Baltimore Orioles: You can’t nibble

The Baltimore Orioles should listen to former Hall of Fane manager Earl Weaver more often. Weaver preached attacking the strike zone. Starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano didn’t do it today at Yankee Stadium. Sugano’s line: 4.1 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Sugano gave up a solo homer to Judge in the first, and then one to Stanton in the second. McMahon followed with a solo shot of his own later in the inning. And the O’s trailed 3-0 early on.

Many of those pitches (not all) were on the fringes of the strike zone. That’s very consistent with what we’ve seen all year. Earlier in the season there were times where it appeared the Orioles were not only nibbling like this in the zone, but were also tipping pitches. Dangerous combination.

And I say that because home runs were being hit on pitches that shouldn’t be winding up in the stands (based on their location) – unless the hitter knew where it was coming in. Or guessing right. But when you don’t attack the strike zone, you play not to lose. In football they call it the “prevent defense.”

The reason for nibbling as opposed to attacking the strike zone of course is understandable. The likes of Judge and Stanton are imposing. But wouldn’t you rather they beat you than you beating yourself?

The other thing that happens when you nibble is that you lose the benefit of the doubt. New York loaded the bases in the fifth before Judge smacked an RBI-single. The pitch to Judge, in fairness, was right down the pike. But many of the pitches which led to the bases being full were borderline. Many were in the strike zone. And they were called balls.

Bellinger added a sac fly-RBI before the inning ended. Coby Mayo would add a solo homer to get the Orioles on the board in the eighth. But the Birds fell, 6-1 in the Bronx.

I’m sure there’s some analytical statistic out there saying that if you live on the fringes of the strike zone you have a better probability of winning. And I’m not suggesting that every pitch needs to be in the strike zone. Not under any circumstances. However again, traditional managers all say you have to attack the zone. The Orioles haven’t used that mantra as a modus operandi in some time. That should be a goal going into 2026, lest they want to watch home run after home run fly over their outfielder’s heads. Their outfielders who incidentally are positioned too deep to stop soft contact – which invariably seems to occur.

The series and the season concludes tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Luis Gil. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: A struggle for Trevor Rogers in the end

Trevor Rogers has had quite a season for the Baltimore Orioles. He rightfully was given the MVO award this week, and has been a stabilizing force on the staff and in the clubhouse. Unfortunately he struggled in his final start last night at Yankee Stadium, making that his lasting impression of 2025. Rogers’ line: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

After issuing a first inning walk, Rogers gave up a two-run homer to Stanton in the first inning. However the O’s did briefly have the lead. Jordan Westburg uncorked a three-run home run in the top of the third, and suddenly the Orioles led 3-2.

But it didn’t last long. Judge hit a second New York two-run homer in the last of the third, and they retook the lead at 4-3. Stanton added a second later in the inning, ballooning it to 6-3. Many of these home runs came following walks and with two strikes. Dylan Beavers was also replaced in the lineup after his fourth inning at-bat after fouling a ball off his shin. X-Rays were negative.

Tyler O’Neill attempted to bring the O’s closer. His solo homer in the sixth cut the lead to 6-4. However New York would tack on two additional runs as insurance, and the Birds fell 8-4 in the Bronx. For Rogers, not the way he wanted to end the season. But it does little to dim the light he represented this year.

The series continues this afternoon at Yankee Stsdium. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Cam Schlittler. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Drama at the end

Tyler Wells got the start for the Baltimore Orioles tonight against Tampa. Not the greatest start on planet earth, albeit in a game played under the constant threat of rain. Wells’ line: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Wells surrendered an RBI-double to Lowe in the first inning. An inning later Feduccia added a second RBI-double, and Lowe a solo homer I. The third.

On the flip side, the O’s didn’t get a hit until the seventh inning. But by that time Tampa had extended its lead to 6-0. The O’s did get on the board with a two-RBI single in the eighth. But they fell, 6-2 in the final night game of the season at Camden Yards.

