Baltimore Orioles: Hustle wins games

Trevor Rogers was called up to the majors to make his Baltimore Orioles’ season debut between games of the doubleheader today at Fenway Park. Rogers of course was underwhelming last season after being acquired by trade. Needless to say, he was outstanding tonight. Rogers’ line: 6.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

Rogers mowed ‘em down from the beginning this evening. The Oriole bullpen wasn’t in awful shape following the first game, despite the loss. However Rogers going into the seventh inning put them in great shape going into tomorrow.

Unfortunately he left the game with a no decision. The score was 0-0 into the eighth. Following a Maverick Handley walk with one out in the eighth, Gunnar Henderson grounded into what could have been an inning-ending double-play. However Henderson hustled down the line. And I mean he hustled big time. And he reached first safely, keeping the inning alive.

Following another walk, the O’s had a runner in scoring position in the form of Gunnar Henderson. On a 2-2 count, Ryan O’Hearn smacked an RBI-double and the Orioles led 1-0. Make no mistake, that RBI was as much Gunnar Henderson’s as it was O’Hearn’s. The hustle down the line kept the inning going and created that run.

However Boston put two runners on with nobody out. Andrew Kittredge recorded an out, and was lifted for Seranthony Dominguez. With one out and two on, Dominguez was tasked with walking a tight rope. And he did. Duran struck out and Devers popped out to first, ending the inning and preserving the Orioles’ lead.

Jorge Mateo drew a two out walk in the top of the ninth, and immediately stole second base. Everyone in the ballpark knew he was going to steal there, including the Boston Red Sox. But his speed and hustle is too strong, and they couldn’t stop it. Mateo would score on Dylan Carlson’s RBI-double, and the Birds led 2-0.

That was a huge run, and to be clear Mateo may have scored from first on that play. But his speed and hustle helped create that run. And it was huge in the long run.

The Orioles kept Dominguez in for the ninth, and he gave up a solo homer to lead off the inning ing to Toro – cutting the lead to 2-1. Jorge Mateo’s aforementioned speed gave him a great shot to catch the ball. He chased it down, and in short ran through the wall and fell into the Boston bullpen. He got glove on the ball, but it dropped out as he fell over the wall.

Mateo went all out, and even the fans at Fenway Park took notice, and gave Mateo a standing ovation for his effort. Dominguez sent Boston down 1-2-3 after that, and the Orioles took game two of the doubleheader, 2-1. They have a chance to tie the series tomorrow afternoon.

Jorge Mateo and Trevor Rogers both put forth memorable efforts tonight. Rogers may have turned in the best start the Orioles have seen this year. Many question why Mateo is still on the team. I think you got your answer tonight.

Tony Mansolino also made a great move in keeping Dominguez in the game until the end. It would have been easy, and maybe advisable, to have lifted him after the home run. But he stuck with him and said it was his game to lose. And he came through. Great team win for the Birds.

The series concludes tomorrow at Fenway Park. Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Walker Buehler. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Are the Birds over-managing?

Strange game this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles, in game on of a doubleheader. Zach Eflin was strong – but not at first. Better than the stat line indicates, that is. Eflin’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, (4 earned), 2 BB, 1 K.

The Orioles took an early 2-0 lead in the first inning on Ramón Urias’ two-RBI double following a 30 minute rain delay. Almost true to form for this series, storm clouds gathered as the game was beginning. As Boston’s Duran stepped up to the plate in the home first, it was pelting rain. And Duran smacked a solo home run.

Conditions deteriorated fast. The umpiring crew obviously didn’t want to delay the game, which angered Tony Mansolino. He tried to pull his team off the field, however the umpiring crew wouldn’t allow that. A few moments later as the grounds crew had been summoned to apply drying agent on the field, the rain subsided.

Something like that can spook a pitcher. And in fact, Abreu later hit another solo homer, tying the game at two. It was unfortunate, but the fact is that only one pitcher had to endure that. Only one team had to play in wet uniforms. On the flip side, calling for a rain delay also could have cost the Orioles Zach Eflin depending on how long it would have been. So there’s that also. Unfortunate situation.

