Baltimore Orioles: Losing in the most vicious ways

Despite runners left on base, the Baltimore Orioles had a great opportunity to win last night’s game against Washington. Cade Povich pitched well enough to win. And he should have. Povich’s line: 5.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K.

Nine strikeouts is noteworthy. So are 15 men left on base. Now granted that has nothing to do with Povich, And the sad thing? The Orioles were 4-for-15 with RISP. Two of those four hits didn’t yield runs. That may be neither here nor there. But it’s a fact, as well as a tactical anomaly.

Povich surrendered a first inning solo homer to Lowe in the second inning, this after a 15 minute rain delay. This after the Birds loaded the bases in the first, but allowed Washington to needle out of it. And again, they did get a hit with a runner in scoring position in that mix; this without a runner scoring.

The O’s did strike however in the third. Ramon Laureano was the second in a series of back-to-back doubles, and the O’s tied the game at one. Jackson Holliday’s RBI-single later in the inning gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead.

Washington would tie the game with an RBI-single in the sixth, but the Orioles would load the bases again in their part of the frame. Ramon Urias’ sacrifice fly would give them the lead back at 3-2. As much as I wrote above about hits with RISP without a runner scoring, this was in essence the inverse. It’s another out with a runner in scoring position, however a run scored.

But Washington would re-tie the game in the eighth on Wood’s two-out solo home run. It came on the second pitch of the at-bat, and on a pitch low-and-away in the strike zone. But should they have pitched to Wood in that situation? Fair question I suppose. There were two outs in the inning. Furthermore they did pitch him away. I think had they not pitched to him and he came around to score, there would be the question of why not attack Wood with two outs and the bases empty?

Felix Bautista didn’t have his best stuff in the ninth. He walked the first hitter, but was able to record two straight outs. That brought Nunez to the plate, culminating in a bizarre sequence. He tapped a roller to Ryan Mountcastle at first base. At first you’re thinking, okay inning over.

But Nunez hustled down the line – like really hustled. It was also a slow roller, and…was Bautista slow to cover first? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Nunez was safe. And with two outs the runner was in motion, and Bautista WAS slow to throw the ball home. That ended up being the winning run, and the Birds fell 4-3.

That’s a cruel way to lose a game. Again, whether or not Bautista was slow to cover the bag is a fair question. I tend to think Nunez simply beat that out. But he did seem to forget there were two outs, and there was a runner behind him. That sort of lapse is the Orioles’ season in a microcosm.

Brandon Hyde had some interesting comments after the game regarding what he addresses to the team with things going so awry (quote courtesy of Eich Dubroff, BaltimoreBaseball.com):

We’ve addressed a lot of things this year, and so if you just continue to address, it’s going to fall silent at times. So there’s been a lot of addressing. I’m sure we’re going to talk about some things. I don’t know if tonight’s the right time. Timing’s important. Or tomorrow. Because there are a lot of people who are upset in there right now.

He’s right in that a lot of people in the locker room are upset. I would submit this is a poor choice of words, and a bad look. By saying there’s been a lot of addressing, it comes off as publicly blaming people. And that blame may be well-deserved in many cases. But you never throw people under the bus publicly.

And I say that recognizing that this was right after a tough loss. It’s probably a good thing that there’s “been a lot of addressing.” But saying that flippantly in passing isn’t necessarily the right thing. Address behind close doors, and publicly say that the onus is on the coaching staff to find a way out of this.

The series continues this afternoon at Camden Yards. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Jake Irving. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Defeat from the jaws of victory

Baltimore Orioles’ manager Brandon Hyde has to be beyond frustrated with how this season has played out. There’s not one thing or another that’s gone wrong – it’s everything. Chase McDermott got the start in the second game of today’s doubleheader, to no avail. McDermott’s line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 5 K.

In fairness to McDermott, this was a game that the Orioles almost punted from the beginning. They were already short starters, and this was set up as a bullpen game due to it being part of a doubleheader. Only thing was…it was winnable. Even after Minnesota put up four in the first three innings.

Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-single in the last of the fourth got the Birds on the board, and cut the Minnesota lead to 4-1. But the O’s strung together a few additional two out base runners, and before you knew it the bases were loaded. And Cedric Mullins was striding to the plate.

And Mullins gave the O’s the lead with one fatal swing. His grand slam put the O’s ahead 5-4. In the moment it was a welcome sight. So was Heston Kjerstad’s subsequent solo home run, extending the lead to 6-4.

