Category Archives: Baltimore Orioles News

Baltimore Orioles, Dylan Bundy Burt second time through the order

Despite pitching only five innings, Dylan Bundy did exactly what the Baltimore Orioles wanted last night. This in the sense that he put the Birds in a position to win the game. And as I’ve said many times and about many different teams and starters, a starting pitcher’s job is to put his team in a position to win the game. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

The Birds actually jumped out in front early in this one. Rio Ruiz‘s RBI-single in the first inning gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. Two innings later they doubled the lead on Renato Nunez‘s RBI-single. (He would take second on the throw.)

And on that note, that run should be partially attributed to Dwight Smith Jr., who scored it. Smith got aboard on what became a single in the third inning. (I put it like that because he ran out a routine grounder to second, was ruled out, and then awarded a base hit upon the play being overturned on replay.) He would then proceed to steal second base – allowing him to score on Nunez’s base hit.

However Tampa wasn’t to be outdone. Diaz’s sac fly-RBI in the fourth cut the lead in half. That didn’t feel like that big a deal, because the Orioles recorded an out. However later in the inning Garcia smacked a two-run homer, giving Tampa a 3-2 lead. Garcia would also provide Tampa with an insurance run with an eighth inning RBI-single.

Bundy dominated Tampa through the first three innings. Tampa didn’t exactly start scoring runs in buckets after that, however their hitters adjusted. Second time through the order, they were almost waiting for Bundy.

And the inverse scenario is also true. The Orioles were getting guys on base and driving them in the first time through the order. After that, Tampa pitchers seemed to adapt. The Orioles didn’t have a hit after the fourth inning.

And unfortunately that’s what Tampa can do to you. Their hitters refuse to give in under any circumstances, which wears down your pitching. And again, the inverse is also true. Their pitching seemingly refuses to give in, and ultimately your hitters seemingly get worn out. I can’t tell you why or how that happens, it just does when you play Tampa.

The series continues tomorrow night at Tropicana Field. David Hess gets the start for the O’s, with Tampa’s starter TBD. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: John Means victimized by soft hits and bad luck

Pitcher John Means has the opportunity to make his first career start (after working out of the bullpen to this point) for the Baltimore Orioles this evening. They say that stats don’t lie, but I would submit that in this case perhaps they do. I felt that Means pitched well tonight, making perhaps one bad pitch. Yet his stat line indicates the exact opposite. Means’ line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R (1 earned), 1 BB, 1 K.

Means fell victim to the 2018 Orioles’ fate, one that’s shared by the 2014 Orioles (in the ALCS) as well. Oakland found ways to get on base with softly hit balls, plus a little bit of luck. Or bad luck, from Means’ standpoint. And again similar to 2018, the main rally began with two outs.

Means issued one walk in the first inning, but got out without any damage. Again, for the most part he was pitching well. Perhaps one of the two mistakes Means made was not covering first on a grounder to the first baseman Ruiz. A softly hit grounder, which turned into an infield single. A swinging bunt and another infield hit later, and the bases were loaded…with two outs.

Profar would come to the plate, and send a soft grounder to the hole at short. The Orioles never had a shot at it, and a run scored. But it was only one. No big deal, right?

Not exactly. A Hanser Alberto throwing error scored another run. Incidentally that error came on yet another softly hit ball in the infield. John Means induced a lot of infield ground balls, which is the goal. It just didn’t work out in his favor.

But following that second run Semien would smack a three-run homer, on the only other mistake that Means made. Well after Means had been sent to the showers Profar would also smack a solo home run. So to that point Oakland hit exactly two balls hard, and they had six runs. Very similar to what we saw last year.

Pedro Severino would get the Orioles on the board in the last of the seventh with a two-RBI double. However Oakland would put four runs back up in the eighth, putting the game out of hand at 10-2. Oakland would plate three more after a balk in the ninth to run it to 13-2.

For what it’s worth, that four-run eighth inning rally did in fact feature plenty of hard-hit balls. But that doesn’t help John Means, who as I said was in line to pitch a good game. He was just unlucky. Five runs, one earned is all you need to know.

The Orioles also has to send starter Alex Cobb and reliever Nate Karns to the Injured List before the game. Both were surprises, and both are on the 10-day IL. Cobb was to start tomorrow night, however it’s assumed that whomever is called up will make the start.

So the series with Oakland will continue tomorrow night at Camden Yards. The Orioles are still to announce a starter, but whomever he is will be opposed by Oakland’s Frankie Montas. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles rebound after big loss

The Baltimore Orioles got a semi-solid start out of Andrew Cashner, as they snapped their four-game losing streak by defeating the Oakland Athletics. Cashner did what you ask of a starter defensively: he put the team in a spot to win. Cashner’s line: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R (3 earned), 1 BB, 1 K.

