Baltimore Orioles’ Hanser Alberto intimidates Tampa, Birds win

It begins and ends with starting pitching for the Baltimore Orioles. This evening, that means it began and ended with John Means. After falling off just a bit after the all-star break, Means stepped up tonight and pitched himself and the Orioles to a quality start. Means’ line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K.

Means was on point throughout the entire outing. However the zero walks really stands out. In a year where the Orioles have seemingly allowed the entire world to homer or walk, Means didn’t issue any free passes. In a year where John Means has impressed from the beginning, he was outstanding tonight.

And for once, the Orioles got a quality start and the bats followed suit. They put two runners on base in the first inning, and Hanser Alberto scored on a wild pitch. Tampa of course employer an opener, however the Orioles chased him before the first inning was even over.

However the lone dim moment for the Orioles came in that first inning when they allowed Tampa to turn a double-play with the bases loaded and one out. You have to hold opponents accountable when they get into jams. Because in this case Tampa’s usually the type of team that says thank you very much when given opportunities. Luckily for the O’s, that didn’t happen tonight.

Tampa brought in Pruit to pitch after the opener, and he found himself similarly in trouble in the last of the third. The O’s had runners at the corners with nobody out, and Tampa employee a shift. Hanser Alberto was at third, and with nobody holding him on at third base he began creeping down the line. As he danced around between third base and home plate, he was obviously causing Pruit angst on the mound…

…and Pruit as a result would allow the runner at first to steal second, and an additional base runner at third. Still intimidated by Alberto, he eventually hung a fastball to Pedro Severino. And Severino find.’the disappoint, depositing a grand slam in the left field grandstand, and giving the Birds a 5-0 lead.

Don’t underestimate the role that Hanser Alberto played in that sequence. In case you don’t follow my twitter feed and aren’t aware of my stance on shifts, I’m not a fan. And that situation illustrates one of the many reasons why. Tampa gave Severino the entire left field line – because his spray charts show you don’t really have to guard that area against him.

But what the shift doesn’t foresee is having a runner on base who’s pushing the limits of coming down the line. Alberto was dancing around between third and home for several minutes, and Pruit was very wary of it. And T affected his concentration, causing him to hang that fastball to Severino.

To top it off, Alberto and Jonathan Villar would go back-to-back on solo homers one inning later. That ran the lead to 7-1. Tampa’s Brosseau would smack a solo shot of his own in the fifth, cutting the lead to 7-1. But that doesn’t overshadow Means’ superb outing, or Alberto’s antics. Granted Pedro Severino still had to hit that grand slam out of the park, but credit part of it to Hanser Alberto.

The series continues tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the call for the O’s, and Tampa is yet to name a starter. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: In memoriam for the late Mike Flanagan

August 24th is a day that Baltimore Orioles’ fans will likely never forget. In 2011 the team was in Minnesota on a road trip. As that evening’s game unfolded, news from back in Baltimore started coming in of a body being found on the Baltimore County property of former Oriole Mike Flanagan.

At some point during the game local police confirmed that the body was that of Flanagan. The next few days were a blur for Orioles fans. At that point in time Mike Flanagan was a color analyst for Orioles games on MASN. But obviously his entire adult life had been dedicated to the Baltimore Orioles.

On that day I swore that so long as I penned and Orioles’ column I’d always remember the late Mike Flanagan on this day. He was the very heart and soul of the team and perhaps the city through some very magical years. He was witty and had a charm about him that was symptomatic of his New England upbringing.

Flanagan also came from a time when athletes moved themselves to the city in which they played. That doesn’t really happen any longer. Some do that, but not many. So Flanagan and his family lived amongst the fans. His kids went to school with your kids and so forth. He was very much a member of the greater Baltimore community much more so than just playing for the Orioles.

I suppose I’ll never forget the way that this horrible news was received by Orioles fans and the Baltimore community. There was an outpouring of support both for and from the Orioles themselves, and from fans all over when the team returned from Minnesota that weekend. And my hope is that Mike Flanagan is never forgotten. He was a great Oriole, and remains so in death.

Some events rock the world. This one very much did for Orioles fans. Mike Flanagan will always remain a focus in the Orioles’ story over time. While his death sent shock waves across Baltimore, my hope is that Orioles fans just remain grateful that he came their way.

