Baltimore Orioles: Nibbling can backfire

Baltimore Orioles’ starter Dean Kremer was slightly “off” last night in St. Louis. And that can happen to pitchers – it usually does, several times a year. But Kremer at times couldn’t locate his pitches, leading to the “offness.” Kremer’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

The contrast between Kremer and St. Louis starter Gray was somewhat striking. Gray worked the corners and the black of the plate very well. That’s always sort of been part of his game. That’s what Kremer was trying to do. It just didn’t work. Kremer was also working on seven days’ rest – a bit of an oddity. Was too much rest an issue?

Sinai’s RBI-single in the second gave St. Louis a 1-0 lead. Two innings later Winn’s RBI-double doubled the lead to 2-0. However it was the aforementioned Siani who was the star of the evening. And it may have been Kremer trying to nibble again that ultimately hurt him.

Later in that fourth inning with two runners on and one out, Kremer threw an 0-2 pitch that appeared to be in the strike zone. However home plate umpire Laz Diaz called ball one. That can happen when a pitcher’s trying to work only to the outside of the zone, and suddenly does locate his pitch smack in the middle of it.

A moment later, Siani sent a three-run homer into the stands. At 5-0 and with the Orioles not even having registered a hit, that lead looked insurmountable. And it was. But eventually the Birds would get a hit. And in a big way.

Cedric Mullins and Jorge Mateo both reached base in the sixth on errors. That brought Gunnar Henderson to the plate, and his three-run homer was the Orioles’ first hit of the game. A bit of a statistical oddity in that it’s tough for a three-run shot to be a team’s first hit, but that’s how it broke down.

However St. Louis’ bullpen shut the Orioles down the rest of the way, and this goes as a 5-3 loss. When asked after the game if the seven days’ rest was too much, Dean Kremer didn’t make excuses (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

No, I don’t think so. It’s my job to be ready every fifth day, and if it’s not a fifth day, it’s the sixth day or the seventh day or eighth day. That’s something that you have to take care of as a professional. Doesn’t matter how many days of rest you are, something you have to deal with.

The series continues this evening at Busch Stadium. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by St. Louis’ Lance Lynn. Game time is set for 7:45 PM.

Baltimore Orioles outlast Seattle behind dominant Corbin Burnes

Corbin Burnes gave the Baltimore Orioles perhaps his best start thus far this year in the series finale against Seattle. It’s tough to do much better than eleven strikeouts. And Burnes started mowing ‘em down early. Burnes’ line: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 11 K.

And when your offense is scuffling slightly, you need a starter to grab the bulk by the horns like that. Which is precisely what Burnes did this afternoon. Was it as dominant as his Opening Day outing? Tough to say. But eleven strikeouts speaks for itself.

And Burnes never trailed. Gunnar Henderson’s solo homer in the last of the first gave the O’s a 1-0 lead. Following a Jordan Westburg double, Colton Cowser would double him home, and the Birds led 2-0.

The one semi-blip in the radar for Burnes was the RBI-single he surrendered to Urias in the second. But the Orioles came right back. James McCann’s RBI-double in the last of the second extended it to 3-1. And one inning later Ryan O’Hearn sent fans dancing into the aisles with a solo homer.

Offensively however maybe the most important thing that could have happened occurred just after that O’Hearn homer. After the Birds put another runner on, Cedric Mullins smacked an RBI-single, extending the lead to 5-1. Big play in the game, yes. But Mullins of course has been in a bad slump. That’s a moment to which we could look back and say he busted out.

But the were a couple of tense moments before pay dirt. Urias’ RBI-double and Rodriguez’s RBI-single in the seventh brought Seattle to within 5-3. Brandon Hyde used Coke Irvin out of the bullpen, and he closed out Seattle in the rest of the seventh and the eighth.

And the Birds even put an insurance run on the board in the last of the eight. And once again it was due to Cedric Mullins, with an RBI-single. Make no mistake, Mullins needed this game. Incidentally, he also stole his 100th career base this afternoon.

Another guy needed a good outing today, that being said Craig Kimbrell. Following the insurance run Hyde brought Kimbrell out for the first time in awhile in the closer role. While he started out the inning with two balls, he sent Seattle down 1-2-3, with two strikeouts. Had order returned to the Orioles’ pen? Time will tell.

