Baltimore Orioles: You often decide whether you win or lose on your own

Trey Gibson started what might have been his final game for the Baltimore Orioles for the time being tonight. Dean Kremer is expected to be recalled off the IL to make the start in tomorrow’s game. I would expect Gibson to be the corresponding move. Gibson’s line: 2.2 IP, 7 H, 8 R, 6 BB, 5 K.

Trey Gibson didn’t totally NOT command the strike zone tonight. When he did, over the course of his short start, he recorded outs. But when he shifted to pitching on the fringes, he got hit HARD. Which mind you, is the EXACT OPPOSITE of what the idea of nibbling in an intended to do. I

t’s intended to induce putting the ball in play – resulting in an out, of course. Needless to say, they’re putting the ball in play against Oriole pitching this year. And last.

The teams traded runs in the first – Chicago on a Benintendi RBI-double, and the Birds on an RBI-single by Samuel Basallo. Benintendi reached base again to lead off the third, followed by a two-run home run by Montgomery which gave Chicago a 3-1 lead. And that home run was hit a LONG WAY. Off of a low slider, for the record.

Gonzalez’s two-RBI single later in the inning extended the lead to 5-1. That came on a pitch well on the lowest of the lower fringes of the strike zone. The ball hit its spot, but Gonzalez was waiting for it. It’s no mystery what the Orioles are doing, and that became more evident later in the inning when Perez’s there-run home run broke the game wide open at 8-3.

That came on a curve in the zone. However it was the first pitch of the at-bat. Why you would start an at-bat on a curve ball is beyond me. Pitchers at times do that so as to steal a first-pitch strike. It didn’t work. It hasn’t worked all year. When teams hit pitchers the way they do those of the Orioles, they either know exactly what’s coming, or they got lucky. Or both. Interpret as you wish.

Save for a Gonzalez RBI-double in the fourth off of Josh Walker, the Oriole bullpen was very solid. Especially Albert Suarez. People who want to stir trouble will argue that the ChiSox called off the dogs. Whether they did or didn’t is beside the point. The Orioles bullpen was strong tonight, which got the Orioles through. It also may have saved a reliever for tomorrow in a bad situation tonight.

The Birds did get an RBI-double by Dylan Beavers and an RBI-single by Pete Alonso in the fifth which cut the lead to 9-3. But again, the bullpen was strong tonight. It may have been the lone bright spot.

I maintain that you can’t nibble on the fringes of the plate. Opponents are well aware of the fact that the Orioles either want to do that, or have to do that. And guys are either ready for the nibble job, or they’re stealing signs. Or both. Either way, balls are going a long way.

So my point would be to attack the strike zone. If you do and they hit the ball a long way, then you know that you need better pitchers. And again, look at how many balls get hit strangely or at weird angles. Look at how many balls get buried in the corners, well away from outfielders – who are playing too deep to have a shot at the balls.

Could that be due in part to the fact that Orioles pitching is throwing so much off the plate and guys are going so far out of the zone that the balls come off the bat oddly? How many more strange bounces will we need to see before it’s understood that exactly the tactics that are meant to stop these things are causing them?

Incidentally, the same is true with the training staff. The Front Office dismissed Brian Ebert, who had been with the team for a long time – this after 2024, and after Ebert was on the All-Star staff that year. As soon as the “new regime” came in, it was injuries galore. So when exactly will they realize that something is off?

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Neither side has announced a starter, although again it’s assumed to be Dean Kremer for the Orioles. Game time is set for just after 12:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Computers can’t play the game before it happens

Shane Baz turned in an outstanding start tonight for the Baltimore Orioles. A quality start at that. The Orioles simply couldn’t get any run support behind him. Baz’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 4 BB, 6 K.

I’m not sure how many times I’ve said this, but if you command the strike zone you can win games. Baz did that tonight, and he put the O’s in a spot to win the ballgame. The bats just couldn’t capitalize.

Gunnar Henderson led the game off with a double, which was good to see from his perspective. He would advance to third on a flyout, and score on Adley Rutschman’s sac fly-RBI.

The lead didn’t last past the third as Gonzalez’s RBI-double would tie it at one. Another one of those ball which went all the way to the wall, splitting the outfielders. Is it possible that the Orioles’ outfield was ill-positioned to allow for any nuance?

Chicago would take the lead later in the inning when Teel hit a ball off the mound to Gunnar Henderson at short. However the ball grazing the mound seemed to throw Gunnar off a bit, and he couldn’t make the throw. That allowed a run to score, and the O’s trailed 2-1.