Baltimore Orioles: One bad inning equals a bad outing

Ty Blach learned a valuable lesson in his start last night for the Baltimore Orioles. One bad inning against an opportunist team such as Tampa (who’s in contention as it is) will do you in. In Blach’s case, it’ll also get you sent out to the minors after the game. But I digress. Blach’s line: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Blach threw 15 pitches in the first inning. And 47 in the second. That obviously did him in. Now personally I feel that only three of those seven runs should have been earned, and I’ll get to that in a moment. But the end result is still the same.

Kiermaier got Tampa going in that second inning with an RBI-double against the shift. I’m sometimes asked why I sometimes point out that a hit or RBI comes against the shift. My personal view is that these shifts are being played too often in baseball. So when I see a play where a guy gets a hit to a spot where a player would have been had they not been shifted, I take notice.

That Kiermaier hit would have been right to the third baseman had the defense been straightaway. Now it was also very softly hit so it still might have been a hit. But would a run have scored? Debatable, I suppose.

Zunino’s two-RBI single later in the inning gave Tampa a 3-0 lead. Later in the inning Pham hit what I thought was a routine grounder to Hanser Alberto at second base. Alberto dropped the ball, and everyone was safe. That brought Meadows to the plate with the bases loaded, and his grand slam gave Tampa a 7-0 lead.

we may be arguing semantics just a bit. However I would argue that the four runs from the grand slam should be unearned. Again, my personal view was that the grounder to Alberto was fairly routine. I suppose it may have been semi-slowly hit (or something along those lines), which is why a hit was credited to Pham.

But if that’s ruled a routine play, given that there were two outs any runs coming after that play would be considered unearned. Tampa could have scored five more runs in the inning, and they would have been unearned. Idea being that the inning would have been over if not for the error. At the end of the day it really only affects the pitcher’s ERA. However I thought those runs should have been unearned.

Jonathan Villar‘s solo homer in the eighth inning would get the O’s on the board. However this game shows the importance of starting pitching. Blach had one bad inning. And in reality it did the Orioles in. Those seven runs in the second were the only runs Tampa scored. That one inning literally cost the Orioles the game.

The series with Tampa continues this evening at Camden Yards. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jose Alvarado. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles upended by Tampa, rain

Asher Wojchiekowski was pitching a decent game last night for the Baltimore Orioles. However an hour and 45 minutes into last night’s games, the rains came. And in saying that I mean a torrential downpour. Two hours and 15 minutes later, the game resumed – with Wojchiekowski out of it. Starters usually don’t return after rain delays of that magnitude. Wojchiekowski’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

The O’s took a 2-0 lead in the last of the first on Trey Mancini‘s RBI-double. However the double itself only attested for one of those runs. Mancini would come around to score on a two-base throwing error by Tampa.

However Tampa would chip away. Meadows smacked a solo homer in the third. Adames would follow suit in the fifth, tying the game. It’s important to note that the rain delay came during the last of the fifth with the game tied. If not for that second Tampa homer, the game would have been official. But since the game was tied, in essence it had to be completed. And it would be completed very late at night as a result.

Play resumed after 11 PM, and Tampa took the lead in the sixth on Adames’ two-RBI single. That seemed to break the game wide open in a sense. Oriole bats were seemingly quieted for the remainder of the night. Meadows would score in the ninth on a wild pitch, and the Birds dropped this one, 5-2.

Tampa’s in contention. The Orioles are not. So that’s one reason that they Birds were quiet offensively after the delay. However that’s compounded by the fact that they were sitting for almost three hours waiting to resume the game.

You can’t use that as an excuse, mind you. The conditions and the circumstance was the same for both teams. It’s unfortunate given that the rain knocked Wojchiekowski out of the game, and you just don’t know how it would have played out, but it can’t be an excuse. And given that Tampa’s in contention, this game could be important to them. Otherwise it probably would have been canceled and perhaps not made up.

The series continues this evening at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Ty Blach gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Trevor Richards. GMe time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: These Birds are royal

It doesn’t begin to pay Kansas Coty back for the 2015 ALCS, but the Baltimore Orioles walloped Kansas City this evening to take two-of-three. The Birds got a decent start for the second in as many games, this evening out of Aaron Brooks. Brooks’ line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

For the first time in what feels like forever, the O’s put up some wayward – or caddywampus – numbers. I thought that perhaps this past Sunday in Boston was going to be a game like this, however Boston came back and beat the Orioles handily. But Kansas City aren’t the BoSox. And this wasn’t Fenway Park.

