Baltimore Orioles: Brooks Robinson returns in advisory role, Birds win

The Baltimore Orioles will take wins anyway they can get them. Whether it’s 1-0 or 10-0, a win’s still a win. And yes, it all starts with starting pitching, in this case Yefry Ramirez, who was strong in last night’s game. Ramirez’s line: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K.

Ramirez of course has been with the Orioles for a few weeks, and has in fact shown some promise. He pitched five shutout innings last night for the Birds, who are looking at a possible bullpen game today. Any trouble that Ramirez and others got into, they were able to get out of.

On a side note for this game, it came with some good news for Orioles fans. It was revealed that the great Brooks Robinson was going to be returning to the organization in a “Special Advisor” role. It’s unclear what exactly that’s going to mean, but Robinson was very clear in that he won’t be participating in any baseball decisions. It sounds more like a community outreach type of deal than anything else (quote courtesy of Dan Connolly, balitmorebaseball.com):

I’ll be trying to be out in the community maybe and doing some things to try to promote this club and get people to the stadium. I mean, it’s a beautiful ballpark and the Orioles have always been trying to bring people in and been in the community.

And perhaps it was the news of Robinson’s return to the organization which pushed the Orioles to victory last night. A pre-recorded statement from Robinson announcing his new position was played for the Camden faithful during the sixth inning last night. The Birds then proceeded to put runners at the corners in the last of the sixth with nobody out. They would take a 1-0 lead on Jonathan Schoop‘s sac fly-RBI.

It may not be the most graceful way of gaining a run, but it still counts. And when you only put up one run, you have to ensure that defensively you’re covering your bases. Adam Jones made a diving catch of a line drive in the top of the seventh to keep a Texas runner off base. That would have only been one base runner, however in a one-run game that could have made a big difference.

However the big defensive play came in the top of the eighth. The Orioles put two runners on base with nobody out. Reliever Mychal Givens managed to pick the runner off of second base, That was followed by a ground out and a pop out to end the inning. Again, when you’re playing in a one-run game there’s no margin for error. For once this season, the Orioles shut things down when they needed to.

The Orioles were planning to start Jimmy Yacabonis in this afternoon’s series finale. However Yacabonis has taken ill with strep throat, and is unavailable. Buck Showalter said that he would announce his starter this morning, but it’s expected to be someone in the bullpen. Just a prediction with no prior knowledge, but I’m going with Mike WrightMike Wright.

The series concludes this afternoon at Camden Yards. The aforementioned TBD is starting for the Orioles, with Texas throwing Mike Minor. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall to Texas in series opener

Another quality start by a Baltimore Orioles’ starter, and another loss. Last night it was to the Texas Rangers, in game one of a three-game set. And Alex Cobb seems to be the willing victim almost every time. Cobb’s line: 6.1 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 3 K. Cobb wasn’t perfect, but he put the Orioles in a position to win the game. That’s all you can ask of a starter.

Cobb gave up a solo homer to Gallo in the fifth, and Texas took a 1-0 lead. However the Orioles did move to battle back, putting a runner on second in the bottom of the inning, getting him over to third, and then to home plate on Danny Valencia‘s sac fly-RBI. The O’s were very much in this game as it went along.

However the story of the season for the Birds has been clutch hitting. And no, I’m not even talking about their lack thereof. I’m talking about clutch hitting by the opponent. Oriole opponents have seemingly always just found a way to do whatever they need to do in order to win the game. And at times it’s happened in fairly uncanny manners.

This time it was a three-run homer in the seventh inning by Rua. Namely, a pinch-hit home run. Whatever the button that the Orioles have pushed this year, the opponent’s ended up pushing a seemingly better one. To make matters worse, Mazara’s RBI-double later in the inning ran the score to 5-1.

Now I will say that the Orioles did get some clutch hitting in the last of the seventh from Caleb Joseph. He put the Birds back in the game with a bases-clearing double that cut the lead to 5-4. He saw the pitch and he just went with it, which was good to see. But the O’s couldn’t get any closer than that, and they fell 5-4 in the opener with Texas.

