Baltimore Orioles, Josh Rogers fall in pitcher’s duel to Seattle

In his second career big league start, Josh Rogers turned in another decent performance for the Baltimore Orioles: Rogers’ line: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K. However Rogers fell victim to what amounts to an age-old problem for Orioles’ starters this year. He didn’t get the run support he needed to win.

When you give up two runs, you’ve done your job. You’ve put your team in a position to win. The issue is that your team only netted one run for you. That makes it tough. And as has been documented here all season and as I just said above, Orioles’ starters have dealt with this all season. It seems that either the pitching shows up and the bats are quiet, or the inverse. It’s been tough to see it all come together at once.

Jonathan Villar gave the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the fourth with a solo home run which he bent around the right field foul pole. Seattle would tie the game in the bottom of the inning on Healy’s RBI-single. However we also saw a bright spot for the future on that play. Cedric Mullins relayed the ball back into the infield, and Healy was thrown out trying to extend that single into a double.

One inning later Gordon would give Seattle a 2-1 lead on a sac fly-RBI. And that was the game. This wasn’t a game that netted either team a lot of opportunities. However Seattle took advantage of theirs. The Orioles did not. Another storyline from the 2018 season for the O’s.

Buck Showalter said after the game that he was a fan of Rogers’ approach to pitching, and that he saw improvement in some of his secondary pitchers over his first outing (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

I thought his secondary stuff was better. Roger (McDowell) and I were talking about it. You’ve got a little crispness in the air finally. Guys, pitchers especially, it kind of freshens up their arms. Yac’s velocity was up a little bit from as a starter. He had three days’ off and I wanted to get him out there and not let him sit around too long.

Josh was good. I love his presentation, his aggressiveness and the way he comes down the hill at people. But I thought his command was a lot better. Not so much command, but just his usefulness of some secondary pitches that he didn’t show as much the first time.

The aforementioned play with Mullins relaying the ball to nail a runner at second base isn’t something that shows up on the scorecard, but it’s huge. If the rebuild is successful and in a few years’ time the Birds are playing meaningful games at this point in the season, that’s the type of thing that can propel a team onward. Hitting the cutoff man and doing so with precision isn’t something that’s always happened. It sounds simple enough, but in practice it appears to be challenging.

The series continues this evening from Safeco Field. Alex Cobb 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.

Baltimore Orioles swept out of Kansas City

Baltimore Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter put out a lineup in yesterday’s series finale in Kansas City that would have made a spring training travel roster blush. And I don’t say that to be critical; Showalter had a few players that he wanted to rest due to some nagging injuries. So in effect he had no choice but to put out the lineup that he did. Granted, it didn’t help starter David Hess, who took the loss. Hess’ line: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 5 R (4 earned), 0 BB, 3 K.

As seems to be the pattern, the Orioles actually had the lead early. Jonathan Villar smacked a solo homer in the first inning. But it was downhill from there. Kansas City tied it an inning later on Escobar’s RBI-single. Regardless of who was playing in the game, the Orioles could never recover.

Kansas City would take the lead in the third, on two throwing errors by Hess and an RBI-double. Hess attempted to pick two different runners off, and ended up making errant throws. Runs scored on both plays. As has been stated several times, this Kansas City team doesn’t really take their foot off the gas. They just keep adding on; one run here and another there. When the smoke cleared after nine innings, they had swept the Orioles with a 9-1 victory.

And the aforementioned sequence where Hess committed two throwing errors is classic of how Kansas City wins games (in good seasons or bad). They kind of sit back and take whatever they can. If that’s a sac fly-RBI, they happily take it. If it’s an RBI-single or a run-scoring double-play (no RBI), they take it with joy. If you hand a breaking ball or a fastball leaks back over the middle, they’ll also hit the ball out of the ballpark.

They also bank of teams like the Orioles pushing too hard, and ending up making mistakes. You can certainly excuse David Hess’ errors in this instance because he’s still a rookie and he was trying to make something happen. But that’s a trap into which Kansas City can lull you. And seemingly they’ve done it to the Orioles time and time again since the 2014 ALCS.

This loss probably seals the fact that the O’s will get the top pick in next year’s draft. Granted the Birds could have an amazing September and Kansas City could tank, so you never know. While you never want to be in a position to have the top pick, when the draft comes around it’s certainly a nice luxury.

