Baltimore Orioles: What exactly is the root of the problem?

You’re only as good as your next day’s starter; and Chris Tillman wasn’t very good last night for the Baltimore Orioles. Tillman’s line: 1.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 0 K. There were times it appeared Tillman wasn’t going to make it out of the first inning, in which he surrendered five runs. Tillman’s issue last night was throwing strikes; the only pitch he was able to get in the zone was his slider. And that was always on the outer part of the plate.

What to do with Tillman is an interesting question. If you listen to some fans talk, he should be DFA’d. But that’s no easy decision to make when you’re on the hook for his salary for the season, and he’d probably end up on another team. The bullpen also remains a possibility – perhaps you swap Tillman and Mike Wright. Ultimately the O’s don’t have to decide that now, as they have an off day on Monday. In theory they could just skip Tillman next time through the rotation.

Anaheim kept the pressure on, smacking hit after hit, and drawing base runners in anyway possible. The universe seems hellbent on teaching the Orioles that putting people on base is the name of the game – not hitting home runs. The Birds had eight hits last night, but they could only get three runners home. Manny Machado and Chris Davis had RBI-singles in the sixth, and Machado also plated a run by another RBI-single in the eighth.

But what exactly is going on with this team? There were times as late as last summer where they looked unstoppable – dating back to 2012. The likes of Adam Jones, Chris Davis, Manny Machado, and Chris Tillman have been together for that amount of time. And there are others mixed in who have been here perhaps not quite as long but quite a few years. Again, what gives?

There are fans out there who are of the belief that we’re seeing the real Orioles now, and that they were pretenders all of that time. People have to be smart enough to realize that’s not the case. This was a good team for a great many years. Let’s put it this way; a diamond ring doesn’t turn brass overnight.

Are there problems in the clubhouse? Could be, but this is still a very tight-knit group. Part of it is injuries, which have done the Orioles no favors. Losing Jonathan Schoop (who begins a rehab assignment at double-A Bowie this weekend and could be activated on Tuesday) hurt their infield defense and their hitting. And obviously losing Zach Britton to a freak injury in the off season has affected the bullpen. And don’t underestimate the loss (both on the field and psychological) of J.J. Hardy. That plays a factor as well.

And there are other factors as well. I would submit that while signing Alex Cobb in spring training was a good move, there was also a mistake wrapped into that as well. They signed Cobb too late. He got into no games during Grapefruit League play, which has affected his play thus far early in the season. The same is true to a lesser degree with Andrew Cashner, who signed once camp had already begun.

However that aside, tried, true, and proven talent that’s regressing well beyond the mean. And it boggles the mind in a sense. This team was no-hit through five innings by a guy making his third big league start last night. Surely one would think that they could have done better than that. Yet they couldn’t. So what’s wrong with this team? Beats the heck out of me.

The O’s now head north up the California coastline to open up a three-game set in Oakland. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Oakland’s Daniel Mengden. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Dylan Bundy struggles but small stones knock Birds from the sky

Dylan Bundy actually had a better start for the Baltimore Orioles last night in Anaheim – as opposed to his previous start. Bundy’s line: 4.1 IP, 7 H, 7 R (5 earned), 1 BB, 4 K. Bundy was pitching-to-contact all night. And the issue of course was that Anaheim hitters were making contact. Starting with first inning solo homers by Trout and Pujols. This on the heels of a Manny Machado sac fly-RBI which gave the O’s a 1-0 lead in the first.

The job of a starter is to put his team in a position to win. Bundy didn’t necessarily do that last night, however even his three homers surrendered aren’t what killed the O’s last night. It was small mistakes here and there. If you look at the final stat line I posted for Bundy above, you’ll notice that includes two unearned runs. Those made a difference.

Ohtani reached in the fourth on a fielding error by Chris Davis. (Who for the record, later atoned for his mistake with a diving stop of a grounder bound for the right field corner.) Ohtani was doubled home by Simmons, who went to third base on a Machado throwing error. Simmons would later score on the aforementioned grounder that was stopped by Davis – it yielded a run, but it saved the Orioles a further base runner. (Point being that even when he looks fallible, Davis is still an asset in the field.)

Those were two runs that didn’t help matters. Meanwhile the Orioles couldn’t seem to convert any opportunities (such as walks or base hits) into runs. In the fifth they had runners at the corners, and ended up with a strikeout and a GIDP. It’s moments like that which matter in games. If you take away the unearned runs presuming the errors don’t occur and the O’s plate even one run in that fifth inning sequence, that’s two runs saved and one gained – for a total of three runs.

