Baltimore Orioles, Austin Hays blast off and hold on in Houston

Thomas Eshelman got the start last night for the Baltimore Orioles…”deep in the heart of Texas.” Starting in Houston is a tough task, but Eshelman pitched really well – aside from being squeezed several times. And given that his opposite number was Houston’s Greinke, the O’s themselves had a tall task. Eshelman’s line: 3.2 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 0 K.

The Birds took a 1-0 lead in the third on Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI-single. Tucker’s sac fly-RBI one inning later would tie the game, and Altuve would later walk with the bases loaded to give Houston a 2-1 lead. However the inning should have been over. Eshelman walked Maldonado to load the bases prior to being pulled. But what was called ball four looked an awful lot like strike three. As I said above, Eshelman got squeezed.

At that point if you’re Houston (a contender), you’re thinking that all’s right with the world. They took an early lead, but now you have the lead and things are as they should be. But Ryan Mountcastle put them on notice not to get too comfortable. His two-run homer in the fifth have the Orioles the lead back at 3-2.

The teams would trade runs in the seventh, but Houston would also put an additional run on the board that inning on a walk with the bases loaded. Tying the game at four, again Houston had to be feeling that things were put back the right way. But the Orioles were poised to pounce, much in the manner that team such as Houston normally do to them.

Austin Hays had already earned his keep for the day when he brought an apparent home run back (recording an out) early in the game in right field. But his two-run homer in the ninth gave the Orioles a 6-4 lead. Pedro Severino would add a two-RBI double, and Ramon Urias would add an RBI-double of his own. This appeared to end the game, blasting Houston into space when it counted.

But as I said above regarding Houston, you never want to get too comfortable. Houston put three runs back on the board in the last of the ninth. Ultimately they weren’t able to come all the way back, but would anyone have put it past them to have done so? Either way, the O’s took the series opener, 9-7. A well-earned victory over a championship-caliber opponent at their place – “deep in the heart of Texas.”

The series continues this evening at Minute Maid Park. The O’s have yet to announce a starter, but whomever he is he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Jose Urquidy. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Frustrating day and weekend in Buffalo

Jorge Lopez did what he could to put the Baltimore Orioles in a position to win this after noon at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. He didn’t go five, but he battled both himself, and an inconsistent strike zone throughout his outing. Lopez’s line: 4.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 2 K.

Lopez had the lead before he even got on the field. Ryan Mountcastle smacked a solo homer in the first inning to give the Orioles a 1-0. And that right there might be something to consider. We’ve seen a lot of solo homers off Oriole bats; teams know that solo home runs don’t hurt you. So they’ll throw pitches in the middle of the plate with nobody on base, because they know that if worst comes to worst, they can overcome it. And they’re generally right.

Toronto would tie the game in the second on a run that scored on a GIDP. They would later take the lead in the third on Guererro’s two-RBI double. Later in the inning Toronto thought they had a fourth run. DJ Stewart appeared to mail a runner at the plate for the final out of the inning. However the runner was ruled safe, but later called out after the Orioles challenged the play and it was overturned.

Ramon Urias attempted to get the O’s back into the game in the fifth with an RBI-double. That cut the lead to 3-2, however Biggio’s two-RBI double in the bottom of the inning ran it to 5-2. Toronto shut down the Orioles’ lineup for the rest of the game, and took the game and the series.

Players on multiple sides took issue with the strike zone this afternoon. However the O’s didn’t seem to handle it as well as Toronto. Whereas the Orioles kept wanting to say this was a strike or that was a ball, Toronto pitchers pitched to the umpire’s zone.

Toronto frustrates the heck out of the Orioles in general. Save for Friday night’s game, every bounce seems to go their way. And they aren’t shy in celebrating even a standard base hit. They had a shot at winning this game, but couldn’t come up with a clutch hit, especially with runners in scoring position.