Both starting pitchers settled in, however. But the Birds got the lead back in the fifth when Jackson Holliday grounded into a fielder’s choice with a runner on third. Later in the inning Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-double extended the lead to 4-2. It would extend to 5-2 when Adley Rutschman scored on a wild pitch.

Toro would lead off the last of the fifth with a solo homer, the third of the day off of Eflin. one inning later the O’s still held a two-run lead. Devers blooped a pop fly to right, with Heston Kjerstad being played well off the line. Due to the placement of Kjerstad, he had no choice but to pull back and let it drop in. It was only a base hit…

…only it took a funny hop and bounced into the stands. Had the ball bounced to Kjerstad as the law of averages says it should have, yes it’s a base hit. But by bouncing into the stands, it gave Devers a ground rule double. And it gave Boston a runner in scoring position.

Following a walk, Narvaez reached on a ground ball in the infield to Jackson Holliday. He tried to get the out at second to keep the double-play in order, but the throw was errant and the runner was safe. That allowed a run to score, cutting the lead to 5-4. Sogard would later tie the game with an RBI-groundout.

That’s highly indicative of how the Orioles’ season has gone to date. Holliday, while legitimately trying to keep the double-play in order, couldn’t do the most important part: getting the force out. Is that indicative of over-managing? Perhaps. End of the day you have to get to point A before you go onto point B.

Luckily however, the Oriole bullpen was pretty solid. Both Bryan Baker and Yennier Cano had outstanding outings. As did Felix Bautista in the ninth inning. The game went to extra’s, and the Orioles went down 1-2-3 in the 10th. However keep in mind that in extra innings you start innings with a runner on second. Gregory Soto recorded one out, which brought the heavy-hitting Devers to the plate.

Tony Mansolino opted to pitch to Devers. This despite having first base open. After the game he said he’s going to bet on our guy everytime. That didn’t work, however. Devers’ run-scoring single won it for Boston, 6-5.

It seemed like a no-brainer for me to put Devers on. After the game Mansolino said it would have gotten “messy.” I would disagree, as the runner at first is meaningless in that circumstance. In fact, you also set yourself up for a ground ball double-play. Which with one out would have ended the inning.

Whether that’s over-managing or not is up to the beholder. Many would argue that walking Devers would have been over-managing. But again, if analytics are going to be such a thing in modern baseball, the probability of getting out of the inning unscathed is actually slightly higher with a runner on first base there (and one out). And most importantly, you take the bat out of the hands of Boston’s best hitter.

These series continues this evening at Fenway Park. Trevor Rogers will make his 2025 debut and get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Lucas Giolito. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Doubleheader part deux

The second game of tonight’s doubleheader between the Baltimore Orioles and Boston has been postponed by rain. The weather in the greater Boston area began deteriorating towards the end of the first game, won 19-5 by Boston. So the teams opted for a doubleheader tomorrow.

Zach Eflin was scheduled to start for the O’s tomorrow afternoon, and he’s still listed as the probable starter for the second game. But we’ll see how they shake things down. Boston is yet to announce a starter for either game tomorrow.

Game one will begin just after 1 PM, with game two beginning just after 6:30 PM. This is a split doubleheader, so double-admission is required. It’s unclear why they opted for this instead of postponing the game until August 20th, a common off-day for both teams. And it follows a truncated two-game series between the two at Fenway. But this is what both sides agreed to, so here we are.

Baltimore Orioles: Middle relief spooked by Boston bats

In game one of a doubleheader, Baltimore Orioles’ starter Cade Povich was ill-afraid of failure. He used a lot of pitches early, but he painted the strike zone for five innings. And when the smoke cleared, he left with the lead. Povich’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

The Orioles had an early lead in this one. Jackson Holliday’s RBI-single in the third gave them a 1-0 lead. Adley Rutschman would drive in a second run with an RBI-groundout, and the Birds led, 2-0.

One inning later Boston started chipping away. Sogard’s RBI-groundout cut the lead to 2-1. Boston threatened in the fifth with two outs – and Povich quickly tiring. He was nearing 100 pitches, but he was left in the game to face Boston’s Story. To be clear, this wasn’t the greatest matchup statistically for the Orioles. But true to form, Povich went after him. And he got him, leaving the game with the lead.

