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, Wade Miley never stood a chance

When Wade Miley records only one out in the first inning before being pulled, you know that the Baltimore Orioles stood nary a chance in the game. Miley’s line: .1 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 0 BB, 0 K. Miley was seemingly beaten before he even set foot on the mound. As were the Orioles overall.

New York put up six runs in the first inning, including a three-run homer by Frazier. That’s ultimately what knocked Miley out of the game – after surrendering six runs and recording one out. The O’s did make a veiled attempt to get back into the game. Jonathan Schoop smacked a solo homer in the fourth, and the Birds put two runners on base. However they let NY off the hook, and the inning ended.

And New York made them pay for that. Judge smacked a three-run homer in the bottom of that fourth inning which ran the score to 9-1. That type of thing has been an issue all year, as I’ve documented. Opposing teams are in fact holding the O’s accountable at every turn of the way for their mistakes. The Birds had an opportunity to get back into the game, and they couldn’t do it. Instead, New York put an additional three runs up in the bottom of that very inning.

And again, the O’s don’t exactly hold their opponents accountable. They’re letting them off the hook. Wednesday night in Toronto they had the bases loaded and nobody out. They allowed Toronto to work out of that jam. Now ironically that’s a situation in which the O’s weren’t “held accountable” in a sense because they managed to win 2-1. But the point is that the game is based on failure – if you fail to record outs guys will get on base. The O’s are failing to take advantage of other teams’ failures. But other teams aren’t being so charitable, nor should they be.

Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer in the sixth, however New York put up an additional four runs in the bottom of the inning. It seemed that all the Orioles had to do was put up one run and New York would explode. However the O’s would get RBI-doubles from Rickard and Joseph in the eighth, and Chance Sisco‘s first big league homer in the ninth. This ran the final to 13-5.

Even with such a bad loss at such a key time, Buck Showalter recognized what a moment this was for Cisco, and he addressed it after the game (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Facing a guy who throws about 30 percent fastballs, we knew it and didn’t make much of an adjustment. He did against a good pitcher and he’ll remember that and followed up with a home run. I like how calm and quiet he’s catching. Regardless of how the game was, you do take it as a special moment for him. I got the lineup card for him and I want him to feel good about that part of it. It was good to see. I was glad to get him out there.

The series continues tonight at Yankee Stadium. Gabriel Ynoa gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Luis Severino. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

 

Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman’s gem snaps losing streak

Kevin Gausman started what the Baltimore Orioles hope is a long winning streak with his gem last night in Toronto. Gausman’s line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K. Gausman mesmerized Toronto hitters all night long. And for the most part, none of them ever really stood a chance.

This was the Kevin Gausman that the Orioles wanted to see for the entire season. 2017 has really been a tale of two years for Gausman in a way, as he struggled in the first half of the year. But he’s really stepped it up in the second half, and the Birds have really benefited from his quality starts. And it really makes you wonder if the O’s would be fighting for their playoff lives as much as they are right now if Gausman had been this strong all season.

However Oriole bats remained quiet. And that’s fine when you have a pitcher who was as dominant as Gausman was last night. But in general, it’s a concern moving forward. The O’s scored two runs in the entire game – in the first inning. Generally two early runs don’t stand up for an entire game like that, but in this case they did. The two runs were also unearned. But the fact is that they did score those two runs, and Toronto only netted one.

Beckham reached base to lead off the game off of an E5. Jones later smacked an RBI-double, followed by an RBI-triple by Mancini. And there are your two runs – both unearned. Toronto would cut the lead in half in the third on Urena’s RBI-double.

The O’s had other chances in this game, such as the fourth inning when they loaded the bases with nobody out. Yet they let Toronto off the hook. And I thought for sure that would come back to haunt them, even in the last of that fourth inning when Toronto had some traffic on the base paths. But Toronto returned the favor, letting the O’s off the hook.

But the story of the night was Gausman’s effort, and he gave credit to good scouting after the game in helping him along to win this game in the manner that he did (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

Me and Caleb, we had a really good scouting report on these guys and I’ve had some good games against them this year, so it was more about me pitching toward my strengths and not necessarily their weaknesses. And that’s something I’ve really been focusing on doing more in the second half. Stroman was pitching today, so I know runs would be at a premium. Once we scored those two runs, I told myself, ‘Hey those are your runs, that’s all you’re going to get today,’ and you know, unfortunately, that’s the way it was. But luckily I was able to pound the strike zone and keep mixing my pitches and keep them off-balance.