The Orioles will now head to the west coast to open a three-game set in Seattle. Josh Rogers gets the start for the O’s tonight, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Erasmo Ramirez. Game time is set for just after 9 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Mychal Givens gives up walk off homer to Kansas City

The Baltimore Orioles and Mychal Givens were reminded last night that small ball isn’t just a way to play the game, it’s almost a way of life. And part of that way of life is that you literally don’t stop playing. Whereas in the AL East it seems that once a late death blow has been issued, all’s done. But small ball teams like Kansas City have a different world view.

Dylan Bundy came within two outs of a quality start last night. Bundy’s line: 5.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 8 K. Almost doesn’t cut it, however. The Orioles were though able to take an early lead on a sac fly-RBI by Andreoli. That was complimented two innings later by Tim Beckham‘s solo homer, and the Birds appeared to be setting themselves up for a nice win on a Saturday night in Kansas City.

But again, part of the small ball mentality is that you just don’t quit. Kansas City got a solo homer by Phillips in the fourth, and an RBI-double from Goodwin and an RBI-single from Herrera in the sixth. Before you knew it, the O’s trailed 3-2 and Bundy had been chased from the game.

But Trey Mancini got the Orioles right back on track in the top of the eighth. His solo home run tied the game at three, and it was followed up later in the inning by Beckham’s RBI-double to give the O’s a 4-3 lead. However again, in the AL East that right there would have probably ended the game. Unfortunately for the Birds, they weren’t playing a division game.

Mychal Givens promptly walked the lead off guy – not what you want to do with a one-run lead in the last of the ninth. Merrifield promptly deposited a Givens pitch into the stands, giving Kansas City an improbably 5-4 victory in walk off fashion. To his credit following the game, Givens didn’t beat around the bush when it came to his outing (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

Walked the leadoff guy and made a bad 0-2 pitch. Today, especially with how our team’s been playing. We’ve been playing really good, battling circumstances with what’s been going on this year. Today, I failed the team as far as [I] didn’t close out the game. They worked their butts off getting back in the game. Just have to do a better job. A bad 0-2 pitch. I was trying to just locate it down and away. The ball got away from me, and got into his bat path.

This is a Kansas City team that’s been a thorn in the Orioles side no matter the circumstances. When the teams met in the ALCS their exuberance and never say die attitude dipped and dunked the Orioles to death with bloops and broken bat singles. Now the same is true with both teams struggling – the exuberance part, at least.

The O’s will try to salvage one game this afternoon at Kaufman Stadium. David Hess gets the call for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Jorge Lopez. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Cedric Mullins homers in Birds’ loss

Cedric Mullins to date has been as good as advertised for the Baltimore Orioles. It’s easy to see why Adam Jones was apparently lobbying for the youngster to come up to the big leagues for some time. Mullins had two hits in an otherwise forgetful game last night in Kansas City, one of which was a homer. Fittingly, Mullins (in the short time he’s been with the club) has been a bright spot in an otherwise forgetful season in Birdland.

Andrew Cashner got the start, and he bent but didn’t break. That’s the best way I can put it. Cashner’s line: 5.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 1 K. He walked a bit on the wild side and flirted with disaster, but never really gave up the death blow. That came later.

Mullins led the game off with a solo homer. The Orioles are batting Mullins lead off because he does in fact get on base frequently, and in doing so is a constant threat to steal with his speed. Of course the act of hitting the ball out of the ballpark makes that a moot issue! (And incidentally, while you’ll take it you really don’t want your lead off guy smacking the ball out like that.)

Kansas City however came right back in the last of the first and put runners at the corners with nobody out. But again, Cashner bent but didn’t break; he induced Dozier to ground into a run-scoring double-play. Kansas City, being a small ball team, is fine with that because they get a run and go on their merry little way. But make no mistake that it’s a win for the defense. You’ll sacrifice one run early in the game like that for two outs.

Kansas City would take the lead in the last of the fourth on a sac fly-RBI by Merrifield. However one inning later Dozier would smack a solo homer, as would Gallagher one inning after that. Sandwiched in between those home runs was a sac fly-RBI by Trey Mancini, which for a short period brought the O’s to within one. But it wasn’t to be their night.

