Baltimore Orioles barbecued late in Kansas City

Aaron Brooks was unable to regain the form he showed on Tuesday night in Washington for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon in Kansas City. I would argue that he was lifted too early. However he did have his struggles, and the Orioles are trying to win games. Yes, you naysayers read that correctly – the Orioles are trying to win games. Brooks’ line: 4.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 3 K.

Things began well for the Orioles, as they began the game immediately by putting guys on base. They took a 1-0 first inning lead on Renato Nunez‘s sac fly-RBI. However Kansas City got on base-happy as well, and took a 3-1 lead with a two-RBI double and an RBI-single in the last of the first.

But the good news is that the O’s continued getting guys on base. They tied the game at three in the third on Trey Mancini‘s two-RBI single. While the Birds dropped the finale, they remained competitive.

And in fact, the Orioles also came back and took the lead. Pedro Severino pushed a run across in the sixth on a swinging bunt with a runner on third. Kansas City tried to get the out at the plate, however Villar slid in safely. And the Birds had the lead.

However two RBI-singles in the seventh and eighth inning respectively gave Kansas City the lead back. Merrifield added a solo homer, and the O’s fell 6-4. This was the first series rubber match Kansas City had won since June of 2018.

The Orioles now head to Tampa, however the series has been altered due to the uncertainty surrounding Hurricane Dorian. Tomorrow’s game will go on as scheduled. However the teams will play a single-admission doubleheader on Tuesday, starting at 3 PM. Game two will begin approximately 30 minutes after game one is completed.

That leaves Wednesday as an off day for the Orioles. It doesn’t appear that Hurricane Dorian is going to significantly affect the greater Tampa area, however you have to make snap decisions sometimes when it comes to storms and situations like this. I’m somewhat of a weather enthusiast, but you don’t have to be interested in weather to know that this is a very serious storm, and any precautions which can be taken must be.

The aforementioned series in Tampa begins tomorrow at Tropicana Field. Asher Wojciechowski gets the call for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Ryan Yarbrough. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Fair is foul, foul is fair

The Baltimore Orioles once again got a solid outing out of a starter in Kansas City, as Dylan Bundy put them in a position to win. Bundy had his struggles in the outing, however he did his job. He left the game with the lead, in fact. Bundy’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 earned), 3 BB, 7 K.

Kansas City would take a 1-0 lead on Starling’s solo homer in the second. However two innings later the O’s tied it on a solo shot by Anthony Santander. Kansas City would hear from him later in the game as well.

However in the bottom of that second inning Kansas City would get the lead back on a sac fly-RBI by Phillips – on a pop fly that was dropped by Wilkerson in center. That would lead to two other runs in the inning, giving Kansas City a 4-1 lead. However in the fifth Chance Sisco‘s solo homer would cut that lead to 4-2.

But remember when I said that Kansas City would see Anthony Santander again? That moment came later in the fifth when he smacked a three-run homer. That put the Birds in the lead at 5-4. At first the umpires weren’t sure that the ball was a homer, as it hit a sponsor board (over the wall) and bounced back into play. The umpires huddled up, called it a homer, and that was upheld on review.

While Dylan Bundy put the Birds in a position to win, they still had to bring it home. And unfortunately that wasn’t going to happen tonight. Dozier’s solo homer in the seventh tied the game at five. Kansas City used three consecutive bunts in the last of the eighth to load the bases with nobody out. A sac fly by a Merrifield and an RBI-ground out by Dozier later, and the Birds had fallen 7-5.

I mentioned the three bunts above to load the bases. The last two of those were fielded by catcher Chance Sisco, who made errant throws and allowed the base runner to advance. Now it’s worth mentioning that if one of those throws was good it might have been a different game.

However more poignantly, both of those final two bunts had a shot at rolling foul. However Sisco picked them up and tried to throw the runners out. That’s a very small, albeit it important detail.

