Baltimore Orioles: Somebody paid

Buck Showalter has often said that eventually somebody’s going to pay, when things would go south for the Baltimore Orioles. This evening, and in reality in this series, somebody finally paid. That somebody was Kansas City. People will point to the first game, in which Kansas City bludgeoned the Birds. But last I checked two-of-three is winning a series.

But at first it appeared that the O’s would drop two-of-three, after Chris Tillman‘s lackluster start. Tillman’s line: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 6 R (5 earned), 3 BB, 0 K. Tillman loaded the bases and gave up a grand slam to Perez in the first inning. And again, following that and following Soler’s two-RBI single in the second, it appeared that it was over for the Orioles.

But the fact is that these Birds battled back. Adam Jones‘ RBI-double in the last of the first cut the lead to 4-1. Manny Machado would later smack a two-run homer, cutting the lead to 4-3. However as I said above, Kansas City would put two more runs up, chasing Tillman.

And the big question surrounding the Orioles now is what to do with Chris Tillman. My personal opinion is that they’ve reached a point where they can’t continue to keep giving him starts. So what next? To the bullpen? Do they DFA him? Does Miguel Castro (who was outstanding in relief and qualified for the win) take his rotation spot? These are all questions that the Orioles will need to answer for themselves. And quickly, at that.

But the O’s weren’t going to be outdone on this night, or in this series. Kansas City might well have taken it to these Birds in game one, but this was the Orioles’ time to shine. Someone was eventually going to pay for what’s been going on. And it ended up being Kansas City.

Adam Jones smacked a two-run homer in the third inning, bringing the Birds to within one. One inning later the O’s had runners at the corners with one out and Chance Sisco coming to the plate. Sisco was sitting on a slider, with the idea being that the pitcher would have wanted him to put it on the ground. Instead, he got a fastball – and he jumped on it in the form of knocking an RBI-double.

That gave the Orioles the lead, but they weren’t done yet. Trey Mancini‘s two-run homer later in that fourth inning, giving the O’s a 9-6 lead. Santander would add an RBI-single in the fifth, and Schoop one of his own in the sixth. When the dust settled, the final score was 11-6.

Offensively the Birds put 14 hits on the board. They also went 6-for-7 with runners in scoring position. Those are two very important stats to keep in mind. Oriole bats came alive, and they picked their teammates up when they got into scoring position. And again defensively, Miguel Castro really picked the Birds and Tillman up.

Again, do Castro and Tillman perhaps switch roles? The Orioles are disappointed in Tillman’s output at this point, and again in my personal view they’ve reached a point where they can no longer allow him to take the ball every fifth day. What happens moving forward is anyone’s guess.

Tomorrow the O’s open up a weekend series at Camden Yards with Tampa, which includes a doubleheader on Saturday. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jake Faria. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles surge to victory on the bat of Mark Trumbo

For the first time in 2018 we saw the Baltimore Orioles of old tonight. Guys made valiant efforts to catch balls, which landed in their gloves (as opposed to bouncing past). Pitchers made their pitches and hit their marks. And the bats came through in the clutch when they were needed most.

Andrew Cashner is still looking for his first win at Camden Yards, after getting non-decisioned. Cashner’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K. Cashner pitched to a quality start, which certainly vouches for something. He made a mistake on one pitch, on which Duda smacked a two-run homer in the fourth, giving Kansas City a 2-0 lead.

To that point, we had seen a pitching duel. However as can happen, that one moment opened the floodgates. To a point, that is. Chris Davis came with runners at the corners and two outs. As late as yesterday, Davis probably would have struck out or popped out. But not tonight – he smacked a three-run homer to left field, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

And perhaps the biggest key there is that Davis went the opposite way. When sluggers start doing that you know they’re starting to come out of a slump. The Orioles can only hope so much with Davis.

However unfortunately the O’s would leave runners in scoring position in the fifth, which almost came back to haunt them. Kansas City would tie it in the sixth on Duda’s RBI-single. It appeared to be more of the same for the Orioles; they leave ducks on the pond, and the opponent takes advantage. However Cashner pitched them out of the inning, preserving the tie.