Adley Rutschman would tie the game back up at two in the bottom of the inning with another sac fly-RBI. You have to figure that it’s incriminating on some level that the team which was supposed to live by the home run ball scored only two sacrifice flies tonight.

However they were picked up by Shane Baz. Even on that Teel RBI I mentioned above; after Henderson ate the ball, it was Baz who threw it home to get the final out at home plate on the trail runner. He pitched well enough to win. But the bats didn’t do much to help.

Baz departed however after seven innings. Grant Wolfram immediately hit a batter, who later scored on Montgomery’s RBI-double. Wolfram had Montgomery in a two-strike count, but couldn’t put him out. On top of that Grichuk’s RBI-single extended the Chicago lead to 4-2.

On paper that’s the story. But there’s more to it. For starters, Grichuk challenged two strike calls in the at-bat that were overturned to balls. When he did hit the ball, the runner (Montgomery) appeared to be out at home plate ending the inning. The home plate umpire actually called him out at first.

However the ball was dislodged from Adley Rutschman’s glove at the last second, and Montgomery was safe. It wasn’t a play that appeared destined to score a runner from first. But Chicago was aggressive and it worked out for them.

Things like that add up. One inning later, Chicago put two runners in scoring position after Gunnar Henderson couldn’t snag a ball hit to him at short. It was ruled an extra-base hit, but it’s a play Henderson should have made. The ball kind of dove right before it got to Henderson; Gonzalez’s subsequent two-RBI single extended the lead to 6-2.

On top of that, Teel sent a bouncer to Blaze Alexander at third, and it took a short hop in front of him and went into left field. That was a two-run error, and Chicago went home 8-3 winners. Like so many things this season, this game took a huge number of strange hops on the Orioles.

The Orioles have an over-reliance on analytics or Sabre metrics. Where it comes from or on whose orders it’s implemented is irrelevant. But it’s well known that they rely heavily on numbers and analytics over anything else.

But you have to temper that with feel for the game. It’s almost as if the Orioles assume that the game is played and thus over before it starts. The computer tells you the probability of success based on what you input. It infernally CANNOT play the game for you. As many games in baseball are won or lost on the fringes, that’s dangerous.

Look back to yesterday; Coby Mayo’s throw short-hopped Samuel Basallo. You can talk until you’re blue in the face that the numbers say this or that, but the numbers don’t play the game. Quirky things happen in games that computers can’t predict or understand. In fact, the computer may well explode knowing that its probability was off.

Probability isn’t a guarantee. The game is still played by human beings. And part of the story of human beings is that they’re flawed. Also unpredictable. So when your game plan is. Asked on a computer or AI, you’re backing yourself into a modus operandi in ink. Neither baseball, nor the world, is played or managed in ink. It’s done in pencil.

You have to adapt and change. Managing by analytics only doesn’t allow much leeway, and thus doesn’t allow you to adapt and change. If you’re so rigid that a dropped ball at home plate, a short-hopped throw, or splitting the defense on ill-positioned outfielders beats you every time, you aren’t putting yourself in a spot to win. All of those things combined? You’re really in trouble.

Instead you have a Chicago team which doesn’t have the skill of the Orioles and other teams. Yet they’re outperforming all of them. Why? Because they take the game as it comes. This as opposed to having the computer manage the game before it’s even played.

The series continues tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Trey Gibson gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Erick Fedde. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles haunted by walks, errors, and too much precision in loss to Washington

Kyle Bradish was looking to build off of his previous start in Anaheim this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles in the series finale against Washington. Bradish attacked the strike zone early. However as his outing went on he began to get too precise on his spots. Which is shocking because that modus operandi hasn’t worked for Oriole pitchers all year. Bradish’s line: 4.0 IP, 1 H, 4 R (3 earned), 5 BB, 2 K.

Bradish was effective early in the game. In fact, on top of that the Orioles had a lead. Pete Alonso smacked a two-run home run in the first inning. This on the heels of a base bit by Adley Rutschman, who returned from the concussion IL this afternoon.

However as we’ve seen all year, the O’s get out to an early lead only to sort of stop there. Bradish started getting too cute in the third, And it seemed to happen as usual – with two outs. It’s almost as if Bradish stopped trusting his stuff.

He issued two walks on pitches on the fringes. Garcia then smacked a two-RBI double that split the defenders and went all the way to the wall. This on a high slider – which shouldn’t have gone that far. When you try too hard to hit such a fine spot, you sometimes miss. And that can be the result.

