Baltimore Orioles fall in San Diego

Baltimore Orioles’ starter Jack Flaherty “got rocked” as they say. This in San Diego last night. The good news for the O’s is that Tampa lost in San Francisco, so the Birds maintained their three-game lead in the AL East. Flaherty’s line: 3.0 IP, 4 H, 7 R, 4 BB, 3 K.

Flaherty loaded the bases in the first inning, and walked Cronensworth to give San Diego a 1-0 lead. However the bases remained loaded, and Sanchez’s grand slam opened the game wide open. San Diego led, 5-0.

Machado’a softly-hit bloopper turned into a two-RBI double in the second extended that lead to 7-0. Two doubles, one by Cooper and one by Gamel (a two-RBI double) rounded out the scoring by San Diego in the game. Needless to say, it wasn’t the Orioles’ day.

The Birds did eat into that lead, however. Cedric Mullins’ RBI-single in the sixth got the on the board. Austin Hays also smacked a solo homer, and Gunnar Henderson an RBI-single. Those last two in the ninth. In the end the Birds fell, 10-3 in the middle game in San Diego. This setting up a rubber match.

The series concludes this evening at Petco Park. Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by San Diego’s Blake Snell. Game time is set for 8:40 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Grayson Rodriguez, Gunnar Henderson ensure that big wheels keep on turning

The Baltimore Orioles faced a challenge last night that can often pop up after a team wins a dramatic series. That being to keep the momentum going, especially against a team that in paper they should beat – in this case San Diego. Grayson Rodriguez certainly did his part, perhaps turning in his best performance as a big leaguer. Rodriguez’s line: 7.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

Coming off the series in Seattle, the O’s were taxed with bringing that same level of intensity to San Diego. And that can be tough at times, especially when the new opponent is one they should beat handily. However the Birds were up for the challenge, which is a promising thing. Because the road only gets tougher.

The O’s took the lead in the top of the second when Ryan O’Hearn smacked a solo homer. The Orioles would load the bases a few innings later in the fifth with one out. While you’d love to say that Gunnar Henderson sent a grand slam over the wall, we’ll have to settle for a bases-clearing double. That busted the game wide open, and the Orioles led, 4-0.

San Diego never mounted much of a challenge. Coooper smacked a solo homer in the sixth, but aside from that Oriole pitching held them down. Again, these sorts of games can often be difficult for teams. The series in Seattle was dramatic no matter how you spin it. And at times it can be tough to come off that high and focus against a team you should handle. But the O’s did it, and earned a series-opening win.

The series continues this evening at Petco Park. Jack Flaherty gets the starting nod for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by San Diego’s Michael Wacha. Game time is set for 9:40 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Cedric Mullins for the win…!

Did Kyle Bradish really start this game for the Baltimore Orioles? Of course he did. And he was great for six innings, pitching to a quality start. But while his contribution was massive, it won’t be remembered when all’s said and done and fans think back to this game. Bradish’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K.

The O’s were already in business today because Tampa lost to Cleveland. So they had an opportunity to extend their lead in the AL East to three games over Tampa. If they could win.

The Orioles of course got Cedric Mullins back this weekend from the injured list, but he started the game on the bench. The O’s took an early 1-0 lead on Gunnar Henderson’s sac fly in the third. Seattle would tie it on Suarez’s RBI-single later in the inning, and take the lead in the last of the fifth on Rodriguez’s RBI-double.

However Bradish would close his day with the score tied, as Austin Hays would smack an RBI-single in the sixth. And we appeared to be going to extra innings, which we did. Just not for the reasons that we thought.

The O’s had Jorge Mateo on second in the top of the ninth with Adley Rutschman at the plate. And Seattle pitcher Munoz was called for a balk – sending Mateo to third. Seattle manager Scott Servais came out to argue, and was ejected.

