Baltimore Orioles rally late but fall

The Baltimore Orioles were unable to continue the momentum of their St. Louis visit last night in Detroit. At least in the immediacy of last night – there are still two more games in the series. Jordan Lyles took the loss, but despite his numbers he did keep the Orioles in the ballgame. Lyle’s line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

Lyles held Detroit scoreless through two, but they got on the board in the third. Cabrera’s RBI-double gave Detroit a 1-0 lead. Cabrera would come up again in the sixth, and smack a solo homer to extend the lead to 2-0. Later in the inning Torkelson would reach on an error, scoring two more.

Trailing 4-0 into the later innings, the Birds did try to rally. Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander would both smack solo homer runs to cut the Detroit lead to 4-2. The Orioles would also load the bases in the ninth, however two straight strikeouts ended the game, and the Birds fell 4-2 in the Motor City.

Before the game the Orioles put Ryan Mountcastle on the 10-day IL with left wrist/forearm discomfort. Mountcastle missed the last two games in St. Louis, and the team felt he wasn’t healing quickly enough. The hope is that he’s able to return as soon as he comes off the IL.

The series continues this afternoon at Comerica Park. Bruce Zimmerman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Michael Pineda. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Rylan Bannon debuts as Birds take series from St. Louis

The Baltimore Orioles had to go with a dreaded “bullpen game” this afternoon in the series finale in St. Louis. Bryan Baker made his first start since 2017 today, and in effect acted as an “opener” for the O’s. (Incidentally, the aforementioned start by Bryan Baker was in single-A.) Baker’s line: 2.1 IP, 1 H 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Baker was announced as the starter this morning. We knew that today’s game was going to be a bullpen game, but we didn’t know who was actually going to be starting. And for the record, he did an admirable job. The Orioles also called Rylan Bannon up from triple-A Norfolk for the game, and he made his big league debut.

The O’s took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second on a Jorge Mateo solo homer. Immediately following Mateo in the lineup was Bannon, who immediately got on base with a single – his first big league hit on his first big league at-bat. A moment that Bannon will never forget. If his career ended tomorrow, he still would have gotten a hit in a major league ballgame.

That 1-0 lead stood up for quite awhile. The O’s scored again in the top of the seventh when Anthony Bemboom hit a solo homer of his own. It was the first home run by an Orioles’ catcher this season. And it came on a day when the Orioles needed every run they could get.

Later in that seventh inning Cedric Mullins would tack on an RBI-single, and the Orioles led 3-0. St. Louis would also get a homer by Carlson, and a sac fly-RBI by Arenado in the seventh and eighth innings respectively. They would also threaten to score more, but the Orioles’ pen held firm and the Birds will go to Detroit on the heels of a 3-2 victory.

With today’s win, the Orioles took two-of-three from a very good St. Louis Cardinals team. And in doing so they seemed to come together as a team. Keep in mind that the O’s lost big last night, this while knowing that today was going to be a challenge being a bullpen game. Not to mention that it was a day game. But they came together as a team and made a victory happen to win the series.

The O’s now head to Detroit to open a three-game set at Comerica Park. Jordan Lyles gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Eduardo Rodriguez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: String of quality starts comes to an end

The Baltimore Orioles weren’t going to see quality starts for the rest of time. Eventually things were going to get tougher, and that eventuality happened tonight. Spencer Watkins got the start, abs struggled throughout his outing. Watkins’ line: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

Watkins surrendered three runs in the last of the second. A solo homer by Yepez, and a two-RBI double by Donovan got things started for St. Louis. And that set the tone in essence for the entire game.

Edman’s RBI-double in the last of the fourth ran the score to 4-0. St. Louis would keep the pressure on, tacking on six more runs over the course of the rest of the game. The O’s would also get on the board in the last of the fifth on Robinson Chirinos’ RBI-double.

It begins and ends with starting pitching. I’ve said that for years. Or written it, I should say. Watkins was off tonight. But as I said, the string of quality starts wasn’t going to last forever. Someone was going to trip up at some point.

The series in St. Louis concludes tomorrow afternoon at Busch Stadium. The O’s are yet to announce a starter, but whomever he is will be opposed by St. Louis’ Jordan Hicks. Game time is set for 1:15 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Kyle Bradish strikes out 11 as O’s defeat Redbirds

The Baltimore Orioles taxed Kyle Bradish with going to the mound and starting in St. Louis tonight. And all Bradish did was produce the Birds’ fourth straight quality start in as many games. Bradish’s line: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 11 K.