Later in that fifth inning Upton’s two-run homer would chase Bundy from the game, but Anaheim would keep the pressure on. When the smoke cleared, they had totaled ten runs. Add on a Machado RBI-ground out in the eighth, and you have the Birds trailing 10-2 going to the ninth inning.

But keep in mind what I said above. If the O’s can plate a run in a golden opportunity in the fifth and the aforementioned errors don’t happen, it’s 8-3. Oriole bats came alive in the ninth inning, and actually made a run of things. Not a true run because of how far behind they were, but they put up a very respectable inning.

Chris Davis’ RBI-single cut the lead to 10-3, leaving the bases loaded and nobody out. Jace Peterson‘s bases-clearing triple cranked up the heat a bit, cutting the Anaheim lead to 10-6. Trey Mancini would add a sac fly-RBI before it was said and done, leaving the Birds with a 10-7 loss. Ultimately it doesn’t matter if you lose by three or eight – you still lose.

But again think back to the opportunities squandered and the run-yielding errors. Removing those things, all things being equal the game is tied at eight and it goes to extra innings. Heck, if the O’s are able to score both runners in that fifth inning sequence, they’d have the lead going to the last of the ninth.

The Orioles have always been a big picture type of team. They’ve always looked at it from the perspective that little things can be let go if you’re able to overcome them later. But at this point in time, the Birds aren’t able to overcome them. That’s why Simmons’ run-scoring double mentioned above didn’t find Trey Mancini’s glove despite his best efforts. And that’s why similarly hit balls find the gloves of opposing players. They’re looking to make those small plays that don’t show up in the box score…

…and perhaps the Orioles aren’t. You can excuse an error because you have a shot at getting the guy out a moment later with a ground ball double-play. But that’s not happening – instead either the next hitter is reaching on a base hit, or he blows down the line and is called safe at first base (staying out of the double-play).

The Orioles aren’t looking for that base hit with a runner on third, or even for a walk. They’re looking for the big blow. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but opposing teams are taking advantage of their aggressiveness. Whereas the O’s are sitting on fastballs, pitchers are throwing pitches that look like fastballs – and which eventually sweep low-and-away, or have the bottoms fall out from underneath them. These things need to change if the Orioles are going to improve this season.

The series in Anaheim concludes this evening from Angels stadium. Chris Tillman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Jamie Barria – who’s going to be called up from triple-A to make the start. (What could go wrong there?) Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall late, possibly lose Chance Sisco

The Baltimore Orioles battled hard late last night (or this morning) in Anaheim, but ended up falling in the last of the ninth inning. However the immediate concern after the game and still now is the condition of backup catcher, Chance Sisco. He was injured when he collided with third baseman Pedro Alvarez while the two attempted to field a foul pop. Sisco in essence was “clothes lined,” to borrow a term from football. He was later diagnosed with a facial contusion.

While this goes as a loss, it’s not a bad loss per se. There were some bright spots, most notably starting pitcher Alex Cobb, who turned in his best outing of the season. Cobb’s line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 2 K. With the exception of a Simmons RBI-double and a Valbuena solo homer in the sixth, Cobb mowed Anaheim batters down, earning a quality start.

The aforementioned Anaheim runs gave them a 2-0 lead, which they held into the ninth inning. However Oriole bats, which to that point had produced one (first inning) hit, came to life and made a game of it. Manny Machado‘s RBI-double cut the lead to 2-1. That brought Adam Jones to the plate, and his RBI-single tied the game at two.

Again, Oriole bats were quite over most of the game. But they came alive when they needed to come alive, which was good to see. Unfortunately, Upton’s RBI-single in the last of the ninth off of Brad Brach won it for Anaheim. Brach on the Upton at-bat (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

I threw two really good sliders to him. Tried to throw a third good one and overthrew it and left it up in the zone. A mistake you can’t make. You have to make him chase it and make your pitch. It’s extremely frustrating. The team deserves better.

My question would be why would you throw three straight sliders? Most pitchers won’t throw the same pitch thrice consecutively. I’m no pitching expert, and the fact is that Brad Brach is – in the sense that he’s a big league pitcher. But it was obvious he was waiting for that hanging slider.