One thing about Kansas City, who like the Orioles are now in rebuilding mode after some great years – they don’t really take their foot off the gas. It’s easy enough to say that you should never take your foot off the gas, but let’s face facts; when you’re up big it’s easy to do. I can tell you from personal experience that I’ve done it many times – I play pickup basketball every week, and we play games to seven. If my team’s up 6-0, generally we’ll end up winning 7-3 or 7-4. Because instinctively you kind of take your foot off the gas.

Kansas City doesn’t seem to do that. They keep it going, and they add runs on if they can. When the smoke cleared last night they had won the game 9-2. It’s almost a Bill Belichek-like mentality in that it’s not their job to stop their offense.

Again however, the good news for the Orioles is that Cedric Mullins is coming along as a player. One thing that’s interesting is that many people love to decry the Orioles’ minor league system. People think that they can’t develop talent, and they use the fact that so many players leave the organization and thrive as evidence of that. While there are legitimate criticisms to be made, Mullins appears to be evidence that the idea of talent development with the Orioles isn’t a foreign one.

The series continues this evening at Kaufman Stadium. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Heath Fillmyer. Game time is set for 7:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Any trades coming today?

For what it’s worth to the Baltimore Orioles and others, this afternoon at 4 PM is the waiver trade deadline. Teams can make trades through waivers up until that point – in theory. Trades can also occur after that time, and in reality up until the end of the season. However any player traded after 4 PM this afternoon is ineligible to be on a post-season roster.

Most of the heavy trades are made prior to the July 31st non-waiver deadline. As we know, that’s when the Orioles made lots of moves. But the question now is whether or not they’ll do anything further today. Could they possibly acquire a piece or prospect for the future?

Honestly it really boils down to Adam Jones. He’s perhaps the last tradeable player that the Orioles have who would bring back any value. (Unless you want to start trading the likes of Bundy, Cobb, Cashner, et al – which I don’t believe that the Orioles want to do.) It’s been well-documented that Jones hasn’t to this point waived his 10-and-5 status to pave the way for a trade. Might he have a change of heart?

Anything’s possible. However I want to mention again that fans shouldn’t “blame” Jones for his decision. He’s 100% correct in saying that players and the union of the past fought for that right. He has the option and he’s exercising it. And my understanding is that it’s being done partially for family reasons. That right there should tell Orioles fans what they need to know about Adam Jones and the type of person that he is.

With that said, things could certainly change. And I suspect that there would be teams that are interested in Jones for their September stretch run to the post-season. But it hinges on his decision. And ultimately even if he were to agree to it, it also hinges on what the Orioles would potentially get in return. They aren’t going to just give the guy away. Nor should they.

In the mean time, the O’s open up a three-game set in Kansas City tonight. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Brad Keller. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: O Captain! My Captain!

The outlook wasn’t brilliant for the Baltimore Orioles last night – at first. Starter Alex Cobb seemed to be on the ropes from the beginning, and the team just didn’t look up to winning. Cobb’s line: 5.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

After two innings, Toronto led 4-0. Many Orioles fans had of course seen this story play out already this season – several times over. It appeared that the Orioles weren’t going to sweep their second series of the year. It also appeared that the O’s would have to wait another series before hitting the 40-win plateau. A dubious point for sure, but the 1962 New York Mets have the worst record in the modern era at 40-120. So at least the Orioles can avoid that distinction.

Trey Mancini started the Orioles’ rally with a solo homer in the fourth. The Birds would proceed to load the bases, bringing Adam Jones to the plate. And it was Jones, the unofficial “captain,” who put the Orioles back into the game. Jones got a hanging change up right down the middle of the plate, which he deposited into the left field grandstand for a grand slam. And the O’s abruptly took a 5-4 lead.

Those are the types of heroics that Orioles fans have learned to expect from Jones over his eleven years in Birdland. And I’ll add, those are the heroics that Orioles fans will miss if Jones goes elsewhere next year. But that aside, it’s for that reason that so many fans see him as the captain. Granted some of that is based on longevity; but the longevity itself is based on moments such as that. And boy have they mattered over the years.