Now to be clear, the balk call itself was borderline at best. And it was a tough one to make at that stage of such an important game. But the umpire made it, and it played right into the hands of the Orioles given Mateo’s speed. They put the contact play on, and sure enough Rutschman put a swinging bunt in play in front of the pitcher…

…Seattle tried to nail Mateo at home plate, but he slid head first into home and gave the O’s the lead. The play was reviewed, and upheld. And the Orioles led.

With one out in the last of the ninth, Seattle’s France sent a deep shot to center field. Full disclosure, I thought it was gone off the bat. However I also immediately noticed that Cedric Mullins, who had entered the game as a pinch hitter, seemed to be acting like he had a chance at making the play. And he did have a chance…

…as he got to the wall he leapt, and…brought the ball back in. He caught it on the fly and brought the ball back into the ballpark. He climbed the wall, and appeared to have saved the game. With perhaps the defensive play of the year, league-wide.

I say he appeared to save the game because the next batter, Canzone, did smack a solo homer. Which seemed to let some air out of the sails. However as the game went to extra innings, we were once again reminded that today was Cedric Mullins’ day. And he wasn’t going to be stopped.

Mullins came up in the top of the tenth with the ghost runner at third base. Mullins almost out the O’s ahead with a two-run homer early in the at-bat, but the ball pulled foul. However like the catch, that drive was a harbinger. Because he eventually smashed a long two-run homer, giving the Orioles a 5-3 lead. Which translated into a 5-3 win.

You can almost see video yearbook programs looking back to this game after the season is over – whenever that ends up being, that sequence in the end – the balk and ejection, leading up to the Mullins homer (and everything in between)….that was perhaps as intense a sequence as I’ve ever seen in a sporting event. These two teams played each other TOUGH in both regular season series’ this year. An Orioles vs. Seattle series in October would be one for the ages. But needless to say, the cream also rose to the top when all was said and done.

The O’s now head to San Diego to open up a three-game set at Petro Park. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by San Diego’s Yu Darvish. Game time is set for 9:40 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Ryan Mountcastle, Felix Bautista close out Seattle

Starter Cole Irvin set the Baltimore Orioles up nicely last night. He came out of the bullpen, and put the O’s in a position to win. He only lasted five innings, but he played his role flawlessly. Irvin’s line: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

The teams played to a scoreless tie through nine innings. Both sides had opportunities (the Birds were 1-for-6 with RISP), but nobody could put anything across. Seattle starter Kirby pitched nine scoreless innings before giving way to the bullpen as the game went to extras.

And the O’s took advantage of Kirby being out, after he stymied their bats all game. Teams of course get to a ghost runner on second base in extra innings. And with one out in the tenth, Ryan Mountcastle smacked a run-scoring single, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.

The Birds had brought in closer Felix Bautista in the top of the ninth, so he was actually in line for the win as he was the pitcher of record when the Birds took the lead. Brandon Hyde sent Bautista back out for the tenth, in effect to play his normal closer’s role. And he sent Seattle down 1-2-3, closing out a win for the O’s.

Most of the time it’s hard to win when you play nine scoreless innings. But this was a pitcher’s duel, and that’s how some games go. Tampa had beaten Cleveland earlier in the day, so this was a big win for the Orioles because it retained their two game lead atop the AL East. It also snapped Seattle’s eight-game winning streak.

The series concludes this afternoon at T Mobile Park. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s Bryce Miller. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles start flat on west coast swing

Every dog has it’s day, but yesterday’s wasn’t the Baltimore Orioles’ or Kyle Gibson. West coast trips are tough on east coast teams, and the Birds started theirs out in a less-than-productive manner last night. Stretching into early this morning in a sense for fans back in Baltimore. Gibson’s line: 5.1 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

There’s “flat,” and there’s “12 hits and 9 runs surrendered flat.” Now while games like this happens, Gibson isn’t going to let it get to him too much, as it’s certainly the exception to the rule:

Definitely an outlier when it comes to the rest of the season. For the most part, I feel like when I’ve executed pitches, I’ve gotten outs and I’ve been able to get through the game. But for whatever reason, these guys have had my number a little bit this year.