This is an interesting series for a couple of reasons. First off, the Orioles came to Baltimore from St. Louis in 1954. Previously they had been the St. Louis Browns. They also hadn’t played in St. Louis since the early 2000’s. This meaning it was their first visit to the new Busch Stadium.

Bradish keeping the Redbirds at bay can’t be under-stressed. He put forth an all-star like effort tonight in keeping that lineup down. And in doing so, also helped save the Oriole bullpen a bit for later in the road trip.

The Orioles took the lead in the third inning on a two-run homer by Cedric Mullins. Tyler Nevin smacked one of his own (this one a solo shot) an inning later, running the score to 3-0. Obviously you’re going to be in good shape of you can get an outing like what Bradish produced tonight, combined with a few runs.

Come the fifth inning the O’s ran their lead to 4-0 on Anthony Santander’s RBI-double. Trey Mancini added an RBI-single in the sixth, and the O’s took a 5-0 lead. The O’s were cruising.

St. Louis’ first two runs came in a strange manner. Bader smacked a two-run homer – an inside-the-park home run, to be exact. Not only that, but it was the first inside-the-parker in the history of Busch Stadium. (The park opened in 2006.) Donovan would smack a solo homer in the last of the ninth as well, cutting the Birds’ margin of victory to 5-3.

But the rested Oriole bullpen held once Bradish left the game after the seventh, save for the solo homer. The O’s closed the door, and took the first game of the series 5-3. Talk about making a first impression in a ballpark where your franchise has never played before!

The series continues tomorrow night at Busch Stadium. Spencer Watkins gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by St. Louis’ Miles Mikolas. Game time is set for 7:45 PM.

Baltimore Orioles propelled to victory by six-run fifth inning

The Baltimore Orioles ended up having a very successful, albeit disjointed, weekend series with the Kansas City Royals. It culminated this afternoon in a makeup of Saturday’s game that was rained out. Tyler Wells got the start, and became the third Oriole starter to have a successful outing against Kansas City. Wells’ line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

The game started well for Kansas City, with O’Hearn’s RBI-single giving them a 1-0 lead in the first inning. But that moment was the pinnacle of the day for the visiting Kansas City Royals. Wells, the bullpen, and the defense behind them shut down Kansas City bats for the rest of the game. But Oriole bats were quiet as well…

…until the fifth inning, that is. Jorge Mateo tied the game at one with an RBI-single early in the inning. Mateo would later steal second base, causing an errant throw from the Kansas City catcher, Melendez. This allowed Anthony Bemboom to score from third, giving the Orioles the lead at 2-1.

And the inning snowballed from there. Trey Mancini scored on a wild pitch, running it to 3-1. And Ryan Mountcastle’s two-RBI single ran it to 6-1. Which stood up as the final score of the game. For once it was an opposing pitcher who fell apart against the Orioles, prompting a big inning. While you’d prefer to spread out your run output in a game, you take runs however you can take them. Especially in a victory.

The Birds took two-of-three from Kansas City this weekend, which bodes well for them as they hit the road for St. Louis and then Detroit. And if not for a few errors, they were in line to win the first game of yesterday’s doubleheader as well. And the starting pitching was strong all weekend. All of these aspects combined work in the Orioles’ favor moving forward.

The O’s now head to St. Louis for three games, starting tomorrow night. Kyle Bradish gets the start for the Orioles, and St. Louis is yet to name a starter. Game time is set for 7:45 PM tomorrow night.

Baltimore Orioles lifted by a big first inning

The Baltimore Orioles won the second game of a twin bill against Kansas City this afternoon, splitting the doubleheader. Baltimore area native Bruce Zimmermann got the start, and managed to deliver another quality start. Zimmermann’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 5 K.

For the second time today, the O’s had a starter who went deep into the ballgame. Jordan Lyles went 7.1 innings in game one earlier today, and Bruce Zimmermann pitched six. So the Oriole bullpen comes out of this doubleheader in fairly good shape. This with a makeup game tomorrow afternoon against these same Kansas City Royals tomorrow, and a road trip through St. Louis and Detroit looming this coming week.