Again however, the bigger issue for the O’s right now is Sisco’s condition. The Birds are expected to re-evaluate Sisco today, and will make a roster move if he’s unavailable off the bench. Showalter on Sisco’s injury (quote courtesy of Brittany Ghiroli, mlb.com):

He got more of it on his nose more than anything. You know, when you have a real hard blow and your eyes tear up. Right now, he’s not showing any concussion symptoms at all, so what we’ll do is make some possible plans in case he has something [happen]. We’ll give him a call tomorrow morning and make sure that nothing has cropped up. That way we can [call up] a catcher if we have to.

The series continues late this evening in Anaheim. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Andrew Heaney. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Manny Machado needs to be in Dodger Blue

The Baltimore Orioles this evening will open up a three-game set out on the west coast against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim – known by my generation as the California Angels. In past years the O’s have mostly gotten their entire west coast swing out in one fatal swoop. However they’ll return to the Pacific Time Zone in early September to visit Seattle.

However the big news out of Los Angeles overnight regarded the Angels’ crosstown rival – the Los Angeles Dodgers placed SS Corey Seager on the DL, pending Tommy John surgery. Seager will miss the rest of the season, and perhaps the beginning of next year. Often times guys can be out for the better part of a year after having that procedure.

The Orioles of course have a shortstop in Manny Machado, who’s been the speculation of trade rumors here and there. And the fact that the Orioles have started slowly this year have fueled speculation that the team could deal Machado and others. So with Seager on ice, would the boys in Dodger Blue be a good trade partner for the Orioles?

The answer to that question is unmistakably YES. The Los Angeles Dodgers in fact have a fairly deep farm system, chock full of prospects that would interest any team. Gifts don’t fall in your lap very often, especially when you’re the Orioles. So I would submit that the O’s should take advantage of this and call the Dodgers if they already haven’t spoken.

In using the term gift, I literally mean a gift. The conventional wisdom is that a trade partner may not want to give up too much for a guy like Machado who in essence would be a rental. But the Dodgers literally have a need, and that need is RIGHT NOW. And it’ll be for the remainder of the season. That’s a variable that no other team in the league can match. And odds are it’ll drive the price for Machado back up to what the Orioles might expect.

The Dodgers’ farm system is deep with pitching, which as we know is something of which you can never have too much. Their top prospect is a 23-year old RHP named Walker Buehler, who’s posted a 3.35 ERA following Tommy John surgery, and who can get his fastball up to the 98-100 MPH range. They also have prospects who look to be solid big league starters named Mitchell White, and Yadier Alvarez – one of whom could be in play in trade conversations as well.

The idea of trading Machado has never been about buying or selling in terms of this year. It’s always been about getting someone for a guy who’s contract’s expiring. Trading Machado wouldn’t be punting the season – per se. It would be re-loading the organization with talent that could help them down the line.

So I’m saying that this needs to happen. As early perhaps as today. Los Angeles is a team that’s been rumored to be in on the Machado sweepstakes anyways – if he isn’t going to stay in Baltimore, the Orioles I’m sure would be interested in him landing outside of the AL East. Chavez Ravine would be an ideal spot.

Of course for the Orioles that would mean a bit of re-shuffling players in the immediate interim. I think that Pedro Alvarez has been playing a solid enough third base to warrant keeping him there for now. When he returns from injury, Tim Beckham could slide right back into the SS spot, which is much more natural to him than third base. The Orioles also have Ruben Tejada at Norfolk who they could call up to play shortstop for the time being. Not to mention Jace Peterson. And going back to the hot corner for a moment, don’t forget about Chris Davis, who plays a solid third base as well.

So the Orioles have some options. This almost makes too much sense not to do if you’re them. Would those set-ups totally replace Machado? Of course not – he’s too great a player to replace totally. But could they get away with that type of set-up? Yes. While the Dodgers are in Arizona starting tonight, the fact that the Orioles are in Anaheim would make this an easy transition for all as well.

The series in L.A. begins tonight at Angels Stadium. Alex Cobb gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Los Angeles’ Nick Tropeano. Game time is set for just after 10 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Too much preparation?

As we know by now, Pedro Alvarez started at third base in yesterday’s game with about twenty minutes’ notice due to an injury. Those types of things happen, and they happen across all sports. The good news is that Alvarez was ready to go, both defensively and offensively.

The results say that Alvarez was ready to go. But that’s the job of any professional athlete. I suspect that Alvarez knew he wouldn’t be in the (original) lineup yesterday well before that lineup was posted for the media. In the back of his head, he probably knew there was a good chance he might pinch-hit late in the game, but that for the most part he’d be on the bench watching.