The Orioles are also swapping out catchers again, deciding to option Chance Sisco to triple-A Norfolk after the game. The plan is to formally recall Austin Wynns sometime before tonight’s game. And speaking for myself I think that’s a smart move. Sisco has potential but in my view needs some additional seasoning. Wynns was a shot in the arm when he was here before.

Jimmy Yacabonis is scheduled to start tomorrow’s series finale, however he’s been taken ill and that start is now in jeopardy. There’s a chance that Yacabonis has strep throat, which (knock on wood!) I’m not exactly sure how you get during the summer. So that might leave the Orioles scrambling for a starter come tomorrow.

The series continues this evening at Camden Yards. Yefry Ramirez gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Martin Perez. Game time is set for 7:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Death by 1,000 paper cuts

Tonight was supposed to be an off night for the Baltimore Orioles. However Philadelphia trekked into town for a one-shot makeup game for a previously rained out affair. Kevin Gausman got the start, and he labored through five rough innings. Gausman’s line: 5.0 IP, 12 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Of the five runs that were charged to Gausman and the five runs they scored overall in the game, I’m not sure that any of them (save perhaps for a solo homer) didn’t come off of or after a ball that was squared up. The Orioles were dipped and dunked to death, bled by 1,000 paper cuts, and chiseled to death. One the flip side, the Birds consistently square balls up and hit them into the outfield – only to find fielders.

Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead on a soft bloop RBI-single by Santana in the third inning. Later in the inning Williams would ground into a force out which scored a run, and the O’s trailed 2-0. And Alfaro’s two-RBI double in the fourth would give Philadelphia a 4-0 lead. Toss in a solo homer two innings later the next time Alfaro came up to bat, and the Birds had dug themselves a 5-0 hole.

However the O’s got their bats going in the sixth. Manny Machado‘s RBI-single got them on the board, cutting the Philadelphia lead to to 5-1. Trey Mancini would cut the lead to 5-3 in the seventh with a two-run homer, followed by a solo shot by Jace Peterson. However while a valiant effort to come back, the Birds wouldn’t get any closer and fell 5-4. For what it’s worth, Philadelphia also swept the season series with the Birds with this win. The two teams won’t face each other again until the 2021 season – unless of course you count Grapefruit League play next spring.

I’ve had fans tweet and comment on the site how I always throw in that opposing teams score on softly hit balls. The fact is that a hit’s a hit, no matter how you get it. And whether you get aboard with a hit, a hit batsman, a walk, or an error, a base runner’s a base runner. One way or the other, teams are getting them on and getting them in against the Orioles.

The Orioles as I said square up a lot of balls. They’re just hit right to outfielders. Opposing teams seem to have this knack of hitting the ball so softly that it ends up as a hit against the Orioles. And from the Birds’ perspective, it has to be frustrating to see and experience. You’re in position and placed perfectly in accordance with the spray charts, and the guy eases up on the bat just enough to dump it right in front of you. There’s no rhyme or reason to how or why it happens. It just does. And it happens a lot to the Orioles.

The Birds will welcome the Texas Rangers into Camden Yards tomorrow night for a weekend series – the final set before the all-star break. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Cole Hamels. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Play one team right off another in the Manny Machado sweeepstakes

Dylan Bundy only lasted four innings last night as the Baltimore Orioles fell hard to New York, 9-0. It’s impossible to win when you don’t score any runs, which was the Orioles’ plight last night. Bundy’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 3 K.

The big blast came in the third with New York already leading 1-0, as Bird smacked a grand slam off the right field foul pole. Obviously New York added to the lead the rest of the night, but that all but ended the competitive portion of the ballgame. And it’s really indicative of the Orioles’ season in a way. Opponents are always able to dig just deep enough to get what they need to beat them. In this case, the ball appeared to be going foul, but stayed just fair enough to smack off the foul pole.

The big story around Camden Yards has been Manny Machado, and where he’s going – and when. New York threw their hat into the ring seeing as they were in Baltimore the first part of this week, and the assumption’s been since then that he was going there. I’ll once again caution against trading a player of his caliber within the division. Even if you get a great haul in return, the fact is that there’s probably another team out there willing to give you just as good a haul. And that has Machado signing a new contract with New York (perhaps even before the current one expires) and living happily ever after for years and years written all over it.