Samuel Basallo was hit during last night’s game. The Orioles also hit Caminero later in the game. My personal opinion was that wasn’t intentional – in both cases. Guys get hit all the time in baseball. Camiero’s body language at the time however indicated that he thought it was purposeful.

Nevertheless Basallo led off against Tampa reliever Pete Fairbanks in the last of the ninth tonight. On an 0-2 count, he was hit in the hand with a 97 MPM fastball. He winced in pain and immediately moved towards the clubhouse. Coby Mayo pinch ran in his place.

After recording the final out, Fairbanks proceeded to blow a kiss towards the Orioles’ dugout while staring them down. Fairbanks may have had some plausible deniability on the intent of the pitch before that. However that sort of petty bush league gesture removed that.

The whole thing seems like it didn’t need to happen. Granted nobody knows what was said or what might have been said earlier in the season. But without admitting to the league that he threw at Basallo intentionally, Fairbanks publicly admitted he threw at Basallo intentionally. The league should take note of that. Especially given that Basallo is a top prospect.

Baseball’s a stoic game. It’s not the NFL or NBA where taunting is all but expected. It’s seen as childish, especially in this context. Again, Fairbanks lost plausible deniability with that act. The league should taken notice.

The series concludes tomorrow afternoon at Camden Yards. Cade Povich gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Drew Rasmussen. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Dean Kremer strong in final start

If the Baltimore Orioles’ rotation stays on schedule, Dean Kremer made his final start of the year last night against Tampa at Camden Yards. Perhaps fittingly, it was a start that was delayed an hour and eleven minutes by rain before it even started. But needless to say, Kremer finished strong once he took to the mound. Kremer’s line: 6.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

When Kremer left the game he did so to a standing ovation from the fans. He’s a guy who’s chiefly important to this rotation next year. And while he did have his struggles at times this year, he quietly had a very strong season.

He had the lead early, as the O’s manufactured two runs in the first inning. Gunnar Henderson’s sac fly-RBI and Tyler O’Neill’s RBI-groundout gave the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Henderson came up again in the third and added on an RBI-single to extend it to 3-0.

Kremer, for his part, was crisp all night. He also pitched-to-contact, which is all but the opposite of what Oriole pitchers did over the weekend against New York. And the results speak for themselves. In both instances.

Jordan Westburg would tack on a sac fly-RBI in the fifth to extend the lead further. And Colton Cowser put the exclamation point on in the sixth with a two-run home run. The Oriole bullpen was virtually as strong as Kremer, and the Birds went home 6-0 winners in the first game with Tampa, the last home series of the year.

The series continues this evening at Camden Yards. Tyler Wells gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Shane Baz. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Fundamentals cannot overpower analytics

The Baltimore Orioles and Tomoyuki Sugano lost tonight’s game almost before it started. The Orioles have been caught in this tug-of-war between sound baseball and analytics all season, and it reared its ugly head tonight. It’s fair to point out that the game was meaningless for the O’s, but needless to say it’s still a regular season game. Sugano’s line: 3.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Sugano allowed two base runners with two outs in the first inning; one was Judge on a seeing-eye single. The other was Bellinger on a softly-hit bloop single. Stanton followed with a three-run homer, and the Orioles trailed 3-0.

The seeing-eye single…that happens. Those sorts of things have happened to the Orioles a lot this year, but you can’t really defend against them – per se. I’ll come back to that. However as I’ve said all year, you can’t play your outfield as deep as the Orioles have all year, everything else be damned. They persistently play a no doubles defense; and I get it…you want to prevent an extra-base hit. But you’re surrendering those bloop hits that are dropping in because the outfielders are deeper.

And that’s been a HUGE problem for this team all year. I have no doubt that the probability of scoring a run goes way up after an extra-base hit. But when you’re allowing fluky things to grant the opposition base runners, I suspect the probability is even greater. Playing no doubles defense up two runs in the ninth inning may be one thing. But it shouldn’t be the norm.