The O’s now head to the Bronx for a four-game set with New York. Wade Miley gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Masahiro Tanaka. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles waste Dylan Bundy’s quality start

The Baltimore Orioles wasted a quality start by starter Dylan Bundy last night in Toronto. However either way, neither Bundy nor the seemingly ever-silent Oriole bats seemed to figure into the final result. Nevertheless, Bundy continued in his progression as what the Orioles hope is their next great starting pitcher. Bundy’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 8 K.

Bundy’s lone run surrendered ca me in the third inning on a Smoak RBI-double. He walked a couple of tightropes in the game, but emerged unscathed for the most part. And as I always say, pitchers are going to find ways to get themselves in trouble – it’s almost the nature of the position itself. The good ones will find way to get themselves out of trouble. Bundy did that last night.

Mark Trumbo tied the game at one in the seventh inning with an RBI-single to center. One inning later, the O’s had the lead thanks to Tim Beckham‘s solo homer. If you believe in the ebb and flow of the game, it appeared that the Orioles had this game in the bag. They had battled back in the game, and had fought to take the lead. But if there’s one thing Toronto loves to do, it’s spoil the Orioles’ plans.

The Orioles brought the best closer in baseball, Zach Britton, in to complete the eighth inning, and back again for the ninth. This of course on the same field that they left him in the bullpen during last year’s AL Wild Card game. Britton allowed a walk and a base hit to start the ninth, before recording a force out.

However Toronto’s Maile, a September call up, decided to take matters into his own hands and smacked an RBI-single to tie the game at nine. Suddenly it was the Orioles who were on the ropes, and sure enough a subsequent RBI-single by Urena won it for Toronto. Two RBI-singles by two young players sunk the best closer in baseball.

And that can happen sometimes. September call ups are usually young and hungry. There’s also not much of a scouting report on them, so that makes it challenging to pitch to them.

The O’s will try to salvage one game in this three-game set in Toronto in the series finale tonight at Rogers Centre. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Marcus Stroman. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Season on the brink

The Baltimore Orioles need to get it together quickly if they aren’t going to quietly slip out of contention for what’s left of the season. Last night Ubaldo Jimenez probably pitched well enough to put the O’s in a spot to win. However Jimenez was eventually let down by the defense behind him, of all things. Jimenez’s line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

Toronto took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI-groundout by Goins. However while that went as an earned run, in reality it shouldn’t have been. Previous to that Hernandez had smacked a double, however he advanced to third on a Mark Trumbo error. All things being the same, that’s a run that probably wouldn’t have scored.

Urena’s RBI-double scored Barney later in the inning to give Toronto a 2-0 lead. Now while that run would have scored anyways, Barney had gotten aboard with a double but took third on an Adam Jones error. So again in fairness to Jimenez, those are two runs that came about as a direct result of errors.

Jones atoned for his mistake in the fourth inning with an RBI-double which cut the lead to 2-1. However opposing teams know that the Orioles have to be pushing at this point trying to stay in the race. And they’re using that edge against them. Goins certainly did when he smacked a solo homer against Jimenez in the last of the fourth, giving Toronto a 3-1 lead. But then again one inning later, Trumbo countered back with a solo homer of his own.

But when things aren’t going your way (as they aren’t for the O’s right now), the breaks go to the other side – always. Hernandez managed to get aboard with an infield single in the last of the sixth following a HBP. With Machado guarding the line, Hernandez provided a swinging bunt. It was smart of Machado to guard the line. However had he done the wrong thing and played in, that would have been at least one out. Barney later hit an infield single of his own, which scored a run and ran the score to 4-2.

The O’s managed to get one more back on Mancini’s RBI-single in the seventh, but that was all she wrote. As I said, the Birds need to get themselves back on track, and quick. The will to do it is definitely there, and neither that nor the effort should never be questioned. However I think there are some very tired bats in the lineup right now; bats that have noble intentions to do good mind you, but bats that are just tired.

The series continues tonight at Rogers Center. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Joe Biagini. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles swept away in prime time

Jeremy Hellickson turned in a quality start last night for the Baltimore Orioles. Hellickson’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K. Hellickson pitched to contact for most of the night, as evidenced by the zero walks. Needless to say, he put the Orioles in a position to win the game.

But once again Oriole bats couldn’t muster much in the way of offense in Cleveland. The good news in this game was that the O’s actually held Cleveland at bay for most of the game as well. The difference of course was that Cleveland was able to net just a little more than the Orioles. And that’s been the story of the Orioles’ season to this point – it seems that no matter what they do, someone else is doing just a little bit more.