Unfortunately however, Toronto didn’t allow that to be the final part of the game story. Travis’ solo homer in the sixth would tie the game at five. However the O’s got the lead right back on an Austin Wynns RBI-single in the last of that sixth inning. Incidentally, that play was set up by John Andreoli getting on base, and then stealing second base. If not for the stolen base (which has been happening a bit more frequently of late) the Orioles would have been in a first and third situation. But as a result of the swiped bag, the had the lead back.

Later in the sixth Macnini would score on a wild pitch. The Birds would put three additional runs on the board in the eight, most of which came as a direct or net result of errors. At the end of the day, the Birds wrapped up a 10-5 victory.

After being swept in Toronto last week, the Birds turned around and returned the favor this week at Camden Yards. That had to be gratifying. And we saw massive contributions from some of the new players, which was good to see. But in the case of last night’s game, it was Adam Jones, “the Captain,” who’s heroics put the team over the top. Perhaps his grand slam didn’t win the game per se, but it did give them a shot in the arm that was direly needed. And that’s what Adam Jones has represented for the Orioles and for the city of Baltimore since he’s been here.

Baltimore Orioles bludgeon Toronto in Josh Roberts’ big league debut

Josh Rogers came to the Baltimore Orioles as part of the Britton trade with New York last month. And tonight Orioles fans got to see perhaps a bit of the future, as Rogers was called up and made his big league debut. As his family looked on from the Camden Yards grandstand while crying tears of joy, Rogers didn’t disappoint. Rogers’ line: 5.0 IP 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Obviously the Orioles would prefer that their starters go deeper than just give innings. However you can excuse the shorter outing with a guy who’s making his major league debut. And not only was Rogers good, but he also got run support from the Orioles’ offense that’s been absent most of the season – but that we saw for the second consecutive night.

The Birds took the lead early on Chris Davis‘ RBI-single in the first inning. But the difference in this game was that the Orioles actually took advantage of the opportunities with which they were presented. Adam Jones‘ RBI-single in the third extended the lead, and Tim Beckham‘s three-run homer later in the inning opened the game wide open at 5-0.

Toronto would get one back in the fourth, however the O’s weren’t done yet. Craig Gentry‘s two-run home run extended the lead to 7-1. Roberts would make one mistake on a pitch however, as he gave up a two-run homer to Smoak in the fifth. But if you throw only one pitch you’d like back in your big league debut, you’re doing okay.

The good news for the Orioles was that they decided to keep up their scoring. Jonathan Villar and Craig Gentry would add RBI-singles in the fifth. And the fact is that insurance runs are something that the Orioles have been missing this year. Because true to form, Toronto would put three additional runs on the board in the end, before Trey Mancini added a sac fly-RBI, and Chris Davis a two-RBI double in the eighth to square out the Orioles’ 12-5 victory.

It’s unclear how much Rogers works into the Orioles’ plans for the future. For all I know he’s going to be sent right back down tonight. But the fact that someone who came back in a trade this year made a big impact this season isn’t something that should be lost on Orioles’ fans. It’s doubtful that Rogers’ entire career will be as easy as things were for him tonight. But he was effective, and that’s certainly a feather in the Orioles’ cap.

The series concludes tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Ryan Borucki. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini helps Birds break losing streak

For once this year, it all seemed to come together for the Baltimore Orioles. And that’s due in large part to Trey Mancini. His five RBI helped the Orioles to break an eight-game loss streak, and got starter David Hess the win tonight. Hess’ line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

Hess pitched a great game this evening. It was much like his previous outing, against these very same Toronto Blue Jays last week at Rogers Centre. However in that instance the O’s couldn’t back his outing up with any runs. This time looked to be much of the same – at first.

Hess’ tank was getting empty as the game went into the sixth inning. He was able to get out of the inning without surrendering a run, however it appeared that his night was done. And if the last of the sixth was to be as the rest of the game had gone, it probably meant that Hess was looking at a no-decision. In fact, the game had Toronto getting a two-run homer to break a scoreless tie in the ninth inning for the win written all over it.

But the Orioles loaded the bases with nobody out in the last of the sixth. Chris Davis grounded into a fielder’s choice at second, which scored a run and gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. However we all know how precarious leads like that can be in the AL East. In fact, that one run (combined with an out) almost felt like a win for the defense.

But Mancini changed all of that. His three-run homer broke the game wide open and gave the Birds a 4-0 lead. He would add a two-RBI double in the seventh, and Tim Beckham‘s RBI-single later in the inning would round out the Orioles’ 7-0 victory over Toronto.