However a sixth inning RBI-single by Rafaela tied the game at two off of Seranthony Dominguez. After a pitching change to Gregory Soto, Duran’s RBI-single gave Boston a 3-2 lead. In the immediate wake of that, Devers’ three-run homer extended it to 6-2.

In that sequence, only the Duran RBI-single was a pitch that was intended to be put in play. I’ve written a lot about getting too much of the plate. That pitch did. But the others – were all either out of the strike zone, or in the upper echelon of it. Meaning that Dominguez and Gregory were potentially afraid of Boston hitters.

And while the O’s did cut the lead to 6-3 on an eighth inning RBI-single by Ramon Urias, maybe they were afraid of Boston hitters with good reason. Duran’s RBI-double in the last of the eighth extended the lead to 7-3. This, a run that should have never scored. Rafaela was out by a country mile, however Adley Rutschman dropped the ball at home plate.

Devers added an RBI-single, and Refsnyder a three-run homer later in the inning. Tony Mansolino brought in Emmanuel Rivera to close out the eighth, yes a position player. And before it ended Boston had 19 runs.

The bright spot was Cade Povich. He was strong today, and quite frankly you could say he deserved better. Also against a position player, the Orioles put two across in the ninth. Jackson Holliday had an RBI-single, and Ryan Mountcastle a sac fly-RBI.

The issue isn’t the margin of defeat. That’s irrelevant, especially given that Boston put up the majority of the add-on runs against Emmanuel Rivera. The issue in the game was Seranthony Dominguez and Gregory Soto not wanting to attack Boston hitters. Again, often times this year Oriole pitchers have gotten too much of the strike zone. In this case they seemed to purposely try to stay out of the strike zone.

Not only that, but the Boston hitters seemed to anticipate that fear. They swung away, and it worked. They sensed the Orioles’ fear, and showed it with good reason.

After the game Tony Mansolino told reporters that they “didn’t take it personally.” On one hand, it’s a good thing he said that – at least publicly. It shows a degree of professionalism to the rest of the world.

But on the flip side, you also hope he was lying, or putting on a show for the media and the public. You have to take it personally to some degree, despite the fact that it was out of hand due to a position player pitching. Publicly, yes. Again if that means lying through your teeth, do it. But in private, take it personally. And learn from it.

The series continues this evening (weather permitting) at Fenway Park. The Orioles have yet to announce a starter, but whomever he is will be opposed by Boston’s Lucas Giolito. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles rained out in Boston

Game one of tonight’s scheduled four-game series against Boston at Fenway Park has been rained out for the Baltimore Orioles. With flood warnings up across coastal New England all day, it didn’t take a genius to see this coming. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow. It’s a split doubleheader, with game one being at 1:30. The second game is at the previously scheduled 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Like sand running through your fingers

The Baltimore Orioles used Keegan Akin as an “opener” last night. In general I’m not a fan of the practice, as it’s a little too non-traditional for me. That’s never been how baseball was intended to function. Akin’s line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Chase McDermott was the pitcher of consequence in a sense. On a side note there’s little point in me writing the starter’s final line if it’s an “opener” situation. But I digress.

McDermott surrendered a solo homer to Turang in the third, and a two-run home run to Frelick in the fourth. That was a two-run homer because the leadoff hitter reached on a shallow pop up in the outfield. Ramon Laureano appeared to have it in his sights, but he collapsed over his feet and the ball fell in.

Laureano was later lifted from the game and Tony Mansolino said after the game that he was day-to-day (quote courtesy of Brendan Mortensen, MASNsports):

Sounds like he’s going to be kind of day-to-day. Something with his ankle, I don’t want to be specific as to what it is, but right now, indications are that it will be just a couple of days.

On a side note it’s unclear why he can’t go into specifics. Not that it really matters, but interesting choice of words on Mansolino’s part. The good news is that Laureano is probably only going to miss a couple of games. And if the O’s get rained out Thursday in Boston, maybe it’s only one for all I know, (The forecast appears to be foreboding.)

Ramon Urias’ RBI-single in the seventh cut the lead to 3-1. The problem with that was the O’s had two runners on, and Heston Kjerstad grounded into a double-play. That left a runner on third, but with two outs. While that “wounded” a potentially bigger rally, at least Urias got a hit with a runner in scoring position.