The O’s would put two runners on once again in the last of the eighth with two outs. That brought Mark Trumbo to the plate with first base open. With Davis on deck and a base open, Kansas City opted to pitch to Trumbo. And for once a move not made haunted the opposition, as Trumbo’s two-RBI single up the middle put the Birds in the driver’s seat for good, and they went on to a 5-3 victory.

The win snapped a seven-game losing streak, but more importantly perhaps gave the Orioles some confidence. You’re only as good as your next day’s starter, and tonight that was a good thing for the Birds. They need to take that into tomorrow so as to get on another type of streak: a winning streak.

The Orioles will conclude the series with Kansas City tomorrow evening at Camden Yards. Chris Tillman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Ian Kennedy. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Should Dan Duquette be making deals?

Here’s an interesting take regarding Dan Duquette that Baltimore Orioles fans should consider; should he be making trades? As we know, Duquette’s contract is up at the end of the season. Most fans and writers alike agree that odds of Duquette getting a contract extension are slim. However regardless of that, he’s a lame duck (unless or until he gets a new contract).

The trade talk regarding Manny Machado and others has heated up the past couple of weeks. But…do fans really want Duquette making that decision? As a lame duck, one might question the motives behind what he’s doing, or how he’s doing it. Am I suggesting that Duquette would do anything shady or that he operates in a shady manner? Not in the least. But the potential for something unfortunate to happen is there.

Could you imagine what would happen if the Orioles made a trade with say the Los Angeles Dodgers, and then Duquette turned around and signed on in their front office next year? You could have the semblance of collusion, tampering, or something else. You also could have a situation in which someone (Dan Duquette in this instance) becomes a victim of circumstance after doing something very innocent.

Dan Duquette may be a lot of things, but he’s never done anything that would make anyone distrust him. So I don’t think that anything along these lines to occur. All I’m saying is that it could.

And this should be a lesson to John & Lou Angelos. Just to be clear, I respect the fact that Peter Angelos and the Angelos family has not only held people to their contracts, but not let them go unless it was absolutely necessary. People can say what they wish about the Angelos’ management style. But I do respect people who honor their commitments.

Now with that said, the act of allowing a GM to go into the season as a lame duck doesn’t work in sports. It allows for scenario’s like I described above to come into play. Now in fairness, John & Lou Angelos just took over management of the team from their father, Peter. This was back in January. So for all we know the decision to have Duquette serve as a lame duck wasn’t theirs.

What should have happened was that they decided last year whether to extend Duquette or move on. Would that have potentially meant firing him? Yes. But if the goal is to win, the organization is severely handicapped right now on that front. Perhaps next time around things will be different.

Baltimore Orioles: Is Dylan Bundy injured?

Dylan Bundy gave the Baltimore Orioles perhaps the most lackluster start of his career this evening. Bundy’s line: 0.0 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 0 K. You didn’t read that incorrectly, and I didn’t make a mistake in writing it. Bundy was credited with no part of an inning. He departed after giving up seven runs on four homers.

So to review, the Birds trailed 7-0 before they even recorded an out in the game. The first out was recorded by reliever Mike Wright, who was brought in with nobody out. And if there’s one silver lining on this game, it’s Wright’s performance. He gave up a few runs, however he stablized things just a bit for the O’s. Well, that might be a bit strong of a term. Let’s say he settled things just a bit. Wright’s line: 4.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 1 K.

Chris Davis provided for the Orioles’ lone run of the game until the end, on a solo homer in the second inning. Danny Valencia and Caleb Joseph would add solo shots in the last of the eighth, Schoop a two-RBI double along with a few other runs in the ninth as well. However this was also the third consecutive poor start for Bundy. Now I always say that pitchers will have about ten poor starts a year. However the fact that he’s seemingly fallen so far so fast is something that makes one raised an eyebrow.

