Baltimore Orioles drop series opener in Seattle

For once, the Baltimore Orioles made someone pay for their mistakes. At the beginning of last night’s game, that is. Starter Dylan Bundy was sharp at the beginning of the game, as the Birds built a lead. Bundy’s line: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 7 K.

Before Bundy even took the field, he had a lead. By way of a Seattle error the Orioles loaded the bases in the first inning. Rio Ruiz‘s two-RBI single Gabe the Birds a 2-0 lead. So again, for once the Orioles were able to hold someone accountable as opposed to letting them off the hook for a mistake made in a game.

One might argue that’s a start. And for sure, it is. However Oriole bats were quiet the rest of the way. You have to be able to add onto your lead. The Birds couldn’t do that. And in turn, they were made to pay for it.

Seattle got a solo homer from Navarez in the last of the second to cut the Orioles’ lead to 2-1. Santana would smack a solo shot of his own in the sixth. And we were tied.

Seattle would get two RBI-singles in that sixth inning to take a 4-2 lead. The Orioles would also walk in a run in the last of the seventh, running it to 5-2. Which ended up being the final.

So again, the Orioles held an opponent accountable for their mistakes. That’s a good thing. Now they need to work on tacking onto their leads. The impression from this game at least is that the Orioles can’t score without the opponent making a mistake. Now we know that isn’t true, however perception can at times be reality.

The series continues this evening at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. The O’s are yet to name a starter, but whomever he is will be opposed by Seattle’s Mike Leake. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Adding another annual destination?

The Baltimore Orioles currently play 9-10 games a year in Tampa/St. Petersburg at Tropicana Field. However that could be changing with the news today that MLB has given the Tampa Rays permission to explore the idea of playing half of their games in the Tampa/St. Petersburg area and half in Montreal (Montreal of course being the former home of the Montreal Expos, now the Washington Nationals). Again, they’be been given permission to “explore” the idea.

Basically that means we’ll think about it and get back to you. Tampa’s struggled with ticket sales and forming a fan base since the team’s inception. Heck, they had trouble selling out World Series games the year they advanced that far. So in that sense, might a more condensed schedule make sense?

Something like this has never really been done before in baseball – to my knowledge. Over in the NFL the Green Bay Packers used to play one preseason game and two regular season games annually at Milwaukee’s County Stadium. The Washington Bullets used to trek back to Baltimore for years and play four home games a year at the Baltimore Civic Center. And there are other examples out there as well which are similar to this.

But this wouldn’t be simply moving a home game or two. This would literally be two cities sharing a franchise. Perhaps the only example of which I can think would be the Homestead Gray’s, which was a Negro League baseball team that was shared between Washington D.C. and Homestead, FL. But that was short-lived. Needless to say, it would make for an interesting dynamic.

I believe that the idea would be for the early part of the season to take place in Tampa, where a new outdoor stadium would be constructed. The weather isn’t incredibly hot at that point in Tampa, so it wouldn’t be a big issue in terms of the weather. The second part of the season would be played in Montreal. However if this comes to pass it’ll be interesting to see how it’s handled. Would Montreal have to build a new stadium also, or would the old Olympic Stadium suffice?

This is something that Orioles fans will want to watch, however. Earlier this season there were rumors that the league wanted the Orioles to leave Baltimore. How true that is or was, who knows? It was merely a report that surfaced.

Montreal was naturally one of the cities that was mentioned as a possible destination for the Orioles if they were to move. If Montreal gets a piece of the Tampa Rays, that’s one city that wouldn’t be in the running. My personal opinion is that the Orioles will never move anywhere. So take that point at nothing more than face value.

End of the day, I don’t think that the Tampa Rays will split themselves between two cities, either. I suspect it’s just positioning to get someone to build them a stadium. But it would be interesting to see in terms of the dynamic to say the least.

Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini hurt as game spiralsthe

Gabriel Ynoa served as an opener this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. And with pretty good success at that. Unfortunately for the Birds, Ynoa’s performance was about the highlight of the day. Ynoa’s line: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Overshadowing just about everything else on the day for the Orioles, they may have lost Trey Mancini for a period of time. Mancini was hit on the wrist in the first inning, and had to leave the game. The Orioles later announced that he had an elbow contusion, which in essence is a bruise. More on that in a moment.