But Minnesota chipped away. Castro’s solo homer in the fifth cut the lead to 6-5. That being said, the solo shot was hit against Charlie Morton – as a reliever. That was the only run Morton gave up, and in fact he was in line to win the game. Morton, for all his faults thus far this year, gave the O’s some outstanding innings today. And that’s a fact.

Castro began the eighth with an excuse me bloop base hit. And that started a problem, as is usually the case. Minnesota’s one of these teams who uses any little loophole to get into a game. And with that base hit off of Yennier Cano, they got their loophole.

After a balk and a walk, Clemens came to the plate. And Clemens’ three-run home run gave Minnesota their lead back at 8-6. They closed the game out, and swept the doubleheader.

I’ve written about the Orioles tipping pitches before. I stand by that. But are they also too predictable?

It’s well known that Yennier Cano is the setup man. Was Minnesota sitting there waiting for him to come in the game? Personally I believe that consistency is a good thing. But it’s only consistency until people figure out how to sidestep it. It seems that Minnesota was waiting for Cano to come in the game. Had it gone to the ninth (with the Orioles leading), they would have been waiting for Felix Bautista.

Am I saying Brandon Hyde should shake it up? I don’t know what I’m saying. Cano’s the setup man for a reason. But they’ve figured him out over the past couple of weeks for sure. And that’s a problem.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Chris Paddack. Game time is set for just after 12:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Minnesota strikes slyly and quickly

You could argue that Minnesota put Dean Kremer and the Baltimore Orioles right where they wanted them. They dialed them into a situation where one lackluster inning was going to bite them. And it did. Kremer’s line: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Overall Kremer didn’t pitch poorly this afternoon. In fact, he pitched the team’s way into having an opportunity to win. Which is the goal of a starter. The O’s jumped on the board early on and RBI-double by Ryan Mountcastle in the third inning. He would quickly score on Gunnar Henderson’s two-run home run.

However some teams deal with pressure well. Minnesota’s a group of guys who are full of what you might call joie de vivre. The Orioles not so much. Teams in the East are often more intense. And that at times works against the O’s, especially against a team that had won eight straight coming in.

Kremer surrendered a solo homer to Lee to lead off the fourth. Solo home runs however don’t hurt you – unless you’re playing against someone hellbent on winning no matter what. Against teams such as this, it’s a death wish.

Minnesota put two on immediately in the wake of that homer off of a walk and a base hit. Later in the inning the nine hole hitter, Vasquez smacked a three-run homer, giving Minnesota a lead of 4-3. A lead they would never surrender.

They make it look like they’re beating you with power. Granted, that’s a ln element of it. However they’re doing it by getting guys on base in any manner they can, and getting them home in any manner they can. And that’s how they added on late as well. Larnach’s RBI-double led to a final run scoring on a wild pitch, and the O’s falling 6-3 in game one of a doubleheader.

The series continues later this afternoon against Minnesota at Camden Yards. Chayce McDermott gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Simeon Richardson. The game time has not been announced, but it will be later today.

Baltimore Orioles rained out

The opening game of the Baltimore Orioles’ series against Minnesota has been rained out. The game will be played tomorrow as part of a traditional doubleheader at Camden Yards. Game 1 will begin at 12 PM.

Baltimore Orioles get fat on Anaheim mistakes

Two very important things happened this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. First off they got starter Zach Eflin back, and he turned in a solid outing. Keep in mind, Eflin ever so slightly stabilizes a rotation that’s been beleaguered on a good day thus far. Eflin’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

But another thing happened of equal importance: the O’s held their opponent (Anaheim) accountable for their mistakes. The Birds have made mental lapses in games all year, and they’ve allowed them to snowball – meaning opponents held them accountable. The O’s reversed that dynamic today; they pounced when they smelled blood in the water.

With Gunnar Henderson on second after a leadoff double, Adley Rutschman appeared to pop up to left which would have ended the inning. However the left fielder Ward appeared to lose the ball in the sun, this after being too far in to begin with. The ball fell well behind him, giving Rutschman an RBI-triple and the O’s a 1-0 lead.

However Anaheim strung together a few hits in the bottom of the inning and thought they had restored order with a 2-1 lead. And it almost got worse in the third. Ward singled to right with runners at first and second and one out. However the lead runner Moncada inexplicably stopped after rounding third base. When he turned around to go back, his teammate Soler was already standing there. The O’s played the ball back in to second base, recording the second out and erasing Soler.

That was a turning point. Teams get gifts all the time. Heck, the Orioles have given numerous gifts like that all year thus far. Luckily they weren’t going to let Anaheim off the hook on this day. Maverick Handley’s first big league RBI came on a sacrifice fly in the fifth, tying the game at five.

Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI-single later in the inning would give the Orioles the lead for good at 3-2. An inning later Ramon Laureano stole second (following a walk), and made it to third on an errant pickoff attempt. He would later score on a wild pitch, extending the lead to 4-2

Maverick Handley’s sac bunt-RBI came later in the inning, running it to 5-2. And that brought Gunnar Henderson back to the plate. Henderson’s hitting better of late, and he showed it on this day. His two-run homer broke the game wide open.

Anaheim’s Lugo would slug a solo home run in the ninth off of Felix Bautista, but that was no threat to the O’s. End of the day this amounted to a bullpen session for Bautista, with an off day tomorrow. End of the day, the O’s went to Anaheim this weekend and took two-of-three.

The Handley sacrifice bunt was a suicide squeeze, for what that’s worth. You don’t see that so often in baseball these days. But it was just at the right moment, and it was executed with precision. It also shows the Orioles doing whatever they could to win this game. Which is more important than anything else.

End of the day, Anaheim did everything they could to lose the game today. And the O’s held them to task for it. Which is a good sign.

Baltimore Orioles: Sleight of hand burns the Birds

Baltimore Orioles’ starter Kyle Gibson was over the plate too often – something we’ve said about countless other starters in other games this year. Gibson was throwing strikes from the beginning, which obviously is a good thing. But not if you’re getting too much of the plate. Gibson’s line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

Gibson gave up three hits to the first three batters of the game, including an RBI-single by Moncada. Ward added a sac fly-RBI, and the O’s trailed 2-0. The interesting thing is that all four hitters swung early and often in the first inning. Ward made contact on the first pitch – BECAUSE the ball was over so much of the plate.

On the flip side, the O’s put runners on base early also. And in some cases, Anaheim starter Kochanowicz was somewhat wild. In one instance Anaheim manager Ron Washington came out of the dugout in a rare mound visit that didn’t involve changing pitchers. To be blunt, he was all over the place.

However you have to wonder if that wasn’t sleight of hand in a way. Because he always zero’d in and brought the count back full, often after running it to 3-0. You almost sensed a certain calm about him. A certain methodology almost. I

Opposing teams indubitably are aware of the Orioles’ early struggles. So you do wonder if perhaps the game plan wasn’t as simple as trying to make the O’s outthink themselves. If it wasn’t and Kochanowicz was missing his spots and then getting the Orioles to record outs late, it worked like a charm.

It doesn’t help when the Orioles are making solid contact, only to have the ball find a fielder’s mitt. At one point Ryan Mountcastle hit a ball at circa 110 MPH off the bat. That’s solid contact; only the ball was straight to the shortstop, who made the play at first base.

Anaheim extended their lead in the fourth with a solo home run by Adell. Again, this on the first pitch of the at-bat. Following a single, Anaheim’s Lugo hit another first at-bat pitch and recorded his first MLB hit – an RBI-triple. In short, Gibson was hitting his spots. But so were Anaheim bats. He would also give up an RBI-groundout in the fifth.

The O’s would make a small run however. Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI-double in the fifth would cut the lead to 5-1. Ramon Laureano added a solo home run in the ninth, but the O’s fell 5-2.

The O’s will get starter Zach Eflin back this afternoon, which is a much needed boost. Eflin famously doesn’t walk many people, which should hopefully minimize base runners. Time will tell.

The series concludes this afternoon at Angels Stadium. The aforementioned Zach Eflin gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Tyler Anderson. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Tomoyuki Sugano’s strong, bullpen doesn’t break

It’s almost easy to break a five-game losing streak when you get the sort of starting effort that the Baltimore Orioles got last night out of Tomoyuki Sugano. He served as the Orioles’ stopper in a late night start in Anaheim. Sugano’s line: 7.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

Granted it’s been easy to miss given the team’s lackluster start overall. But Sugano has very quietly morphed into exactly what he was advertised to be. 7.1 IP and zero walks is impressive. And it carried the O’s last night.

The Orioles led from the beginning. At least from three batters into the game. Gunnar Henderson smacked a solo home run with two outs in the first inning, and the O’s led 1-0. Henderson has also quietly been heating up, again despite the fact that the team is struggling.

The O’s got RBI-singles an inning later from Jackson Holliday and Emmanuel Rivera, taking a 3-0 lead. The lone run Sugano surrendered however was in the seventh on an RBI-triple by Moncada. Other than that, Sugano was all but flawless.