Judge would tack on a fourth inning solo homer, and RBI-singles in the fifth and sixth by Chisholm and Grisham in the fifth and sixth. Coby Mayo would get the Birds on the board in the seventh with an RBI-double. This in a losing effort as New York took this one, 6-1.

I mention fluky plays above. Seeing-eye singles fall into that category. YES, sometimes they just happen. But all season, the Orioles have nibbled on the corners of the zone. They’ve never felt comfortable attacking the strike zone. Granted, their rotation has mainly been on the IL – and in some instances still is. But they’ve been relentless in their approach of not throwing the ball over the plate as much.

When you relentlessly nibble, you leave yourself vulnerable to a few things. First off, umpires don’t really seem to appreciate it. They recognize that a team is trying to fool people, including them. So if it’s borderline, the umpire is probably inclined to give the hitter the benefit of the doubt. How often have we seen that this year?

Secondly however, opponents aren’t stupid; they can see what you’re trying to do. They’ll either take the walk eventually, OR if they do make contact something strange could happen. The first inning Judge bleeder was in the strike zone, but in the lower in quadrant. Judge found a way to get to it, put it in play, and something fluky occurred.

The subsequent Bellinger bloop single was low and well out of the strike zone. It was challenging for Bellinger to get to it, but he did. And it induced soft contact. And with the Oriole outfield so far back, they had no chance. All that with two outs.

To be fair, the Orioles have been nibblers going back years. Remember the 2015 ALCS against Kansas City? That was lost on solid pitching by KC, but also timely bloop hits and broken bat singles. Are those things fluky? Absolutely. Can you induce fluky things? Now there’s a question.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Cam Schlittler. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Trevor Rogers out-gems New York

Trevor Rogers further cemented himself as the Baltimore Orioles most consistent pitcher this season. In potentially his final start at home in 2026, Rogers silenced a Bronx Bomber lineup that was on fire last night. Rogers’ line: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 K.

The O’s got on the board early and took charge of the scoreboard. Ryan Mountcastle smacked a solo home run in the second. The Orioles led 1-0, but knew that wouldn’t be enough.

After a New York error, the O’s had two runners on in the sixth. Ryan Mountcastle’s sacrifice fly drove home a second run. Samuel Basallo later grounded into a force out which scored a run, and ran the score to 3-0.

However New York’s Chisholm came up with a runner on in the 8th, and he smacked a two-run homer. That tightened things up, and it left the O’s with no leeway or insurance. That remained the case until Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-double extended the lead in the eighth. Keegan Akin closed the game in the ninth, giving the Birds a 4-2 win.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Carlos Rondon. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles blanked in opener with New York

The Baltimore Orioles find themselves in the unfortunate spot of playing out a string against teams in their own division who are in contention. Cade Povich got the start against New York tonight, in the first game of the final homestand of the season. Povich’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 K.

Povich allowed two base runners to lead off the game, both of whom scored on Rosario’s two-RBI double. In the fifth Wells extended the lead to 3-0 with an RBI-single. The thing about that play? Yet another run on soft contact. Oriole opponents have had that knack all year.

New York broke the game wide open in the seventh. Goldschmidt’s RBI-single expanded the lead to 4-0. Judge would later add a sac fly-RBI, and Stanton a two-RBI double. The O’s were unable to muster much against New York and their starter, Fried. And they fell on this night at Camden Yards, 7-0.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Trevor Rogers gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Will Warren. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Holding on for dear life

Dean Kremer had a rough beginning in Chicago last night for the Baltimore Orioles. A rough beginning. He quickly stabilized and qualified for the win. Kremer’s line: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

Those two runs constituted the rough beginning. He surrendered a two-run home run to Teel in the first inning. But he quickly righted the ship. And the Birds evened things up in the third on an RBI-double by Jeremiah Jackson, and an RBI-single by Gunnar Henderson.