The O’s has the lead from the beginning in this one, although it was threatened a couple of times. Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer in the first to give the Birds a 1-0 lead. One inning later Cedric Mullins smacked a two-RBI triple. However as Mullins slid into third, the ball ticked away, allowing Mullins to score.

It’s the same effect as an inside-the-lark home run. However it goes down as a triple and an error. Just a scoring difference, but it’s the same amount of runs.

The only issue with Cashner’s performance tonight was that immediately after getting that four-run lead he tried to give it back. He surrendered a two-run homer in the third, cutting the Orioles’ lead in half. However the Birds extended it back to four again almost right away when Jonathan Villar snacked a two-run homer in the last of the fourth.

Oakland would try to inch closer with a solo homer in the fifth and a sac fly-RBI in the sixth. However the O’s would come back and put up three more runs before the eighth inning. And at the end of the day, the lead ballooned to 12-4. And the Birds has snapped their losing streak.

The win gets the Orioles back to .500 on the year at 5-5. They were beaten around this past weekend at the hands of NY, as has been mentioned ad hoc on various outlets. This was the response, which is a good sign.

Not that this means that the Orioles are going to the post season or be in contention. But the fact that this team responded to a 15-3 loss with a 12-4 victory should vouch for something. It tells you that this team plays with pride, and furthermore they have the ability to put losses behind them.

The series with Oakland continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Brett Anderson. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Using position players as pitchers could afford to cease

The Baltimore Orioles used infielder Hanser Alberto as a relief pitcher yesterday. It’s understandable why; the game was out of control, and manager Brandon Hyde wanted to save his bullpen. However whether or not that’s a good idea in general is another story.

Again, I understand the reasoning behind the move. In fact, Hyde indicated after the game that Alberto might have saved the team from having to make a roster move when asked if that was a possibility:


I definitely was thinking that during the game. But then Hanser picked us up, so it’s something we’re going to discuss after this.

Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

There’s something to be said for that. It’s also a trend that we’re seeing across the big leagues. Heck, Tampa sometimes uses their pitchers in the field and then swaps them onto the mound. And I’m submitting that perhaps some of these practices need to stop.

Nobody uses a position player as a pitcher in a close game. It’s generally done in the manner that Brandon Hyde did it yes

terday; an out-of-control game so as to save a reliever. But are we really doing a service to the game itself when pulling a stunt like that? Are we really giving people what they paid good money to see?

As bad as it was seeing the Oriole bullpen get lit up time after time yesterday, that beat seeing Alberto messing himself on the mound. And I say that in the sense that Alberto isn’t a pitcher. He doesn’t have the training and practice that pitchers usually have. Never mind the fact that someone could get hurt.

I just feel that there’s a better way to do things than using a position player. However it’s not something that I think should be against the rules. I would submit that the manner in which the Orioles used Chris Davis as a pitcher is a totally different story. If a team’s in extra innings and they’re out of pitchers, obviously someone has to come in. But I’d like to see managers stay away from that in a game such as a blowout.

So let’s put it this way; it should be legal. There should be no reason as per the rules of the game why a position player should be barred from pitching. But it’s something from which I wish managers would stay away unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Baltimore Orioles sign RHP Dan Straily

The Baltimore Orioles resume their season and their series with New York this evening after the “traditional” post-Opening Day off day. And they do so with a slightly different roster than what we’ve seen to this point. Late yesterday the Birds signed RHP Dan Straily to a major league deal.

Straily, 32, was released by Miami last week following spring training. He has a 4.23 ERA over seven big league seasons. Last year he went 5-6 with Miami, pitching to an ERA of 4.12. Infielder Drew Jackson was DFA’d to make room on the roster for Straily.

This isn’t an earth-shattering signing on the Orioles’ part. Straily won’t make any big headlines. However he will add a veteran presence to the rotation, which will help other pitchers along. Incidentally, his salary is also being paid by the Miami Marlins. So the O’s have that going for them.

What this does to the rotation remains to be seen. However many might look at the likes of Cobb, Cashner, and now Straily and wonder why the Orioles are shaping themselves such a veteran rotation for a young team. Keep in mind that if Cobb and/or Cashner do their jobs properly, they could both be dealt at the deadline this summer. If that happens, the Birds still have a veteran in the rotation.

