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: Jonathan Schoop’s at-bat ends Birds’ losing streak

You can’t blame the Baltimore Orioles or O’s fans for thinking this night was going to end any differently than others of late. Not after Trey Mancini got thrown out at home plate on an aggressive send by third base coach Bobby Dickerson in the first inning. You could already feel defeat being snatched from the jaws of victory. But something funny happened…

…the Orioles ended up playing a superior ballgame this evening at Yankee Stadium. Andrew Cashner pitched a gem, that put the Birds in a spot to win the game. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 5 K. Cashner pitched out of a couple of mini-jams through those six innings, but for the most part he limited the traffic on the base paths. He becomes the first Orioles’ starter to earn a win in 2018.

Cashner matched New York starter Tanaka almost pitch-for-pitch. The one run he gave up with a solo homer in the last of the sixth by Judge. And that was actually the first run of the game. However if Orioles’ fans felt that it was predetermined to be the Birds’ sixth straight loss, they quickly found out that they were sorely mistaken.

Jonathan Schoop led off the inning, with an at-bat that ended in a solid single to center. That’s what the box score says. What it doesn’t say is what happened between when Schoop stepped in the box and when he reached first base. He worked Tanaka to the bone in that at-bat. Previous to then, Tanaka hadn’t really thrown that many pitches. But Schoop hung in there, with a Houston Astro-like at-bat. And eventually, he wore Tanaka down to the point to where he got a pitch he liked and lined it into center field.

That brought Adam Jones to the plate with a runner on first. And Tanaka, perhaps still reeling from the previous at-bat, grooved a pitch down the middle. And it only took Jones a New York minute to send the ball deep into the Bronx night, giving the Orioles the lead. Jones doesn’t need any help hitting home runs – he never has. But partially credit Schoop for that, as his at-bat set up what Jones did.

Anthony Santander would add an RBI-double to right later in the inning, which left two runners in scoring position. However Trey Mancini would clean up what was left on the base paths very quickly with a two-RBI double, giving the Birds a 5-1 lead. New York would add one more in the seventh, and they would push the likes of Givens, O’Day, and Brach in the remainder of the game. But the ‘pen remained true and held the lead, helping the O’s to break a five-game losing streak.

The Orioles also might have found their lead off hitter, as Mancini got the nod this evening, and got on base immediately. Whether he remains in that slot moving forward remains to be seen – but for one night he was strong. I can’t stress enough how big that Schoop at-bat was, even though the likes of Cashner, Jones, and Mancini will justifiably get the headlines for tonight’s win. That really set up the seventh inning to be a big inning, and the Orioles really took advantage of Tanaka being weakened a bit by that sequence. It’s the little things like that which can help to push you over the top in a close game (which at that point is what this game was).

The series continues tomorrow evening at Yankee Stadium. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s CC Sabathia. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles waste Dylan Bundy’s quality start in loss

The Baltimore Orioles need to figure out a way to win. Not in general, not this season, not anytime or anything other than one game. Teams go through good stretches and bad over the course of a season. However the Birds have started the year in a funk, which makes it feel like the dog days of August – when in fact fans should still be celebrating the return of baseball.

Unfortunately for the O’s, they wasted a quality start by Dylan Bundy this afternoon in Houston. For the second consecutive game, Bundy gave the Orioles a quality start, and for the second consecutive game, he left with a no decision. Bundy’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 earned), 2 BB, 8 K.

Adam Jones popped into a force out when his pop fly fell at the feet of the Houston outfielders. However that came with a runner on third base, which gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. Houston would tie it up one inning later on an RBI-ground out, however in the fourth Gentry would reach on an error with a runner at third, allowing the Birds to take the lead back at 2-1.

