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: Powder blue hue to an Orange Crush

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore Orioles rained out

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

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

Baltimore Orioles: Clipped by a reverse-lock?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore Orioles bring the heat, but Zach Eflin leaves early

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore Orioles: Did the lineup sink the Birds?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore Orioles: First big league win for Tomoyuki Sugano

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Baltimore Orioles: Kansas City spoils Gunnar Henderson’s return

The Baltimore Orioles got Gunnar Henderson back last night in Kansas City with Dean Kremer on the mound. Unfortunately for everyone involved, it was a cold rainy night in Kansas City – pretty miserable for everyone involved. Kremer’s line: 4.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R (2 earned), 0 BB, 1 K.

I say miserable for everyone involved, but Kansas City appeared right at home – and they literally were. But you’ll remember in last year’s AL Wild Card series (and the 2014 ALCS), they pretty much beat the Orioles on cracked bats and bloop singles. While the Orioles are a pretty by the book team, Kansas City thrives on the strange and fluky.

Following an infield single in the first, Perez sent what appeared to be a routine fly ball to center. Heston Kjerstad had it in sight for what would have been the final out of the inning. That is until he lost the ball, it fell to the ground, and a run scored (giving Kansas City a 1-0 lead).

It looked as if Kjerstad lost the ball in the lights. I would go with he lost it in the misty haze that hovered over the stadium all game long. But either way it worked to Kansas City’s advantage. Also, a run doesn’t score there unless there are two outs – because the runner ran on contact.

The O’s weren’t down for long, however. With two on in the second Heston Kjerstad redeemed himself with an RBI-single. The O’s had two on in scoring position, and conventional wisdom says that they should have scored two on that. In fact, the throw from left field was up the line. However Kansas City’s catcher Perez still managed to reach back and tag Tyler O’Neill out.

Brandon Hyde challenged the play at the plate, but it was upheld. However the O’s soon had the lead. Ryan Mountcastle reached on a throwing error, allowing Kjerstad to score and putting the Birds in the driver’s seat at 2-1.

Following an error by Gunnar Henderson and a wild pitch, Garcia’s two-run single in the fourth put Kansas City back in the lead at 3-2. Needless to say, Kansas City seemed to have no issue with the weather. The Orioles on the other hand…let’s just say they would have just as soon as had the game go into a delay.

However Kansas City would put five more across in the eighth as insurance. This included a bloop three-run single that fell just fair in shallow right field. Again, this with two outs. Meaning that the runners were in motion. The crazy and fluky plays again do in the O’s.

The series continues this afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Michael Wacha. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Good pitching usually shuts down good hitting

The Baltimore Orioles’ rotation is now in its second turn. We’ve come back around to Zach Eflin, who at times looked good tonight against Boston. The ball also took some strange hops on him. And the bats didn’t do much to help. Eflin’s line: 6.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

It didn’t help that the O’s ran into Boston’s Crochet, who pitched an outstanding game. However despite that and despite everything else, Eflin pitched to a quality start. Eflin made one bad pitch, and it was a solo home run to Story in the second inning.

Rafaela would extend the lead in the fifth with an RBI-single. Odds are the run would have scored anyways, but Cedric Mullins bobbled the ball in the outfield. It went as a hit, as again the run was deemed to have scored one way or the other. But it was that kind of night for Oriole bats.

To add insult to injury, Boston’s Devers got his first hit of the season in the fifth. It was an RBI-single, as a runner was on base. You had to know that Devers, despite starting the season in a dreadful slump, wasn’t going to struggle forever. And tonight was the night.

Despite the loss tonight, the Orioles are anticipating the imminent return of SS Gunnar Henderson. It could come tomorrow, or it could come Friday in Kansas City. But barring an injury in a rehab start in Norfolk, Gunnar’s on the way.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Charlie Morton gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Tanner Houck. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Pile on the BoSox on Opening Day at Camden Yards

The Baltimore Orioles opened on the road, get a token three-game home series, and then back on the road. However they made the most of their home opener this afternoon against Boston at Camden Yards behind starter Cade Povich. Povich’s line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 8 K.

The O’s got RBI-singles from Tyler O’Neill and Ryan Mountcastle in the first inning, sending the hometown crowd into a frenzy. Ryan Mountcastle would add a two-run single, aided by a Boston error. And before you knew it, the home team led 4-0.

However Boston would battle back. And you expect nothing less. They put three on the board in the second and third, cutting the Orioles’ lead to 4-3. And there the game remained – for awhile.

Both sides danced out of trouble a few times along the way. The Orioles have left a small army on base thus far this year. That could be a problem. They also lost Colton Cowser for 6-8 weeks at a minimum before the game. He fractured his finger sliding into first base yesterday. Dylan Carlson replaced him on the roster.

With the AL East being so good, insurance runs are going to be a thing this year. You have to tack on runs late in a close game. And we saw it today.

Luckily for the O’s, that wasn’t a problem this afternoon. Heston Kjerstad’s RBI-single in the eighth extended the lead to 5-3. And here’s another thing; Jorge Mateo pinch ran, and promptly stole second. Following a Carlson walk, Cedric Mullins busted the game open with a two-RBI single.

Mateo’s speed is a game-changer. There’s a direct correlation with those two runs and Mateo’s speed. You can’t see it in the box score, but it made a difference.

Jackson Holliday added an RBI-single, and the O’s had all but won the game. Granted, Boston tacked on two against closer Felix Bautista in the ninth. Many might want to scrutinize that, however keep in mind that Bautista is still coming back from Tommy John’s. The fact that he got in today’s game is good for the O’s. Sure you’d rather a clean inning, but that will come.

End of the day, it’s a win. One game of 162. However…it was the home opener, the orange carpet, player introductions, fans out at bars all day leading up to the game, etc. It’s a holiday in Baltimore. It means just a bit more, and it goes as a win.

Baltimore Orioles fall in Toronto finale

Tomoyuki Sugano made his MLB debut today for the Baltimore Orioles in the series finale in Toronto. He had some struggles, which isn’t too surprising. It’s baseball, but not the style he’s used to. Sugano’s line: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 1 K.

Sugano left the game early with wrist cramps. He came out to pitch in the fifth, felt something in his hand, and abruptly left the game. Again, the Orioles termed it wrist cramps following his departure. That’s the word on the street – for now.

Ryan O’Hearn was on first in the first inning when Tyler O’Neil smacked a single. O’Hearn was able to go first to third, and he immediately scored on a wild pitch with Cedric Mullins at the plate. As I’ve said many times (including this season already), get people on base and things can happen.

Springer’s two-RBI single in the bottom of the first would give Toronto a 2-1 lead. And Toronto pitchers held the Orioles at bay for the rest of the game. They had Toronto starter Bassitt on the ropes a couple of times, but to no avail.

Toronto would tack on a solo homer by Heineman in the seventh to cruise to a 3-1 victory. The Birds put nine hits on the board, but could only muster one run. However they did split this series, which is the usual outcome in a four-game set. Especially in the division.

As today’s game got going the O’s announced that tomorrow’s home opener has been moved up 30 minutes due to incoming inclement weather. Needless to say, the forecast doesn’t look great. But the game is now scheduled for a 2:35 PM start.

After the game Brandon Hyde mentioned that on top of the Sugano injury, Colton Cowser injured his hand sliding into first trying to beat out a throw. Jordan Westburg was also available in an emergency today, but should be fine for tomorrow and onward. You have to hope that the injury parade isn’t beginning.

The O’s now head home for their home opener tomorrow against Boston at Camden Yards. Cade Povich gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Sean Newcomb. Game time is set for just after 2:30 PM.