faith in youth. I’d just as soon as not deal with the brashness and inexperience of youth, as opposed to the steady hand of experience – such as Buck, such as Adam Jones, et al. But going the youth route makes sense, if Buck isn’t the manager next year. Time will tell.

Baltimore Orioles: Season of woes continues

Baltimore Orioles’ starters have needed to be perfect thus far in 2018. And I don’t mean that figuratively; it’s intended to be interpreted literally. And on this night, Dylan Bundy was far from perfect. Bundy’s line: 4.2 IP, 11 H, 8 R (7 earned), 1 BB, 4 K.

It was a rare poor outing for Bundy, and his first of the season at that. You can accept that – as an isolated point, that is. However with how the Orioles offense has struggled, and how things have just seemed to go wrong for this team across the board in games, it just makes the hurdle tougher to climb and overcome. But that’s what these Orioles are tasked with doing for the rest of the season.

The Orioles haven’t been able to get out of their own way, and that was true from the outset tonight. Bundy walked the lead off hitter, and then Cron smacked a two-run homer in the first. Tampa then led off the second with a double, followed by another two-run homer, this one by Ramos. Tampa would also tack on runs in the third and fourth, and when the smoke cleared the O’s trailed 6-0.

However if there’s a silver lining to this game, it’s that the Orioles perhaps started to battle back. Trey Mancini would smack an RBI-double, and Manny Machado an RBI-single in the third. However that’s as close as the O’s would get – at that moment, Tampa would put two runs right back up on RBI-singles in the fifth (which were aforementioned).

After Bundy departed, the Orioles’ bullpen did in fact hold things over. And then the O’s began to come back again. Adam Jones smacked a two-run homer in the fifth, and Danny Valencia a solo shot in the last of the eighth. Tampa would tack one more run on in the ninth on an errant throw by Sisco at the plate trying to throw Gomez out as he tried to steal third. The throw went into left field, allowing Gomez to score.

It goes as another loss, but the bats did attempt to snap out of their funk. Now with that said, they were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They also grounded into four double-plays, all of which came with runners in scoring position. That has to change moving forward.

The Orioles once again seemed to run into a hot team, hellbent on success. And that no doubt comes from youthful exuberance in a sense. They had an answer for everything the Orioles did – and the Orioles did some good things in this series. However it makes one wonder when the Birds might morph into that team hellbent on winning.

The O’s will open up a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers at home tomorrow night. Chris Tillman gets the call for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Mike Fiers. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles nickel and dime’d to death in the rain

The Baltimore Orioles were looking good in this evening’s game, against a team that they should have beaten. Then the fifth inning brought rain, and took away starter Alex Cobb, who to that point had looked promising. Cobb’s line: 4.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 0 K.

Tampa took an early 1-0 lead after putting a couple of runners on base early, but settling for an RBI-groundout by Miller. But the Orioles stormed back almost right away. Adam Jones‘ RBI-double tied the game at one in the first inning. The Birds would then put runners at the corners with the newly acquired Jace Peterson coming to bat. Peterson of course was claimed off of waivers from New York, and figures to see a sizable amount of action in the immediate interim with Beckham now on the DL.

And Peterson came through for the Birds, with a two-RBI double to give them a 3-1 lead. And that held up…until the rain came. These are the things that happen when you’re a struggling team.

A light mist started to fall during the fourth and fifth innings. The grounds crew gathered behind the tarp, at the ready. If there was a delay and eventual cancellation, all the Orioles needed to do was get through that top of the fifth to have the game qualify as an official game.

And you could almost see that strategy forming in their minds. Just get through the inning and we may have a win and an early evening. Instead the exact opposite happened, and in the most unpredictable manner as could have been possible – which is about par for the course this year. Tampa started the inning with back-to-back singles, including a bunt back to Cobb, on a ball that probably would have been better handled in dry conditions…

…that, immediately followed by a two-RBI double by Cron to tie the game at three. Cron would be sacrificed to third, and later score on  a sac fly-RBI by Miller. Wendle would cap the inning off with an RBI-single, and the O’s trailed 5-3. Sisco’s solo homer in the last of that fifth inning would bring the Birds back to within one, but they couldn’t keep Tampa down. Hechavarria would smack a solo shot of his own in the sixth, knotching the margin back to two runs.

Tampa would add two more runs down the stretch to take the opener, 8-4. However that fifth inning really seemed to conspire against the O’s. Cobb wasn’t good by any means, but the rain did in fact affect him. And magically, as soon as the damage was done, the rain subsided.

Some might say that was dumb luck, and some might say it was justice. As I said, you could almost see the Orioles thinking down the line to the ends of perhaps rain wiping out the rest of the game. In trying to achieve that so hard, it’s almost as if Murphy’s Law began to apply.