The Birds were no-hit through five, however in the bottom of that fifth inning Phegley smacked a three-run homer. That broke the tie and gave Oakland a 3-0 lead. The Birds would come right back however and cut that lead to 3-2 in the sixth on an RBI-single by Renato Nunez, and a bases-loaded wall by Rio Ruiz.

The O’s and Oakland would trade runs in the last of the sixth and top of the seventh, with the Orioles’ coming on a sac fly-RBI by Anthony Santander. However the last of the seventh did the Orioles in. And excuse me check-swing double got a runner to second, and he made it to third on a single that came against the shift. Consider that again for just a moment; the O’s, like everyone else, play a shift on certain players. But teams always manage to defeat it. You can’t make this stuff up.

With runners at the corners and nobody out, Oakland hit into what should have been a tailor-made 4-6-3 double-play. However instead of yielding the run and taking the two outs, Hanser Alberto opted to nail the runner at the plate. And it might not have been the worst idea. However the throw wasn’t exactly spit on, and the runner scored from third. And the O’s didn’t record an out on the play.

When the smoke cleared, the Orioles trailed 8-3 (which ended up being the final). It’s tough to fault Alberto for trying to cut down the run at the plate. But the proper way to manage that situation is to yield the run and take the two outs. Yes, you surrender another run. But it clears the bases and leaves you with two outs. It’s lapses like that which are HAUNTING this team right now. If they could manage to button some of that up, they might be closer in some of these games.

The bigger concern however is Trey Mancini. He got his elbow X-Rayed, and it came back negative. So presumably he’s day-to-day. However if they lose him for any significant amount of time, that’s going to become a problem very quickly. All the Orioles can do is hope for the best.

The Birds now head to T-Mobile Park to open a four-game set with Seattle. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Wade LeBlanc. Game time is set for just after 10 PM tomorrow night.

Baltimore Orioles being eaten alive by minuet details

Errors are piling up on the Baltimore Orioles, and they’re making a huge difference. And the sad thing is that there’s a part of me which says one mistake here and there can’t make THAT big a difference. Yet it does. Gabriel Ynoa was the victim of that mentality last night. Ynoa’s line: 5.1 IP, 7 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Oakland smacked a solo homer in the third and a three-run shot in the fourth to take a 4-0 lead. Jonathan Villar smacked a solo homer for the O’s in the fifth. That was followed by Rio Ruiz netting a run with a fielder’s choice.

The Orioles appeared to at least be competitive in the game at that point. However in the sixth Oakland put two runs on the board off the bat. That extended their lead to 6-2. Still however, that’s a lead that could be overcome – in theory.

Richie Martin committed a fielding error with two outs. That would have been the final out of the inning. Now in general one can accept an error by a guy like Martin, a Rule 5 pick who’s in his first year in the majors. And again, my own thoughts in a moment like that are there’s two outs, just get one more and the inning is over. No harm no foul.

Only that isn’t how things normally go for the Orioles. When they commit small defensive lapses like that, opposing teams take full advantage. Oakland was no exception last night, and they ended up putting ten runs up in the inning. Think about that, eight runs after the error, ten total.

They would also put up two in the seventh, which came on a two-run homer. Now again it’s tough to argue that the error cost the Orioles the game because they were already losing and in fact they didn’t score again. But who knows how things would have played out?

The Orioles can’t allow themselves to adopt the mentality that I apparently have. By that I mean that they can’t ever just assume there are two outs in an inning and one error won’t kill them. It is a big deal, and when you let your guard down your opponent pounces. That was evident last night.

The O’s will try to savage one game in this series in the finale today at the Oakland Coliseum. Jimmy Yacabomis gets the start for the Orioles (in what could be more of an “opener” situation than a real start), and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Chris Bassit. Game time is set for just after 3:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall on errant throw, tag

The Baltimore Orioles actually performed fairly well in their first game out west last night in Oakland. Starter Andrew Cashner gave the Birds a quality start, both statistically and in reality. More importantly, he put the team in a spot to win. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R (1 earned), 1 BB, 2 K.