But in the interim, New York is all but doing the Orioles a favor by even being involved. If New York wants him, that means Boston wants him. We also know that the Los Angeles Dodgers are interested. That also means that Arizona has to consider trading for him. And it goes on and on.

If you listen to the national media, many of them point out that the Orioles don’t have nary any leverage in this scenario because Machado would really end up being a rental. (Obviously whichever team trades for him would have his rights until the end of the season – so they could wow him with their culture and find a way to re-sign him.) However with so many teams interested, how exactly do the Orioles not have leverage?

Before last night’s game word circulated that New York had made a “good” offer to the Orioles. So then the Orioles probably went back to Boston and Los Angeles and said this is what’s on the table right now, but I wanted to give you a chance to make a counter-offer. And I suspect that charade has been going on for some time. That ensures the Orioles are going to get a haul in return. This as opposed to the low-A prospect that many people felt they’d get at one point.

Many people tell me that the longer they wait the harder it’ll get to find a deal. It seems to me that it’s quite to the contrary. The deal could get better as they let this drag on. Because in reality the Orioles have until the end of the month. Now I don’t think they’ll wait that long, and in fact it wouldn’t surprise me if he’s traded before the all-star break. But the more they wheel and deal, the more they’re able to play one team off of another. And the better the return gets.

The Orioles were scheduled to be off today, but they’ll take on Philadelphia at home in a makeup game from earlier in the season. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Nick Pivetta. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Plunk heard ’round the world leads to Jonathan Schoop’s walk off

For one game at least, the Baltimore Orioles seemed to be the Baltimore Orioles again. The Birds showed a lot of grit in tonight’s game against New York, and it’s games like these which is what we’ve come to expect from this core group of players. Andrew Cashner‘s numbers look worse than he actually pitched, but he put the team in a spot to win. Cashner’s line: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 7 K.

The Orioles took a 2-0 lead in the last of the fourth when Joey Rickard sent a tight grounder inside of third, which scored two runs. But new York came back an inning later on a three-run homer by Bird, giving them a lead at 3-2. However as I alluded above, what we saw was the Orioles never allowing their heartbeat to be silenced. Manny Machado sent a deep shot to left on the first pitch of the last of the fifth, immediately tying the game back up at three.

However New York would take a two-run lead in the seventh on a sac fly-RBI by Bird, and an RBI-single by Walker. This game had valiant effort written all over it for the Orioles. However the team wasn’t going to stand for that – not on this night. With Jones already on base in the last of that seventh inning, Machado came back up to bat. And he sent a shot deep into the Baltimore night towards right center…

…it appeared to kareem off the grandstand and remained in play. However the O’s asked for a review, and the call was reversed into a two-run homer. And we found ourselves tied one again, this time at five. New York threatened in the top of the ninth, however the Birds picked up a key out when Caleb Joseph threw out a runner trying to steal second. The call on the field was out, and in my view the runner was out. But there wasn’t sufficient evidence to prove that the call was wrong, and it was upheld.

And Caleb Joseph led off the last of the ninth – and was able to get on base by getting hit. Call it the plunk heard ’round the world if you will A Jones double and an intentional walk to Machado later, and the Orioles had the bases loaded. And Jonathan Schoop was striding to the plate.

And Schoop didn’t disappoint. He sent a screaming grounder into right field for a base hit, scoring Joseph from third. And winning the game for the Birds at 6-5. It was the Orioles’ first walk off win since Opening Day.

For perhaps the first time in 2018, we saw the Fighting Showalters that we’ve come to know over time. It seems that so often this year things such as the Bird homer or Walker sac fly would befall the Orioles, and things would snowball from there. Not this time. The O’s stuck in there and fought back. And having the last at-bat helps also!

The Orioles will complete the series with New York tomorrow at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Sonny Gray. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: New York has interest in Manny Machado

It was reported yesterday during the Baltimore Orioles’ doubleheader with New York that the Yankees have contacted the O’s about trading for Manny Machado. The Orioles are listening to offers from plenty of other clubs, however New York certainly is interested. They’re also interested in Zach Britton, Brad Brach, and perhaps a couple of starters.

