Baltimore Orioles showcase their potential on Memorial Day

The Baltimore Orioles sent Cole Irvin to the mound this afternoon at Camden Yards against Boston on Memorial Day. This not only opens the summertime season in the “Land of Pleasant Living,” but it signals the open of a long stretch of games in which the Birds will play in the division. And it started with a bag. Irvin’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

Irvin and the Oriole bullpen shut down Boston bats this afternoon, save for the eighth inning. And as – shall we say – inconsistent as Oriole bats have been of late, they came to life today in front of a massive and enthusiastic hometown holiday matinee crowd. And it wasn’t even close.

Jordan Westburg’s second inning RBI-single and Adley Rutschman’s third inning sac fly-RBI put the Birds ahead 2-0. Boston had a brief moment where they challenged in the fourth with the bases loaded. But Irvin pitched out of that jam, ending the inning. And keep in mind, when you squander opportunities (which Boston did there), often times your opponent takes advantage.

Kyle Stowers’ two-RBI double in the last of the fourth doubled the lead to 4-0. Cedric Mullins added a two-RBI triple, followed by a sac fly-RBI by Cedric Mullins. And before you knew it, the O’s had busted the game wide open and led 7-0.

It can happen that fast. But the O’s weren’t done yet. Adley Rutschman’s RBI-double in the seventh ran the score to 8-0. Ryan Mountcastle added an RBI-single, and Kyle Stowers a two-RBI single. And again, before anyone knew what happened the O’s led Boston 11-0 on this Memorial Day Monday afternoon.

Boston would load the bases against new Oriole Thiago Viera in the top of the eighth, and Gonzalez would get them on the board with a bases-clearing triple. But that’s all Boston was able to muster today. And it was merely a blip in the radar.

Today was the first of 14 straight games in the division. They aren’t all going to go like this. Just saying that up front. But this is about as good as the Orioles could have asked for things to go this afternoon. It’s a win in the division. And a big one at that.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Brayan Bello. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: A near no-no for Kyle Bradish, but a win and a sweep

Technically the record shows that Kyle Bradish didn’t throw a no-hitter today for the Baltimore Orioles. You have to throw a complete game for that to be the case. And the O’s didn’t even get credited for a shared no-hitter, as they did give up a hit after Bradish departed. But needless to say, Bradish threw the best outing of his career today. And it wasn’t even close. Bradish’s line: 7.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 4 BB, 11 K.

Ironically, I thought that Chicago starter Crochet was throwing amazing stuff – almost no-hitter sort of stuff. He was outstanding as well. But very quietly, Bradish didn’t give up a hit. All of this after a nearly two hour rain delay to start the game on the South Side of Chicago.

Despite Crochet’s efforts, it was the Orioles who got on the board first. His two-run homer in the top of the sixth gave the Birds a 2-0 lead. However following the seventh inning, Bradish had 103 pitches. And with him having the lead and despite his amazing effort, manager Brandon Hyde knew it was time to pull him (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

No choice there, unfortunately. Just with, it’s 103 pitches. He hasn’t got that far, and coming off an elbow strain early on and the whole thing. That’s difficult because you want to see him stay out there and he’s thrown the ball so great. He was absolutely fantastic and it’s great to get a sweep here.

That’s a tough decision, and for his part it seemed to be one Bradish understood. However managers are always going to put the players first, and look after their well-being in a spot like that. As Hyde said, Bradish also began the season on the IL. And there’s a ways to go this season.

The good news is that Oriole bats have the pitching and insurance run. Colton Cowser’s solo homer in the eighth extended the lead to 3-0. The lone hit the Orioles’ pitching staff surrendered today was an eighth inning home run off the bat of Chicago’s Mendrick. The first and only hit – in the eighth inning.

The O’s would tack on an additional insurance run on a sac fly-RBI in the ninth. But as Brandon Hyde said in the quote above, the O’s got the win and the sweep. As deflating as that St. Louis series was, the O’s actually managed to have a winning road trip

All in all, losing the sweepless streak may have been a blessing in disguise. It died an almost quiet death, in a series against an NL team that was plagued by weather situations. You’d rather it come that way than against a division rival. And now that distraction is over, and they can just play ball. And on top of that, the O’s return home one game up in the win column from where they were when they left.