And the fact is that Tampa nickel and dime’d the Birds to death tonight. The O’s seemingly have no use for individual base runners. They want the big blast and the dramatic play. Tampa on the other hand did value each runner, evidenced by each and every player hustling down the line out of the box. No doubt that got them infield singles on several choppers off the plate.

What the solution is for the Orioles, I really can’t tell you. What I can tell you is that on paper they’re a better team than this. Their career averages indicate that, especially against a young team like Tampa. Many of these players have been around the bend and back again. Hopefully for their sake they realize that sometime soon.

The series concludes tomorrow evening at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Chris Archer. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles can’t even get a break from the weather

This series against Tampa was supposed to be a get well series of sorts for the Baltimore Orioles. While Tampa has a slightly better record, the Birds are a much more talented team. Tampa’s a team of minor leaguers, who while having shown promise, probably wouldn’t be in the big leagues with any other organization.

So this could have been three games in which the Birds might have been able to spread their wings and show what they’re capable of in a sense. And they still could, but it’s being truncated to a two-game series. Mother nature has intervened, and tonight’s game has been post phoned.

The game will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Saturday, May 12th. Game one will begin at 3 PM, and the second one will begin approximately 20-25 minutes after the conclusion of the first game. Fans with tickets for tonight’s game will need to exchange the value of their tickets and parking for tonight’s game at the Camden Yards box office, or in writing by mail to:

Baltimore Orioles

Attn: April 24 Rainout

333 West Camden St.

Baltimore, MD. 21201

I’m not sure why the makeup was scheduled in this manner, but that’s how it goes. Teams generally don’t like giving up home games, which in essence is what the Orioles are doing. They’ll now have 80 home games this year, as that one admission on May 12th will get fans into both games.

Thus the Tampa series opens tomorrow at Camden Yards, once again weather permitting. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jake Faria. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Is it time for a change in the dugout?

Buck Showalter‘s contract with the Baltimore Orioles is up after this season. GM Dan Duquette’s is as well, but that’s another story for another day. With tonight’s 2-1 loss to Cleveland, the Birds are now 6-17. So…should the O’s make a change in the dugout following this season? Or perhaps even now?

I’m getting asked that more and more as someone who covers the team. And I’m seeing people more and more talking about it on media such as Twitter. So obviously it’s on the minds of the fans. And I suppose that the record indicates that has to be the case. More on that later.

Kevin Gausman put forth a winning effort in tonight’s game. Gausman’s line: 8.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K. With this outing, Gausman went deeper than any other Oriole starter this season. I wouldn’t even say that he made one bad pitch. Granted Alonso’s two-run homer in the second stood up for Cleveland in terms of winning the game, that was simply a slider that was muscled out of the park.

The Birds would cut that lead in half in the bottom of that second inning on Chance Sisco‘s RBI-single. But that was all they could muster. And those two runs were all Cleveland could muster. Which is why this was another opportunity lost for the Orioles, who are direly trying to right the ship.

And some would say they’re trying too hard. Which is why again some people are tossing around the idea of a managerial change being a good idea. However to that point, I would submit that you can’t tell players to “try less.” Are guys pushing? Yes. But that’s a good thing, because you know how direly guys want to win.

Showalter came to Baltimore in August of 2010 on the heels of a start that was much worse than this one. It was also a team that wasn’t anywhere near as talented as this team is – that came later. And he had an almost immediate impact in terms of professionalism, as well as wins and losses.

Buck Showalter’s a professional manager who’s done nothing but baseball for his entire life. And I won’t lie, I think that letting go of a manager of his caliber would be the worst move that a team could make. How many truly great managers are there in baseball?

The obvious rebuttal if you’re on the other side of the discussion is how many managers are there with better records than Buck? And maybe that’s a valid point. However what’s not a valid point is what people think happens after a manager is let go. You have to have someone better to replace that guy if you’re going to make a change…makes sense, right?

So…with whom do you replace a guy who could be a borderline Hall of Fame manager if he won a World Series? People love to tell me that they should go young and hire this guy or that guy. And the thing that most of these options have in common is that they’ve never managed before. Heck, some of the ideas I’ve heard were guys who have never coached.

So does it really make sense to take the keys away from a steady hand, and hand them to a kid who’s never driven before? The answer to that question is an obvious and emphatic NO. So what’s the alternative? Stay the course.

Tim Beckham exited tonight’s game in the eighth inning and appeared to be in discomfort. Buck Showalter said after the game that it they’re concerned about Beckham’s achilles and groin. He had achilles problems during spring training. How long he’s out of the lineup if at all remains to be seen.