The O’s gave up an RBI-double in the last of the first to Olson, which gave Oakland a 1-0 lead. However in the second the Orioles would tie the game. Rio Ruiz attempted to move a runner into scoring position with a sac bunt. However Oakland’s errant throw up the first base line allowed the runner to score from first, tying the game.

As we’ve said so many times, if you put the ball in play good things can happen. All it takes is one mistake, and a routine play like that can turn into a run-scoring opportunity. And in that instance it allowed the O’s to tie the game.

And in fact, that error also allowed the O’s to take the lead. With Ruiz at third, the Orioles put on a squeeze play and Hanser Alberto Laos down a sac bunt, which scored Ruiz. Ironically, Alberto’s path and progress to the bag at first was impeded by the first baseman, who was out of position on the play. The two literally collided on the base path. Despite Oriole protests, no interference was called on the play.

However in the end, it was an error and a mistake which did the Orioles in. With the bases loaded in the third, Olson grounded to short. The O’s completed the force out at the plate, and Chance Sisco went to throw the runner out at first. However he threw errantly, and a run was allowed to score, tying the game.

The O’s would throw the ball home where Sisco applied the tag and seemed to prevent Oakland from taking the lead. However Oakland challenged the play, and the replay appeared to show that Sisco applied the tag high, allowing the runner’s leg to touch home plate before the tag. The call was overturned, and Oakland took a 3-2 lead.

And unfortunately, the Orioles were unable to challenge further in the game, and fell 3-2. Now on the bright side, Oriole pitching was very good for the remainder of the game. They didn’t allow Oakland to push anything else across, which is more than can be said for other games to this point. They just couldn’t muster anything themselves.

The series continues tonight at the Oakland Coliseum. Gabriel Ynoa gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Brett Anderson. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Should Trey Mancini be in the trade block?

The Baltimore Orioles won’t be taking an ice pick to their 25-man roster this year at the trade deadline. That happened last year. However people are starting to talk about what moves (if any) the Orioles might potentially make. According to some people, nobody should be off limits – even the likes of Trey Mancini.

Unequivocally, let me state that I personally believe it would be a huge mistake for the Orioles to trade Mancini. He’s not only going to be the Birds’ lone all-star representative, but he actually deserves the honor. In saying that I mean that he’s going to earn his way onto the roster as opposed to being included to satisfy the Orioles having a representative.

However Mancini’s also become a team leader. And he wasn’t tabbed as being that guy – if anything, Cedric Mullins was. (And he’s been back in the minors for some time.) With Mancini it happened organically. He appeared to kind of tell himself that he was going to be considered the veteran on the roster, and he had to help the younger guys along. Most of whom I might add aren’t that much younger than Mancini himself.

You need someone like that in the clubhouse. Let’s not act like guys with leadership skill are dime a dozen. They aren’t. Losing Mancini wouldn’t only hurt the team in terms of statistics and so forth, but it would probably hurt morale. Again, unequivocally I think it would be a mistake to trade Mancini. He’s someone around whom the Orioles should build.

The reason that some people say that he should be traded is because he would probably bring the Orioles the biggest haul in terms of prospects. Mancini’s under team control until 2023. So he would have to fetch one heck of a return. And I’m talking potentially more than they got last year for Machado.

However I think that when you start trading guys like Mancini (at this stage at least) you’re almost committing yourself to rebuilding in perpetuity. Mancini’s still what one would consider a young player. So again, it behooves the Orioles to build around him. If you start trading your young talent away, You’re kind of extending the process.

So keep Mancini. That would be my advice to GM Mike Elias. Keep him and build the franchise with him as the centerpiece. Because he’s proven on and off the field that he’s worthy of playing that role.

Baltimore Orioles: Two outs away from a win

The Baltimore Orioles were in line to win today. It was the ninth inning and they had the lead against Boston. But ultimately, despite a decent outing from John Means, the Birds ended up back in the loss column – for varying circumstances, some of which were out of their control. Means’ line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

Hanser Alberto‘s RBI-single in the last of the third gave the O’s the lead at 1-0. Boston however would smack back-to-back RBI-doubles in the fourth, giving them a 2-1 lead. But the O’s would tie it at two in the bottom of the inning on Keon Broxton‘s bunt-RBI single…

…or did they? After the play the umpires huddled up, and came to the decision that Broxton had run out of the baseline, a decision that ultimately led to the ejection of manager Brandon Hyde. Here’s the thing; Broxton did run out of the baselines; that part isn’t disputable according to the replay. However the issue is that’s a call that needs to be made on the spot. It’s poor form for umpires to huddle up like that and talk one another into making a judgement call (that should have been made on the spot).