And that’s especially true with the Orioles facing a southpaw yesterday. But is it not possible that part of the issue with streaks like those is that it gets into the player’s head? Alvarez nary had time to think or breath before taking the field yesterday. He just “acted” when the team needed him.

So the question on a bigger scale is whether or not we have so many numbers and are now so prepared that in effect we fail. That’s a tough question for me to ask, because I pride myself in my own attention to detail, and care that I put into doing something. But in effect, can you get so close to the forest that you can’t smell the trees?

Maybe I’m doing a poor job of getting to the point; but in essence, if you just act as opposed to thinking, are you possibly more prone to success? Basically, are your chances of success better if you just fly by the seat of your pants? Speaking for myself, I hope not – because I believe in strong preparation and attention to detail. But anything’s possible.

Baltimore Orioles: Pedro Alvarez lifts Birds in game, series against Detroit

Pedro Alvarez wrote the closing chapter of today’s Baltimore Orioles game with his bat. Subsequently, he also wrote the closing chapter of this weekend series with Detroit, and the just-completed home stand. While said home stand will go as a disappointment, the way that it ended should give Orioles fans a sliver of hope – albeit a small sliver.

Perhaps the most interesting part of Alvarez’s two home run day was the fact that he wasn’t supposed to have been in the lineup to begin with. Danny Valencia was scratched about twenty minutes before game time with a sore hamstring. Enter Alvarez, who ended up with a rare start against a southpaw (Detroit’s Norris, who ended up leaving the game in the third inning with an injury himself). And boy did he take advantage of the opportunity that he was given.

But first off, we all know that it begins and ends with starting pitching. Kevin Gausman was solid, but he had to labor to put out the batters he put out. Gausman’s line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 4 K. The Birds would like their starters to go deeper than Gausman did today, however that was high a high pitch count more than anything else.

Luckily for Gausman however, the O’s gave him a lead early and they never looked back. Trey Mancini led the game off with a solo homer, and before the crowd had even settled the O’s led 1-0. One inning later Alvarez stepped to the plate with a runner on base, and he sent a deep liner to center, which gave the O’s a 3-0 lead after clearing the wall.

Again while the O’s led the entire way, Detroit did threaten. Hicks’ solo homer in the fifth cut the Orioles’ lead to 3-1. However on this day at least, the O’s seemed to understand that the opponent was coming for them if they weren’t careful. In other words, they added on a couple of insurance runs at the end. Gentry’s RBI-single in the sixth ran the score to 4-1…and it’s a good thing that it did. Because back-to-back Detroit RBI-doubles in the seventh cut the Orioles’ lead to one at 4-3.

The O’s still held the lead. But it was precarious at best. The grandstand seemed packed chock full of fans who already had a loss plastered on their faces. And understandably so, as they had seen this movie several times this season. The O’s battled hard in a game, and ended up losing it at the end because they couldn’t plate any insurance runs and the opponent decided to be pesky and not give up. The game was basically over in a lot of people’s minds…

…but again, enter Pedro Alvarez. He sent a deep pop fly towards the out-of-town scoreboard in right field. The ball never really stopped carrying, and just made it over the scoreboard to count as a solo homer. Whereas Detroit had seemingly taken a bit of momentum with their two previous runs, the Orioles this time said NOT TODAY! The Orioles’ bullpen was also able to finish the job, and the Birds took home a 5-3 victory.

Make no mistake about the fact that this was a big win. If the Orioles are going to get back into the race, they have to start somewhere. This was a tough home stand, but it concluded on a very positive note with the Birds not only winning the finale, but with them also winning their first home series of the year.

The O’s, off their eighth win of the season, will have a day off tomorrow and then Tuesday they’ll open up a three-game set in Anaheim. All-in-all, that opens a six-game road swing through Anaheim and Oakland. Joining the Orioles in Anaheim will be Mark Trumbo, who’s expected to come off the DL and make his season debut on Tuesday.

Baltimore Orioles: Command issues hurt Andrew Cashner

Andrew Cashner‘s had a tough go in his first month as a member of the Baltimore Orioles. He’s had a tough go of things, and in fact that trend continued last night against Detroit. Cashner’s line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 7 R (6 earned), 3 BB, 4 K.

Cashner suffered from command issues in last night’s game, which had the Orioles playing catch-up literally from the beginning. Cashner gave up an RBI-single in the first inning. One inning later Martin’s RBI-single ran the tally to 2-0, which was followed up by a Cabrera three-run home run. And before we knew it, the Birds trailed 5-0.