Bundy was topping out on his fastball this evening in the high 80’s. Bundy isn’t a flame thrower by any means, however he usually has a bit more velocity than that. In general, Bundy’s what one might call a finesse pitcher, who either pitches-to-contact or fools hitters with late movement and deception. That obviously didn’t happen tonight, and it hasn’t happened for a few weeks.

So my question is whether or not Bundy’s 100% healthy. The consecutive poor starts you can almost overlook – those things are going to happen. But the down tick in velocity combined with the poor starts kind of jumps out at you. Keep in mind that this is a guy who’s already had Tommy John surgery. Not that it should mean anything, but he’s already had it.

My point would be that it might do the Orioles well to have Bundy examined in some manner, because it wouldn’t hurt to ensure that he’s pitching with a full deck. Because the other issue could then become that it’s a mechanical issue. So pick your poison. Ultimately there’s something going on, because Bundy this evening became the first pitcher in the live ball era (1920-present) to give up four homers and not record an out in the first inning of a game.

When the dust settled in this game Kansas City beat the Orioles 15-7. Now mind you, this isn’t scientific – I’m going squarely based on seeing the game and analyzing this team for quite a few years. However a vast majority of the Kansas City runs (or “big moments”) came on two-strike counts. Many of the homers and even the base hits that came before the homers carried two-strike counts.

This has been a problem for the Orioles for some time. It dates back at least to 2016 – again based on my perception of the games. It’s something we saw at times in Spring Training as well. In fact, I wrote about it in Spring Training. The Orioles just can’t seem to get guys out with two strikes.

I can’t tell you what the issue is. Are the Orioles just very predictable in terms of their pitch selections and locations? Is someone stealing signs? Or is it simply a grand coincidence? Any one of those scenarios is possible – as are others. But perhaps it’s something that should be looked into. Surely if there’s a pattern and/or if something’s happening that’s tipping pitches, if opponents are able to pick up on it the Orioles’ coaches would be also.

The series continues tomorrow evening at Camden Yards as the O’s try to get even. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Eric Skoglund. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Jonathan Schoop to return tonight

The Baltimore Orioles begin a nine-game home stand this evening against Kansas City. And with the home winds comes a welcome re-addition to the club: second baseman Jonathan Schoop. Schoop is expected to come off the DL for this evening’s game, requiring a roster move. If I were a betting man I’d go with Engelb Vielma being optioned back to the minors.

There can be no question that the Orioles have missed Schoop across the board. The infield defense suffered big time in his absence. And his bat has been missed as well in the lineup, and the hope is that it’s presence now helps to streamline the offense just a bit. The Birds aren’t as far away as people want to believe. A base knock here or a homer there – and some of these games might look a little different. The hope is that Schoop provides that type of spark.

It’s still unclear as to whether there will be any personnel changes in the organization before tonight’s game. I was under the impression that if they were going to do anything it would have happened yesterday. But obviously nothing happened. But if anything happens today, stay tuned to my twitter feed, @DomenicVadala, as well as to Birdland Crush for updates.

The series with Kansas City opens this evening at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy will try to get back on track for the O’s in the starting rotation, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Danny Duffy. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Does an aspect of MLB’s collective bargaining agreement hurt team’s chances?

I’m inviting readership to take a break from the doom and gloom of the beginning of the Baltimore Orioles’ season for a moment. Trust me folks, if anything breaks regarding personnel moves from the team, you’ll hear them here. So be ready!

Baseball contracts are famously guaranteed. Many of you have tweeted me and commented ad hoc about how the Orioles should release this guy or DFA that one over the years – currently I’m hearing that a lot about Chris Davis. And those comments are always met with the same response from me: MLB contracts are guaranteed, so the Orioles would not only have to continue paying [insert player name], but any other team could claim him off of waivers – and the O’s would still be on the hook for his contract. 