Hyde said after the game that he wasn’t happy with how it was handled. Negating the hit took a run off the board for the O’s. But Hyde’s point was just what I said above; make the call. Don’t sit back and think about it and then make it.

With the Birds still trailing 2-1 in the last of the eighth, Jonathan Villar drew a walk. He then proceeded to steal second and third base, and scored to tie the game at two on a wild pitch.ater in the inning Hanser Alberto’s RBI-single gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

The Birds got to within two outs of the win. But then Boston’s Hernandez picked that moment to hit his first homer of the season – off of Mychal Givens. That tied the game in three, and sent it to extra innings. Boston would put up no less than five runs in the tenth, to take an 8-3 lead.

And it’s a shame that Oriole pitching let it get to that point, because Oriole bats did everything they could in the last of the tenth to bring them back. They were able to put three runs on the board and get to within 8-6. But it was too little too late.

The strike zone was incredibly small this afternoon. Boston pitchers pitched to the strike zone. Oriole pitchers pitched to where they assumed pitches should be called strikes. And they got no leeway whatsoever. That combined with the out of the lines play in the fourth inning had the Orioles’ dugout seething at the umpiring crew.

Did the umpires factor into the final score? Well, unequivocally they didn’t give up the homers and the runs in the tenth inning. But could the game have gone differently? You never know.

Brandon Hyde was happy that the team battled back. He seemed very impressed with that. But still, it’s tough to get to within two outs of a win and blow it. But you have to dust yourself off and move onto the next game.

The O’s now hear out west to open up a three-game series with Oakland at the Oakland Coliseum. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Mike Fiers. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles’ aggressiveness used against them

The Baltimore Orioles got a halfway decent start out of Dylan Bundy this afternoon. He was done in after only five innings due to a high pitch count, which cam as a result of some extended at-bats. In saying that I mean guys fouling off multiple pitches. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 3 R (2 earned), 2 BB, 8 K.

This game was a pitcher’s duel at first, as it was scoreless through five innings. However in the top of the sixth Bogaerts smacked an RBI-double, and Holt an RBI-single, to give Boston a 2-0 lead. Holt would later score on an E6, and the Birds trailed 3-0.

The O’s would come back however in the bottom of that inning. Renato Nunez smacked an RBI-double, and Jonathan Villar added a sac fly-RBI. However that’s as close as the O’s were able to get. Martinez would add a solo homer in the seventh, and Boston would also add three runs in the top of the ninth to take the game 7-2.

The worst part about playing Boston is that as good as they are, they’re also smart. They know that the Orioles are scrapping, and doing everything in their power to win games. That can often lead to pushing too hard. Boston knows that.

They know that the Orioles are going to play shifts on their players. They had also seen earlier in the game and on tape that sometimes Jonathan Villar sometimes leaves his spot at second slightly early when the ball’s in play. So Boston puts on a hit-and-run, and hits the ball right where Villar would have been.

Coincidentally, this other example also involves Jonathan Villar – not to beat up too much on him. Late in the game Boston had him at a 1-2 count. Normally that’s a count in which a pitcher’s going to bury a pitch in the dirt hoping that the hitter will chase. Instead of the slider in the dirt or something along those lines, Villar got a high fastball.

Now to his credit, Villar didn’t bite. However that’s a pitcher and a pitching staff who knows that they’re playing a team that’s pushing. And the Orioles can’t allow teams to see that, as it can and will be used against them.

Part of why Boston was able to tack on three late runs was because they put pressure on the Orioles. The Orioles already had enough self-inflicted pressure on them. And they eventually folded.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. John Means gets the call for the Birds, and Boston is yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles being killed by the long ball

The Baltimore Orioles called up prospect Luis Ortiz to make a spot start against Boston last night. While Ortiz has never made an appearance in an Orioles’ uniform, he had appeared in two other big league games – with Texas. However while he was able to get some early pitches by for strikes, it didn’t exactly turn out the way the Orioles would have hoped. Ortiz’s line: 3.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 5 BB, 3 K.