The Orioles will now move onto a fairly winnable series as Tampa comes to town – a series that they would do well to sweep if possible. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles against his former team, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jake Faria. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall to Cleveland despite two Manny Machado homers

Manny Machado‘s two home runs this afternoon were a bit of a catch-22 for the Baltimore Orioles. It’s tough to argue that Machado isn’t one of the hottest hitters in baseball right now. But they were both solo homers, further illustrating that the O’s are having a tough time getting guys on base. If they could smack some of these home runs with runners on, the games might be turning out differently/

Andrew Cashner was solid for the Orioles this afternoon, but not solid enough. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 K. Cashner’s big problem was that he couldn’t turn in a shutdown inning once he got the lead. Granted however, Cleveland’s big damage wasn’t done until after he had hit the showers.

Manny Machado’s first solo homer of the day came right off the bat – in the last of the first, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Again keep in mind that Machado hits third; that means two guys ahead of him recorded outs. Had even one of them gotten on base, the Birds would have had a more substantial lead.

The Orioles’ lead would hold until the fourth, when Ramirez would smack a solo homer of his own which tied the game. Later in the inning Cleveland got the lead briefly on Alonso’s RBI-double. However it was the last of that fourth inning which saw Machado smack his second homer of the game, tying things back up at two.

And in fact, things were looking up for the Orioles. Later in the fourth inning following a Jones double, Chris Davis‘ RBI-double gave the O’s a 3-2 lead. And in the wake of that is where Cashner needed a shutdown inning. And he couldn’t do it.

Cleveland would tie the game at three on a Lindor RBI-single in the fifth, and then take a 4-3 lead on Brandlet’s RBI-single later in the inning. That did keep the O’s to within one run, but they were unable to muster any more offense against Cleveland starter Kluber for the remainder of the game. To add insult to injury, Ramirez would smack his second homer of the game in the ninth (this one of the two-run variety), which was followed by a two-RBI double by Gomes, leaving the O’s with a 7-3 loss.

After the game manager Buck Showalter was asked if he felt his team could dig itself out of the hole it’s dug now at 6-16 (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

It’s a hole, if you want to call it a ‘hole,’ something that can be dug out of. We can. But you can’t just wish it and hope it and think it’s something that comes with the mathematics of a season. I understand you always have a sense of urgency. But you don’t really compare yourself with other teams that much and you don’t compare yourself with what portion of the season you’ve played and this and that and whatever.

We know the world we live in and move on from that. These guys are participators, they’re not watchers and they understand what’s going on. We talk about it in some form or fashion every day. Some things out of sight. But we’ve got to be better. We’ve got to do better. We know that.

So the skipper still has faith that something can happen this season moving forward. However the Orioles need to focus on tomorrow’s game right now – and only tomorrow’s game. And then onward from there.

The series concludes tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Hector Carrasco. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Close but no cigar for Chris Tillman

Chris Tillman gave the Baltimore Orioles his best outing of the still young season this afternoon at Camden Yards. It wasn’t great, however it wasn’t a total disaster either. Tillman’s line: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

Chalk this one up as one of those “in between” type starts. Somewhere between good and poor, that is. Tillman had some good moments for sure. However they say that solo homers won’t beat you. That’s actually not true if you give up multiple solo shots. It really doesn’t matter if you give up three solo homers or one three-run homer; it’s still the same number of runs.

However Tillman also got no help from Oriole bats, who were stymied all day by Cleveland starter Clevinger. The Birds didn’t get their first hit of the game until the fourth inning. And that makes Tillman’s outing look worse than it really was.

The Orioles are still in a spot whereby they seem to have no margin for error. Tillman walked a hitter in the first, who later went to second on a base hit and third on a wild pitch. Brantley would later ground into a fielder’s choice, scoring that runner. The Orioles on the other hand are held to attest to almost every mistake in the games that they make. And as they say, nothing good ever happens after a walk.

Clevinger kept the O’s off the board, which means that the lone run the Tribe scored in the first inning in theory would have been enough. Cleveland got a solo homer from Gomes in the fourth, and Ramirez and Alonso in the sixth. And there was really nothing the O’s could do, given Clevinger’s performance.

Clevinger is a fast worker who seemed very happy to go along with the fact that the Orioles were an aggressive team who wasn’t very patient. And I think it’s probably a situation whereby the Orioles all but out-thought themselves. Clevinger was pitching-to-contact, and I suspect that the game plan after awhile was to just keep putting the ball in play. And while they did get a base runner on an error at one point, in putting the ball in play the O’s kept hitting it to Cleveland infielders.

The Orioles kept Trey Mancini out of today’s lineup, and he could miss a few extra days as well. His CT scan came back clean, but the O’s wanted to be sure his knee wasn’t cut down to the bone. Mancini on his injury (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

It’s really sore today. Just four inches or so under the wall that isn’t padded is where my knee hit. It obviously doesn’t feel too good, but luckily avoided anything too serious there, like no tears, no break. I just had to get a couple stitches and it’s just really swollen today and it’s tough to bend my knee, but I’m hoping within a couple days it will be good

The series continues tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the call for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Corey Kluber. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.