Houston would tie the game on a sac bunt-RBI in the sixth. And one inning later Bregman’s RBI-single would give them a 3-2 lead, which they never surrendered. At a certain point, you have to wonder if the O’s aren’t overly predictable. They look to bash the ball out of the park on every play. That’s their nature, and the fact is that in the division in which they play it has to be…

…but it also allows pitchers to know exactly what they’re going to throw. Houston ironically isn’t a team that bunts too often. That goes against the analytics that drive their game in terms of sacrificing outs. However they probably caught the Orioles off guard with that squeeze bunt. And it netted them a win.

Should bunting and playing the game one base at a time be the Orioles’ game plan? No. They’d get bludgeoned to death in their division. But it should be something that they do here and there. Because otherwise their offense remains predictable and stagnant.

Going back to Bundy for a moment, as I’ve said many times pitchers will usually have ten good starts, ten poor, and ten in between over the course of a season. Mind you, that’s not an absolute stat; but the O’s wasted a good start by Bundy today in a losing effort. That’s not something that can happen.

The O’s now head to the Bronx where they’ll open up a four-game series with the New York Yankees tomorrow night. Andrew Cashner gets the start tomorrow for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Masahiro Tanaka. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Did Buck Showalter mismanage the bullpen?

 The scoreboard says that the Baltimore Orioles fell 10-6 to Houston last night. However the facts say that the Birds were neck-in-neck with the defending champions last night. Oriole bats came alive, and the O’s got good starting pitching out of Mike Wright. It just wasn’t enough. Wright’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

The Birds had a lead almost right away, as Jonathan Schoop smacked a first inning solo shot to left. However if Houston doesn’t get you one way, they’ll get you another – there are times I wonder if teams like Houston don’t sit up at night trying to figure out new ways to score runs. Correa’s deep fly ball in the last of the first bounced and rolled around the outfield so much that it became a two-run inside-the-park home run, giving Houston a 2-1 lead. Correa would add a sac fly-RBI in the third to run it to 3-1.

The O’s almost got the lead back in the fourth, and in a big way. Trey Mancini was robbed of a three-run homer by Reddick. Again, if they don’t get you one way they’ll get you another. The O’s had to settle for a sac fly-RBI from Mancini, inching closer at 3-2. However the top of the sixth brought the O’s the lead they had coveted, as Adam Jones smacked the ball over the railroad tracks in left field, giving the Birds a 4-3 lead.

Buck Showalter at that point opted to pull Mike Wright – after 81 pitches. He opted to go to the bullpen, and I’m sure that he had his reasons. Personally I thought that Wright had at least one more inning left in him, and he had pitched well enough to get that nod. While I’d always defer to a manager like Buck Showalter in that situation, it was curious to say the least.

And in fairness, hindsight is 20/20. But sure enough, Reddick smacked a two-run homer almost immediately (in the last of the sixth). The O’s would tie it back up one inning later on Jones’ RBI-single, however unfortunately for them Reddick would get to come back up in the seventh with the bases loaded. And he took Nestor Cortes out of the ballpark with a grand slam. While a Sisco RBI-single brought the Birds back to within four in the eighth, it just wasn’t enough.

There were two curious aspects in terms of the bullpen. First off, could Mike Wright not have gone further into the game? Secondly, Why use a Rule 5 pick (Cortes) in that situation? I’ll address the latter point first; using a guy like O’Day or Brach would be a tough sell in that scenario, as those guys serve very specific roles in terms of setting up and closing – when the team has the lead. Castro could have been an option also, but he pitched the night before.

However the bigger issue in my mind was Mike Wright. We know that Showalter is loyal to his players to a T. And that’s a good thing. I suspect that the O’s had the lead, and Showalter wanted to get Wright the win. And ultimately it boils down to a difference in team cultures. In the AL East you try your best to bludgeon your opponent. Now while a one-run lead certainly isn’t a bludgeoning, normally there’s a point in games where a team takes a lead – both literally and emotionally.