The current series with New York will continue this evening from Camden Yards as the O’s try to get even. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s J.A. Happ. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles to use Nate Karns as an opener

After an off day yesterday, the Baltimore Orioles will resume their young season this afternoon in the Bronx. That would be game two of the season, and in the current series with the NY Yankees. Again for those dismayed by the loss on Opening Day, today’s a new day. Every game is one of 162.

The Orioles this afternoon are expected to employ Nate Karns in the role of an “opener.” Of course this was a concept popularized by Tampa last year – this instead of a “closer.” Manager Brandon Hyde has said that he was amenable to using this tactic if it made sense, as it does apparently now:


Our bullpen will be rested, and we’re trying this out. It’s new for us, new for me. But to be able to have your bullpen rested before that game is key, so that’s why we picked it that way.

Quote courtesy of Jon Meoli, Baltimore Sun

I’ll be honest, I’m wary of this tactic, and I’m way of it league-wide. Granted some of that is probably due to the fact that it’s not something I’m used to seeing. However my point would also be that as many managers that we see struggling with bullpen management, the tactic just moves up the opportunities for bullpens to be mismanaged. Nevertheless, it’s something that the Orioles are going to try.

The Birds will play game two at Yankee Stadium this afternoon. The aforementioned Nate Karns is on the mound for the Orioles (as an opener), and he’ll be opposed by New York’s James Paxton. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Opening Day musings

In reviewing my twitter feed, there was a lot of angst following the Baltimore Orioles’ 7-2 loss to New York yesterday on Opening Day. I’m not suggesting that it was a stellar performance. However games like that are part of the rebuilding process.

It’s also worth mentioning that the Birds had what could have amounted to a rally in the first inning. Jonathan Villar was on first base and what appeared to be a base hit was going between first and second. That would-be single smacked Villar on the foot, making him automatically out. Now ironically, no umpire called him out, so he kept running – and was thrown out at third. So whether that was a base running blunder or a bad break is anyone’s guess. (Odds are had he been safe at third New York would have challenged the call – and won.)

Manager Brandon Hyde addressed some of the bad breaks after the game:


I thought we had some unlucky breaks there. For the most part we’re going to give singles the other way to Stanton and Judge and Gary Sánchez, guys like that that can hurt you and do real damage. They found some holes against us today. Over time that will go the other way, I would believe, and some balls go through the other way on us today and hopefully we can take advantage of that offensively at some point also.


Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

But as former Washington DC sportstalk host Ken Beatrice used to say, if ‘if’s and but’s were candy and nuts, oh what a party we would have!’ Those were the types of breaks that went against the Orioles all season last year – and they were plentiful. But you have to play the games as they unfold, not wish they unfolded differently.

Whatever your thoughts on the game itself may be, remember that it’s one of 162. That game counts as much as next Tuesday night’s game in Toronto. Or Monday night, or Wednesday afternoon. Things are certainly under more scrutiny on Opening Day because…it’s Opening Day. And Opening Day is special, because baseball’s special. But again, one of 162. Long way to go!


Baltimore Orioles: Opening Day, 2019

The rosters are finalized, the equipment’s in the clubhouse, and the players are ready to go – the Baltimore Orioles are set to open the season this afternoon in the Bronx. For this year st least the O’s will open the season on the road, and jump right into division play at the same time. They get the task of opening with a three-game set against the mighty New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium.

It’s a new day in Baltimore, and it’s unfair to new manager Brandon Hyde (who makes his big league debut as a skipper today) to continually bring up Buck Showalter. However one thing of which Buck would constantly remind us is that today’s game is only one of 162. It counts just as much as Saturday or Sunday’s games. It counts as much as a random game on a Tuesday night in June. Opening Day is special for sure, but at the end of the day it’s one game. I suspect Hyde would agree.

There isn’t much in-depth analysis I can provide you at this point. That is until game time comes around. Just a reminder, fans can follow me on Twitter (@DomenicVadala) for game updates and analysis. That’s true today and for all games this year.

Again, the Birds will open the season this afternoon against New York at Yankee Stadium. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Masahiro Tanaka. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: 2019 Season Preview

2019 will be a different type of season for the Baltimore Orioles and their fans. For starters, Brandon Hyde will be manning the Orioles’ dugout instead of the venerable figure of Buck Showalter. You can also substitute Mullins for Jones in center, Villar for Schoop at second, and Nunez for Machado at third.

But it’s more than just different players. The Orioles started over, in essence smack in the middle of the season last year. 2019 is all about youth and finding new talent to plug into various positions. It’s about trusting that process as headed by new GM Mike Elias, and seeing it through.