I’ve said before that I think it’s an incredibly risky move to trade a player of Machado’s caliber within the division. He may well find his way to the Bronx one way or the other (via free agency), but the fact is that teams make trades to better themselves – either now or in the future. The Orioles shouldn’t be in the business of helping New York better themselves.

Now having said that, if some of the above-mentioned players were packaged together to get a nice return, perhaps the Orioles consider it. But even still, there’s a caveat. If the O’s are going to trade with New York, they should get a higher return than they would if they were going to trade with Los Angeles, Chicago, or Milwaukee. In essence, New York should expect to get squeezed as opposed to just making “a nice deal.”

So if Los Angeles was going to offer two prospects, the Orioles would ask for three from New York. Some would say that’s unfair, and a lousy way to do business. That’s up to the beholder, however when it comes to trading a player like Machado to a division rival you don’t want to just win the trade. You want to win the trade running away.

My personal opinion is that he won’t go to New York. Although it certainly would be easy in the sense that he could just switch clubhouses. However keep in mind that New York seems to buy low and sell high. They obtained the likes of Judge for fairly cheap. That can’t be allowed to happen if they’re going to do business with the Orioles.

For now, the O’s should probably be thanking New York for getting into the fray. Because teams such as Los Angeles or Milwaukee now know that they may have to up the ante a bit. Whereas previously if the deal was two players and then went to three when New York got involved, they may need to offer four now. So the Orioles can in essence use New York to get a better deal, but if they’re going to ship Manny to the Bronx they’d better get much better return than they would have gotten from another team. Am I saying that different teams should get different rules? That’s exactly what I’m saying.

Baltimore Orioles drop nightcap

For the Baltimore Orioles’ sake it’s a good thing they won the first game of yesterday’s twin bill. New York seemed to be a team on a mission in game two. Although more often than not it seems that teams split doubleheaders, so perhaps the Birds were all but guaranteed a win yesterday.

Yefry Ramirez ended up getting knocked around a bit, and he took the loss. Ramirez’s line: 4.0 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K. Ramirez did show a bit of poise, as his change up was getting over for a strike. However New York was still able to get to him and touch him up for four runs. Ramirez of course came from New York’s system, and he addressed facing his former team after the game (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

It felt good to face them, even though I wanted to have a really good game so I could show them that they lost a really good player. But things didn’t work out my way. I think I wasn’t able to command my fastball at all. I missed some sliders, as well. The combination of that didn’t lead to good results today. I will take this as a learning opportunity and growing experience. Get feedback from the veteran guys and hopefully I can have better success in the next starts.

Before the Orioles had even recorded an out in the first inning New York already had a lead on Gregorius’ RBI-double. Gardner’s two-run homer in the fourth extended that lead to 3-0. Incidentally, the Orioles hit several balls deep and all around the outfield, including one very late that appeared to be a home run. Gardner chased them all down.

Gardner’s always been a gamer and he’s always been consistent throughout his career. He doesn’t say much, but lets his playing speak for him, which is a great trait in baseball. It’s just frustrating from the Orioles’ perspective to see every hard-hit ball get chased down in spectacular form, but yet opponents reach base on softly hit bloopers. Is less really more?!

New York would extend their lead to 5-0 on Bird’s RBI-single in the fifth, and Romine would add a two-run homer in the eighth. By the time the smoke cleared and the game was over, New York put ten runs across on Oriole pitching. The Birds would get two back on an eighth inning two-run homer by Tim Beckham, his second home run of the season. (Keeping in mind of course that Beckham’s missed much of the first part of the year.)

Again, most doubleheaders end up being split. And that’s what happened yesterday in Baltimore. The Orioles following the game returned Jimmy Yacabonis to triple-A Norfolk. Yacabonis had been the Birds’ 26th man, as allowed by major league rules for doubleheaders.

The series with New York continues this evening at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Masahiro Tanaka. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Bingo, Bango, Bongo goes Danny Valencia!