The Orioles return home for the Memorial Day game tomorrow as they open up a three-game series with Boston at Camden Yards. Cole Irvin comes out of the bullpen and will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Cooper Criswell. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: You can put another one on the board for the Old Line State on the South Side

With Dean Kremer freshly placed on the IL (retroactive to May 21st), the Baltimore Orioles swung the bullpen door open from the beginning today and tabbed Al Suarez as a starter once again. “Big Al, your ‘starting pitcher’ pal.” Despite having been a starter as recently as this season, it would have been tough to expect Suarez to give much more than he did – this as a starter, after having been a reliever. Suarez’s line: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

The best part about Suarez’s outing today in my view was that he was still locating his fastball in the strike zone circa 95 MPH in his last inning of work. Locating it for strikes. Whether Suarez was a spot starter today or a full time replacement for Kremer during his injury rehab remains to be seen. But he was good today.

Unfortunately for Suarez and the Birds, Oriole bats were just as quiet as those of the ChiSox early on. But it was Chicago who got things going first. Keegan Akin gave up a walk, a base hit, and another walk in the fifth. And nothing good ever happens after a walk…

…a phrase that was quickly proven once again. Sheets’ bases-clearing triple, putting the Birds in a 3-0 hole. Akin had almost worked his way out of the jam with two outs, but then that happened. The saving grace is that Sheets, a Maryland native, is the son of former Oriole Larry Sheets. At the very least if the O’s were going to play from behind, it came as a result of someone in the family in a sense. (For the record, Larry Sheets is a Virginia native; so very much a mid-Atlantic flavor in the family.)

The good news about quiet bats is that you really only need one thing to act as a catalyst. And often times, that catalyst will be followed by a barrage of good things. Today it was a one out walk by Adley Rutschman in the top of the eighth. When things aren’t going well, at the very least you can take pitches and draw a walk.

That brought Ryan O’Hearn to the plate, and he sent a deep two-run homer over the Birds’ bullpen in right field. That got the Orioles back into the game, as they only trailed 3-2. Following a pitching change, Ryan Mountcastle came to the plate and sent a bouncing ball right down the first base line and into right field for a base hit…

…which was noteworthy, as the first baseman was off the line. Chicago played the spray charts, and Mountcastle went the other way. And that was a problem for Chicago, because Anthony Santander was on his way to home plate in the form of the go-ahead run.

And Santander lived up to his nickname (“Tony Taters”) very quickly. He smacked a mammoth two-run homer to right, and before we knew it the O’s had the lead. If you were a fan at the game today on Chicago’s South Side, you would have missed all of that had you gotten up after the seventh to get a soda or a hot dog. It was quick and swift.

And that wasn’t the end of it. Jordan Westburg gave the O’s an insurance run with a solo homer later in the inning. However that wasn’t even necessary, as Chicago went quietly in the ninth. And the Orioles have taken the first three of the four game set.

Make no mistake, that’s a huge win. They pulled victory from the jaws of defeat. And that’s what good teams can do. As bad and screwy as that St. Louis series was, the O’s have now won three straight. And they have a shot tomorrow for a sweep.

The series concludes tomorrow at Guaranteed Rate Field. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Garrett Crochet. Game time is set for just after 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles get well on South Side

The Baltimore Orioles came to Chicago not playing well. The good news is they were sending Grayson Rodriguez to the mound against the team with the worst record in baseball. The bad news was that means there was pressure on Rodriguez and the Birds. Rodriguez’s line: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 5 BB, 7 K.

Rodriguez wasn’t great. But he wasn’t awful either. He walked Benintendi with the bases loaded in the first inning, giving Chicago a 1-0 lead. The O’s would tie the score in the third on a bizarre play where Adley Rutschman’s RBI-single with the bases loaded only scored one run. Jorge Mateo held up at second base to make sure the ball wasn’t caught.

And that’s what hurts teams. You should score more than one run with the bases loaded. And all you’re doing in having a situation like that is tempting fate. And fate reminded the Birds that Chicago may be a bad team on paper, but they’re still pro’s. Benintendi’s RBI-single in the last of the third gave Chicago a 2-1 lead.