Quote courtesy of Jake Rill, mlb.com

Gibson was also referring to the fact that he’s struggled against Seattle this season. And last night it began early and in earnest. He surrendered a two-run homer to Raleigh in the first inning. Now that’s only two runs, but they were a harbinger. Now having said this, the O’s did fight back at first. Anthony Santander’s solo homer in the fourth cut the lead to 2-1.

However the fourth inning really did Gibson and the O’s in. Caballero’s sac fly-RBI extended Seattle’s lead to 3-1. That was followed by Rojas’ RBI-single, followed by Rodriguez’s three-run homer. And the Birds trailed 7-1.

Now that inning started with a mental mistake that ultimately affected Gibson. France led off the inning with a grounder to Gunnar Henderson, who threw to Ryan Mountcastle at first. However the throw slightly brought Mountcastle off the bag, allowing France to reach safely. The play was ruled a base hit, but it’s an out that should have been made, and it cost the Birds.

France would haunt the O’s again in the fifth with a solo homer, and Rodriguez would add an RBI-double in the sixth. The Orioles would tack on a nominal run in the top of the ninth on an RBI-single By Jordan Westburg, running the final to 9-2. On a positive note the O’s did get Cedric Mullins back last night, and he started the game by robbing Seattle of a presumed double in the first inning. Some things don’t change.

The series continues this evening at T Mobile Park. Cole Irvin comes out of the bullpen to get the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Seattle’s George Kirby. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles haunted again by the bottom of the order

Jack Flaherty made his home debut tonight for the Baltimore Orioles, and bulldogged his way through five innings. It may not have been what he would have wanted as his first time pitching in an Oriole uniform at Camden Yards, but he put the team in a spot to win. All you can ask of a starter. Flaherty’s line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 6 K.

Flaherty started out shaky. He surrendered a two-run homer to Tucker in the top of the first. The same Tucker who hit the grand slam last night. Altuve’s RBI-single in the second extended the lead to 3-0. However Flaherty settled down after that. And again, he pitched to a fairly decent stat line.

Austin Hays would get the Birds on the board in the fourth with a two-run homer. That cut the lead to 3-2, but the O’s couldn’t muster more than two runs. They did however rob Houston of one. Austin Hays would rob them of a home run, climbing the wall in left field to Peale a catch. Heck of an effort.

The O’s remained within striking distance through two outs in the eighth inning. The O’s recorded two quick outs, and brought in Shintaro Fuginami – who proceeded to give up a two-RBI single to Altuve. Altuve would later steal second base, and then score on Bregman’s two-RBI single. But damage done. Bregman would add an additional RBI-single in the ninth as well.

The O’s would also load the bases themselves in the eighth, but they let Houston off the hook. Fact is that you can’t walk the opponent’s 7, 8, & 9 hitter. The Orioles have consistently had issues this year with the bottom of the order, and/or with two outs or two strikes. Much of that might be situational or coincidental. But it’s been a problem.

One thing though, you can’t point at the situation with Kevin Brown and John Angelo’s as a catalyst for two losses. You can’t. These players are all professionals; nothing going on in the broadcast booth trickles onto the field. It’s an unfortunate circumstance, however it’s unrelated. They lost to the defending World Series champions; it happens.

The O’s will close out the home stand and try to salvage a win in this series tomorrow at Camden Yards. Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Hunter Brown. Game time is set for just after 12:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Blown save by Felix Bautista costs a game

The Baltimore Orioles and starter Grayson Rodriguez put Houston on notice this evening. On notice that despite the fact that Houston won the game, the Orioles could take them to the brink. And that it’s the O’s who have the AL’s best record – for now. Rodriguez, for his part, pitched to a quality start. Rodriguez’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

The O’s got at it early and often. Ryan Mountcastle’s two-run homer in the last of the first gave the Birds a 2-0 lead. James McCann’s fielder’s choice-RBI in the second extended the lead to 3-0. McCann would later score on Adley Rutschman’s two-run homer.