The Baltimore Orioles needed a game in which they came back to win. In the first game of a twin bill late this afternoon against New York at home, they got exactly that. They Birds got a good start of of Jimmy Yacabonis, although he didn’t get a decision in the game. But it begins and ends with starting pitching, and the Birds got what they needed out of him this afternoon. Yacabonis’ line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

New York took an early 1-0 lead on a solo homer by Stanton in the second inning. One inning later RBI-singles by Judge and Gregorius gave New York a 3-0 lead. The O’s had their work cut out for them, however for once the long ball ended up being on their side.

Following a Machado double, Mark Trumbo came to the plate in the last of the fourth. And he slugged the Orioles right back into the ballgame, smacking a two-run homer which cut the New York lead to 3-2. That was a bit of a momentum swinger for the Orioles, and normally it’s the type of momentum swing that we see work against them. However for once it worked in their favor, giving them a fighting chance to win.

But they ended up having to work from further behind later on. Walker’s RBI-single in the sixth gave New York a 4-2 lead, and appeared to be an early insurance run. But these O’s weren’t done – not by a long shot, at least in this game. We know that nothing good happens after a walk. New York’s Sabathia walked the first hitter in the last of the sixth, bringing the tying run to the plate…

…and as we’ve seen happen to the O’s in the past, sometimes that one little thing snowballs an inning. I wouldn’t say that’s what happened per se, but it all did work in the Orioles’ favor. Schoop got aboard on a double, bringing the go-ahead run to the plate in the form of Danny Valencia…

…who didn’t disappoint. Valencia’s three-run homer gave the O’s a 5-4 lead, their first of the afternoon against New York. And that folks was a huge thing, both for the team, and for Valencia – who had been scuffling for a could of weeks. Zach Britton allowed the tying run to get to third base in the top of the ninth, but in the end he didn’t break. And the Orioles were victorious in game one thanks to Danny Valencia going yard.

Game two of the twin bill is this evening at Camden Yards. Yefry Ramirez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Luis Cessa. Game time is set for…just a few moments from when this is being written!

Baltimore Orioles: It all fell apart at once

The Baltimore Orioles had a shot to win yesterday behind starter Alex Cobb. And then suddenly, they didn’t. Cobb allowed a big homer, left the game with a blister on his throwing hand, AND the O’s seemingly threw their collective hands up and seemed to say oh well what are you going to do – all at about the same time. Cobb’s line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R (4 earned), 1 BB, 5 K.

The Orioles put a couple of runners on base in the first inning, but failed to do anything. Chris Davis was called out on strikes on a questionable strike three. But nevertheless it was an opportunity squandered.

Minnesota took a 2-0 lead in the last of the fifth on Garver’s two-run homer, and then doubled their lead an inning later on a two-run shot by Escobar. Prior to recording an out in that sixth inning, Minnesota would proceed to load the bases. Now the sole benefit to the defense with the bases loaded is that you have a force at every base. So with that in mind, Garver grounded a ball right to Manny Machado at short, who threw the ball home.

Throwing home in that situation is the right play, because you always want to cut the run off if you can. However Machado’s throw short-hopped the plate, and a run scored. If you need further evidence that this team is snakebitten for some reason, there it is. Machado, who later in the evening was named a starter in the all-star game, couldn’t make that play, a run scored, the bases were still loaded, AND there was still nobody out.

Not only that, but Cave’s subsequent RBI-single scored a run and kept the bases loaded with nobody out. Minnesota found ways to either hit the ball hard enough or just softly enough to find grass between Orioles’ fielders in this series and this game. Yet all of the Orioles’ hard-hit balls found mitts. So goes the season I suppose.

Polanco would score a run on a fielder’s choice-RBI, and Dozier would then clear the bases with a three-run homer. When the inning finally ended, Minnesota led 10-0. Chris Davis would smack a solo home run for the O’s in the ninth inning to keep them away from a shutout, but all in all a 10-1 loss is a pretty ugly Sunday.

There was an element of whatever the Orioles did was futile in this series and in this game. Even when an out seemed inevitable, their all-star shortstop bounced a throw to the plate. Yet the likes of Cave and others would just softly dump hits behind the infielders where nobody could get to them, or the likes of Polanco would just hit against the shift. Has to be frustrating.