Aside from Zimmermann’s shutdown performance (incidentally at one point he retired nine straight Kansas City hitters), the story of this game was written in the first inning. The O’s loaded the bases with nobody out, which seemed to bode well for the rest of the ballgame…

…and it boded well for that moment also. Cedric Mullins scored from third on a passed ball, giving the O’s a 1-0 lead. Ryan Mountcastle followed with an RBI-single, and Ramon Urias a sac fly-RBI. After one inning, the Birds held a 3-0 lead.

And that probably emboldened Bruce Zimmermann. He’s been the Orioles’ best pitcher thus far, but getting early runs makes a huge difference. In this specific case it also shows improvement from game one of the doubleheader where the O’s left quite a few runners on base.

Kansas City would push one across in the second on Merrifield’s sac fly-RBI. The Birds would grab an insurance run however in the fifth when Tyler Nevin smacked an RBI-single. Kansas City would attempt to rally in the sixth, but they could only muster a run on Dozier’s RBI-single. And the O’s went on to a 4-2 win.

A lot of players and coaches don’t like doubleheaders for various reasons (paramount of which has to do with the way it taxes players), but one of them is because most doubleheaders end up being split. Obviously that’s what we saw today. And that was due in large part to the effort from Bruce Zimmermann in the second game. And again, a solid outing by a starter in a doubleheader situation really helps a team out. So as I said above, the Oriole bullpen is in good shape going forward.

The series with Kansas City concludes tomorrow with a makeup game at Camden Yards. Tyler Wells gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Carlos Hernandez. Game time is set for just after 12 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Errors in the field costs the Birds

Jordan Lyles did the Baltimore Orioles a “solid” this afternoon. This based on pure longevity and staying in the ballgame. He pitched a strong start for the Birds, into the eighth inning. Lyles’ line: 7.1 IP, 7 H, 4 R (3 earned), 1 BB, 5 K.

When you’re playing a doubleheader and your starter goes into the eighth in game one, you’re in really decent shape. Win or lose. It helps save your bullpen.

Cedric Mullins gave the Orioles the lead in the second with a ground run RBI-double. Olivares’ RBI-single an inning later for Kansas City would tie the game at one. Kansas City would take the lead in the fifth when Lopez reached on a fielder’s choice, combined with Ryan Mountcastle’s throwing error. 

Benintendi would add a sac fly-RBI in the fifth to extend the lead to 3-1. Ryan Mountcastle appeared to potentially smack a two-run homer in the last of the fifth, however it was ruled a double. The Birds asked for a review, but the call was upheld. However the O’s did cut the lead to 3-2.

But two innings later the Birds would however get the lead back. Rougned Odor would smack a two-RBI double, giving the O’s a 4-3 lead. However that was short-lived. O’Hearn’s sac fly-RBI in the eighth would tie the game at four.

Kansas City would push two runs across in the top of the ninth as well, both the result of errors. A runner would get on base when Odor bobbled a routine grounder at second, and he would advance to third on a throwing error by Jorge Lopez. Two run-scoring singles later, Kansas City had a 6-4 victory in game one of a twin bill.

On the positive side, the O’s only used two relievers. In a doubleheader that’s important. However errors are killing this team right now. Only three of Kansas City’s six runs were earned. And the two in the ninth inning really stick out. You have to shore that up, as opponents are going to take advantage.

The series with Kansas City continues in a few moments from Camden Yards in the second game of the doubleheader. Bruce Zimmermann gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Daniel Lynch. Game time is set for about 20-25 from now.

Baltimore Orioles smack five homers to defeat Minnesota

Offense has been tough to come by for the Baltimore Orioles thus far in 2022. However if this past week’s series with Minnesota is any indication, that might be changing. In last night’s series finale the Birds sent Spencer Watkins to the mound, and while he didn’t stick around long enough to get the win, he put the team in a spot to be successful. Watkins’ line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K.

The Orioles hit five solo homers in the game last night. When you’ve been struggling to put runs on the board, that makes a difference. Ryan Mountcastle gave the O’s a 1-0 lead in the last of the second with the first of those five solo shots. One inning later it appeared that Minnesota had taken a 2-1 lead when Buxton grounded into a fielder’s choice that scored two runs. However the O’s challenged the second run, and the call was overturned. And we played on in a 1-1 tie.