You can’t fault Sisco too much for trying to get the runners out on the bases. Even one out would have changed the dynamic of the inning. However sometimes as an athlete in a game you have to stop yourself from playing playing to your desires in a sense. If he at least attempts to let those balls roll foul, the game is vastly different. His intentions without a doubt we’re good. But details such as fair and foul can be the difference between winning and losing at times.

The series in Kansas City concludes tomorrow afternoon at Kauffman Stadium. Aaron Brooks gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Danny Duffy. Game time is set for 2:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: John Means business in return to his hometown

John Means of the Baltimore Orioles got to watch a dream play out last night in Kansas City. Means’ hometown is about 30 minutes from there, and he grew up a huge Kansas City Royals fan. Athletes dream of playing in their hometown against their hometown team; not only did Means get to do it, but he pitched a gem in doing so. Means’ line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Means was welcomed home in a semi-inauspicious manner, as Kansas City took a 1-0 lead in the first on a solo home run by Soler. However Means had some help in this game; that help of course in the form of Oriole bats. Pedro Severino‘s RBI-single in the second tied the game at one. Kansas City never had the lead or even got close again.

Anthony Santander smacked a three-run homer in the third, and the O’s were off to the races. Severino would add another RBI-single later in the inning, and Richie Martin a sac fly-RBI. Kansas City’s other lone run came on an RBI-single by Cuthbert in the last of the fourth. Other than that, Means kept them off the board.

And for their part the Orioles couldn’t stay off the board. Hanser Alberto‘s two-RBI single in the fifth opened the game up wide. Jonathan Villar would later steal home in the seventh to give the O’s a 9-2 lead. When all was said and done and the smoke cleared, the Orioles had defeated Kansas City 14-2.

Oriole bats were huge in winning this game – that goes without saying. But you have to feel good for John Means, who was able to provide such a dominant performance in his hometown in front of his parents and other family and friends. Means on the outing (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports:

It almost felt like my debut. I had so many friends and family here. The first inning, a little butterflies, you know in my home ballpark. But it was a cool experience. I didn’t think I would ever make it here, to be honest with you. It was always my dream, but I was a realist as a kid; I’ll probably have to get another job. But it was really cool. The big crown in center field. I grew up (and) probably came to 200 games here in my lifetime. I’m definitely familiar with the park.

Means seems like he understands what a cool moment he was afforded last night. And in saying that I mean the opportunity to get to play in his hometown, albeit as a visitor. Not every athlete gets to do that. Not only was he afforded that opportunity, but he seized it and ran with it. Pitching a gem like that in what amounts to his home ballpark is probably something that neither he nor his parents will ever forget.

The series continues tonight at Kauffman Stadium. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the I’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Jorge Lopez. Game time is set for 7:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Are the Birds impacted by Kansas City’s potential sale?

The Baltimore Orioles open up a three-game set in Kansas City tonight over Labor Day weekend. There was an interesting story that broke this week considering this weekend’s opponent. Apparently the owner of the Kansas City Royals, David Glass, is in talks to potentially sell the team. If the deal goes through, the sale price is rumored to be $1 Billion.

Let’s get the thank you Captain Obvious moment out of the way; that’s A LOT of money. Probably more than any of us is every going to see in this lifetime. However this does relate just a bit to the Orioles. There have been rumors that either owner Peter Angelos, or the family of owner Peter Angelos could be interested in selling the O’s at some point in the near future.

So if the Kansas City Royals net a sale price of $1 Billion, what does that say about what the Orioles might be worth? Could Angelos or his family not then turn around and tell a potential buyer, the Royals got this, so we should at least get that? Is it really that simple – as just to say that?

You have to look at both franchises and what they have going for them. Both are in the basement right now, but building their cores. Kansas City does have a recent World Series title, which the Orioles can’t tout. However, while both franchises are smaller markets, Baltimore is the 26th largest media market in the country. Kansas City is the 32nd largest. While those are only separated by a few slots, being a top 30 market is still huge.