Jackson Holliday’s subsequent RBI-triple however put the Orioles more in business in the game. That cut the Milwaukee lead to 3-2. However Hoskins’ eighth inning solo homer and Ortiz’s RBI-single padded the lead, and Milwaukee walked away with a 5-2 win. The Orioles will need a win today to avoid being swept in their third straight series.

Going back to Heston Kjerstad for a moment, one has to believe that he has a bit of shell shock in a sense. We remember his injury problems that almost prevented him from progressing through the minors as it was. When he finally got here, he was viciously hit in the head last year against New York. When he came back he was never the same.

This year he was somewhat starting to get untracked – slightly. Then he was hit by a pitch against Cincinnati, and the struggles have continued. It’s unfortunate, as he has a lot of talent. In short, he’s a victim of circumstance.

As I said above, the forecast in Boston looks foreboding for Thursday night with a 70% chance of “heavy rain.” Given that analytics are so big in baseball today, I would submit that the probability of playing is slim. An impromptu day off might be good, however if that happens you have to hope that they reschedule the game for a different day. This as opposed to a doubleheader.

The series concludes this afternoon at American Family Field. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Milwaukee’s Chad Patrick. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: A loss you can live with

Many people will look at the headline and say that the Baltimore Orioles shouldn’t be willing to live with any loss. And sure, that’s true in a perfect world. Dean Kremer wasn’t great tonight, but he wasn’t awful. And he probably worked a little extra into the game, saving a bullpen reliever. Kremer’s line: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 6 K.

Going back to the point above, it’s not a perfect world. You can live with dropping a game like this where you fought and things didn’t break your way in the end. This as opposed to losing games perhaps because a computer program told you to do this or that in game.

The Orioles appeared to come untracked as a team today. That meaning that perhaps they didn’t have the reliance on analytics and only analytics. And it almost worked. It certainly did at first when Ramon Laureano smacked a solo homer in the second inning.

However Milwaukee put up three in their half of the frame, and took a 3-1 lead. Contreras would add an RBI-double in the last of the fifth, and the Birds trailed 4-1. But maybe you’ve noticed and maybe you haven’t – in each game of the newly-minted Tony Mansolino era the Birds have put up late runs. In this case tonight, they weren’t already too far behind for it to make a difference.

The O’s put two runners in scoring position in the seventh, bringing Cedric Mullins to the plate. And Mullins ambushed a pitch over the right field wall, tying the game at four. And that’s part of why I reference the computer program above. The Orioles have made it clear that analytics are their game – right or wrong. When’s the last time you’ve seen an Oriole player ambush a pitch like that early in a count? Maybe they put the iPad away for a moment and allowed themselves to play in the moment.

But end of the day, it’s chalked up as the Orioles’ seventh loss in a row. Yennier Cano issued a two-out walk in the ninth, and Turang promptly stole second. He scored on Contreras’ RBI-single, lifting Milwaukee to victory.

Again, you can live with dropping a game like this. It’s games when your use of analytics are used against you and where you can’t get out of your own way that stick in your mind. Also worth mentioning that the Orioles again made lots of hard contact in this game. Big time. And Milwaukee fielders made amazing plays. Par for the course for this year.

The series continues tomorrow night at American Family Field. The Orioles are yet to announce a starter, but whomever he ends up being will be opposed by Milwaukee’s Logan Henderson. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Four solo shots not cutting it

Baltimore Orioles’ starter Zach Erin was behind for the beginning today. Washington ambushed him on the first pitch of the game, and things didn’t get much better. Eflin’s line: 5.1 IP, 10 H, 8 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

As has been the base with other pitchers this year, he got too much of the plate. This after yesterday when hitters were going down and slugging pitches well low and away. Abrams slugged the first pitch of the game out of the ballpark. A solo home run plus a subsequent three-run homer in the second, and the Birds trailed 5-0.

Tack on a two-RBI single later in the inning, and a sac fly-RBI by Wood in the third. The Orioles did hit four solo homers in the game. Cedric Mullins in the fifth, and Gunnar Henderson in the sixth. Followed by another one from Mullins. Jackson Holliday added the fourth one in the seventh.