The Orioles now return home and will play a doubleheader against New York starting late this afternoon. Jimmy Yacabonis gets the start for the Orioles in game one, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s CC Sabathia. Game time is set for just after 4 PM. (This is a traditional doubleheader, meaning two games for the price of one. Game two will begin roughly 20-30 minutes after the completion of game one.)

Baltimore Orioles: Could the players have been more accountable?

The Baltimore Orioles got themselves off to an early lead yesterday, and starter Kevin Gausman was dealing early. Things appeared to be looking up in this particular game. That is, until they weren’t. Gausman’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

The O’s manufactured a run early in the first inning, scoring on an RBI-groundout by Manny Machado. Later in that first inning Chris Davis smacked a two-run homer. And as I said, things looked up.

Gausman mowed Minnesota hitters down, until he started allowing base runners in the fourth inning. This continued into the fifth when Kepler smacked a solo homer, and Wilson an RBI-single. Gausman went from pitching a good game to being on the ropes in a matter of minutes. Later in that inning he loaded the bases, and Cave scored on a wild pitch. One inning later Wilson’s RBI-double would give Minnesota a 5-3 lead.

The timing of the Minnesota run does play a role, as it was the second (and third) time through the order. Gausman fooled them the first time through, but they apparently picked up on something he was doing, and he couldn’t replicate that. Late in the game the Birds did try to make a run of it on an RBI-double by Jace Peterson, but it was too little too late.

One thing of interest; anyone who follows the Washington Nationals knows that they were suddenly having their lunch handed to them until the middle of this past week. They held a players only meeting, and since then it’s been smooth sailing so to speak. They even rebounded from being down 9-1 to beat Miami 14-9 on Thursday. Now that in and of itself is probably an anomaly. But that team’s really picked it up since then.

Did the Orioles’ veterans miss an opportunity to do something like that earlier in the year? We know that Buck Showalter held at least one meeting in which the team was in effect rebuked for their poor play earlier in the season. However I’m not talking about him or any of the other coaches. I’m talking about the veterans on the roster; the Jones’, Davis’, and heck even the Machado’s of the world.

Granted, we don’t know that anything like that never happened. It well could have, although usually when players only meetings occur in sports they’re publicized in the media. (This so fans get the message that the players are trying to do something to fix the problem.) Again, something along these lines could have happened, and it just wasn’t made public.

But let’s assume that it didn’t; why didn’t it? There was certainly a point very early on this season when it was obvious that something was going south, and perhaps an opportunity existed to right the ship. I can’t tell you what goes on in these meetings, because I’m not a player. I can’t even tell you how effective they are overall – because I’m not a player. However I tend to think that perhaps an opportunity was lost there if in fact there was nothing like that arranged. And if something did occur, it was ineffective.

And here’s another point; far too much is still being made about Showalter not using Zach Britton in the 2016 AL Wild Card game. Many fans point to that as the moment things started going south for the Orioles. Now seriously I want people to think about this; does it really make sense that Showalter’s decision in one game (albeit a big one) in October of 2016 is causing Chris Davis to strike out so much? Or errors in the field?

National media reports have said that players lost faith in Showalter after that. I maintain that had I been Showalter I would have considered the same move. What if you get the lead later in the game and you need your closer but he’s already been used? Obviously hindsight is 20/20, but at the time I didn’t feel it was the worst thing.

That aside, if one decision in one game forces players to lose faith in a manager who’s done more for this franchise than anyone else in recent history, I’m not sure what to say. It comes off as a little fickle to me. Furthermore let’s say that they have lost faith in Showalter. Again, is that in and of itself causing strikeouts and errors? Are guys purposely goofing off in a sense BECAUSE of Showalter?

The answer to that has to be no. Even if faith was lost in their leader, I think these guys are still professionals. They still play with pride in a sense, and are doing everything they can to win games. For whatever reason, they’re just falling short.

The O’s will try to salvage one game in this series in the finale this afternoon at Target Field. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Jake Odorizzi. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.