One could also argue that the fact that the Orioles often have to compete for fans within their own backyard with another franchise makes them a tougher sell. However on the flip side, they also draw from the much larger Washington, D.C. media market. So it goes both ways.

It seems that each time you make an argument for one franchise being worth more, there’s an inverse argument which in theory could cancel that argument out. At the end of the day the Orioles and Kansas City Royals are probably worth very similar sale prices. So this is definitely something to watch, as if Kansas City sells for that $1 Billion price, one could definitely expect the same of the Orioles if they’re ever sold.

The aforementioned series with Kansas City begins tonight at Kauffman Stadium. The Orioles are yet to announce a starter, and Kansas City will start Eric Skoglund. Game time is set for 8:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Richard Bleier sounds off on shifts

The Baltimore Orioles are once again being talked about due to a public spat between a player and a coach. Reliever Richard Bleier came out of last night’s loss in Washington, and appeared to have words with third base coach Jose Flores. Later it was confirmed that the issue at hand was defensive positioning:

I think I just let frustration kind of boil over about some stuff that … some balls that I thought maybe defensive positioning, I guess. I probably could have done better for myself to keep my mouth shut, and unfortunately, I may have said something and you guys saw the rest.

Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

Bleier surrendered a single down the first base line in last night’s game, on yet another play where the Orioles played a shift. And the ball would have been hit right to the first baseman had the shift not been on. As has been chronicled in this column ad hoc, teams seem adept at beating the Orioles in a shift. Bleier went onto say:

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I mean, I think that we’re all adults. It’s not like I’m mad at anybody. Right now, we’re not thrilled with each other, maybe, but I’m sure we can move past this and get back to a healthy relationship.

Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

First and foremost, regardless of anything else I’m not a fan of players verbally confronting coaches in public. I always remind folks – this game is a job to these guys. Think about your job, whatever that may be; if you have an issue with how a boss or supervisor is conducting things, do you verbally confront him in the middle of the office? In general, no you don’t.

Now having a closed door meeting with your superior and airing your concerns in a civilized manner might be another story. In general that’s a much better conduit for change. It also comes across as much more professional. And if you look at those quotes Bleier seems to understand that.Perhaps he understands it in retrospect, but he seems to understand it.

That said, I obviously agree in principle with Bleier. My personal view is that the Orioles play these shifts far too often. And on top of that, when they play them they usually play fairly radical shifts. There may be only one opportunity for a guy to get a base hit with some of these shifts – but they’re finding that one hole of daylight, all other things be damned.

Not all of this can be avoided. Some hitters just luck out at times. However how many situations have we seen such as in last night’s game where the ball is literally being hit to the exact spot a fielder would have been had there been no shift? That’s something that should stand out to fans.

I think what we’re seeing is that at the end of the day these shifts are just going to make guys into better hitters. The idea behind a shift is to cover the spots on the field where the hitter usually hits the ball. The fatal flaw of the shift is that the game’s still played by human beings. Sometimes fluky things happen. And if I were the Orioles, it would give me pause when I saw that they seemed to happen to me an awful lot.

Baltimore Orioles split Battle of the Beltways

It began and ended with Asher Wojchiekowski tonight for the Baltimore Orioles. Because it begins and ends with starting pitching. Wojchiekowski couldn’t make it happen tonight against Washington. Wojchiekowski’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H 5 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Wojchiekowski got himself in trouble early with Soto’s RBI-triple giving Washington a 2-0 lead. The key for the Orioles is not to let guys get on base. If you think back to last night, nobody for the most part was on base for Washington. Once guys get on base anything can happen. And it happened early this evening.

Cabrera would add an RBI-single, and Suzuki a two-run homer. By the end of the first inning, the Orioles trailed 5-0. However they battled back. There’s no quit in this team. They were able to cut the lead to 5-1 on Anthony Santander’s RBI-double in the third, and 5-2 on Chance Sisco‘s solo homer in the fifth.