Most of the time that shuts down the argument, although there are some who’ll suggest that paying the guy in question to play for someone else would be money well spent. But in general most people understand what a poor business model that would be. This actually worked to the Orioles’ favor one year, when in 2011 they acquired Julio Lugo towards the end of spring training. Lugo had been traded from the BoSox to St. Louis after being DFA’d, and then was subsequently DFA’d again and traded to the O’s. He played that season with the Birds and was on Boston’s payroll.

From a labor perspective I support the idea of guaranteed contracts. It’s akin to job security. I’d never want to see MLB go to a system such as the NFL, where if you get cut your contract is null and void. I think that’s unfair to the athlete – what’s the point of having a contract if a team can cut you and be done with it?

Obviously in the NFL you still have to abide by the salary cap, and if you cut someone his salary still counts against the cap for that year. However teams are basically forced to keep players who may end up being a dead weight on their books and on their roster. You’re using up a roster spot and spending money on someone who’s probably not helping your club. And it causes bad feelings all around, because usually the guy knows that rule’s the only reason he’s still there.

So what’s the alternative? Using the NFL’s model? No, I don’t think so. First off baseball doesn’t have a salary cap, so it wouldn’t work. (And that’s another story for another day.) However there is a happy medium. If a player gets DFA’d, I agree that his contract should still be guaranteed. So long as he’s a free agent, the original team should be on the hook for his salary.

However, if he gets claimed by another team, let them assume responsibility for the contract. That seems like common sense to me. It also makes teams think twice about whether or not they want to claim someone. That’s not to say that I ever see that happening, but hey you never know – right?!

Baltimore Orioles: Botched rundown equals another loss

The Baltimore Orioles seem poised to invent new ways to dodge wins on a daily basis. Today it was a botched rundown by Pedro Alvarez. Tomorrow or the next day it might be something else.

Alex Cobb pitched perhaps his best game as an Oriole, and he goes as a hard-luck loser. Cobb’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R (1 earned), 1 BB, 5 K. Cobb dealt all afternoon, and certainly pitched well enough to win the game. But again, the defense behind him failed him.

The Orioles actually had a lead for a period in this game, as the aforementioned Pedro Alvarez smacked a solo home run in the second inning. However it was his miscue at third base which gave the lead and the game to Oakland. This is not to say that Alvarez and Alvarez alone is responsible for this game – it’s always a team effort. However his mistake definitely stood out today.

Following a lead off double in the fourth, Cobb induced a comebacker to the mound, which could have had multiple outs written all over if for the O’s. The runner Joyce was caught between second and third, and for a brief moment it appeared that the O’s would nail the lead runner on the base paths. In fact, Joyce even stumbled at one point, appearing to make it even easier to tag him out…

…but that stumble appeared to throw off Pedro Alvarez. He went to throw the ball back to second base, and ended up air mailing it into right field. Everyone was safe, and with nobody down Oakland had two runners in scoring position. Davis would ground out to tie the game at one, and Olson’s RBI-double would give Oakland a 2-1 lead.

Pedro Alvarez is a professional and he made a bad mistake in this game. He’s the first to admit that – so while I have to report it like I see it, I can’t be too hard on him. Especially when he was responsible for the Orioles’ lone run in the game. However as a team, the Orioles need to be able to overcome that. Alvarez’s miscue doesn’t attest for why the O’s couldn’t get anyone on base again until the ninth inning. In fact, they had the tying run in scoring position – and couldn’t bring him home.

I used to say that it begins and ends with starting pitching. But as seemingly everything I say has been proven to be incorrect, why stop with that? The Orioles got GREAT starting pitching both last night and this afternoon. Cobb was great out there today, and he was rewarded for it with a loss. I maintain that it begins and ends with starting pitching, and that you’re only as good as your next day’s starter. However the fact is that even while beginning and ending with starting pitching, there’s always more to the story.

The Orioles also need to figure out what they’re going to do with Manny Machado. I’m never in favor of a true sell off, because I think it sends a bad message. But regardless of the Orioles’ record, everyone knows his contract status. The Los Angeles Dodgers have a need at shortstop, and it’ll exist for the remainder of the season – the term of Manny’s current contract. For all we know the parties are already talking; please don’t disregard that possibility.