Houston would put two across in the third on an RBI-single and a sac fly-RBI. However the good is that Rodriguez limited the damage. Which is what you want out of your starter. He pitched to the scoreboard, which at the beginning of the inning said 5-0. He bent but didn’t break.

McCann would add a sac fly-RBI in the fourth, extending the lead to 6-2. Houston would inch closer in the eighth with Peña’s RBI-single. However it wasn’t until the ninth that they really made their move. Ironically however, it may have been a base running error of their own which indirectly helped Houston win.

With two on and one out, Alvarez sent a deep shot to center. Jorge Mateo had earlier made a an amazing catch on a similar ball, but couldn’t come up with this one. However the runners held up thinking the ball was going to be caught. Had the lead runner been off on contact, he would have scored. And that’s probably what should have happened.

Mistake on Houston’s part, right? Especially with Felix Bautista on to close the game. Yeah, about that…Tucker’s subsequent grand slam gave Houston a 7-6 lead. And by extension, a 7-6 win.

No guarantees in life; so who knows what would have happened? But the fact is that maybe they pitch to Tucker differently with one run in or something along those lines. Furthermore the first runner was on as a result of a walk – and nothing good happens after a walk. In this case, it was a broken bat single, then a deep shot to Mateo in center. Then a grand slam.

Manager Brandon Hyde was ejected in the sixth inning arguing a safe call at second base. Replays seemed to indicate that he had an argument. He said after the game that he didn’t feel the ejection was warranted given that the umpire had his back turned when he was thrown out, and he took a long time to make a call as it was.

The series continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. Jack Flaherty gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Cristian Javier. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Is the Kevin Brown situation false flag?

It’s a shame that the Baltimore Orioles can’t even win without getting involved in controversy. I’m not going to detail the story involving MASN commentator Kevin Brown. Everyone who’s reading knows the story.

But unequivocally, I am going to say that Kevin Brown’s being done wrong. It’s one thing to not want an announcer to be OVERLY critical of the team. But quite another to suspend him for doing what Brown did. For what my opinion means, he’s done nothing wrong. And should be reinstated and paid.

But is there more to this? The other big story around the Orioles is the Camden Yards lease, which is up after this year. Both the state of Maryland and owner John Angelos appear to be committed to the team being here long term.

The sides claimed as recently as yesterday to be getting closer together. I hope that’s the case. But…

…you see where I’m going with this. Keep in mind that Baltimore has experience losing a beloved franchise – as my Dad, my Uncles, and other former fans of the horse shoe will tell you. A lease that expires at the end of the year only makes that possible again.

I said possible – not probable. I don’t know what exactly is going on. But I do know that seemingly a good man’s being done wrong, just as the situation with the lease is coming up abs getting stronger. Again, I’m not saying they’re moving. But the timing of this is curious.

Here’s a theory; the Angelos family wants the area around Camden Yards redeveloped. And that’s not a bad thing. It helps clean up the city. But when and if those arrangements are made and it includes a new lease, it’ll be interesting to see how much money is funneled from the city into the Angelos family by way of parking revenue, restaurants, rents, taxes, etc.

Again, am I saying that Kevin Brown’s situation is a bait-and-switch? NO. Unequivocally, no. Because I don’t know the situation. It could be purely coincidental. But it’s something to keep an eye on. In the interim, I hope Kevin Brown is reinstated.

Baltimore Orioles: Days of future past

You can’t help but say this was a great weekend for the Baltimore Orioles. The results speak for themselves – a series sweep. And if attendance means anything, fans are starting to take notice. The Orioles are beating teams they should beat, and holding their own against good competition.