Jonathan Villar got the party started in the second inning with a two-rum homer. Stevie Wilkerson would add an RBI-double later in the inning, and the O’s led 3-0. They jumped out to a lead, and never looked back.

Kansas City did however make a slight motion to get back into the game. Merrifield smacked a solo homer in the third inning. However that would be as far as they’d get. While Kansas City takes it’s team name from a color, the true colors of this game and this series were orange and black.

The Orioles would net back-to-back homers in the last of the fifth, which in effect blew the game wide open. Anthony Santander smacked a two-run shot, and Renato Nunez a solo homer. The Orioles at that point led 5-1.

And they also put out a few add-on runs. Probably unnecessary with the way this game ebbed and flowed, but always nice to have. And in fact with how this season’s gone for the Orioles, you can never have enough runs. Hanser Alberto hit a three-run homer in the sixth, and the Birds went into win by the score of 8-1.

The add-on runs are a good sign. As is the fact that the Orioles continued the momentum gained from the previous game. In fact, Jonathan Villar hit the walk off homer last night, and picked right up where he left off this evening. He of course hit the first home run in this game. Again, these are all good signs.

The Orioles will now open up a four-game set with Tampa at Camden Yards. Asher Wojchiekowski gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Ryan Yarbrough. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Hanser Alberto slugs Hunter Harvey to his first big league win

First and foremost, the Baltimore Orioles snapped an eight-game losing streak this evening. Dylan Bundy pitched an absolute gem for the Orioles tonight. Yet he was unable to get the win. Instead it went to Hunter Harvey in relief – note worthy because it was his first big league win. Bundy’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K.

In a season where more and more balls are flying over the fence, tonight we had the pleasure of seeing an old fashioned pitcher’s duel at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. To some of us, it was a refreshing sight. Let’s face it, home runs are exciting. But the game’s always been more than just the long ball. Pitching and defense have their place also.

The Orioles allowed a single to Gordon in the second inning, which wouldn’t have happened if not for the shift. The ball was hit right to where the second baseman would have been had the O’s played their defense straight away. An additional base hit an a Villoria RBI-single later, and the O’s trailed 1-0.

And that one-run lead held up for Kansas City for some time. For awhile it looked like their pitching was going to do all they could not to even let the Orioles on base. However on the other side the Birds still had Bundy dueling right there with Kansas City’s starter. And he was let off the hook for a loss when Rio Ruiz smacked an RBI-single in the seventh.

However they lifted Bundy after the seventh, and Harvey pitched the eighth. A flawless eighth I might add – striking out two. That was the top of the eighth. Then came the last of the eighth.

Trey Mancini led the inning off with a walk. However it was a heads up play that he made while on first which made a huge difference a in theory. An out was recorded on a foul pop, sending the Kansas City third baseman into the Kansas City dugout on the third base side. While he made the catch, he did so falling into the dugout and with his back to the field. Mancini alertly tagged up and went to second base.

Hanser Alberto came to the play following an additional walk, and send a three-run homer into the Orioles’ bullpen in left center field. That gave the Orioles a 4-1 lead, which translated into a 4-2 victory. Harvey of course was the pitcher of record when they took the lead, so he gets the win. Again, his first as a big leaguer.

The reason I say that Mancini’s heads-up base running made a huge difference IN THEORY is because they took the lead on a homer. However Mancini got himself into scoring position, and was ready to score on a base hit. Small things like that win you games.

The O’s will go for the series win tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Aaron Brooks gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Mike Montgomery. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Mental lapses cost you wins

John Means have the Baltimore Orioles five incredibly solid innings this evening against Kansas City. The issue of course was that he seemingly fell apart in an abrupt manner – before the O’s could get him out. While an error certainly helped things along in that sequence, Means tired quickly. Means’ line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (2 earned), 2 BB, 4 K.

Again for five innings, Means looked good. And the O’s had a lead. DJ Stewart‘s RBI-double in the second inning gave them a 1-0 lead.

However a base hit and a botched fielder’s choice and an error in the top of the sixth gave Kansas City runners at the corners. Before the O’s could get someone ready in the bullpen Merrifield’s RBI-single would tie the game at one. Later in the inning Dozier’s two-RBI single gave Kansas City a 3-1 lead.