To make matters worse, Bradish in a way did seem to right himself. Sort of. He induced the next hitter, Mead, to ground to third. A routine play that would have been the final out of the inning. However Coby Mayo’s throw took a short hop in front of Samuel Basallo, who was making his first start at first base today. The ball got by Basallo, allowing the run to score and giving Washington a 3-2 lead.

On a side note, that’s an error on Coby Mayo. With Rutschman back in the lineup, Craig Alberbaz wanted to keep Basallo in the lineup. Coby Mayo has to know that he has a novice at first. Maybe put a little extra on the throws today.

Bradish continued to be too fine, however. As I said, it appeared he wasn’t trusting his fastball. The misses weren’t egregious, but the pitches were out of the zone. Hence the five walks. It’s a valuable lesson in a way; if you try to be too perfect you’ll be anything but.

Bradish was lifted after a walk in the fifth. The problem of course was that Garcia smacked a two-run home run extending the lead to 5-2. Nothing good ever happens after a walk. On top of that, Garcia would send a solo shot over the wall in the seventh (umpire reviewed).

But the O’s also battled back in the seventh as well. Jackson Holliday’s two-run homer cut the lead to 6-4. However they couldn’t get any closer, falling 6-4. End of the day, you have to pick yourself up and go on. That’s how baseball works. Never allow yourself to reach rock bottom.

The Mayo error stands out. So do the walks. And the pitch selection thus by extension.

The O’s now open a three-game set with the ChiSox tomorrow at Camden Yards. Shane Baz gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Chicago’s Sean Burke. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Results don’t dictate right and wrong

Out of all the plays in the Baltimore Orioles’ 4-3 loss to Washington last night, none of them are scrutinized as much as a moment in the last of the tenth. Nevermind the strikeouts or anything else. But lots of people are talking about the contact play.

The Orioles of course had a ghost runner on second to start the inning (in the form of Jeremiah Jackson). He moved to third on a Jackson Holliday groundout. So the Birds had one out and the tying run at third. In extra innings.

The question in this situation is whether or not the team at bat has the contact play on. Meaning will the runner at third break for home on contact (at the crack of the bat). The alternative of course is waiting to see if it’s safe to run.

Taylor Ward grounded the ball to third, and in fact the contact play was on. Jackson was dead in the water at home plate. To make matters worse, Gunnar Henderson immediately got on base with a single – which would have tied the game had the runner held up at third.

In general I believe in playing conservatively in games. However this is situational baseball in a sense. If that exact same scenario (with a real runner having hit his was to third in lieu of a ghost runner) plays out in the third inning, there’s no reason to have the contact play on. Do teams (including the Orioles) do it? All the time. And it’s frustrating.

But you’re down by one in extra innings. The situations ARE NOT the same. You need one run to extend the game – and then let things lie where they may. Having the runner break for home on contact was the right move.

People may ask, why is it okay in extra’s but not earlier? When you play for one run, often you’re going to get one run (at best). Earlier in the game you might look for a big inning. Plus you have time to make your move to make up one run. Down one in the tenth, you need exactly one run to extend the game. It makes sense to run on contact there.

In anything, you can’t let the result dictate whether or not something was fundamentally sound. It’s very unfortunate when you do the right thing and it works to your detriment. But you can’t second-guess making the correct move. And having the runner go on contact was the correct move in that situation.

Baltimore Orioles: Tough loss in extra’s

Brandon Young labored through five innings tonight for the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards against Washington tonight. He made one bad pitch, and suffered a few unfortunate bounces and rolls. Such is life as a starter at times. Young’s line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 8 K.

Young surrendered a ground rule double to Lile in the second. Leody Taveras appeared to have it in his grasp, but it sailed on him and bounced into the stands. Vivas folllwed with a softly-hit RBI-single to left field giving Washington a short-lived 1-0 lead. in the bottom of the frame Chadwick Tromp’s run-scoring single tied the game at one.

The tie only lasted a couple of innings, however. Garcia smacked a deep home run onto Eutaw Street in the fifth. That was the one bad pitch that Brandon Young threw. But solo home runs shouldn’t hurt you. Unless you allow them to.

Blaze Alexander committed an error to lead off the sixth, allowing a runner to get to second. Millas’ run-scoring single would extend Washington’s lead to 3-1. However Garcia came up again in what ended up being the end of the inning. I say that because Garcia sent a shot off the wall in right. Tyler O’Neill relayed the ball in, while the Washington third base coach inexplicably waved the runner from first around. And the Orioles had the final out of the inning at home.