However the last of the fifth would yield Washington twoRBI-doubles, the second which scored two runs. That all but broke the Orioles’ backs. They would get a two-run Homer’s year by Chris Davis, but it was too little too late.

The O’s split this series in Washington, as well as the season series. Each team won one and lost one at home. Given the fact that Washington’s in contention, the Orioles atoned for themselves fairly well.

And this ends another Battle of the Beltways. The two teams will play four times (twice in each park) next year once again. They’ll also play a home-and home in spring training. That doesn’t always happen. But in 2020 it will.

Baltimore Orioles with a pitcher’s duel in the Nation’s Capital

My personal opinion is that Aaron Brooks pitched his best game as a member of the Baltimore Orioles tonight in D.C. Brooks struggled just a bit out of the gate in the first inning. The only thing he was getting over for a strike was his changeup. But he settled in, and gave the Orioles a true quality start. Brooks’ line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

However the Orioles had the lead even before Brooks took the field. After the O’s put two on base early, Anthony Santander‘s RBI-double Gabe them a 1-0 lead. That left two runners in scoring position, and Jonathan Villar‘s sac fly-RBI put the Birds ahead 2-0.

And as I said, Brooks settled down. Unfortunately for Oriole bats, so did Washington’s starter Corbin. However with little doubt, this was a classic throwback type of game. A pitcher’s duel. Pitchers on both sides were mowing them down left and right. In this age of the home run ball and baseball’s wound tightly and juiced up, it was refreshing to see for once.

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a fan of the shift. That isn’t to say that there’s not a time and place, however when it’s newsworthy when teams pitch someone straight up, it’s gone too far. I recognize that the all-important analytics’ say that you have to play these shifts. But the game is still played by human beings.

Once again, we saw the Orioles in effect victimize themselves in this game due to the shift. In the last of the fourth with Rendon on first, the Orioles played a shift to the right side of the infield on Cabrera. Sure enough, Cabrera grounder out to the second baseman for the second out of the inning.

However Rendon had been in motion on a hit-and-run. Not only did Washington stay out of an inning-ending double-play, but with the infield shifted all the way over there was nobody covering third. Rendon took the opportunity to take third base.

The next hitter popped out and the inning was over. However it would stand to reason that Washington anticipated the Orioles’ shift, and put on the hit-and-run – thinking they could get the runner to third. Which they did. That’s where the shift hurts you, and at times it’s negatively affected the O’s all season.

With the O’s still leading 2-0 in the last of the eighth and Hunter Harvey onto pitch, we finally saw a Washington rally. They loaded the bases against Harvey with one out. However while Harvey managed to get himself into that situation, he also got himself out of it by striking out two to end the threat. In what was perhaps the first test of Hunter Harvey’s big league career, he managed to pass. As did the Birds, who beat the hottest team in baseball at their place, 2-0.

The series continues and concludes tomorrow night at Nationals Park. Asher Wojchiekowski gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Max Scherzer. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles head for D.C. to battle for beltway supremacy

The Baltimore Orioles head down I-95, US 1, the B/W Pkwy, etc, to Washington D.C. this evening to open up a two-game set with Washington. The teams split a two-game series last month at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. However Washington’s gotten hot since then. Very hot.

However the Orioles also are coming off of a winning home stand, where they took four-of-seven games. The big difference between these games and others is that the Birds will have to surrender their DH, and the pitchers will have to hit. The teams themselves aren’t really into that. But the players certainly are – the pitchers, that is.

Speaking for myself, I despise the concept of the designated hitter. I know that the National League is much more likely to adopt the DH than the American League is to drop it, however I digress. I’ll grant you however that it puts American League teams at a disadvantage in these interleague games. But them’s the breaks.