Whereas in past season previews I’ve said the Orioles will go as far as their pitching takes them, this year the slogan will be trust the process. And seriously, I’m not sure how often in the past I said that but about pitching, but it was often. As I said, 2019 will be a different type of year in Birdland.

However that should also excite Orioles’ fans. Odds are, this won’t be the year where the Birds will come out of nowhere to contend. Granted, you never know – this world is capable of some pretty strange things. However these aren’t the 2012 O’s. I wouldn’t bet on it.

But what will happen is that the foundation will begin to be laid for whatever happens in the future. IF the Orioles are contending in 2022 for instance, fans might point back to this year and realize that this is kind of where it began. As I said, the foundation will begin now.

Ironically one area in which the Orioles do resemble last year’s team is the starting rotation. Alex Cobb of course will start the year on the injured list, however many of the faces we saw last year (the Cashner’s, Bundy’s, Wright’s, and Hess’ of the world) in fact remain. One thing that is different is that the Birds are expected to go with using Nate Karns (who signed as a free agent) in the role of an “opener.”

Offensively the Orioles don’t have the horses that they’ve had in the past. Again folks, this is the foundation for what’s to come. However also keep in mind that last year when they did have the horses things weren’t exactly smooth. It’s also worth noting that Brandon Hyde’s philosophy seems to be to be more aggressive on the base paths. So…could they perhaps be better offensively?

I’m not sure if better’s the term for which we’re looking. But if the spring slate of games is any indication, we’ll see more team speed, more guys in motion, etc. Yes, that means that mistakes will be made on the base paths. However when you put guys on base and put pressure on the defense, mistakes can happen. And if nothing else, advancing a runner into scoring position or staying out of a double-play could represent the fine line between winning and losing.

All of that said, it’s going to be a tough year in Birdland in terms of wins and losses. Keep in mind that last year’s team won 47 games. Will this year be easy? Not in the least. Will the improvement in terms of wins and losses be exponential? Doubtful. But will the O’s win more than 47 games? I believe so.

Baltimore Orioles: 2019 Season Preview

2019 will be a different type of season for the Baltimore Orioles and their fans. For starters, Brandon Hyde will be manning the Orioles’ dugout instead of the venerable figure of Buck Showalter. You can also substitute Mullins for Jones in center, Villar for Schoop at second, and Nunez for Machado at third.

But it’s more than just different players. The Orioles started over, in essence smack in the middle of the season last year. 2019 is all about youth and finding new talent to plug into various positions. It’s about trusting that process as headed by new GM Mike Elias, and seeing it through.

Whereas in past season previews I’ve said the Orioles will go as far as their pitching takes them, this year the slogan will be trust the process. And seriously, I’m not sure how often in the past I said that but about pitching, but it was often. As I said, 2019 will be a different type of year in Birdland.

However that should also excite Orioles’ fans. Odds are, this won’t be the year where the Birds will come out of nowhere to contend. Granted, you never know – this world is capable of some pretty strange things. However these aren’t the 2012 O’s. I wouldn’t bet on it.

But what will happen is that the foundation will begin to be laid for whatever happens in the future. IF the Orioles are contending in 2022 for instance, fans might point back to this year and realize that this is kind of where it began. As I said, the foundation will begin now.

Ironically one area in which the Orioles do resemble last year’s team is the starting rotation. Alex Cobb of course will start the year on the injured list, however many of the faces we saw last year (the Cashner’s, Bundy’s, Wright’s, and Hess’ of the world) in fact remain. One thing that is different is that the Birds are expected to go with using Nate Karns (who signed as a free agent) in the role of an “opener.”

Offensively the Orioles don’t have the horses that they’ve had in the past. Again folks, this is the foundation for what’s to come. However also keep in mind that last year when they did have the horses things weren’t exactly smooth. It’s also worth noting that Brandon Hyde’s philosophy seems to be to be more aggressive on the base paths. So…could they perhaps be better offensively?

I’m not sure if better’s the term for which we’re looking. But if the spring slate of games is any indication, we’ll see more team speed, more guys in motion, etc. Yes, that means that mistakes will be made on the base paths. However when you put guys on base and put pressure on the defense, mistakes can happen. And if nothing else, advancing a runner into scoring position or staying out of a double-play could represent the fine line between winning and losing.

All of that said, it’s going to be a tough year in Birdland in terms of wins and losses. Keep in mind that last year’s team won 47 games. Will this year be easy? Not in the least. Will the improvement in terms of wins and losses be exponential? Doubtful. But will the O’s win more than 47 games? I believe so.