As I said, this win broke an eight-game losing streak. The previous game that the Orioles had won was last Saturday in Cleveland. That feels like an eternity ago. However for once, the pitching and the offense finally complimented one another. Which is exactly what’s been missing on this team for the entire season. Both before and since the sell off.

The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. While the O’s haven’t formally announced a starter, the expectation is that they’ll call prospect Josh Rogers up from triple-A; a prospect which came back in the Britton trade. So Rogers is the presumed starter for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Thomas Pannone. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini’s homer not enough to lift the Birds

The Baltimore Orioles fought as hard as they could last night against New York on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. But in the end they came up short yet again and ended up getting swept at the hands of their division rivals. Dylan Bundy struggled through five innings, although the Orioles ate at New York’s Severino as well. Bundy’s line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 7 K.

Voit got things started for New York in the second inning with a two run homer. I said this the other day, but I’m not sure what it was about the Orioles that got this guy going. He was traded to New York in the end of July from St. Louis, in what’s best mentioned as a “low level trade.” Basically, nobody’s ever heard of the guy. Yet he tore up Orioles pitching all weekend. If he retired right now, he’d always have that.

Andujar added a two-RBI double in the third, putting New York out to a 4-0 lead. But the O’s started to claw their way back in come the fifth inning. Jonathan Villar‘s sac fly-RBI cut the lead to 4-1. However an inning later New York was able to get their four-run margin back as Voit scored on a wild pitch. Even when a hit (off his bat or off that of someone else) wasn’t involved, he still scored!

However in the last of the sixth Trey Mancini‘s solo homer slugged the Orioles back into the game. But it wasn’t to be. Jace Peterson would add an RBI-single later in the inning, but that’s as close as the Orioles got. And they fell 5-3 before a national television audience.

It’s worth mentioning that the game wasn’t the blood bath that a lot of people probably expected. The Orioles atoned for themselves fairly well on national television. They battled against a post season-bound team, and fell short. And quite frankly it’s good experience for the young players on the team to play under the bright lights of ESPN on Sunday night. That’s a courtesy that the team’s former starts (the Machado’s and Schoop’s of the world) rarely got when they first arrived on the scene.

The Orioles will now open a three-game set at home with the Toronto Blue Jays starting tonight. David Hess gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Sam Gaviglio. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall in night cap vs. New York

The Baltimore Orioles got a quality start out of starter Andrew Cashner last night against New York. But as has been the case for most of the season, that wasn’t enough. Cashner did everything one could do as a starting pitcher to put his team in a position to win. And as I’ve said many times, that’s all you can ask of a staring pitcher. Cashner’s line: 7.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R (3 earned), 2 BB, 4 K.

New York took an immediate lead on an RBI-single by Hicks. One inning later they put another run up an inning later on a wild pitch by Cashner, and a third on a fielder’s choice-RBI by Gardner. Stanton would add an RBI-single in the fourth, and Romine a home run in the ninth to round out NY’s scoring for the evening.

The Orioles put seven hits on the board in the game. The thing was that most of them were singles. Many fans may wonder how that benefits the rebuild effort when they have guys on the roster now who can only hit singles. First and foremost, we’re about a month into the rebuild effort. In essence, at this point the Birds are just playing out a string on the season.

The real work begins in the off season, as the organization will literally start building a team. However going back to the idea of only hitting singles, many people have begged for a higher OBP over times. Isn’t that in essence what hitting singles is? Just getting on base? Eventually that effort paid off, as the Birds put a run across in the last of the ninth with an RBI-single by Jace Peterson.

At the end of the day, they dropped the night cap in the doubleheader 5-1 to New York. However going back to the just hitting singles, this illustrates why I say that small ball isn’t possible in the AL East. As good as pitching is in the division, you can almost pencil in a double-play in the immediacy of a base hit.

But the way games are won in this division is by bludgeoning your opponents. The Orioles did it from 2012-2016, and it’s being done to them now. You have to balance the hitting-for-average with power. And that’s what the rebuild in the off season will hopefully yield.

The series concludes this evening at Camden Yards in a rare Sunday night appearance for the Orioles. Dylan Bundy gets the call for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Luis Severino. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.