The game wasn’t without its drama however. When you’ve lost five straight, that losing streak doesn’t just go quietly. Sugano recorded the first out in the last of the eighth before Brandon Hyde lifted him for Yennier Cano. Which wasn’t a bad thing – however Cano surrendered a base hit and walked the second hitter to put the tying run on first base.

Cano then took the next hitter (Neto) to 3-2, engaging in a 13-pitch at-bat which turned into a war of wills. Finally, on pitch 13, Neto swung and missed, recording the second out. Cano was replaced by Keegan Akin, who recorded the final out to end the threat.

Following Sugano’s start, you don’t expect that sort of drama. But again, these sorts of losing streaks don’t go easily. So it was just as well that Gunnar Henderson struck again in the ninth with an RBI-triple, giving the O’s a 4-1 lead. Insurance runs matter.

Felix Bautista closed the game out, sending Anaheim down 1-2-3 in the last of the ninth. Make no mistake, that’s a big win for the Orioles. Anytime you snap a five-game losing streak it’s a big deal. They just have to hope to start a streak of the other kind starting tonight.

The series continues late this evening at Angel Stadium. Kyle Gibson gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Jack Kochanowicz. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Nothing good ever happens after a walk – or otherwise

This may have been Charlie Morton’s best start for the Baltimore Orioles tonight. And I don’t say that facetiously. He didn’t leave with the lead and he didn’t pitch long enough to qualify for it. But he put the O’s in a position to win. Morton’s line: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

It’s not a starting pitcher’s fault that he doesn’t get run support. Morton got some, but not much. He did have the lead at 1-0 after Ramon Leureano smacked a solo homer in the third.

Morton began the last of the third by surrendering a base hit, and then hitting the nine hole hitter – on a pitch that would have been ball four anyways, but that appeared to graze him slightly.

They say nothing good ever comes after a walk. A base hit and a HBP in effect serve the same purpose in that the batter reached first base. Morton then surrendered a three-run homer to Buxton, and the Orioles trailed 5-2.

However Morton steadied himself. In short, he threw one bad pitch. Unfortunately when your offense isn’t putting up runs, that costs you the game.

The Orioles would close however. Heston Kjerstad’s RBI-single in the fifth cut the lead to 3-2. Needless to say, the Orioles were in the game. However Minnesota would get a two-run homer by Bader – a pinch-hit two-run homer at that. And again, when your offense can’t muster much, that’s your ballgame.

Save for the one bad pitch and the dour look on his face in the dugout after being informed he was being lifted, Morton was decent. He kept the team in the game and put them in a spot to lose. I mention his demeanor because while you never want to be lifted early, he has to understand why he was lifted. It was as much about how he’s pitched to this point as anything else.

Interestingly there were two unsung moments in this game which may have changed it – both of which went against the Orioles. Jackson Holliday appeared to steal second base in the second inning. He was called safe on the field, and replays appeared to back that up. Or at least to be inconclusive, which would have meant the call on the field stood.

I’m not going to lie, I thought Minnesota was crazy to challenge that play. Especially that early in the game. There was no way it could have been overturned…

…yet it was. That ended the inning, and took away a runner in scoring position for the O’s. Fast forward to the fifth when Jackson Holliday closed the inning by grounding out. In a bang-bang play at first base, Holliday was ruled out.

Holliday himself seemed miffed at the fact that Brandon Hyde didn’t challenge that call. My thought was that if the call in the second inning was inexplicably reversed, that one certainly had a shot to be as well. Yet Hyde held onto the challenge.

However assistance is on the way. Zach Eflin, Jordan Westburg, Andrew Kittredge, and Tyler O’Neill are at various stages of rehab assignments in Norfolk. Westburg and Eflin at the very least are potentially going to join the team this weekend in Anaheim. Will that help? One hopes.

The series concludes tomorrow at Target Field. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Joe Ryan. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Is Colby Mayo the answer?

Cade Povich had one bad inning for the Baltimore Orioles tonight. Other than that, he actually pitched fairly well. And it didn’t help him that just about every borderline pitch went against him. Povich’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

As I’ve said in the past about other pitchers, if there’s one criticism I could make about Povich it would be that he pitched-to-contact too much, he got too much of the strike zone. And when he did throw the ball on the black of the plate, he didn’t get the call.

Povich allowed an RBI-double to Buxton in the third, and a two-RBI single to Jeffers later in the inning. He later gave up a three-run homer to Correa, and the O’s trailed 5-0.

The O’s did get an RBI-double from Ryan Mountcastle in the fourth. But that wasn’t enough. Boston would add a two-run homer, and Correa an additional run-scoring single in the eighth. And the O’s fell, 9-1.