The O’s now hit the road to open up a three-game set in St. Louis at Busch Stadium. Dean Kremer gets the start tomorrow night for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by St. Louis’ Sonny Gray. Game time is set for 7:45 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Details haunt the Birds

Grayson Rodriguez came off the IL for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon to make the start against Seattle. Rodriguez was solid – especially given that he didn’t even make a rehab start. He didn’t surrender a hit (the lone base hit he allowed, for the record) until the sixth inning. This after the game started with a three-hour weather delay. Rodriguez’s line: 6.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 7 K.

It’s tough to criticize Rodriguez’s outing tonight. It also didn’t end in an Orioles’ victory. The Birds got to Seattle early, but that was the gist of it – they never kept the pressure on. Austin Hays’ sac fly-RBI in the second and Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single an inning later put the O’s ahead 2-0.

However things changed after Rodriguez left the game. With one on in the seventh, Moore sent a tight liner down the third base line for a double. That put two runners in scoring position with nobody out. Hanigan would score a run on a sacrifice fly, and France’s RBI-double would tie the game at two.

Here’s the thing though; that double by Moore? Replays seemed to show that it was actually a foul ball. It did bounce on the base line, but it crossed into foul territory before going over the bag. It wasn’t a play that could be challenged, so the Orioles had no choice but to play on.

Seattle’s Rodriguez hit what should have been a routine groundout in the top of the eighth. However Ryan O’Hearn was unable to field the relay throw, allowing Rodriguez to reach base. My personal opinion is that it should have been a fielding error on O’Hearn, but it was ruled a base hit. One way or the other, it should have been an out at first base.

Raleigh and Moore would follow immediately with two different RBI-doubles. This gave style a 4-2 lead. Which turned into a 4-3 win, this after Gunnar Henderson’s solo homer in the ninth.

On the liner down the line that should have been foul, the Orioles had no control over that. Bad calls happen. They shouldn’t, but they do. But that small detail plagued the Birds.

However the small detail they could control was the base runner in the eighth. As a stand-alone play, mistakes happen. You can excuse a guy like Ryan O’Hearn in that moment. But again, a small detail bit them in the derrière. You have to limit that. And it glares a lot brighter when you have a detail that can’t be helped, that being the line drive.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s George Kirby. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Big first inning carries Birds

John Means had somewhat of a rough first inning for the Baltimore Orioles against Seattle last night. Now he quickly righted himself, but if you only watched the first few minutes of the game, you would have been shocked at the final result, and with the fact that Means pitched to a quality start. Means’ line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Garver’s RBI-single in the first gave Seattle a 1-0 lead. In fact, the first pitch of the game went for a double. However that start was in no way any sort of harbinger for the rest of the game, as Means limited the damage.

But that was the main highlight of the game for Seattle. Means buckled down. And Oriole bats buckled in…

…this starting immediately. Gunnar Henderson tied the game at one with a leadoff homer. Later in the inning the O’s had runners at first and second with nobody out, and Ryan Mountcastle hit into a fielder’s choice. Seattle’s Moore committed a throwing error, allowing Ryan O’Hearn to score and putting the Birds in the lead.

Colton Cowser’s almost immediate two-run double burst the game wide open. Down the right field line, it was one of those tight liners that smacked up chalk when it hit. Jordan Westburg would add a sac fly-RBI before the inning ended, and the O’s led 5-1.

And that was just the first inning. Despite an early blip, John Means had the lead. Moore would add a solo homer in the fifth, but other than that he shut Seattle down. That’s what good teams and ace-like pitchers do.

But Oriole bats weren’t leaving the result to chance, despite such a great first inning. Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-triple in the seventh extended the lead to 6-2. Adley Rutschman and Austin Hays (fresh off the IL) added RBI-doubles. Hays would later score on a wild pitch later in the inning.

End of the day, the O’s went home with a 9-2 win. This is kind of a big series because Seattle’s a good team. Who wins the season series between the two could decide postseason positioning. This puts the Orioles off to a good start.

The series continues this afternoon at Camden Yards. The O’s are yet to announce a starter, but whomever he is will be opposed by Seattle’s Luis Castillo. Game time is set for just after 4 PM (weather permitting).