The O’s now head to Houston to open up at three-game set at Minute Maid Park tomorrow night. Thomas Eshelman gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Zack Greinke. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Toronto cut deep by the O’s

The Baltimore Orioles hasn’t won a game since last Friday night against Toronto. And Toronto, who’s had just about every bounce for their way in every game since then, hadn’t lost since that time. The Birds were sending a struggling Matt Harvey to the mound in Buffalo last night. But sometimes people and events surprise you. Harvey’s line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Harvey pitched a great game. He also put innings in and helped save an over-taxed bullpen. He gave up a solo homer to Springer in the second which gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. However the Orioles immediately tied the game an inning later when Freddy Galvis grounded into a run-scoring double-play.

That sounds like a cheap way to score a run, and in a way it is. But when you’re struggling like the Orioles are you take runs however you can get them. That also perhaps put Toronto on notice that the O’s had about had it with watching them celebrate.

But Toronto would end up taking the lead back, and extending it. Guerrero smacked a solo homer in the last of the third, and Gurriel an RBI-double in the fourth. Semien’s two-RBI double in the seventh in theory should have been the fatal blow. That should have had the O’s simply playing out a string in the end of the game. Giving Harvey an undeserved loss, and extending the losing streak.

And Toronto seemed to sense that. Did they take their foot off the gas? Tough to say. But what we can say for sure is that the Birds had other ideas of how this game was going to end.

Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI-single in the eighth cut the lead to 5-2. After Toronto changed pitchers, Anthony Santander smacked an RBI-single, cutting the lead to 5-3. Notice that Toronto changed pitchers; remember how I said above how they had just about every bounce go their way of late? They probably figured that changing pitchers would work simply because they were lucky and the Orioles weren’t. Not on this day.

Austin Hays would smack a two-RBI double, which brought the O’s all the way back and tied the game. A game that eventually went to extra innings, and that the Orioles won in the tenth inning when Pat Valaika walked with the bases loaded. The O’s held onto win 6-5.

As I said, the Orioles had to have been tired of watching Toronto celebrate inning after inning. And it started last Saturday when they savagely came back on the O’s with a six-run ninth inning. They’ve now kind of been paid back for that. Turnabout is fair play.

The series continues this afternoon at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. Keegan Akin gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Hyun Jin Ryu. Game time is set for just after 3 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Are the Birds tipping their pitches?

Dean Kremer had perhaps the worst start of his career last night for the Baltimore Orioles in Buffalo against Toronto. It might be the worst start of anyone’s career. That’s not as much a conviction of Kremer as it sounds. These sorts of outings happen. And they aren’t easy to stomach for anyone. Kremer’s line: .1 IP, 2 H, 6 R, 5 BB, 0 K.

Toronto put two runs on the board right away. Kremer loaded the bases by way of walks, and Hernandez’s RBI-single gave Toronto a 1-0 lead. Grichuk would also add an RBI-groundout.

At that point you felt good that the Birds had recorded an out, and you thought maybe Kremer would pitch out of the jam allowing only two runs. But that wasn’t to be; Biggio walked as well, and Gurriel’s grand slam lit Toronto ahead 6-0.

Toronto would put three more runs on the board in the early innings, but the Orioles’ pen held them at bay for the rest of the game. Which was good. But the damage was done.

The O’s have really taken it on the chin the past few days. Against Houston I wrote that it was as if the Houston players knew what Oriole pitchers were throwing before they (the pitchers) did. I had that same feeling last night as well.

Which makes me wonder if the Orioles aren’t somehow tipping their pitches. Obviously it would be unintentional if being done, however some of the swings and mammoth home runs we’ve seen appear a bit over/m-the-top. As in you’d have to know the pitch and the location in order to be able to hit the ball like that.

The most incriminating thing about that possibility is that if opposing teams are picking up on something that’s telling them what’s coming, obviously nobody in the Orioles’ dugout is picking up on it. That would be a huge problem.

Another interesting moment came in the fourth inning with Grichuk on first base. The ball was tagged deep to center field, but not deep enough as it was caught. The Orioles proceeded to easily throw Grichuk out at second base trying to rage up and advance.