I’ve said this before but teams are holding the Orioles in account for 100% of their mistakes. Now the Orioles are in some instances starting to do the same, but if you get into games which are decided by the team that commits the fewer errors and so forth, generally a rebuilding franchise is going to lose that.

However the Orioles don’t quit. That’s certainly to their benefit. Jonathan Villar‘s solo homer in the last of the sixth cut the lead back to one. However the Orioles managed to run themselves out of that inning, with two runners being well off the bases in the end trying to advance. With two outs. Kansas City had both runners in a run-down, only needing to nail one of them. And they did.

And again, they made the Orioles pay for that. They led off the seventh with back-to-back home runs. That broke the Orioles’ back in a sense. Again, the Birds managed to run themselves out of the previous inning. And Kansas City held them to account.

But turnaround can also be fair play. As I said, the O’s are starting to do that also. Stewart would smack a run-scoring single in the last of the seventh which scored a run due in part to an error. Rio Ruiz would smack a solo homer in the last of the ninth, but it was too little too late and the O’s fell 5-4.

Those mental lapses, whether they show up in the scorecard or not, cost the Orioles the game. Think back to that unearned run in the sixth. Think back to the O’s running themselves out of that inning. If things break differently this could be a win instead of a loss.

However that’s part of rebuilding. Lesson learned, in a sense. These games will happen, and as I’ve said many times the organization all but promised fans that at the beginning. It’s a painful process. You just have to hope that if the process is administered properly it culminates in the organization being in a good spot.

The series with Kansas City continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Brad Keller. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Ball always bounces for Boston at the Fens

I would say that Ty Blach‘s day for the Baltimore Orioles was slightly more good than bad. However he certainly had an interesting game, getting six runs and then giving them back. Blach’s line: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

Some of the runs Blach surrendered behooved he and the Orioles in that they had a lead and they gave them outs. But they all add up. The O’s took an early 3-0 lead on Renato Nunez‘s three-run homer in the first inning. It looked like it might be a good day for the O’s at that point.

Trey Mancini‘s second inning two-RBI single extended the lead to 5-0. One inning later Hanser Alberto‘s RBI-double extended it to 6-0. But that’s a dangerous position in which to find oneself at Fenway Park against the Boston Red Sox. It’s perhaps the quirkiest park in the majors, and those quirks usually play to the advantage of the home team.

Comebacks always start innocently enough. Boston better two runs in the last of the third on RBI-groundouts. And as I said, it somewhat behooved Ty Blach to surrender those runs. The Birds got outs out of the deal, and they were only one run at a time. Speaking for myself, as a coach I would take that 100% of the time. But in retrospect, Boston was piecemealing their comeback together.

The turning point of the game came in the fourth inning. Jonathan Villar was called out in an inning-ending play on the base paths when he contacted the Boston shortstop. The umpires ruled that he had impeded the fielder’s ability to field the ball.

My point would be what is he supposed to do, run around the guy? Either that or allow the fielder to make the play and then potentially tag him out? It’s a judgement call, but one that went in Boston’s favor. And as I said, the game all but changed on that moment, especially seeing that the bottom of that fourth inning brought a solo homer by Travis (cutting the Orioles’ lead to 6-3).

The last of the sixth was the nadir of the game. Vazquez’s RBI-double cut the lead to 6-4, and left runners at second and third. Moreland then sent a pop into shallow center field. And…the ball fell in the “Bermuda triangle.” This allowed both runners to score, tying the game at six. The ball always bounces Boston’s way at Fenway Park.

I did have a question about the tying run, however. The runner nic’d catcher Chance Sisco as he went by, making it tough for him to field the incoming ball and have a shot at tagging the runner out. Earlier in the game Villar had been called out on the base paths for contacting a fielder. Apparently that rule isn’t universally applied. Sisco would later leave the game after taking a ball to the groin. Again, the ball bounces Boston’s way at Fenway Park.

Bogaerts would smack a two-RBI single later in the inning to give Boston a lead, and they never looked back. Trey Mancini would smack a sac fly-RBI in n the ninth, but the Birds ended up falling 13-7 in Boston. They went 0-for-7 on the road trip.

Many of the tack on runs Boston scores came on singles which were either just slow enough, or against the shift. Oriole pitchers put out several good pitches which justifiably should have gotten them out of the at-bat. But Boston hitters managed to find the holes. Far too often the Orioles are using the shift and opposing teams are either finding a hole, or hitting the ball right where a fielder otherwise would have been had there been no shift on.