That was a huge play. This as we found out later. This is why I say not to take risks in games. Over-aggression at times can cost you runs. And wins.

However the O’s made no attempt to hold Washington accountable for that – until the eighth inning. Washington starter Griffin, who was as outstanding as outstanding can be, was lifted due to his high pitch count. That’s all the Birds needed.

With two outs in the last of the eighth, Pete Alonso’s RBI-double cut the lead to 3-2. Craig Albernaz pinch hit Samuel Basallo for Coby Mayo. First pitch swinging, Basallo stroked an RBI-single tight down the first base line. That tied the game at three.

Unfortunately for the O’s however, Washington is a team who can take advantage of the ghost runner in extra innings better than most. Because they’re capable of spraying the ball all over the place if need be. They get on base. Lile’s run-scoring single in the top of the tenth gave them a 4-3 lead.

The O’s would load the bases with two out in the last of the tenth, but Samuel Basallo grounded out to end the game. This is the sort of game that has bounced and skips which decided it. It’s easy to point at the Orioles’ errors as incriminating- and they are. But the game ends in nine if the Washington runner isn’t thrown out at home. Tough loss, but it’s a game of margins.

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

Baltimore Orioles: Pitching rules the night

It begins and ends with starting pitching – for the Baltimore Orioles and all other teams. They got it last night from Trevor Rogers against Washington. As much as people try to say bullpens matter more now, they just don’t. There’s no substitute for solid starting pitching. Rogers’ line: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K.

Rogers attacked the strike zone so much that he didn’t even issue a walk. He overpowered Washington hitters. Mind you, the Washington Nationals are baseball’s highest scoring team. Trevor Rogers shut them down.

The O’s ran themselves out of an inning in the second when Leody Taveras was caught stealing with two outs and runners on the corners. Rogers also got himself into a slight bit of a pickle in the fourth. Washington put two runners in scoring position after a softly hit double and a softly hit single. The sort of thing that’s plagued the Birds all year. But he pitched out of that, including an out recorded at home plate.

In their half of the frame the O’s also put two runners in scoring position. Jackson Holliday drew a walk, loading the bases. The Orioles would then take a 2-0 lead on Blaze Alexander’s two-RBI single. Alexander would later be thrown out at third on a Taylor Ward single, and the out was recorded before Jackson Holliday crossed home plate – negating a third run.

That’s the second time in a few weeks that’s happened. Both times it was Alexander being thrown out before Holliday could touch home plate. Whether it’s Holliday lallygagging around the bases or Alexander making poor decisions on the base paths – or both, you can’t give away runs. Especially in close ballgames.

Washington would cut the lead in half in the fifth on an RBI-single by Ruiz. Rogers was pulled in the seventh with one on and one out. Again, this after an outstanding outing, albeit after only 87 pitches. My personal opinion was that Craig Albernaz pulled him too early. However Tyler Wells picked up right where Rogers left off, ending the inning.

Coby Mayo’s RBI-double in the last of the seventh gave the Orioles the insurance run they needed. Grant Wolfram set up Ryan Helsley for the ninth, and he sent Washington down 1-2-3. With the win, the O’s got the taste of Wednesday’s game in Anaheim out of their mouths.

The series continues tonight at Camden Yards. Brandon Young gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Washington’s Foster Griffin. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Throw the script out if you want to win

Trey Gibson got the start this afternoon in the series finale in Anaheim. Also the finale of a long three-game west coast road trip. Perhaps a defining moment in a sense given the distance and time. And a win going into today would have given the Birds a winning record on the trip. Gibson’s line: 4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

Gibson nibbled here and there, and perhaps a little too much. But he also got his fastball over for strikes towards the end of his outing. I found it interesting that Gibson only lasted four innings. Granted, with the off day tomorrow, almost anyone was eligible to work out of the ‘pen today.

Gibson gave up a two-run home run to Soler in the first inning. Tough way to start, but he righted himself. As did the O’s overall; Pete Alonso led off the top of the second with a base hit. That brought Samuel Basallo to the plate.

Basallo wasn’t at the plate for long. Just like the ball wasn’t in the ballpark for long. Basallo sent a deep fly ball 434 feet from home plate, and over the wall for a game-tying home run. It’s not about how you start, it’s how you finish.

Leody Taveras walked one inning later, and we know what that means for the team in the field! That brought Pete Alonso to the plate, and his RBI-double gave the Birds a 3-2 lead. Which brought Basallo back to the plate.