But I think they need to seriously consider sending him to Los Angeles in the name of getting something for him now. Granted you don’t want to undersell him and get peanuts in return – which is why a trade hasn’t happened yet. But we saw today in the ninth inning one reason it should happen soon.

Oakland walked Machado with first base open to pitch to Davis. And it worked – but I digress. With Davis and others struggling, that’s going to start happening more often. Heck, in doing it today, Oakland put the go-ahead run on base. That means that Machado’s numbers might start to suffer a bit, dragging his value down.

Certainly there’ll be instances where teams will have to pitch to Machado, so he’ll have his opportunities. However they may be minimized a bit. So every out he records will count a little more. And if you wait for the trade deadline teams might look at his stats and justifiably want to offer less.

He’s also had a bit of a rough go at shortstop thus far this season. He’s only fielding at a .965 clip, with five errors. I’m the first one to say that’s partially due to him being rusty at short. So I believe he’ll play out of it. But trades are very much about what the player’s doing in the here and now, and what they can offer in the future. So the more mistakes pile up for Machado in the field, the more the Orioles risk having his value diminish.

Ideally they re-sign Machado to a long-term deal for next season. But the good news for them is that if they traded him at some point they might still have a shot at doing that (unless he signs an extension with his new team, but he’s already said he wants to test free agency). But ultimately right now, I think he’s more valuable to them on the trade market. And that trade should happen soon. Not because he means nothing to them, is disliked, or wouldn’t be missed by the fans and in the clubhouse; but because there’s a team out there who needs him, and should be willing to give the Orioles some prospects in return.

Baltimore Orioles: Are changes coming in Birdland?

As we wait for the Baltimore Orioles’ lineup in Oakland, it’s dawned on me that tomorrow is an off day for the Birds. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised – the schedule came out in September! Plus they’ll be going cross country to get home, so it’s only fair I suppose.

Given the way the season has started, it also provides a chance for the O’s to make changes if they want to. And no, I’m not talking about the lineup. (Although a roster move will have to be made at some point, as it’s expected that Jonathan Schoop will come off the DL on Tuesday.) I’m talking within the organization – perhaps even in the dugout.

Buck Showalter is the second-best manager in franchise history. (I’ll let you figure out who gets the top nod.) However more importantly, he presided over a re-birth in the franchise from top-to-bottom, and restored the civic pride in the team that had been lacking for awhile. Yet if I’m to believe the legions of people who tweet at me on a daily basis along with some of the commenters on this site (incidentally, many of who’s comments don’t get published due to their vulgar or mean-spirited nature), that goodwill has been rolled back in an instant.

Unequivocally, there’s NOBODY better to manage the Orioles than Buck Showalter. Take yourself back to circa 2006 or 2007. If I told you that Buck would one day manage the Orioles, would you not take that? It’s not just a matter of X’s and O’s, or on-field decisions. As he’s said many times, Buck “gets Baltimore.” And Baltimore truly is a place that you have to “get” in order to have success here. Ask John Harbaugh. Heck, on the flip side of that as Robert Irsay.

Yet, there’s a percentage of you who want Buck gone – and NOW. I remain on the record as saying that I think that would be a huge mistake. Is it something that could happen? Yes, for sure. But I think it would be a mistake. It’s one thing to punt out a manager who in essence had no credentials when he walked in the door – like the Orioles did with the likes of Mazzilli, Perlozzo, and Trembley. Or like Washington did with Matt Williams. But a manager as accomplished and tenured as Buck Showalter, who has the rapport with many of the current players that he does? That’s a stretch.

But yes folks, that could happen. I think much more realistically however you might see someone such as Scott Coolbaugh become the sacrificial lamb and get the ax. But even that might be a stretch, as Buck Showalter has a reputation for being intensely loyal, both to players and the coaches underneath him.