Cashner was throwing strikes. If anything he was getting too much of the plate with his pitches. And that can be as big of a problem as not catching the plate. Because if you’re catching too much of it, you’re going to get hammered. Buck Showalter on Cashner (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Just, you could see the very first hitter, that’s something that’s not very characteristic of him. His command. He just didn’t have a good feel for it. He’s trying to go off the plate and almost bounced a breaking ball I think to Cabrera and kind of centers it up a little bit. Just never really got into sync, so to speak. He’s been pitching so well for us for the most part. I know that’s frustrating for him.

Detroit would plate two more runs in the fourth and one in the seventh, but the O’s would start a comeback attempt in the fifth on Gentry’s RBI-groundout. However it was the last of the seventh which really put them in business. The Birds would load the bases with one out, and Chance Sisco was hit by a pitch – scoring a run. Jace Peterson would then walk, netting another run. And Manny Machado‘s two-RBI single would bring the O’s to within 8-5. However Martinez would smack a solo homer in the top of the ninth, giving Detroit an insurance run and an eventual 9-5 win.

As Buck Showalter says all the time, sometimes you just have to tip your cap to the other side. Detroit starter Liriano was really good last night. And that’s a quality that a lot of Oriole opponents have shown this month. The question is whether or not opposing starters have been good BECAUSE of the Orioles, of if they’ve just been really good. I suppose it matters how you want to look at it.

The O’s will have a shot to win the series in the finale this afternoon at Camden Yards. Kevin Gausman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Daniel Norris. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: El Toro looked bullish on Tillman Island

This was the game for which the Baltimore Orioles had seemingly waited all year. The Birds got multiple homers from Pedro Alvarez, and Chris Tillman was about as cool a customer as was humanely possible. Tillman’s line: 7.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

That type of game should give a morale boost to a clubhouse that’s been reeling of late. And one that got a tongue-lashing from manager Buck Showalter earlier this week at that. In all phases of the game, the Birds put everything together tonight. And it came at a moment when something like that was desperately needed.

This was looking to be a good night for the Birds from the outset, when Manny Machado smacked a solo homer in the first inning to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. And this was one of those games whereby had the scoring ended right there, that would have been fine. Because all things being equal (which is always a tough argument to make), Detroit put zero runs across in the game.

The O’s held that 1-0 lead until the last of the fifth when Alvarez smacked a solo shot of his own, extending the lead to 2-0. One inning later newly acquired Jace Peterson‘s RBI-double left it at 3-0, and an inning after that Alvarez smacked his second homer of the game, this one of the two-run variety.

Machado would add an RBI-single in the eighth to round out the scoring at 6-0. It’s unclear however what or who should be the big story of the game. You have Alvarez and his two dingers, or you have Tillman. Ultimately this was a good team win across the board. Everyone who was in the lineup participated, and played a role. And that’s how all wins should be.

The Birds snapped a five-game losing streak with this win, however mind you that this team has been here before. One week ago tonight the Birds snapped a losing streak, and then immediately began another one – which just ended tonight. They need to now play off of this win, and bring it forward into tomorrow. The idea being to now start a winning streak of some sort.

Incidentally this was probably Chris Tillman’s best performance in over a year. It was better than any game he pitched last year. It was also noteworthy because the O’s avoided using the likes of O’Day or Brach, both of whom worked last night in a losing effort.

The series with Detroit continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Andrew Cashner gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Francisco Liriano. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: If the Birds sell who is possibly in play?

With the manner in which the season has started, many fans are screaming for the Baltimore Orioles to sell. Before I go any further, let me remind you that it’s only the end of April. Granted things have started out as poorly as they could for this team (regarding things that are both controllable and non-controllable), however it’s only April. Even teams that ultimately sell aren’t about to do it now, because it sends a horrible message to you the fans.

But let’s say that the Orioles go ahead and break up the band at some point closer to the deadline. It would be a given that the likes of Manny Machado would be in play. In fact, he’d probably be the guy on whom the Birds would be most focused in terms of moving. You might even move someone like Adam Jones, who’s contract is up at the end of the season. (That sounds tough to hear for sure; but mind you that the O’s could re-acquire Jones as a free agent if there was a mutual interest. And I think there would be.) Anyone else?

How about Dylan Bundy? Or Kevin Gausman? Not to mention Jonathan Schoop…?) Those names might sound more surprising than throwing Jones’ name out there. Of the “youngish” players the Orioles have, those are the most promising for sure. One would think that it would behoove the Orioles to keep them if in fact they decide to sell. Keep them and build around them, right?