Washington added two runs late to run the final to 10-4. Needless to say, the Tony Mansolino era isn’t off to a rousing start. Mansolino did say after the game that Zach Eflin ate up innings for the Orioles, which probably saved a reliever or two.

I would also say that maybe the Orioles should consider scrapping some (not all) of the analytics. At least the heavy reliance on it at least. opposing teams know their dedication to it, and they also read the same reports. It appears that they already know what the Orioles are going to do or how they’re going to play something. If you know what your opponent is going to do to you, all you have to do is do something different.

That could also explain some of the more baffling in-game decisions at times. Coaches need to coach. Computers do not. The last thing anyone wants is for your savior faire of computers and numbers to separate the good and bad coaches in sports.

The O’s now head to Milwaukee for the first of three at Miller Park. Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Milwaukee’s Quinn Priester. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: More of the same, but…

Tony Mansolino’s signature appeared on the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup card for the first time in this afternoon’s game against Washington. And it didn’t appear to be much different from the Brandon Hyde era which came to an untimely end earlier in the day. The game may have been over before starter Kyle Gibson recorded an out, and he didn’t make it out of the first inning. Gibson’s line: .2 IP, 6 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

The first six Washington hitters reached base. And they had put six runs on the board before there were two outs. Gibson’s outing was striking for multiple reasons. Most of his pitches were down. Sometimes away, sometimes inside. He barely even tried to throw a fastball over the plate.

That tells me he didn’t trust his stuff from the beginning. That’s one problem. The second problem is that Washington hitters were going down to get those pitches. As if they knew precisely where they were going to be.

Earlier in the season I wrote about people tipping pitches. I find it hard to believe that Gibson could be that far outside the strike zone, and hitters were going down to get them with that sort of precision. They knew where Gibson was pitching.

They also consistently took extra bases on Oriole outfielders. At times on routine singles. Mind you, that’s a huge risk. But they didn’t seem to care.

Mansolino brought in Charlie Morton to record the last out of the first, which he did. Morton was the MVP of the game. As many struggles as he had in the rotation, he seems to have found a home in the bullpen. This wasn’t the first time he had done this – come in early in relief and bridged the gap. He gave up an RBI-double to Garcia in the second, and that was the only run charged to him.

Morton stabilized the game in a sense. The Birds still couldn’t really score, but that’s certainly not reflective on Charlie Morton. Aside from that lone run, he shut Washington down. And that could also add credence to the idea that pitches are being tipped,

The Orioles did finally get on the board in the last of the seventh with Ramon Urias’ RBI-single. Ramon Laureano’s run-scoring double would cut the lead to 7-2. However a ninth inning double and subsequent single would extend the lead back to 10-2.

However the Birds would put runners on base in the ninth as well. Jorge Mateo’s RBI-single cut the lead to 10-3. That left two runners on base for Jackson Holliday, who smacked a three-run homer to run the final to 10-6.

The bright spots in this game were Charlie Morton, and the late rally. It wasn’t really a rally, as it was more just padding stats. But maybe it’s a start to take the O’s into tomorrow. It’s something.

Mansolino made it clear after the game that he wasn’t thrilled with the manner by which he became a major league manager (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Not excited. This isn’t a good thing for us. We’re going to miss Brandon in a lot of ways. To me, he did a great job here. It’s the most wins in baseball the last couple of years. It’s a Manager of the Year. So to get to this point where a change is made, it’s not something that any of us wanted, by any means.

I would mention that the Orioles released a statement about Brandon Hyde’s dismissal circa noon. The game was at four. Maybe that little blast at the end was a collective exhale after the fact.

The series with Washington concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Zach Eflin gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Michael Soroka. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles relieve Brandon Hyde of managerial duties

The Baltimore Orioles announced this morning that manager Brandon Hyde has been relieved of his duties. Third base coach Tony Mansolino has been elevated to interim manager. The Orioles are 15-28 on the year.

Obviously this is a less-than-desirable result. What’s interesting is the release didn’t include the phrase for the remainder of the season. Might this be a short managerial stint for Mansolino, with someone more tenured or with more name-recognition coming down the pike? Stay tuned. But for now Tony Mansolino will be signing the lineup card.