Obviously Dan Duquette is a guy who could be on the chopping block also. And it wouldn’t cost the Orioles much in the way or money to relieve him of his duties. Like Showalter, his contract’s up at the end of the year. Incidentally, Brady Anderson could fill either Duquette’s or Coolbaugh’s role for the rest of the season if need be. Perhaps even long term.

But going back to Showalter for a moment, as I said I think relieving him of his duties would be a huge mistake. But anytime a coach is on the hot seat in sports, my response is always what’s your plan to replace him? It might be one thing to fire a coach/manager towards the end of the season and let an assistant fill in for the rest of the way. But we’re still early in the season…

…the last time this situation came up in Baltimore was 2010. And I said the same thing; what’s the plan going forward to replace him? In that case it turned out that the Orioles had a plan: Buck Showalter. They had an interim manager for most of the summer while the T’s were crossed and I’s dotted with Buck, but he was the plan. So again to appease all of the folks who want a change in the manager’s office, what’s your plan?

Disregarding the fact that I personally believe Buck’s still the best guy to guide this franchise, there are three names out there who might be considered to be on par with him: John Farrell, Joe Girardi, and Dusty Baker. Two of those guys have won World Series’, and the other is very accomplished as a big league manager. Now many of you are going to say that the Orioles should start fresh and pick a young manager that’s up and coming. But…that sounds great until it doesn’t work. Ultimately it’s a roll of the dice.

When you hire a manager you want someone who’s going to walk into the clubhouse and have immediate street cred. That’s why Showalter was such a great hire in 2010. Any of the three names I mentioned above would also have that. But would someone’s bench coach, who while deserving of an opportunity in the big leagues, bring that type of attitude to a team? Probably not.

Changes may well come to this franchise, and it might be tomorrow. I just wouldn’t expect it to be in the form of a new manager. But if it were, Orioles fans should hope for someone with a resume similar to Buck’s. Anything less would be a downgrade. However I suspect that if change comes, it’ll come somewhere other than the manager’s office.

Baltimore Orioles fall in best start of Kevin Gausman’s career

Baltimore Orioles fans were treated to the best start of Kevin Gausman‘s career in Oakland last night. I can’t underestimate how good Gausman was last night. Heck, I’m not sure that his stat line itself does it justice. Gausman’s line: 9.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K.

And it’s interesting; Gausman does have one complete game in his career. He pitched a five inning victory in 2014 that was shortened due to rain. And it went as a complete game. Yet last night was the first time in his career that he had pitched nine innings. And make no mistake, Gausman deserved a better fate. There can be no question.

This was a strange game, and one in fact that the Orioles probably could have lost well before they did. Oakland appeared to hit into an inning-ending double-play in the third, however the trail runner was ruled safe at first base. It appeared from the naked eye that the runner was out, so the first issue was why was he ruled safe?

Replays seemed to show that the Orioles would win this challenge. The runners foot was in the air as the ball hit Kevin Gausman’s glove. Yet the runner was ruled safe for what the umpires in New York called a lack of indisputable evidence that the call on the field was incorrect. Oakland got an extra out, through no fault of the Orioles. But to Gausman’s credit, he immediately got them out of the inning instead of making it into a bigger problem.

But in the fourth inning Manny Machado was caught stealing second. As a result of the fact that the Orioles had used and lost their challenge, they couldn’t ask for instant replay. I’m not sure they would have won that challenge, but it still would have been nice to have had the option to use it.

Yet the Birds left 11 men on base and went 0-for-7 with RISP. So they had opportunities. They just couldn’t make the key hit or drive in the key run. All things being equal, one hit with a runner in scoring position would have given Gausman and the Orioles a win. And Gausman certainly deserved it. Unfortunately it was Oakland who got that big hit, and it came in the form of a walk off two-run homer by Davis in the last of the twelfth.

That homer came off of Pedro Araujo, who was called on to pitch the twelfth. And Buck Showalter addressed after the game why he had a Rule 5 pick in the game at that key moment (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Darren (O’Day) is down, (Miguel) Castro’s down, (Brad) Brach. Richard’s been in three of the last four days. We get a lot of those short starts. We had our chances to win that game in nine, 10 innings.