But that was the end of the night – if you happen to be a ChiSox fan, that is. As swiftly as Oriole bats went to sleep in the Gateway to the West, they snapped back into form on the South Side of Chicago. They tied it in the fourth on a solo homer by Anthony Santander. A few hitters later with two on, Jorge Mateo hit the longest home run of his career. The three-run shot gave the Birds a 5-2 lead.

Adley Rutschman would tack on a two-RBI single, and Austin Hays an RBI-single in the sixth. And it’s a darned good thing they did. The Birds brought in Jonathan Heasley, fresh up from Norfolk, out of the bullpen in the ninth. He gave up an RBI-single, hit another batter with the bases loaded, and then a two-RBI single to Baltimore-area native Gavin Sheets (son of former Oriole Larry Sheets).

Luckily the bleeding was stopped. Yennier Cano and Craig Kimbrel restored order to the inning. Kimbrel was credited with the save. The Orioles shouldn’t have been in a save situation, but they got the win. That’s all that matters, and they needed it.

Before the game the Orioles sent pitcher John Means back to Baltimore, putting him on the IL. Means of course left yesterday’s game with elbow discomfort. A treatment plan of some sort is forthcoming.

The series continues tomorrow night at Guaranteed Rate Field. Corbin Burbes gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Chris Flexen. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Disjointed series snaps Birds’ streak

Baltimore Orioles’ fans shouldn’t feel too badly about the Birds’ steak of 106 consecutive series’ without being swept being snapped in St. Louis. First off the streak speaks for itself, and it was impressive. It was also bound to end at some point. And you’d rather it culminate at the hands of a team like St. Louis as opposed to a division rival.

This was a strange series, and the sum of the parts came together to sweep the O’s away. The entire series had an uneven and inconsistent strike zone, often from inning to inning. (Ironically the only two people ejected were on the St. Louis side.) It was also marred by two rain delays and one suspended game, started last night by Kyle Bradish – and completed this afternoon. Bradish’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

Bradish was good overall. And he may (or may not) have pitched deeper into the game if not for it being suspended due to rain. He gave up an RBI-double to Gorman in the second, and the O’s tied it in the fifth on Jorge Mateo’s run-scoring double.

When the game picked back up early this afternoon, Gorman smacked a two-run homer in the last of the sixth. And the St. Louis bullpen kept the Birds off the board the rest of the way. Suspended games are tough, and they can go either way.

The more concerning thing in the immediate interim is John Means, who started the regularly-scheduled game following the completion of the first game. Means threw pretty well overall, but at a diminished velocity. He was lifted with elbow discomfort. Means’ line: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 K.

Gunnar Henderson’s RBI-single in the third gave the Birds a 1-0 lead. That combined with Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-groundout and Anthony Santander’s RBI-single extended the lead to 3-0. Then the rain came – again.

Following an hour long delay, St. Louis appeared to have regrouped. Nootbar’s RBI-single in the fifth cut the lead to 3-1. Donovan’s sixth inning three-run double would give them a 4-3 lead. Tack on a solo homer by Winn in the seventh, and the O’s trailed 5-3.

How quickly things can change. However the O’s tried to rally. They put runners at the corners with nobody out in the ninth, and actually scored a run on Kyle Stowers’ sac fly. However that also went as a double play, as Cedric Mullins was doubled off of first. He got a poor read on the ball, and while the fielder made an exceptionally good play in catching it, Mullins thought it was a hit.

To show they weren’t kidding, St. Louis actually challenged the play, thinking that Austin Hays left third base early. However replays confirmed he was still on the bag when the ball was caught, and the Birds did close to within one run. But that run was meaningless, as they went down to defeat, 5-4.

Again, the sweepless steak was going to end at some point. Look no further than the Baltimore Ravens; did winning however many preseason games in a row win them anything? Or however many consecutive games with 100+ rushing yards – or whatever it was? End of the day, Gunnar Henderson is still the odds-on favorite to win the MVP. The Orioles are still the odds-on favorite to win the AL East, and they’re still a serious World Series contender. If those things come to pass, nobody’s going to care about a sweepless streak.

The O’s now head to Chicago to open up a four-game set with the ChiSox at Guaranteed Rate Field. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Mike Clevinger. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.

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.