Cleveland took a 1-0 lead on an RBI-ground out by Ramirez in the second inning. And after that it seemed that both teams settled in for a pitcher’s duel on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. However again, Cleveland already had the lead. That meant that the O’s would have to score at least two to bea them.

And two runs the Orioles would get. The issue was that Cleveland put three on the board. As I said, someone else always seems to do just a bit more. The O’s did however tie the game in the sixth. Schoop’s RBI-single plated Machado, and the Orioles had a fighting chance. But back-to-back homers in the bottom of that inning from Perez and Lindor gave Cleveland a 3-1 lead. The O’s would get a solo home run of their own from Davis in the seventh, but it wasn’t enough.

Of course this was Cleveland’s 18th win in a row, which is fairly impressive. In that sense the Orioles shouldn’t worry too much about being swept over the weekend, as they’ve swept several teams during this run. But as I’ve said before, the Birds have a knack for catching teams while they’re hot. And the fact that it comes in the middle of a playoff chase doesn’t help matters. Hellickson spoke to both of these points after the game (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

We’re still not out of it, but it’s not a good time to come in here and play these guys, that’s for sure. We’re probably going to have to run off a few in a row and get back in it.

The O’s now head to Toronto for the opener of a three-game series. Ubaldo Jimenez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Marco Estrada. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Cleveland too much once again

The Baltimore Orioles had a newbie on the mound yesterday afternoon in Cleveland: Gabriel Ynoa. Ynoa of course was acquired in a trade during spring training, and spent some time in the Orioles’ bullpen earlier this year. However he made his first start yesterday, but not with the greatest results. Ynoa’s line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

The zero walks was obviously a nice touch, and Ynoa didn’t pitch horribly to be honest. However this was always meant to be a bullpen game in a sense. But the O’s did give Ynoa a lead in this game early on. Trey Mancini‘s RBI-single in the first inning gave the Birds a 1-0 lead.

However that lead only lasted two innings. Urhsela’s RBI-double in the last of the third tied the game at one. And that was as close as the O’s got for the rest of the day. One inning later in the last of the fourth Bruce smacked an RBI-single which gave Cleveland a 2-1 lead. And one inning after that Santana’s RBI-double increased that to 3-1.

Now the O’s did battle back – just a little. Tim Beckham led the sixth inning off with a solo homer, cutting the lead to 3-2. However this game came across as another classic one in which the O’s relied too much on power. Furthermore, Cleveland pitchers once again did a masterful job of working the outside realms of the strike zone. Every borderline pitch by a Cleveland pitcher was seemingly called a strike.

Just for good measure, Cleveland got a solo homer from Lindor in the seventh to run the final to 4-2. While the O’s did muster the one early run without power, they seem to be slipping back into the old habit of relying on homers. Believe me, I’m the first one to tell you that homers are and should always be the way that this team wins. But it shouldn’t be the only way.

It’s also worth mentioning that this was Cleveland’s 17th straight win. So the Birds are catching them at just the wrong time. When you play 162 games, timing is everything in terms of when you catch teams. And unfortunately the Orioles have run into several teams this year while they were riding high.

The Birds will try to salvage one in this series this evening before a national television audience at Progressive Field on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Jeremy Hellickson gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Trevor Bauer. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: New York gets some home cooking

Luckily for the Baltimore Orioles and the entire mid-Atlantic region, it appears that Hurricane Irma isn’t going to visit this far north. However ripple affects of the monster storm are being felt across the board. So why not include the Orioles and other AL East teams in that mix?

The New York Yankees were scheduled to open up a three-game series against the Tampa Rays at Tropicana Field on Monday. That series will not be played in Tampa due to the potential affects of Hurricane Irma. So the league knew that they had to think fast and actually move the series – in fact, Baltimore was considered as a potential alternative.

However when the pieces fell, the parties involved decided upon Citi Field in New York – home of the Mets. This means that the Yankees will play 17 of their last 20 games in New York to close the season. For a team that’s in the wild card race, that’s a huge advantage. And a huge disadvantage for teams such as the Orioles who are trying to back their way into the playoffs.

Supposedly, this was an outcome chosen by the Rays themselves. How believable that is might be another story. Nevertheless, Tampa manager Kevin Cash probably hit the nail on the head when saying that there were more important things than baseball to consider (quote courtesy of Billy Witz, New York Times):

I’m fine with that. Look, we’ve got to suck it up on our end, deal with it. It’s not the most important thing.