The series begins this evening at Nationals Park in D.C. Aaron Brooks gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Patrick Corbin. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Beating last year’s win total matters

As I mentioned at the tail end of my game recap yesterday, the Baltimore Orioles have now won 43 games. Four more wins and they’ll have equaled last season’s win total. Five more and they’ll have bettered it.

Again, my vision for a “successful season” at the beginning was to beat the 2018 Orioles. Many folks are of the view point that it’s a weak goal, as stated. In essence, that making that the goal is admitting defeat before you even begin.

I don’t look at it that way. The Orioles were up front about what this season was going to be before the season even started. Therefore everyone should have known that it would be a difficult season, barring a miracle. And it has been. But garnering more wins than last year does show an improvement. It may only be a slight improvement (depending on the margin of improvement), but it shows an improvement.

And we know that the organization as a whole is in a much better position than it was at this time last season. As I’ve written, Baseball America ranked the Orioles’ farm system in the 20’s at the beginning of last year (out of a total of 30 teams). After the Orioles’ draft in June they ranked them as having the 8th best farm system in baseball.

Now there are some crass individuals who say that doesn’t help the 2019 Orioles in the here and now. And that’s very true. However it does show the fruits of labor in terms of re-tooling the organization. Baseball is in essence like a reverse funnel in the sense of it’s minor league systems. Quality players funnel upwards to the big leagues. So with the Birds’ farm system taking that big a leap in one year, the future does in fact look bright.

However if the O’s can also manage to win more games than they did last year, there would also be a legitimate argument that they took a step forward in the majors as well. We still don’t know if that goal will be realized – but with four games separating them from that goal, it appears to be a drop in the bucket.

Baltimore Orioles pounce early, split with Tampa

Dylan Bundy took to the mound this afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the Baltimore Orioles, and in the process put the O’s in a spot to win. I would also add that he collected the victory himself. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

The Birds got at it early today, taking a 1-0 lead on Renato Nunez‘s RBI-single. Two innings later Nunez came up with two runners in scoring position, and smacked a two-RBI double to give the O’s a 3-0 lead. Tampa was put on notice early on that their pennant race would have to wait until after leaving Baltimore this afternoon.

Later in the inning DJ Stewart‘s RBI-single tan the lead to 4-0. Tampa would net a run however in the top of the fourth on Kiermaier’s RBI-single. But the Orioles weren’t about to allow that to bother them. They extended the lead to 5-1 in the last of the fourth with a solo homer by Jonathan Villar.

Incidentally, in a season where we’ve seen opposing hitters hit balls a long way against the Birds, that Villar home run might be one of the longest we’ve seen all season. It almost flew into the entryway where fans go from the seating bowl to the concourse. Anthony Santander would add a two-RBI single before the inning ended, giving the O’s a 6-1. Incidentally, Santander also had the first five-hit game of his career this afternoon.

Tampa would tack on two runs in the fifth in an attempt to inch their way back into the game. The O’s also managed to lose pitching coach Doug Brocail, who was ejected in the top of the fifth. It was a bit of a quick hook by the first base umpire after Brocail questioned a check swing that was called a ball, but nevertheless ejections come at the discretion of the umpire.

But the O’s weren’t about to allow the loss of their pitching coach do them in. Stevie Wilkerson added a sac fly-RBI in the last of the fifth, and Anthony Santander added a solo homer in the seventh. With the 8-3 victory, the O’s split the series with Tampa – a team I would remind fans, that’s in contention.

The two wins the O’s took in this series were good victories. They didn’t back into winning the games or anything along those lines. It falls on deaf ears in a sense because Friday night the Orioles were officially eliminated from playoff contention, but the two victories in this series were solid ones.

But there is one thing that’s worth mentioning. In my season preview back in March I said that a successful season for the Orioles this year was going to be to beat last year’s win total of 47. Today was win number 43. With over a month left to play before the season ends, are we to believe that the O’s are only going to win three more games? So as tough as this season has been at times, based on pure math you have no choice but to admit that the organization is going the right way.