The O’s took the lead an inning later. Samuel Basallo’s two-run homer put them ahead 4-2. And the O’s added on from there. Gunnar Henderson, who had a productive day, smacked an RBI-single in the fifth. He later scored on Dylan Beavers’ RBI-triple.

Dylan Beavers gave the O’s some insurance in the seventh with a two-run homer. They were up 6-2 at the time. That home run ran it to 8-2. And they needed every one of those eight runs.

Reliever Chayce McDermott surrendered a run in the eighth on a wild pitch. Later in the inning Sosa’s two-RBI single cut the Orioles’ lead to 8-5. Tack on a two-run homer by Benintendi, and suddenly that big lead was down to one at 8-7.

Suddenly that Beavers two-run homer loomed large. Chicago put the tying run at the plate in the last of the ninth, but Keegan Akin got a big strikeout with two down, ending the game. It was closer than it needed to be in the end, But it’s a win.

The series concludes this afternoon at Rate Field, Tyler Wells gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Martin Perez. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles lifted by Colton Cowser

The Baltimore Orioles limped into the south side of Chicago last night after being swept by Toronto over the weekend. In the baddest part of town, Kyle Bradish got the start in the first game of three at Rate Field. Bradish’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 4 BB, 9 H.

Bradish allowed a leadoff walk in the first inning. Only problem was that ball four should have been strike three. Only problem a full count, Bradish appeared to hit the strike zone. But home plate umpire Chad Whitson called it a ball. That runner would later score on Mead’s RBI-single.

That’s sort of a microcosm of how things have gone for the O’s this year. Now it might be fair to say that Oriole pitchers (including Bradish last night) have shied away from totally attacking the strike zone. And maybe umpires aren’t taking kindly to guys trying to gerrymander their way into strikes in a sense. However a strike should be a strike.

But two can play at that game – walks, that is. The O’s put two on by way of a base on balls in the third. Jeremiah Jackson’s RBI-single would tie the game at one.

The O’s would also get two on in the sixth, one on a walk and another on a base hit. That brought Colton Cowser to the plate, who proceeded to smack a three-run homer. That gave the Birds a 4-1 lead, and put Bradish in line for the win.

And the Oriole bullpen delivered that win. They didn’t allow a base runner the rest of the way. After nine, the O’s had themselves a win.

The series continues this evening at Rate Field. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Shane Smith. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles continually haunted by soft contact

Albert Suarez may have been the highlight of the day this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles in the series finale in Toronto. The O’s went with a bullpen game, so Suarez didn’t last long. But he was probably the highlight of the day. Suarez’s line: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

Coby Mayo’s solo home run in the second inning gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. Toronto tied it in the third on an RBI-double by Springer. This on a double that split the outfielders, as countless others have done this season. In the fourth Toronto benefitted by two infield base hits – you guessed it, softly hit.

However Clement’s subsequent two-RBI double wasn’t. He hit a screaming line drive off the third base bag, giving Toronto the lead at 3-1. That may not have been softly hit, but it was definitely to the Orioles’ misfortune. And opposing teams taking advantage of the Orioles’ luck is as much what this year has been about as anything else.

Springer’s solo homer in the fifth and Loprofido’s RBI-double in the sixth extended the lead to 5-1. The O’s would get one back in the seventh on Colton Cowser’s solo home run. You have to hope that puts some wind into Cowser’s bat going into Chicago tomorrow.

However Toronto would put six on the board in the seventh. Many of them on softly-hit bloops, or infield the infield. The precision with which opponents seem to work their way into that sort of thing is noteworthy. Personally I fully buy into the adage that sometimes you have to tip your cap. But it’s almost as if you get punished for doing it too much, or taking that attitude too strongly.

And I stand by that – sometimes you have to tip your cap. It’s just tough to do when there’s the appearance that opponents are simply putting contact on the ball and everything else is working out. And on the flip side, all season long we’ve seen the Orioles scorch the ball at times…only to have it fall into someone’s glove.

The Orioles now head to Chicago for the first of three against the ChiSox at Rate Field. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Sean Burke. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.