Baltimore Orioles rained out vs. Toronto

The Baltimore Orioles were rained out this evening in what was to be the second of a three-game set at home against division rival Toronto. The game will be made up on Monday, July 29th as part of a traditional doubleheader. The first game will begin at 3 PM.

Tomorrow’s forecast looks foreboding as well. This is a footnote, but if tomorrow’s game is rained out and postponed to a later date (other than Thursday), then technically the Orioles’ streak of not being swept would come to an end. Even though the “series” would have then only been one game, it would still count as a technical “sweep.” That said, both teams are idle on Thursday, so a makeup game could occur that day. Which as I understand it, would actually count as part of the same series. But who really knows what the weather brings?!

Nevertheless the series with Toronto is scheduled to end tomorrow at Camden Yards. Kyle Bradish moves back a day to make the start for the O’s, and Toronto’s starter is still TBD. Game time is set for just after 12:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Adley Rutschman homers twice in extra-inning loss

Corbin Burnes put the Baltimore Orioles in a position to win tonight against Toronto at Camden Yards. I found it interesting that Burnes was lifted when he was, as my personal opinion was he still had something left in the tank. But he pitched six solid innings, again putting the Birds in a spot to win the game. Burnes’ line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

This was a game between two solid starters, Burnes, and Toronto’s Berrios. The Orioles struck first against Berrios, as Adley Rutschman smacked a solo homer in the last of the fourth. However Toronto would draw even in the sixth on an RBI-single by Vogelbach.

However Rutschman wasn’t done yet. He ended up turning in the first two-homer game of his career, putting the Orioles back in the lead in the last of the sixth with a second solo home run. Unfortunately however, Rutschman was only a footnote in this game. Varsho’s solo home run in the eighth tied the game at two.

The game went to extra innings, and it was Toronto who struck first. Clement led off the tenth inning with a sacrifice bunt, moving the ghost runner to third base. Varsho would later ground out, scoring the runner and giving Toronto a 3-2 lead. The O’s threatened in the bottom of the inning, but couldn’t put anything across, going down to defeat 3-2.

End of the day, tough game between two tough AL East rivals. However that’s a game that stings the Orioles to lose. You always want to win every game under any circumstance. But especially in the division.

The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Chris Bassitt. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Six-run sixth sinks the Birds

It was kind of a struggle for Dean Kremer and the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon. Kremer’s stat line looks worse than he pitched. It’s fair to mention that only half of the runs he surrendered were earned runs. Kremer’s line: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 6 R (3 earned), 4 BB, 10 K.

Towards the end of Kremer’s outing manager Brandon Hyde and the training staff came out to check on Kremer, who had a blister on his pitching hand. Kremer stayed in the game, however that’s something to watch as we go on. The hope of course is that it clears before Kremer’s next start. But again, it’s something to watch.

Arizona took a 1-0 lead in the fourth on a sac fly-RBI. One inning later Carroll would reach on a fielder’s choice with the bases loaded, allowing a run to score as Ramon Urias made an errant throw to try and nail a runner at the plate. The Orioles challenged the call, but it was upheld. The throw beat the runner, but it appeared the ruling was that catcher James McCann came off of home plate. Tough call, and a bang-bang play.

Arizona would extend the lead later in the inning to 3-0 on a sac fly-RBI by Marte. But the O’s would attempt to get back into the ballgame. Jordan Westburg’s RBI-double in the last of the fifth cut the Arizona lead to 3-1. However unfortunate as it may have been, that was false hope for the O’s.

McCarthy smacked a two-run homer in the top of the sixth. Marte would follow later in the inning with a two-RBI single, and Grichuk a two-RBI double. When the smoke cleared, Arizona had batted around in the sixth, and the O’s trailed 9-1.

The Birds would get one back in the last of the sixth on Adley Rutschman’s solo homer. The teams would also sit through a brief rain delay in the top of the eighth when the rain got too hard. But in the end, the Birds fell 9-2 on this Mother’s Day. But the O’s did take the series by winning two-of-three.

The Orioles will now stay at home and open up a three-game set with AL East rival Toronto tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Corbin Burnes gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Jose Berrios. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Craig Kimbrel with the win as Westy walks if off

A bit of a shorter outing for John Means this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. Shorter than anyone would have thought, at least. But perhaps this game was always destined to be decided by the bullpens. That at times seems to be where the game is going. Means’ line: 4.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

This game began and ended with Jordan Westburg. His RBI-double in the second inning gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. However one inning later Arizona’s Marte sent a two-run homer around the foul pole in left field. And suddenly the Birds trailed 2-1.