And there’s no science to that. It just happens. And it happens a lot to the Orioles. Ultimately it’s damned if you do, damned if you don’t, regarding a shift. The ball just bounced the other way a lot today – and the bounces always go Boston’s way at Fenway Park.

The O’s now head home to open a three-game set with Kansas City. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Jorge Lopez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Hunter Harvey makes big league debut in loss

For the second straight game in Boston, the Baltimore Orioles had a starting pitcher who pitched much better than his numbers indicated. You might remember last Sunday against Houston that Asher Wojchiekowski certainly pitched well enough to win (in a game the Birds eventually won in walk-off fashion). Again his numbers tonight weren’t great, but they also aren’t indicative of how he pitched. Wojchiekowski’s line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

When I say those numbers don’t look great, I’m basically talking about the innings pitched. Boston hitters worked Wojchiekowski in this game. But while that led to his early exit, he also got out of some big jams in the early innings. He showed an incredible amount of composure, and has attested for himself very well of late.

If you’re Wojchiekowski, you have to think that these are two consecutive starts in which you looked decent. We’re almost back in the spring training mentality at this point in that results are meaningless. I won’t go that far because these are still regular season games and yes they do count. However bigger than wins and losses is guys paving a way for themselves for the future. And it appears that Wojchiekowski is attempting to do just that.

Wojchiekowski started to struggle in the fifth when his pitch count creeped up. Holt smacked a solo homer, and Bradley would later score on a wild pitch before Wojchiekowski would leave the game. But again, a very decent effort by Wojchiekowski.

Boston would tack on two more on a two-run homer by Devers in the seventh. The frustrating thing about that for the Orioles was that the Birds allowed a double with two outs prior to the homer. The ball would have hooked foul, if not for Hanser Alberto making a valiant attempt at catching the ball, and having it tick off the top of his glove – making it fair.

Again, Alberto made a valiant attempt at catching the call on the fly. But had he not tried, that would have been a foul ball. Sometimes it comes across as circumstances taunting the Orioles. Had Alberto mailed it in, there.’a no two-run homer.

Perhaps the biggest moment for Orioles’ fans was Hunter Harvey pitching the eighth inning tonight, and making his major league debut. Harvey retired Boston without surrendering a run, and looked good doing it. (He gave up one walk.) He of course has struggled his way to the big leagues, between surgeries – among other things. However fans and personnel alike should be happy that he’s here now.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Fenway Park. Neither team has yet announced a starter. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Could Aaron Brooks be an opener?

The Baltimore Orioles were unable to break their losing streak this evening at Fenway Park. They had dropped four straight (to New York) going into the game. Now you can make it five. Aaron Brooks got the start at Fenway Park this evening, but in my view he pitched much better than the numbers indicate. Brooks’ line: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Brooks gave up an RBI-single to Devers in the first inning. Then he buckled down and kept their potent lineup off the board for awhile. There was a stretch where he was mowing Boston hitters down, allowing the O’s to tie the score at one on Trey Mancini‘s RBI-double in the third inning.

However an inning later Boston took the lead back on Benintendi’s RBI-triple. Moreland would add an RBI-triple of his own later in the inning, running the score to 3-1. At first it appeared that DJ Stewart had a play on the ball. However he misplayed it, and it fell in for a triple. However even in that inning, Brooks was able to limit the damage.

It didn’t unravel for Brooks until he hit a batsman in the sixth, and allowed an additional single. A sac bunt moved the runners into scoring position, and Owings’ pinch-hit two-RBI double opened the game right up. Boston would go on to tack on four additional add-on runs, defeating the O’s 9-2 at Fenway Park.

However keep in mind, Brooks was very effective after he settled in. He did however seem to fall apart all at once. That was due in large part to fatigue, however it was more abrupt than the Orioles would have liked.

So…might Brooks make an effective “opener?” I’ve said before that I’m not a fan of the concept of openers, only because I’m a purist and it’s foreign to me. However it’s not something that’s going away anytime soon. It’s probably a concept that’s here to stay.

And the idea is to bridge tougher innings to pitch; in this case opening innings. So if he continues to do what he did tonight, he could very well morph into an opener-type role. At this point, the Orioles don’t have much to lose.

The series continues tomorrow night at Fenway Park. Asher Wojchiekowski gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.