Basallo didn’t hit it quite 434 feet this time. But he did take it 373 feet to right, which was far enough to clear the wall. And the O’s led, 5-2.

The Oriole bullpen took it from there. Again, I found it interesting that Gibson was lifted early. With the likes of Dean Kremer and Cade Povich potentially eyeing returns in the near future, might the O’s be looking at moving Gibson to the bullpen?

Grissom’s RBI-single in the eighth cut the lead to 5-3. With two on and Guzman coming to the plate, Craig Albernaz again went to the bullpen, this time to match up. He brought in righty Andrew Kittredge to face the righty Guzman.

However I suspect Anaheim expected that. They also expected Kittredge to try and command the fringes of the plate – which he did. Guzman drew a walk to load the bases. Meckler’s subsequent two-RBI single tied the game at five and we went to extras.

Craig Albernaz follows a certain script in games – both games trending towards a win, or towards a loss. It’s almost the same script that was followed by Brandon Hyde/Tony Mansolino the last couple of years. With almost the same players. And with similar results at times.

This is why opponents allow themselves to be loosely goosey at times, and evolve with the game. Which is why at times we see teams sitting on pitches (and ultimately getting them), AND we see the Orioles making curious mistakes in games. The Orioles play so rigid that they can’t allow themselves to evolve with the game. Opponents can.

The Orioles began the tenth with the ghost runner at second, which quickly became runners at the corners. Gunnar Henderson grounded into a fielder’s choice with the out being at home plate, but before the ball king ended Pete Alonso’s RBI-single gave the Orioles the lead back at 6-5.

Albernaz had to turn to Keegan Akin to close the game out in the tenth. He recorded two quick outs, putting the Birds on the precipice of a win and a winning road trip. With the ghost runner having moved to third, Schanuel rolled a ball over to Jeremiah Jackson at second. This appeared to be a routine play…until Keegan Akin decided to come off the mound to make the play. Jackson threw to first base, where Pete Alonso was waiting – but Akin inexplicably seemed to launch himself towards the bag to field the ball, which trickled up the first base line and allowed Schanuel to get to third.

It’s inexplicable why Akin did that. He came off the mound on a dead sprint, almost thinking that Alonso wasn’t at first base to field the ball. His misjudgment and the urgency thereof literally allowed what he thought was preventing – the tying run.

Granted with two outs, but that also allowed the winning run to get to third. O’Hoppe swung at the fourth pitch, and on an excuse me check swing, sent a swinging bunt down the third base line. Samuel Basallo quickly fielded the ball, but the runner squeezed by him and scored, sending the O’s down to a 7-6 defeat.

A lot had to happen for that to end up being the endgame. None of it was expected. None of it went according to the script. Schnauel ran hard down the line to first – just in case he had a shot to reach safely. And he did. His speed caused that play in a sense. Anaheim was ready for whatever happened. The Orioles got caught up in their script.

It’s worth at least mentioning that on the game-winning run, Schnauel may well have been out of the base path – similar to what we saw in Toronto a few weeks ago. Can we definitively say that the umpire blew the call? No. It’s a judgement call. But the runner clearly deviated out of the base path as the tag attempt was being initiated by Basallo.

Tough to say t definitely should have been called. But it was at least something Craig Albernaz should have addressed, and in a fairly spirited manner at that. I guess a potential ejection (after the would-be final out) wasn’t part of the script.

Baltimore Orioles: From feast to famine in Anaheim

After Monday’s win, the Baltimore Orioles had quite a different sort of game last night. Shane Baz struggled, but roughed his way through five innings. Baz’s line: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K.

I mentioned yesterday that Kyle Bradish commanded the strike zone. Baz did his share of nibbling last night, and the result speaks for itself. You can’t live on the fringes or the plate or off the plate. Bradish mowed down hitters left and right. Baz had balls put in play and runners reaching base.

He surrendered a two-run homer in the first to Schanuel, giving Anaheim a 2-0 lead. Baz kept them off the board until the fifth after that, when Grissom’s two-RBI single extended the lead to 4-0. Soler racked on a sac fly-RBI in the end of the inning, and the O’s trailed 5-0.

The O’s didn’t get a hit against Anaheim’s Johnson until the sixth. They got on the board in the seventh on an RBI-single by Leody Taveras. In total in the game, they only had three hits.