There’s no question that the games are secondary, and certainly all of the people of Florida and all affected areas are in the thoughts and prayers of the entire nation. But there’s no denying that this gives the New York Yankees a huge and unexpected advantage. And it’s not really a matter of the fact that Yankees fans will be the primary attendees of the games – that would have probably been the case in Tampa also. But it’s the visiting players who’ll get to stay in their own beds, drive their own cars to the games, and get meal money for being on the road.

Meanwhile, the “homestanding Rays” will be living out of a suitcase in a hotel. Again, there may well have been no perfect solution given the circumstances. But my point here is that any other solution would have been preferable to playing in New York. This is something we’ve seen a lot of over the past few years – in terms of relocated games. Remember the Orioles playing their “home series” against Tampa at Tropicana Field? Even before that, Miami played a “home series” against Seattle at Safeco, and Toronto did the same against Philadelphia at Citizen’s Bank Park. And looking to other sports, we all of course remember the Saints playing a “home game” at the Meadowlands after Hurricane Katrina against the NY Giants.

Now granted the Yankees aren’t playing in their home park in this case. But that’s like arguing semantics. They may as well be playing in their home park. And I would submit that this is a trend that needs to stop. Inevitably, games will occasionally need to be relocated and teams will in essence lose home games when the real world meets the sports world. That goes without saying, and the fact is that you make due in anyway that you can. But is it really fair to even consider having a team “play host” in the actual visiting team’s park or city?

MLB got it right a few weeks ago when the Houston Astros played their series against Texas in Tampa. That was a totally neutral city and  so forth. But in this specific case, there’s going to be a couple of teams who miss out on the postseason that will do so by one or two games. The Orioles may or may not be one of those. Is it really fair to let them wonder what would have happened had New York not gotten three de facto (extra) home games?

For what it’s worth, Tampa will be designated as the home team in these games. They’ll wear their home whites while New York dons the road grays, and they’ll have the last at-bat. But baseball’s ultimately baseball once you’re between the lines. None of that really matters, nor does how many fans are rooting for which team. But there’s no question that New York will get the intangible benefits of being at home. And that’s a huge advantage – especially in a pennant race.

Baltimore Orioles, Wade Miley squeezed in Cleveland

Wade Miley didn’t exactly pitch a horrible game for the Baltimore Orioles last night in Cleveland. The numbers might not indicate that, but once he settled down, Miley looked decent for the most part. Miley’s line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 4 K. Miley pitched well enough to win, had the Orioles been able to put some runs on the board. But that’s not how the game went.

From the very beginning, the O’s seemed to have an issue with the strike zone of home plate umpire Dana DeMuth. In some cases, that was with good reason. It seemed that every borderline pitch was going Cleveland’s way. If the Birds were in the field, the borderline pitches were being called balls. If the O’s were at bat, suddenly they were strikes.

DeMuth’s strike zone did seem to be a bit erratic at times, which can be frustrating for pitchers and hitters alike. Furthermore, as a hitter it also makes you have to consider expanding the strike zone. So it potentially led to Oriole hitters swinging at balls. And if you establish that you’ll swing at balls, they’re going to throw you balls.

Here’s the flip side of this discussion, however. Cleveland also adapted to the moving target of the strike zone much better than did the Orioles. And quite frankly, that’s a problem that the Orioles have always had. You’ll see a lot of angry glares towards home plate umpires from hitters and from Buck Showalter in the dugout. And again, in some instances that’s with good reason. Sometimes the strike zone does seem to be a moving target. But as the innings go on opposing teams seem to adapt to whatever the umpire seems to be calling, while the Orioles don’t.

We also saw in this game how things can snowball in baseball. Jonathan Schoop muffed a tailor-made double-play in the first inning. It doesn’t go as an error because he did get the force out at first base, and you can’t assume the double-play. However that led to a two on and two out situation, which led to Encarnacion’s three-run homer.

Again, Miley seemed to settle down after that, which is to his credit. The O’s just couldn’t put anything across to counter the damage that was already done. Santana smacked an RBI-double in the sixth, on a ball that was barely fair. Again, in a game of inches, the break went Cleveland’s way there. Cleveland would put another run across in the last of the seventh on a wild pitch, closing out their 5-0 win.

The series continues this afternoon at Progressive Field. Gabriel Ynoa will make a spot start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Josh Tomlin. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman didn’t have it

Kevin Gausman had a tough time getting anything going for the Baltimore Orioles yesterday as they fell big in the series finale with New York, 9-1. Gausman’s line: 3.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K. That’s not going to get the job done, however New York was hitting everything that anybody was throwing yesterday – not just Gausman’s stuff.