That’s kind of how one could have viewed the Jones two-run homer. It felt like the Orioles had turned a corner and had control of the game. And ultimately Showalter wanted to get his starter the win…because his starter had pitched well enough to get the win, and deserved it. But Houston doesn’t quit. While in the AL East the opponent would still be trying to hit the ball out of the ballpark (and the Orioles’ bullpen could have pitched to the opponent’s aggression), Houston plays small ball. One stage at a time…

…and before you know it, the bases are loaded. And before you know it after that, someone hits a grand slam. And your little moment of taking the lead both literally and emotionally is then null and void.

Again, my personal opinion is that Showalter made a mistake in lifting Mike Wright when he did. But hindsight is 20/20. If given the same scenario again would he send Wright back out there? Probably. Houston’s also a tough team to predict, because they find so many creative ways to beat you. You know that the Orioles are trying to hammer you to kingdom come. With Houston, each guy is literally just looking to get on base. And somehow that small-minded mentality works in their favor.

The series concludes this afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Dylan Bundy makes the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Dallas Keuchel. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Brian Dozier speaks again

Last night I said that it wasn’t time for the Baltimore Orioles to hit the panic button. And I meant it. 1-3 isn’t a desirable start in any sport. However it’s much less of a problem in baseball than it is say in football. If you start 1-3 in the NFL, numbers are being run in terms of probability of making the playoffs. Your season is already on the line. Not so in MLB.

With that said, Minnesota’s Brian Dozier seems intent on continually dragging the Orioles through the mud off the field. His comments regarding Chance Sisco‘s bunt on Sunday afternoon were well documented. To me, it would have stood to reason that Dozier would have wanted this situation to go away as quickly as possible after seeing the backlash.

Instead, yesterday he doubled down on his comments and explained why (in his mind) what Sisco did was such an issue (quote courtesy of Ryan Fagan, Sporting News):

When they didn’t hold our runner on, they conceded to the fact they didn’t want us to steal, so we didn’t steal. We could have very easily stolen and put up more runs, so therefore in return you don’t bunt. That’s what everybody is missing in this whole thing.

One might at least see just a slight bit of logic in that statement. A slight bit. However Dozier’s conveniently leaving out one thing; Minnesota employed a shift against Chance Sisco. If the Orioles were in essence conceding the game by not holding a runner on, Minnesota should have seen that and not employed the shift.

Because otherwise what Dozier’s saying is it’s not okay for you to try to get in base in that circumstance, but it’s okay for us to use different methods to get you out. Somehow, that doesn’t seem fair. Furthermore, Dozier’s point initially was to the effect of how dare he bunt during our guy’s one-hitter. The concept of conceding the game didn’t come up until later.

The explanation to this is that Dozier’s just wrong. He made a big mistake in even mentioning this at all, and it’s blowing up in his face. However as I said, it doesn’t make sense that he would double down on his comments. One thing sports figures need to realize is that in the 24-hour news cycle, things like this will go away eventually. At some point someone else will put his foot in his mouth, or do something dumb. People will eventually move on.

But by commenting further, it keeps the scenario in the news. Dozier should have let it go and eventually it would have been just an unfortunate memory. Maybe the “veteran leadership” in the organization needs to step in and remind him of that.

Baltimore Orioles drop another as Chris Tillman falters

At some point you have to figure that the pendulum will swing back in the Baltimore Orioles’ direction. There’s A LOT of season to play – and by that, I mean there are 158 games left. However tonight wasn’t the time for the law of averages to even things out, and Chris Tillman apparently wasn’t the pitcher to do it. Tillman’s line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 BB, 0 K.

Tillman was up in the strike zone for most of the night. And that’s a really dangerous place to be against a team that’s perfectly happy hitting the ball where it’s pitched. And that’s what Houston does. Now one thing that isn’t Chris Tillman’s fault is the Orioles’ offensive output – which was non-existent for the second straight game.

Back-to-back doubles in the first inning set the tone for the game, resulting in an RBI-double by Bregman. However Tillman showed some flashes of settling down after that point. He was still up in the zone, however he was also able to induce guys to chase some of those pitches. Tillman put up goose eggs in the runs column in both the second and third innings.