One of those additional runs at the end were unearned. Coby Mayo actually committed two errors at third base in the game, one of which led to an unearned run. Remember, Mayo openly criticized the organization coming out of spring training for sending him down.

To be clear, Mayo did have a good spring. He’s also performed in a stellar manner at triple-A. However he hasn’t cut it at the major league level. A lot of guys over the years have fallen into that category. Now I would also submit that Mayo still has a shot to be a big leaguer, but he needs to get it together. Needless to say, two errors in a game don’t help.

I would still say however that you don’t criticize the organization the way he did. How many people think it’s acceptable to speak out about their employer in such a manner? It’s bad enough when someone does it and it’s deserved. STILL…not a good idea. But in my view the Orioles have handled Mayo properly. Two errors in a game won’t cut it.

End of the day, you have to keep grinding. Win or lose, your job is to have an almost machinistic outlook coming in the next day. You shrug it off and you try not to look back. Similar to what they did in 2023, never allowing big losing streaks.

The series continues tomorrow at Target Field. Charlie Morton gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Simeon Richardson. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Attention to detail

Kyle Gibson had a better outing for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon. This as opposed to his first outing this past week against New York. He didn’t last long into the game, but he didn’t give up nine runs either. Gibson’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Gibson gave up a solo homer to Garcia in the second inning. But the Birds didn’t trail for long, as Jackson Holliday knotted it up in the home half of the inning with a solo shot of his own. One inning later following a walk, Gunnar Henderson scored on Adley Rutschman’s RBI-double.

However Kansas City mounted a two-out rally in the fourth. They put two runners in scoring position, and an RBI-single by Waters gave them a 3-2 lead. But Jackson Holliday picked that fourth inning to reacquaint himself with Kansas City pitching, and he smacked his second solo home run of the game, tying it at three.

Solo homers were the rule of the day it seemed. India in the top of the fifth for Kansas City. Then Cedric Mullins and later Ryan O’Hearn in the last of the fifth to put the O‘s back on top. However Garcia led off the sixth with a seventh solo home run of the game, tying the game at five.

However to me, the key moment of the ballgame came in the last of the sixth. Despite quite a few runs being on the board, keep in mind that base runners were at a premium in this game. And this series. With a runner on first and one down, Heston Kjerstad grounded into an inning-ending double-play.

That would have given the Orioles two outs and a man on first. Hardly a spot that one would say is prime to start a rally. But it’s better than the inning being over. Needless to say.

Kjerstad appeared to hesitate coming out of the box, and he slowed up as he approached first base. To be clear, turning the double-play required an outstanding play by Witt. And Kansas City got that. However it was also a bang-bang play at first. Would Kjerstad had been safe had he hustled the whole way down the line?

In games like these you have to take advantage of every base runner you can. Lord knows Kansas City did. They got back-to-back solo homers in the seventh by Witt and Pasquantino, and another by Maile in the eighth. They also got an RBI-triple by Witt in the eighth which all but sealed the deal. Ryan Mountcastle did smack an RBI-single in the eighth as well, running the score to 9-6.

It’s tough to say exactly what’s going on with Oriole bats. It’s either feast or famine. And someone potentially leaving a base runner on the table doesn’t help matters. I maintain as well that there’s a chance that either Orioles pitchers or someone else is tipping pitches. Inadvertently for sure, but Kansas City had the fewest home runs in the league coming in. They certainly hit off the Orioles today.

It’s worth pointing out that maybe teams play the numbers and the odds a little too often. The go-ahead sixth inning solo homer by Garcia; Bryan Baker was left in to pitch to him given the righty/righty matchup. This with Keegan Akin warming in the bullpen.

Garcia homered. Did Brandon Hyde match up or play the numbers a little too much? Maybe. But mind you, stats don’t lie. Kansas City was just hellbent on hitting whatever the Orioles threw out there – including a final two-run homer by Massey in the ninth.

Which again, would indicate that perhaps there’s something about the Orioles’ approach which is speaking too loudly about what they’re doing. That’s a diplomatic way of saying what I said above – about tipping pitches. Whether it’s the actual pitchers or the way the game’s being called; are hitters sitting on specific pitches and ultimately knowing when they’re coming? That needs to be figured out.

It’s a shame that the overall game overshadowed Jackson Holliday. This was his first multi-home run game. Granted nobody was on base, but it happened. They say solo homers don’t hurt you. They certainly didn’t hurt Kansas City. They did hurt the Orioles. One positive spin, the O’s finished the home stand at .500 – there are worse places to be.