First off, it was a stupid idea to try to advance on what amounted to a routine fly ball. But…Toronto was leading 9-0 at the time. I won’t say anything further about it, but it seems like poor form.

The series continues tonight at Buffalo’s Sahlen Field. Matt Harvey gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Alex Manoah. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Latest team to suffer on Houston’s revenge tour

Thomas Eshelman became only the most recent Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher to have issues with two outs. In the first couple of innings tonight against Houston, he seemed to record two outs with relative ease. Then the problems began. Eshelman’s line: 4-0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 1 BB, 1 K.

Houston put three runs on the board in the first inning. All with two outs. The same thing happened in the second inning, but the O’s held them to only one. And while there were walks sprinkled into that mix, the hits were all softly hit. As in, the outfielders were positioned way too far back in order to make the play.

Those are tough to stomach in my opinion. You aren’t expecting a big league team to get fat on balls that look like they were hit by T-Ball players. But they all count. And they sure as heck counted against Oriole pitching tonight.

Houston would put two up in the fourth, one in the sixth, four in the seventh, and two in the eighth. They seemed to know what was coming before the Orioles knew what they were going to throw. And no matter what, they seemed to put the ball in play.

So the O’s get swept at home by Houston. They aren’t the first to get beaten around, and they won’t be the last. One thing that was constant in the series was Orioles fans giving some pretty harsh treatment to the Houston players.

We all know why they were being mercilessly boo’d, and Camden Yards isn’t the first visiting ballpark in which it’s happened. However the Houston players have made all of those fan bases eat their words. Their attitude is sure, go ahead and boo us. But we’re going to not only beat your team, but make them look foolish in the process.

These players seem to resent the way that their franchise was handled in the wake of the cheating scandal in 2018. Now for the record, Inwould argue that they’re lucky. The players in effect snitched on their coaches and front office, all of those personnel were fired, suspended, etc. – “held accountable.” Not only did the players not face any discipline, but they got to keep their World Series trophy.

Yet in their mind the league’s done them wrong. I can’t imagine being shameless enough to where I’d get angry over the perception that I was a cheater, when in fact…I WAS a cheater! That’s been their story all season. The more viciously they’ve been boo’d, the more determined they’d become.

And you can almost see the players laughing at opposing fans in the dugout. Obviously the players don’t see it as shameless given that it’s being used as fodder. I think that playing the victim when in fact you were the aggressor is a really hard sell. But…it’s working for them. And the Orioles were only their most recent victim.

The Orioles now hit the road, starting with four games in Buffalo, NY against Toronto at Sahlen Field. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto‘s Anthony Kay. Game time is set for just after 7 PM tomorrow night.

Baltimore Orioles fall despite Jorge Lopez’s valiant effort

The Baltimore Orioles played a much more complete game tonight against Houston than we saw last night. Granted it came in a losing effort still, however starter Jorge Lopez put them in a spot to win. And then some. Lopez’s line: 6.1 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 6 K.

If you’re keeping track at home, that’s a quality start for Lopez. It’s always a shame to waste a quality start on a loss, but I also think it’s worth pointing out that maybe the Orioles’ coaching staff is learning how to better handle Lopez. Maybe they know what to look for better in terms of when Lopez is tiring, and/or of opposing teams are seeing his stuff better.

Houston took a 1-0 lead in the second when Straw smacked a solo homer to left. The ball appeared to hit off the top of the left field wall and bounce back into play. However that’s a home run under Camden Yards’ ground rules, and the call was rules as such upon review.

Cedric Mullins’ sac fly-RBI would tie the game at one an inning later in the third. And that tie would last for much of the remedy of the game. But it didn’t last long enough, as Straw’s RBI-single on the seventh have Houston a 2-1 lead. One inning later McCormick’s sac fly-RBI would give Houston a 3-1 lead. And that would be your final.

The series concludes tomorrow night at Camden Yards. Thomas Eshelman gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Jose Urquidy. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall, almost get no-hit

Keegan Akin of the Baltimore Orioles was almost the opposing starter in a no-hitter last night. Luckily the O’s held that off, however they couldn’t hold off Houston. Despite his numbers, Akin pitched decent enough. He was also failed by the defense behind him. Akin’s line: 4.0 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 4 BB, 5 K.