However the fourth did Tillman in. A Gaonzalez solo homer, a Fischer RBI-triple, and a Springer RBI-single gave Houston a 4-0 lead. Altuve would add an RBI-double in the sixth, and Fischer a sac fly-RBI in the seventh. At the end of the day, the Birds  were almost shut out for the second consecutive game. I say almost, because the O’s did get on the board in the ninth on a Trey Mancini solo homer.

It’s tough to finger which is more pressing issue; pitching or hitting. I would submit…neither at this point. We’re four games in, folks. Consider that; four games in! Now I’m not going to suggest that those four games have been things of beauty (with the exception of perhaps the first one), however 2.5% of the year a season does not make.

This is not to say that the O’s don’t need to take notice of what’s going on. Four innings of shaky ball at best isn’t going to cut it out of the O’s. Now in fairness they did square some balls up against this Houston team tonight. The Houston defense just managed to make gold glove plays to rob the Birds of base hits.

Going back to Tillman, he needs to hit his spots. He also needs to work on his release point, which in my assessment was part of his issue. When he held onto the ball in his windup just a bit longer, he hit his spots perfectly. One positive point of this game was that at the tail end of the game we saw one or two things start to change. Chris Davis smacked his first hit of the season in the eighth, and of course Mancini’s aforementioned homer. But the Orioles will need more of this and then some to get things turned around.

The series continues this evening from Houston’s Minute Maid Park. Mike Wright gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Justin Verlander. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles ruffle Brian Dozier’s feathers in loss to Minnesota

Before being overly critical, Minnesota’s Brian Dozier might want to keep in mind that the Baltimore Orioles are at times perhaps overly cognizant of unwritten codes of baseball. This is a team that knows the codes, respects them, and enforces them if need be. Dozier made some comments in the clubhouse after his team beat the Orioles 7-0 to the effect that the Orioles’ Chance Sisco had broken an unwritten code. Quite the contrary; more on that in a moment.

The Orioles literally trailed for the entire game this afternoon. Kevin Gausman gave up a solo homer on the first pitch of the game. And that for sure set the tone for the afternoon. Gausman’s line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

Perhaps part of the reason that Dozier felt the need and felt he had the ability to be so critical of Sisco and the Orioles was because he was the lead off hitter who hit that initial homer.  Literally on the first pitch of the ballgame. Keep in mind, Minnesota’s a small ball team, and in general teams as such give the Orioles fits. They stay very much in the moment, and are perfectly happy with one run – because the opponent has to then score two to beat them. Before the first inning ended, Escobar had plated a run on an RBI-double, Buxton one more on an RBI-single, and another run had scored on a wild pitch.

As much as I personally believe in getting runs in bunches (such as via three-run homers), runners on base does put pressure on the battery to produce strikes and outs. That can make guys nervous, which can lead to mistakes – such as a wild pitch with a runner on third. Before the afternoon ended however, Sano, and Escobar would add solo homers, and Dozier an additional one.

Many Orioles fans don’t know whether to be more critical of the pitching or the hitting. Last night the O’s were being no-hit until the eighth, and this afternoon they only had one hit until the ninth. The offense has started the season in a funk, which is concerning. But two of the first three games also showed starters struggling, which is a concern for the O’s. However, fans should take solace in the fact that we’re only three games in.

Going back to Dozier, Minnesota employed a shift against Chance Sisco during his at-bat in the last of the ninth. Sisco took the opportunity to bunt against the shift – which is incidentally something that Minnesota had done themselves earlier in the game. This during a one-hitter. After the game, Dozier made his impression of that decision well-known (all quotes courtesy of Tyler Conway, Bleacher Report):

Obviously, we’re not a fan of it. He’s a young kid. I could’ve said something at second base but they have tremendous veteran leadership over there.