But they didn’t trail for long. In the last of the third Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single tied the game at two. However Arizona would put two across in the fifth. That left the Orioles trailing, 4-2. Which at the time seemed like a large lead.

But is two runs a decent lead against this lineup? Not so much, if you think about it. Gunnar Henderson cut the lead to one in the last of the fifth with a solo homer. The crowd had to wait a couple of innings later, but Anthony Santander would eventually tie it with a solo shot of his own in the last of the eighth. And tied it remained through the ninth.

The Birds loaded the bases in the tenth before going down, and Brandon Hyde summoned Craig Kimbrel from the bullpen for the eleventh – yes, in a high leverage situation. Keep in mind that Arizona had a ghost runner, so Kimbrel started out with a ghost runner on second (through no fault of his own). He did hit a batter, but masterfully retired the side after that.

But that also means that the Orioles get a ghost runner. And Jordan Westburg led off the last of the eleventh, and promptly sent a soft liner tightly down the right field line, which bounced fair. That scored the ghost runner, giving the O’s a 5-4 victory. It also clinched a series win.

Odd game in a sense. It was a slow slog to some degree, and under threatening skies at that. Jordan Westburg was outstanding, and the Orioles have to continually be thanking themselves for breaking camp with him on the roster.

However as the season goes on it’ll be interesting to look back on this point in the schedule and whether or not it’ll be a story of this series helping Craig Kimbrel get right. Granted he was the winning pitcher by default. Almost by chance. But he earned the win. Is he “right” now? We’ll find out.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Arizona’s Zac Gallen. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles open home stand with a win

Cole Irvin put the Baltimore Orioles in a spot to win tonight. That’s all you can ask out of a starter. And that’s what the Orioles taxed him with doing tonight in the series opener with Arizona. Irvin’s line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

In a game that was played in a perpetual misting rain, perhaps it was fitting that new Orioles’ owner David Rubenstein was the guest “Mr. Splash” at this evening’s game. However if the weather is “the great equalizer,” the Orioles proved to be the better team on the field tonight as a whole. This despite the fact that Arizona was a World Series team last year.

Jordan Westburg’s RBI-double in the second inning gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. Cedric Mullins would later add a run with an RBI-groundout. However Arizona would remind the Orioles that they were in the World Series last year, as Marte cut the lead in half with a solo homer in the third.

But the Orioles kept the pressure on. The teams would swap runs in the fifth and sixth, with the Orioles’ coming on an RBI-single by Ryan O’Hearn. Gunnar Henderson would add an RBI-double in the seventh, and the Oriole bullpen would close out a 4-2 victory,

Craig Kimbrel was used out of the bullpen in the seventh, and to his credit he sent down Arizona 1-2-3. That included a loud out on a line drive to Ryan Mountcastle, but he still sent them down 1-2-3. You have to hope that gives him some confidence.

The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Arizona’s Ryne Nelson, game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Coming home

The Baltimore Orioles return to Oriole Park at Camden Yards this evening as Arizona comes to town for three. Overall, it was a short road trip, but a good one. The Birds went 5-1 in Cincinnati and Washington.

The biggest question for the O’s right now appears to be closer Craig Kimbrel, who’s blown several saves over the past week-and-a-half. Will we see Kimbrel head to the IL with an injury? I suppose it’s possible. Needless to say, he doesn’t look comfortable on the mound when he’s out there.

To be clear, Kimbrel won’t cease to be on the roster. The Orioles won’t DFA him, allowing another team to pick him up on their dime. So that isn’t an option. Trading for another closer also isn’t an option, as nobody’s looking to trade a bona fide closer in May. And on top of that, could you imagine what the Orioles would have to give up to get someone like that? They don’t come free.

Here’s something else to watch; Jorge Mateo appeared to injure himself late in Wednesday’s game in Washington. He stayed in the game, but didn’t appear to be too comfortable. You have to hope he’s rested up on the off day and is ready to play.

The series with Arizona begins tonight at Camden Yards. Cole Irvin gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Arizona’s Brandon Pfaadt. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.