So it’s feast or famine in Anaheim. The one bright spot for the Birds was Albert Suarez, who pitched three innings of relief for the O’s, surrendering only one hit. He also kept the bullpen fresh for the series finale today. A win in the finale would give the Orioles a winning west coast road trip.

The series and the roadtrip conclude the afternoon at Angel Stadium. Trey Gibson gets the start for the O’s, done he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Jose Soriano. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: The Leody Taveras game

The Baltimore Orioles got another sparkling start out of Kyle Bradish last night at “The Big A” in Anaheim. Despite a rough start in Seattle, the Orioles really have a good shot to make this a great road trip. If they win tonight or tomorrow, it would be an above .500 west coast swing. Bradish’s line: 8.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K.

Pitchers who have commanded the strike zone have succeeded this year. Bradish struck out nine Anaheim hitters last night, and in doing so he avoided nibbling. He simply overpowered the hitters. That’s the goal. That wins games.

Taylor Ward smacked the fourth pitch of the ballgame out of the park to give the O’s a 1-0 lead. Gunnar Henderson later led off the fourth with a walk. And we all know what that means – nothing good happens after a walk (for the team in the field, that is). Pete Alonso followed with a single, bringing Coby Mayo to the plate. And Mayo hit a ball far out of “The Big A,” giving the O’s a 4-0 lead.

Pete Alonso added a sac fly-RBI in the fifth, and Gunnar Henderson an RBI-triple in the seventh. Rico Garcia would give up a solo home run to Soler in the ninth, but he quickly righted himself. He retired the side 1-2-3 after that, the O’s took game on in Anaheim, 6-1.

However the bigger story in the game was Leody Taveras. The outfielder entered the game at third base for the first time in his career in the last of the third, replacing Blaze Alexander. Curious move.

As it turned out, Alexander had fouled a ball off his knee in the second inning, and it later locked up on him. For one reason or the other, the Orioles opted to insert Taveras at a position he’s never played in lieu of simply surrendering their DH, and moving Coby Mayo (the starting DH) into the field. I’m not suggesting that Kyle Bradish having to hit would have been ideal. But for my money it would have been the lesser of two evils as opposed to Taveras playing third.

But Taveras was flawless at the hot corner. The first hitter grounded a ball right to him, and he easily made the play. It makes you wonder if in the moment perhaps he didn’t have time to think about it and it sort of came more naturally to him. But one way or the other that saved the game. Anaheim was presented with a huge advantage, and Taveras didn’t allow them to take it.

Alexander was said to have a muscle contusion in his knee after the game. Craig Albernaz said he’d be “fine.” Again my personal opinion is that surrendering your DH would have been a better option, but Taveras at third worked out. This time.

The series continues tonight at Angel Stadium. Shane Baz gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Ryan Johnson. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM,

Baltimore Orioles win until the “cows” come home in the City of Angels

While the City of Angels was on fire this morning due to a neighborhood fire raging out of control, the Baltimore Orioles sent Brandon Young to mound in Chavez Ravine. Young wasn’t at his best. But needless to say, he got the job done accordingly. And Oriole bats delivered – especially Colton Cowser. Young’s line: 5.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K.

The Oriole Way jumped over Dodger Blue from the very beginning. And for once, it wasn’t close in the ninth inning. Samuel Basallo and Colton Cowser each smacked RBI-singles in the last of the first to give the Birds a 2-0 lead. Muncy would get one back for LA in the home half of the frame with an RBI-single, but that was the home team’s lone highlight in the game.

Instead, the Orioles turned the colors of this game to orange & black – similar to the fire roaring in Los Angeles as the game wore on. Taylor Ward’s solo homer in the second extended the lead to 3-1. Colton Cowser hit a solo shot of his own one inning later, as well as a two-RBI single in the fourth. When the smoke cleared, the O’s led 6-1.

The bats took a couple of innings off, but picked back up in the seventh with an RBI-double by Jeremiah Jackson. If the game hadn’t already been blown wide open, Pete Alonso’s three-run homer later in the inning did just that. And to prove the O’s weren’t kidding, Blaze Alexander’s two-run homer in the eight acted as an exclamation point.

With the 12-1 blowout win, the O’s took two-of-three from the defending champions over the weekend series. It was hit-or-miss after Friday night’s loss. But the O’s certainly battled back against Dodger Blue in a great way. Everyone contributed. With three to go on the three-game west coast road swing, the Birds are .500 on the trip.

The O’s now head down the freeway to open up a three-game set against Anaheim at Angel Stadium. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Anaheim’s Sam Aldegheri. Game time is set for just after 9:30 PM.