Starter Jose Berrios (who incidentally pitched a gem of a ballgame) also felt the need to chime in:

I don’t care if he’s bunting. I just know it’s not good for baseball in that situation. That’s it.

Again, the Orioles are a team that abides by and enforces unwritten codes. Bunting in the later innings of a no-hitter (or perfect game) is a big no-no. And yes, guys do get plunked for that. However there’s literally no unwritten rule for bunting during a one-hitter. I mean…there’s NO RULE, written or otherwise on that. It’s never existed.

So let’s call this what it is, and that’s incredibly poor form by Dozier, Berrios, and the Minnesota Twins. If Minnesota was that worried about an unwritten rule (which again doesn’t exist) in that instance, they wouldn’t have employed a shift against Sisco. If you’re expecting the opponent to throw in the towel in the latter innings of a blowout, maybe don’t try to use a shift to get a hitter out.

Incidentally, do you know who did break an unwritten code? Brian Dozier, that’s who. I have no issue with teams enforcing unwritten rules, provided of course that the unwritten rule is actually a real unwritten rule. But you plunk the guy next time you see him. Nobody even has to know, although odds are the guy who gets plunked and a few guys in the opposing dugout will get the message. But you don’t go crying to the media after the game about it like Dozier did.

Granted, writers such as myself eat this stuff up, no matter what side on which they stack up. But this type of thing should be kept under wraps for the most part. Sure guys might hint at it and so forth, but in general you don’t come out and bluntly say things the way that Dozier did. Again, if anyone violated an unwritten code, it was him.

The Orioles now head out on the road for the first time this year – to Houston, where they’ll see the Astros’ World Series celebration. Chris Tillman will make his maiden start of the season, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Charlie Morton. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Should there be concern about the offense?

The Baltimore Orioles were almost no-hit this evening – almost. Jonathan Schoop‘s single in the last of the eighth inning gave the Birds their first hit on the night. More on that aspect in a moment. Andrew Cashner made his Orioles’ debut, and while there should be no doubt he’ll win with the Orioles overall, he was tagged this evening. Cashner’s line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 earned), 2 BB, 5 K.

This game in a sense turned logic on it’s head. They say that solo home runs won’t hurt you. That’s sound baseball logic – yet I suppose that if you give up three, that can make a difference. Sano smacked a first inning solo shot, Castro added one in the third, and Kepler in the fourth. Sano would also add an RBI on a ground out in the third, and he’d net a run on a double-play ball in the fifth.

Cashner would be chased after five, and the Orioles’ bullpen was fairly solid Minnesota would only score on one more occasion, with Mauer smacking an RBI-single in the seventh. The Birds would make a run of it late off of a two-run homer by Tim Beckham, however it was too little too late. The Orioles put up their first loss of the season, dropping this one 6-2 to Minnesota.

As I’ve said many times, Minnesota’s a small ball team. Teams like that rely on scoring runs by a drip-drip-drip type of methodology. They’re perfectly happy with one run here, and one run there. Obviously they hit the ball out of the ballpark three times – all solo shots. While a solo home run generally isn’t going to hurt you, eventually they add up.

Minnesota also had an answer for everything the Orioles did defensively – again, throwing logic on it’s side. If the numbers said that a guy wasn’t a pull hitter, the Birds would play the guy straight away in the outfield. Sure enough, he’d smack the ball down the line and into the corner. It’s frustrating to have happen, but it’s part of the game.

As I said, the O’s didn’t get their first hit until the last of the eighth. As we know in baseball, sometimes you just have to tip your cap. Minnesota’s pitching was great tonight – and it was great on Thursday. But this is the second game in which Oriole bats struggled. Is this something to worry about?

The short answer is that it isn’t – not yet. Certainly many fans are going to point out last September, and how the O’s went from being one game out of the final playoff spot to winning only four games the entire month. But are we really to believe that those are the real Orioles, and that what the likes of Jones, Davis, Machado, etc. have done prior to then actually makes no difference?