In a perfect world, yes. But in the ever-changing landscape of sports and the world, sometimes apparently we have to think outside the box. As I said, those three names are probably the guys who have the most value to the Orioles moving forward. So…would they not have value also on the trade block?

Point being, I suspect that they’d give the Orioles the most bang for their buck in terms of a return haul. Machado or Jones are potentially half-season rentals for a team. Now they’ll still probably bring big league-ready talent in the form of a young minor leaguer. You aren’t going to trade one or both of them for a single-A prospect, which is a step away from a bag of balls.

But the likes of Gausman, Schoop, or Bundy are under team control going into the 2019 season. That makes them more than a half-season rental. And when it comes to trades, that makes one heck of a difference.

I’m not advocating that this takes place. It would leave one heck of a hole in the franchise, and in the immediacy of today it would leave one heck of a hole in the starting rotation and lineup. Furthermore, teams generally like to get pitching in return for a superstar player. So would it make that much sense to sell pitching and get pitching in return?

Again, the point is that selling off some or even all of the aforementioned players would probably bring lots of major league-ready talent in return. And potentially re-stock the Orioles’ farm system as well. But I maintain that all of these decisions come back to one man: Buck Showalter.

Regardless of what we’re seeing on the field now, next year’s managing job is Buck’s if he wants it. I think that John and Lou Angelos (and Peter) would re-sign him now to some sort of extension if he said he wanted to remain in the dugout. And if that were to be the case, he would have a significant say in how the roster shapes up.

In saying that, he’ll probably want some sort of continuity. Now on the flip side, if Buck decides to hang ’em up (or move to the front office, which is also an option I think the Angelos’ would offer him), then I see the Orioles going with a much younger manager next season. Probably a guy who’s been a bench coach for awhile and who the industry feels is ready to take the plunge and become a manager.

And if that ends up being the case, then perhaps they do in fact decide to sell off more pieces – so as to allow that guy (whomever he ends up being) to start from scratch. Young team, young manager. And here’s the other thing folks; I say that as someone who doesn’t put much faith in youth. I’d just as soon as not deal with the brashness and inexperience of youth, as opposed to the steady hand of experience – such as Buck, such as Adam Jones, et al. But going the youth route makes sense, if Buck isn’t the manager next year. Time will tell.

Baltimore Orioles: Season of woes continues

Baltimore Orioles’ starters have needed to be perfect thus far in 2018. And I don’t mean that figuratively; it’s intended to be interpreted literally. And on this night, Dylan Bundy was far from perfect. Bundy’s line: 4.2 IP, 11 H, 8 R (7 earned), 1 BB, 4 K.

It was a rare poor outing for Bundy, and his first of the season at that. You can accept that – as an isolated point, that is. However with how the Orioles offense has struggled, and how things have just seemed to go wrong for this team across the board in games, it just makes the hurdle tougher to climb and overcome. But that’s what these Orioles are tasked with doing for the rest of the season.

The Orioles haven’t been able to get out of their own way, and that was true from the outset tonight. Bundy walked the lead off hitter, and then Cron smacked a two-run homer in the first. Tampa then led off the second with a double, followed by another two-run homer, this one by Ramos. Tampa would also tack on runs in the third and fourth, and when the smoke cleared the O’s trailed 6-0.

However if there’s a silver lining to this game, it’s that the Orioles perhaps started to battle back. Trey Mancini would smack an RBI-double, and Manny Machado an RBI-single in the third. However that’s as close as the O’s would get – at that moment, Tampa would put two runs right back up on RBI-singles in the fifth (which were aforementioned).

After Bundy departed, the Orioles’ bullpen did in fact hold things over. And then the O’s began to come back again. Adam Jones smacked a two-run homer in the fifth, and Danny Valencia a solo shot in the last of the eighth. Tampa would tack one more run on in the ninth on an errant throw by Sisco at the plate trying to throw Gomez out as he tried to steal third. The throw went into left field, allowing Gomez to score.

It goes as another loss, but the bats did attempt to snap out of their funk. Now with that said, they were 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position. They also grounded into four double-plays, all of which came with runners in scoring position. That has to change moving forward.

The Orioles once again seemed to run into a hot team, hellbent on success. And that no doubt comes from youthful exuberance in a sense. They had an answer for everything the Orioles did – and the Orioles did some good things in this series. However it makes one wonder when the Birds might morph into that team hellbent on winning.

The O’s will open up a three-game set with the Detroit Tigers at home tomorrow night. Chris Tillman gets the call for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Mike Fiers. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.