The start of the game was delayed an hour by biblical-like storms that passed over Camden Yards, With two runners on, Houston’s McCormick sent an RBI-single in the third inning. However Austin Hays’ attempted to cut the run off at home plate as opposed to playing it back into second base. That allowed two runners to enter into scoring position.

And that did have a negative impact, as Gurriel sent a sac fly-RBI into center field later in the inning. You have to hit the cutoff man, because that sort of thing will cost you runs. While Akin obviously put the guys on base, he was failed by the defense behind him once they were there.

But Alvarez’s subsequent three-run homer broke the game wide open. Even the best defense behind you can’t prevent that. Gurriel would add another sac fly-RBI in the seventh, but by then the story was Houston tossing a no-hitter. It was shaping up to be a staff no-no, as they had used various pitchers. But the Orioles were desperately trying to scrimp a hit together.

Before they could however, Houston would run their lead to 10-0. The competitive portion of the game was long over. The question was could the Birds muster a hit.

And yes, they found a way. Maikel Franco ended the no-hit bid in the last of the eighth with a two-run homer. So the no-hitter and the shutout were lost in one fatal swoop. It doesn’t change the fact that the O’s lost the game, but at least they didn’t suffer the ignobility of being no-hit.

The series continues tonight at Camden Yards. Jorge Lopez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Zack Greinke. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Four-run fifth sinks the O’s

Matt Harvey pitched a decent outing for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He probably didn’t go as deep into the game as manager Brandon Hyde would have liked, but in theory he put the team in a spot to win. Although a four-run fifth inning wiped that out. Harvey’s line: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

Oriole bats gave Harvey an early lead. Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer in the first inning. He hit to about the deepest part of the ballpark, giving the O’s a 1-0 lead. And Harvey held Toronto at bay for four innings.

But things changed in the fifth. I’m not sure if he tired quickly or what, but while he was previously recording outs, he seemed to just lose it all at once. Which again tells me he doesn’t have the stamina to go much further than about 70 pitches or so in a game.

Bichette’s RBI-single in that fifth inning got the Toronto rally started, tying the game at one. Hernandez added an RBI-double to give them a 2-1 lead. Grichuk and Biggio added RBI-singles before the O’s could record the third out.

But the damage was done. And on top of that, Toronto would add two runs in the eighth and take the game – following a solo homer by Pedro Severino in the last of the eighth, and a two-run shot by Trey Mancini. The O’s made a run at it, but couldn’t come all the way back. Toronto would add on an insurance run in the ninth to take the game, 7-4. And take the series.

As I said, the O’s made a valiant run at coming back. This game was never pretty from the get-go. They never gave up though, which for a rebuilding team is really all that counts. But obviously we’re also in the business of wins and losses. Every game counts.

I’ve said this before, but I do wonder if the Orioles are too predictable in terms of how they position their fielder’s. If I’m Brandon Hyde I think it’s at lease worth looking at. Because often the O’s are playing their outfield straight up, and guys are pulling the ball tightly down the line. Basically hitting ‘em where they ain’t.

One bright spot today was reliever Adam Plutko. He pitched 2.2 scoreless innings in the immediate relief of Matt Harvey. That may well have saved another bullpen reliever, and it stemmed the tide of Toronto momentum. Not that it mattered on the scoreboard, but that’s one of those things that happens in games which are intangible.

The Orioles will open up a three-game set with the Houston Astro’s tomorrow at Camden Yards. Keegan Akin gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Houston’s Jake Odorizzi. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Father’s Day takes on a new meaning this year

At some point during every Baltimore Orioles game, I think of my Dad. He doesn’t follow the team as religiously as he used to, but that’s okay. I obviously pen this column, so I pick up the slack! However I’m always reminded of the grand Saturday afternoon when he took me to my first game at Memorial Stadium.