However the fact is that through the first game of 2018, Oriole bats have been tamed. They’ve run into some buzz saw pitching, and had some bad luck at the plate, but they’ve had their struggles. It’s something to watch, however again I would say that the guys on this team are too talented to not produce eventually. Perhaps that day is tomorrow.

And in fact, the series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman makes his season debut for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Jose Berrios. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Never doubt Buck Showalter

Admittedly I raised an eyebrow when I saw Buck Showalter‘s Opening Day lineup. There had been rumors of Chris Davis hitting lead off, and in fact there was fact behind those rumors. I suspect that the idea was to get Davis some better pitches to see, but still certainly an unconventional move.

It was also interesting to see Craig Gentry get the start in right field as opposed to perhaps Colby Rasmus, who the Orioles had just signed. Obviously Gentry paid some immediate dividends when he saved a home run in the second inning of the game on Thursday. And as I said yesterday, the ball was over the wall. Gentry flat out robbed Minnesota, and brought the ball back into the ballpark.

For the record, Davis went 0-for-4 on the day. So if you’re looking at the immediate results of him batting lead off, I suppose they weren’t good. However also keep in mind that Thursday’s game was a pitcher’s duel. There were precious few guys who truly looked good in the game at the plate.

However here’s the point: don’t ever doubt Buck Showalter. We went through this a bit after the 2016 AL Wild Card game, in which he infamously left Zach Britton on the bench. I’m not saying that he’s perfect – NOBODY is. But the moves he makes or doesn’t make are done for a reason. Coming into the game Rasmus was a career 1-for-11 against Minnesota starter Odorizzi. And does Rasmus make the play that the fleet-of-foot Gentry made in the second inning? Does Gentry himself consistently make that play. We’ll never know, but we do know what happened with Gentry in there at that moment.

Buck Showalter knows more baseball than I do, along with all of the people reading this column combined. So while there were certainly some things about that lineup that were unconventional, I would give a guy like Buck Showalter the benefit of the doubt on something like that 100% of the time. Again, that doesn’t mean he’s infallible, nor should Orioles fans expect him to be. But the moves he makes are made for a reason, and that reason is usually something more than just trying to shake things up.

The disjointed opening series resumes this evening at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner makes his Orioles’ debut on the mound, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: First pitch swinging cloaks Opening Day in orange & black

Let the record show that well after the party had stopped, the celebration was over, and the beer stopped flowing, it was Adam Jones who won the game for the Baltimore Orioles. In an Opening Day game that didn’t need to go extra innings but did, Jones smacked the first pitch he saw in the last of the 11th way out of Camden Yards and into the grandstand, sending the city of Baltimore into a frenzy. However let us not forget that everything’s a team effort. And this victory certainly was.

Dylan Bundy gave the Birds one of their best Opening Day starts in recent memory, and very much deserved to be the victor in this game. Bundy’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 7 K. Bundy was as good as good can be, letting nary a runner past second base. For a team who’s starting pitching has been maligned throughout the off season and spring training, this was as dominant a performance as you’re going to see.

Unfortunately for the Orioles however, Minnesota’s pitching and defense matched them point-for-point. In a game like this, it’s really a matter of who blinks first. And in two of the three moments of consequence in the game, Minnesota blinked before the Birds. But it took us awhile to get there.

For the record, Minnesota almost took the lead in the second inning, however Rosario was flat out robbed by Craig Gentry in right field. When I say robbed, I mean the ball was over the wall and Gentry brought it back into the ballpark. So there’s the league’s first web gem of the year. And in what ended up being a one-run game, that was a huge play.

Trey Mancini struck out to lead off the seventh, however he reached on a wild pitch. He would later reach second on a second wild pitch, prompting Minnesota to walk Valencia (who came up as a pinch-hitter). Following a Gentry strikeout, Caleb Joseph came to the plate. And he finally broke the 0-0 tie with a two-RBI triple. How often does a catcher smack a stand-up triple?! But it was perfectly placed, splitting the outfielders on a ball that went all the way to the wall.