This weekend’s series commemorated the 1983 World Series Championship team, with ceremonies held before Saturday night’s game. Now on a side note, nobody in sports does nostalgia like the Orioles. They’ve always honored the past better than any other team, perhaps in sports. And the fans have always shone out.

The other “backdrop” of this series was of course former Orioles’ manager Buck Showalter being back at Camden Yards. Showalter of course looked on from the third base dugout, where he was managing the New York Mets. The New York Mets, who find themselves mired in a season much like that of the 2018 Orioles – under Buck Showalter.

Showalter’s said many times that when you think you have it all figured out, the “baseball Gods” remind you that you don’t. Ask the Toronto Blue Jays, who fell victim to Tippy Martinez’s three pickoffs in the same inning back in 1983 (popular story told over the weekend). The 2018 Orioles and the 2023 Mets fall into that category. Should have contended; but they didn’t. And unfortunately both efforts were overseen by what I think is one of the best managers in the game.

However you know who is contending? The 2023 Orioles. Alone in first place in the AL East. Who saw that during the nadir of the past few seasons? However this weekend at Oriole Park at Camden Yards seemed to be a junction point. A rare moment in time where past, present, and future all merged into one.

So keep an eye on the first weekend of August, 2023. If the 2023 O’s, led by Brandon Hyde, go on and do special things, maybe think back to this weekend. And while I’m not going to specify, when I say “special things” I’m talking a parade down Pratt Street. There’s some sort of strange energy that grips the current Orioles, and it has something to do with the return of the 1983 team, and of Buck Showalter.

For his part; I’m sure Showalter doesn’t view things through the same romanticized lense. However he was quoted as saying he was happy for the fans. And he speaks glowingly of his time in Baltimore, and of the fans. Make no mistake, once the postseason begins, Buck will be rooting for the O’s.

And if there’s a parade on Pratt Street in 2023, he should be invited. Because he started something in Baltimore that simply was reshuffled and retooled. Make no mistake that if this team ever wins a title in the next couple of years, the price of admission will have been ONE BUCK.

The Orioles open up a series with Houston tomorrow at Camden Yards. Grayson Rodriguez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Frambler Valdez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Kings of the AL East sweep New York back to Queens

It was obvious from the beginning that Baltimore Orioles’ starter Kyle Bradish didn’t have his best stuff. Now to be clear, not only was he not awful, but he didn’t allow a run. Makes it tough to lose. But he had some issues locating his pitches at times, which can happen. Bradish’s line: 4.2 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 5 BB, 5 K.

After two offensive outbursts in the first two games of the series, the O’s out big runs on the board. Ten on Saturday and seven last night. However New York starter Quintana limited them this afternoon. Base runners were hard to come by. However Quintana’s outfield eventually let him down.

Jorge Mateo hit a one-out triple in the last of the sixth in a scoreless game. The ball went all the way to the wall after the outfield made a valiant attempt at catching it. And it lodged under the wall.

And that’s where the outfield let Quintana down. Fielders are taught to throw their arms in the air in that circumstance, saying they can’t fish the ball out cleanly. The moment they fish the ball out (which they did), that can’t happen. That out a runner at third in the form of Mateo, who later gave the O’s a 1-0 lead on Adley Rutschman’s RBI-groundout.

One inning later the Birds out runners at the corners with one out, and Ryan O’Hearn’s fielder’s choice-RBI gave them a 2-0 lead. However the O’s lucked out a bit there, as the New York infield lazily bumbled the play. It easily could have been an inning-ending double-play. And it probably should have been.

It was a lazy series in general for New York, which is uncharacteristic from a Buck Showalter-led team. We saw sloppy play in the field, pitch clock violations, and other things that you wouldn’t expect Buck to tolerate. And I’m not suggesting that he is, as I’m sure he’s still teaching fundamentals. But they looked like a team that had given up.

And the O’s looked like a team bound for the postseason. And that’s because they are. Mark my words.