“The only way I was going to use Richard potentially was if we went ahead and I was hoping we had enough lead we didn’t have to do that, but it just didn’t materialize. But we get some of the short starts, we get into a situation like this. But we had a lot of chances, not many, but some chances to push across a run if we get a big two-out knock, but I just feel for Gaus. That’s about as good as you can see a starting pitcher pitch.

So having to use multiple relievers early in games back in Anaheim did in fact affect this game. Even still, a lot of fans probably question having a Rule 5 pick in the game in that spot. It’s a fair question to ask, however Showalter’s reasoning is also sound.

Perhaps a bigger concern than the loss was Adam Jones being hit on the wrist late in the game. Jones was in obvious pain, and Showalter announced after the game that he would undergo an X-ray as a precautionary measure. The Orioles hope it’s just sore, but don’t be surprised to see Jones out of the lineup today.

The O’s will try to salvage a win this afternoon at the Oakland Coliseum. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Andrew Triggs. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles allow a first inning error to derail game

Teams are getting fat off of the Baltimore Orioles. In this case it was a first inning error charged to Jace Peterson – but in reality should have been in Manny Machado‘s column. But one way or the other, one mistake a game shouldn’t decide. Yet that’s what’s going on with the 2018 Orioles.

Andrew Cashner actually didn’t pitch that poorly, despite what his stats say. Cashner’s line: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R (3 earned), 3 BB,  5 K. However what can ultimately happen when you allow a statistical or in-game oddity dictate the terms of your season is that things aren’t allowed to be what they seem. After a rough first inning, Cashner really settled in.

Adam Jones, playing in his 1500th game as an Oriole, actually gave the Birds a brief lead with a solo homer in the first inning. Of course Cashner didn’t do himself any favors by walking the lead off batter. But the best way to combat a walk is by inducing a ground ball double-play to the next hitter. And to his credit, Cashner appeared to do that…

…until a faux pas made it so that he didn’t do it. The next hitter (Semien) grounded the ball to Manny Machado at short, beginning what would have been a text book double-play, leaving Oakland with two outs in the first inning and nobody on. However when Machado tossed the ball to Jace Peterson he did so to his hand side; on top of that, the ball was wide of Peterson. In short instead of two outs and the bases empty, Oakland had no outs and runners on first and second.

Cashner did induce a pop up for an out on the next hitter, which all things being equal would have been the end of the inning. That brought Davis to the plate, who smacked a three-run homer, giving Oakland a 3-1 lead. On top of that Olson’s solo home run ran it to 4-1.

But the sixth inning put the Birds back in the game. RBI-singles by Chris Davis, Mark Trumbo, and Danny Valencia got Cashner off the hook. And that’s the silver lining in this game. The O’s made a good run of it, showing that they can plate runs. However Oakland took the lead back in the last of that sixth inning on a Lowrie RBI-single. Semien would add one of his own in the eighth, leaving the Birds with a 6-4 loss.

All wins and losses are team efforts. I don’t want to be overly critical on Peterson or Machado, because you have to overcome errors like that. Especially that early in the game. And in some manner they did overcome it, by coming back and tying the game.

However as I said above, all things being the same Cashner gets the Orioles out of that inning unscathed. That’s always a tough argument to make because it’s almost unfair to hypothetically change one thing about the inning and not others. But you get the point. The two guys who homered wouldn’t have even come up in that inning.

The stat line says that only one of those runs were unearned. (And for the record it was the run scored by the lead runner – you can never assume the double-play.) However in reality none of those runs should have crossed. The Orioles are allowing their mistakes to dictate who they are and what they are becoming. Normally you can almost laugh off a first inning error and say that there’s a lot more game to be played. But the O’s are allowing it to become not a part of their identity, but they’re allowing it TO BE their identity.

The series continues this evening at the Oakland Coliseum. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Trevor Cahill. Game time is set for just after 9 PM.