Gausman started the game off with a walk of Gardner, who promptly stole second and was doubled home. Judge came up later in the inning and smacked a two-run homer, and the O’s trailed 3-0. Gausman pitched Judge right down the middle, which resulted in the home run. Mind you however, Judge has struggled mightily since the all-star break. So it wasn’t necessarily a bad idea to pitch-to-contact against him given the fact that he’s been recording outs. He just picked yesterday to try to break out.

After New York put two more on the board in the third, Gausman was finally lifted after that inning. Mike Wright came in for the fourth, and promptly gave up another two-run homer. As I said, New York was hitting everything they could. When the smoke cleared the Birds fell by the aforementioned score of 9-1. In this case, it began and ended with starting pitching, although the offense only putting up one run didn’t help.

The Orioles now embark on a road trip that will take them through Cleveland, Toronto, and New York. So that’s basically the season right there. The Orioles sit two games out of the final wild card spot, and one game behind Anaheim. But they have a tall task this weekend with a Cleveland team that’s basically the hottest in the league. Incidentally, this weekend’s series will also feature the Orioles in the national spotlight, as Sunday’s game is in prime time on Sunday Night Baseball.

After the game Buck Showalter mentioned how it’s important in any game to get off to a good start. Gausman was unable to do that, which added to why it didn’t work out for him and the Birds yesterday (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

The first at-bat of the game, that’s the difference between the major leagues and Triple-A is you make really good pitches and they tip them off and then you get two or three, in his case four pitches that could have been strikes. I thought Kevin’s stuff was pretty good. He struck out three guys in the first inning. It wasn’t his day.

The aforementioned series in Cleveland begins tonight. Wade Miley gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Cleveland’s Mike Clevinger. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: How to deal with electronic sign-stealing

The series finale for the Baltimore Orioles with New York last night was post phoned until this afternoon due to rain. Unlike some teams who try to make everyone wait around for two or three hours, the Orioles made the decision before the scheduled start time. And that benefits everyone.

The story du jour in MLB of course is the Boston Red Sox being caught stealing signs with an apple watch (against the New York Yankees). I’ve heard a wide array of comments on this, however that aside my personal opinion is that stealing signs is dirty. When a guy’s standing on second base and is relaying signs to a hitter…that’s just not cool. But people love to hide behind the fact that everyone’s doing it.

HOWEVER, Major League Baseball does have a written rule saying that the usage of electronic devices to steal signs is not allowed. So this isn’t about upholding the unwritten codes of the game, yes in which I do personally believe. There’s actually a written rule against what Boston was doing. It’s akin to trying to argue that you were keeping up with the flow of traffic when you got pulled over for going 30 MPH over the speed limit.

So what next? Well before I go there, let me just say how despicable I think this is. Again, I’m not in favor of sign stealing the old fashion way. It goes against the integrity of the game, and the fact that everyone does it is no defense. In this case, I get pulling out all the stops to win. But resorting to tactics like this are despicable and shameless.

Commissioner Rob Manfred really needs to think long and hard about what he’s going to do. If you believe CSNNE, the penalty isn’t going to be very harsh. But again, they violated a written rule. And the argument that Boston didn’t do well against NY this year is a weak one. The results of the games shouldn’t matter. Heck, it sounds like they knew something was up, and they probably changed their signs.

The article I linked above talks about vacating wins, which is an interesting idea. Depending upon which wins and how many they had to vacate, the Orioles could stand to benefit. However I’ll be honest – that’s a bad idea. As petty as both Boston and New York can be, that’s a penalty that first off is probably a bit draconian. However they would also probably sue the league and it would end up in court. Let’s say that they vacated wins and the Orioles somehow magically won the division. That can’t be undone.

But Manfred does need to make an example out of the Red Sox. This type of thing can’t be allowed to stand. Perhaps manager John Farrell should receive a 30-game suspension or something to that affect. The Red Sox were quick to point out that he supposedly knew nothing of what was going on. First off I’m not sure I believe that. Secondly, it’s your job to know what’s going on in your dugout. So if he really didn’t know, he flat out wasn’t doing his job.

If Manfred lets them get off with a slap on the wrist, it’ll look bad for the game. Boston’s a team with a huge following and one who will probably generate a lot of TV ratings in the post season. Does Manfred really want to give the semblance that he’s putting that before the integrity of the game? One way or another, this is something that he needs to rectify; if you aren’t going to enforce the rules on the books, they may as well be struck.

The Orioles will wrap up their series with NY with a makeup game this afternoon. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Sonny Gray. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.