But in the bottom of that same third inning the O’s took the lead back as Cedric Mullins smacked a solo homer. Minnesota briefly held the lead on Buxton’s two-run shot in the fifth, but it was short-lived. Jorge Mateo’s solo homer in the bottom of the inning tied the game back up at three.

Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle would add solo homers in the last of the eighth, and the O’s took the game 5-3. This also means that they split a four-game series with a very good Minnesota team. Mind you, Minnesota’s in first place in their division. They’re no slouch.

But more importantly, Oriole bats are coming alive. It was only a matter of time. If they can keep that momentum going, they’ll be in really good shape. This of course assuming that the pitching remains fairly solid – both starting and relief pitching.

Weather permitting, the O’s welcome the Kansas City Royals into Camden Yards this evening for the first game of three this weekend. Jordan Lyles gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Carlos Hernandez. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Did the Birds win the Dylan Bundy trade?

Fans have been waiting for the Baltimore Orioles to break out offensively for most of the year. They finally got their wish tonight, as the Birds put up nine runs for starter Kyle Brandish (and the bullpen). Brandish’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

Interestingly enough, Brandish was pitching against former Oriole Dylan Bundy. Brandish was the centerpiece of the trade that went Bundy packing from Baltimore. Interesting juxtaposition.

The game was scoreless through 2.5 innings, until Cedric Mullins smacked a two-run homer in the last of the third. Austin Hays and Rougned Odor would follow later in the afternoon inning with RBI-singles. And the Orioles were off to the races.

Four runs would have been a very healthy inning for any team. But the O’s were gunning for more against Minnesota and against their former starting pitcher. Ramon Urias would smack a two-run homer of his own later on in the inning, running the score to 6-0.

And it’s a good thing they tacked on some extra rubs. Because Correa’s two-run homer in the fourth cut the lead to 6-2. Minnesota had a very tough team, and they aren’t about to go down looking in a sense. Before the end of the inning, they had run the score to 6-4 – well within striking distance.

But Oriole bars were having none of that. The Birds would put three more runs on the board in that fourth inning. A run scoring-single by Anthony Santander, a sac fly from Hays, and an RBI-double by Ryan Mountcastle would round things out, both in the fourth inning as well as in the game.

So if this game was any indication, it appears that the Orioles won the Dylan Bundy trade. Again, that’s based on TONIGHT’S RESULT. But in truth I think it temains to be seen. I don’t think you can make a decision on that point based on one game. Needless to say however, the O’s wanted Brandish in return for a reason.

The series with Minnesota concludes tomorrow evening at Camden Yards. Spencer Watkins gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Minnesota’s Chris Archer. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Do starters have too short a leash?

The Baltimore Orioles sent Bruce Zimmermann to the mound this evening against Minnesota. Despite being removed after five innings, I personally thought that he pitched a solid outing. Zimmermann’s line: 5.0 IP. 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

Zimmermannn was scoreless through three innings, and gave up an RBI-single to Miranda in the fourth. (Miranda’s first big league hit – for what that’s worth.) However Zimmermann would pitch out of the inning, and remain unscathed save for that.

Tyler Nevin reached on an error in the fourth, allowing the first Oriole run of the night to score. However Minnesota would strike back in the fifth with an RBI-single. Mancini would tie the game later in the inning with an RBI-single of his own.

After Zimmerman had departed, Minnesota did some real damage. Polanco’s three-run homer in the top of the sixth gave Minnesota a 5-2 lead. This off of Joey Kreyhbiel. Kreyhbiel has been strong, just not on this night. Minnesota would add an additional two runs in the ninth, which rounded out the scoring.

As I said, Zimmermann was pitching well. So if you’re Brandon Hyde, why pull him out. To be fair, in many cases pitchers aren’t pitching well enough to justify leaving them in early on. But that’s not always the case, including tonight.

Granted, the Orioles’ rotation seems to be in a constant state of flux given injuries. But when a guy’s sent out as a starting pitcher, the goal should be to pitch between 7-9 innings. Because what happens is eventually an otherwise strong bullpen will show cracks. And then people start to talk about the ‘pen being inconsistent.

This isn’t to say that Hyde doesn’t know what he’s doing. He wouldn’t be a manager if he didn’t. But the last thing he wants is for a reliever’s arm to fall off.

The series continues tomorrow night with Minnesota at Camden Yards. Kyle Bradish gets the call for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by former Oriole Dylan Bundy. GMe time is just after 7 PM.