The Orioles actually had a lead in this game. Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer in the first inning to give the Birds a 1-0 lead. However that was basically the highlight of the game for the O’s. While Ortiz was lifted when trailing 3-1 and the game not out of hand by any means, it went downhill from there.

The Orioles surrendered six home runs to Boston last night. When the smoke cleared, they trailed 13-1. Keon Broxton would add an RBI-single in the last of the ninth to cut the final to 13-2.

The O’s are surrendering home runs left and right. Now in fairness, Boston’s been hitting the ball out of the park at will the last few games. This was their second consecutive game in which they’ve hit five (or more) home runs. Boston hitters appear to be very zero’d in at the plate right now. And there was nothing that Oriole pitching was doing to calm the tide of homers.

Part of the issue with Oriole pitching right now is that pitchers either can’t stay healthy, or just can’t perform. The can’t perform part is especially tough to accept. That’s been going on for some time, going back to Ubaldo Jimenez. That was a signing that was lauded by most media analysts, myself included. The Orioles got him at a fair price and he was a solid starter.

But at the end of the day, he never measured up. Some would argue he did more harm than good. (I wouldn’t go that far, but some would. You also have to keep in mind that when the Orioles needed someone to step up in a big game, Jimenez usually rose to the occasion.) But obviously for whatever reason pitchers seem to come to Baltimore and suddenly not be able to find the strike zone. Or they get hurt – like Cashner and Cobb.

The issue last night in a sense was the nibbling. Oriole pitching all tried to nibble on the corners, and Boston hitters refuse to relent and swing at pitches out of the strike zone. Consequently, Oriole pitchers nary seemed to get the benefit of the doubt, as all of those borderline pitches were called as strikes.

Then ultimately with runners on base the Orioles were forced to throw strikes. And those strikes were hit. And a long way at that. The majority of those home runs were two-run shots.

The series continues this afternoon at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Chris Sale. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles helping teams to get well

When Toronto came in to play the Baltimore Orioles this week at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, their offense was struggling. They were of the worst offenses in the league. Then last night Toronto lays it on the Orioles very thick, after a 30 minute rain delay to start the game. Orioles’ fans had to be thinking, “…uh, really?!”

Gabriel Ynoa got the start and took the loss, but in no way did he figure into the route that this game ended up being. Ynoa’s line: 5.0 IP, 7H, 3 R, 0 BB, 1 K. If anything, Ynoa was getting too much of the plate. However he put the Birds in a spot to win the game. Although that sounds strange to say in a game that eventually became a blowout.

Ynoa gave up a solo homer to Biggio in the second, and an RBI-single to Gurriel in the third. The O’s would fight back however, scoring on an RBI-single by Anthony Santander in the last of the third inning. Santander’s really come along since his promotion to the majors, and he’s making the most of the opportunity he’s being given. That’s to his credit.

Santander would tie the game two innings later with another RBI-single. At that point you kind of liked the Orioles’ chances. Things were looking up – for awhile. However in the top of the sixth Gurriel would smack a solo homer, and Toronto would take a 3-2 lead.

And that top of the sixth effectively ended the game. Toronto first chased Ynoa, and then ended up putting seven runs on the board in the inning. As I said, that effectively ended the game. They would tack on three in the seventh, and Chance Sisco would get one back for the Birds in the eighth with a solo homer. But when the smoke cleared, the Orioles fell 12-3.

As I said, Toronto’s offense was struggling when they came into this series. But like many other teams, they seemingly found their stroke against the O’s. Are teams simply figuring out the Orioles’ pitch sequences? (Basically, are Oriole pitchers too predictable?)

It’s really tough to say. There are a lot of factors as to why even the worst offenses seem to succeed against the Birds. But one way or the other, it’s something that the Hyde’s and Elias’ of the world need to figure out. That is if the O’s are going to improve on last year’s win total.

The O’s will now open a three-game series with Boston at Camden Yards. The Birds are yet to name a starter, but whomever he is will be opposed by Boston’s Eduardo Rodriguez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.