The Birds brought Brad Brach into the game in the ninth to close it out. However keep in mind; Minnesota is a small-ball team. They’re perfectly happy getting one run here and there. And they look for the smallest opening to do it – in this case, it was Davis bobbling a grounder at first and allowing a base runner to reach. A couple of walks (one of which came on a very questionable ball four call in a full count after a twelve-pitch at-bat) later, the bases were loaded.

And these guys’ specialty is softly hit balls that end up doing a lot of damage. So with the bases loaded, Grossman’s blooper fell into very shallow center field, making it a two-RBI single – tying the game at two. So…does this mean Brach as the closer should be reconsidered? That certainly wasn’t the result he wanted. But he was also unlucky.

Perhaps the O’s slipped up a bit in that ninth inning. However as I said, in two of the three moments of consequence in that game, Minnesota blinked first. When you go to extra innings and the home team is at bat, the game’s always on the line. And that strikes fear into any team when you have a guy leading off an inning who’s been as clutch as Adam Jones has throughout his career in Baltimore – even a team like Minnesota, who plays a frustrating form of small ball.

All you need is one run in that situation. And no better way to get it for any club than on a homer. But that’s especially true of this power-hitting Orioles team, who lives by the long ball. Why rely on softly hit wackadoodle-type balls when you can just hit the ball over the fence?!

And that’s what Jones did, and on the first pitch at that. He saw a fastball that was right down broadway, and he jumped on it. For most of his career Jones has been just a clutch player. But on his 11th Opening Day as an Oriole, perhaps that was personified in truth. And it was obvious that it meant a lot to Jones (quote courtesy of Brittany Ghiroli, mlb.com):

Each one is more and more special, because it shows I’ve been able to maintain and stay in the big leagues. … I think this one is probably more important, because my kids are able to talk a little bit better and they understand what’s going on better. And that’s who I play for.

This was one game, meaning that the Orioles have 161 more of these. And obviously those won’t have the pomp and circumstance of Opening Day. However aside from the ninth inning, this was a great day all-around for the Birds. Between Genry, Bundy, Joseph, and Jones, the Orioles had a whale of a day. There’ll be some toils and snares this year for sure, but at the very least it was “the Captain,” Adam Jones, who made sure that this Opening Day was shaded with a deep shot of orange and black.

Baltimore Orioles hope to fly on Opening Day

The Baltimore Orioles and manager Buck Showalter are ready to go. The bunting’s on the warehouse, the batting cages are ready to go, and the uniforms are hung in players’ lockers. It must be Opening Day in Baltimore!

As I write this now, fans are gathering at Pickles Pub & Sliders Bar & Grille across the street from the yard, “tailgating” for today’s game. I heard on the radio yesterday that the betting line has Orioles, -1. Yes, the O’s are giving a run at home on Opening Day against Minnesota. The over/under is also nine – odds makers are thinking that the wind will be blowing out today at Camden Yards!

But just a reminder, folks. Today is game 1 of 162. A win today doesn’t mean smooth sailing the rest of the way, even though the O’s have a tradition of sorts in terms of winning on Opening Day. And a loss certainly doesn’t doom the season to failure.

Part of Opening Day is the pageantry, which in reality is done for the fans. After today players won’t run down the orange carpet moving forward. And they’re fine with that, as they just want to play. And play they will – today and onward.

But Opening Day is special – especially in Baltimore. There’s not much I can offer in terms of a gameplan or in setting out what the Orioles need to do in order to win. Anyone who’s read this column knows that it begins and ends with starting pitching. But also keep in mind that this being the first game, starters might not go as deep into the games as they would in say June or July. So keep a close eye on middle relief this afternoon as well.

That said, the Birds today open a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins at Camden Yards (just a reminder, tomorrow is an off day, with the series resuming on Saturday night). Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Jake Odorizzi. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.