It was the greenest grass I’d ever seen, the best hot dogs I’d ever tasted, and the coldest Coca-Cola on earth. I thought about that day a lot 15 years ago when he was diagnosed with cancer. There was little doubt that he’d beat it given the type of cancer that it was and how early we caught it, but it was still scary. However that was a breeze compared to this past year.

Just before Christmas my Dad got a COVID test, as he had been feeling ill. He tested positive. To anyone reading this who didn’t have COVID or know someone who had it, I can’t put into words what goes through your head when you get that news about your parent. On top of that, I see my Dad just about everyday; so I was exposed to it also.

I’m happy to report that if I actually had the virus, it was asymptomatic and I never knew the difference. But while you hear about people who had the virus and were able to treat themselves at home without incident, you also hope that it doesn’t end up being your loved one who’s grasping for breath in a hospital. Away from family and loved ones.

Needless to say it was a unique Christmas. We had our respective Christmas Dinners for one or two over FaceTime, and my parents were happy to know that I did my best to make all of the traditional foods that our family would have for Christmas (Feast of Seven Fishes on Christmas Eve, and ravioli on Christmas Day). But my Dad’s condition deteriorated as the week went on. (Ironically my mother tested negative. Certainly strange given that they live together, but for that we were thankful.)

He was admitted to the hospital on Monday, December 28th. Again, I can’t properly put into words what goes through your mind when news like that comes. The first thing I did was to alert my two Uncles – my Dad’s brothers. In a moment like that, you look for something comforting. Both of them said the exact same thing: “everything’s going to be okay.”

The message in and of itself was comforting for sure. But in various situations in my life I had also heard those same words in that same tone of voice from my Dad. In that moment, hearing that message coming from his brothers, it was like hearing it in my father’s voice.

He was in and out of intensive care for awhile. He never lost consciousness, but could only talk on the phone or on FaceTime for maybe a minute at a time before he’d lose his wind. The whole experience was morbidly awful. This virus is no joke.

It got incredibly real when they asked my mother what her wishes would be if a ventilator became necessary. We had a family conference, and we all agreed that if it came to that, they had our blessing. Around that same time I touched base with a priest to at least go over options for what’s now called Anointing of the Sick. I never wrote my Old Man off, but honestly there were about two or three days where I didn’t think things were going to end well.

But as quickly as he deteriorated, suddenly he began improving. He was sent out of intensive care, and a few days later (January 9th) he was released. I don’t know what anyone reading this believes religiously or spiritually, but I’m a fairly religious person. And I saw it as a miracle.

His “rehab” continues to this day. I’m not sure he’ll ever be the same. For the most part he can do most of the things he was doing before he got sick (he’s a fairly active 68-year old). But he gets tired easily, and still doesn’t have the stamina he had previously. But if this is how the rest of his life unfolds, I’m very thankful. Because he’s alive; and there was a moment where that wasn’t always going to be the case.

As was the case when he had cancer, I thought a lot about that first day at Memorial Stadium so many years ago. I thought about how it would be walking into Camden Yards to write about the team that he originally loved and passed onto me, knowing he was no longer of this world. And it ate me alive. Mercifully, it wasn’t his time.

So as the title indicates, Father’s Day takes on a different meaning for me this year. And the fact is that I know a lot of people weren’t as lucky. I know that there are people at every game who are missing someone lost in this pandemic. Maybe missing them through the Orioles, or maybe using the Orioles as a temporary diversion. That could have been me.

Maybe my Dad will watch the game today. Maybe he won’t. But whatever he does, he’s alive. And that wasn’t always guaranteed. And make no mistake, all of us are very thankful. Thanks for sticking with us, Dad. Happy Father’s Day!

Baltimore Orioles’ bullpen spoils Ryan Mountcastle’s career day

He was greeted rudely, but the Baltimore Orioles’ Dean Kremer settled in nicely this afternoon. He gave up solo homers to Semien and Guerrero in the first inning before the crowd had even settled in. But he got it together, and pitched to a quality start. Kremer’s line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 6 K.

This is a game that Ryan Mountcastle won’t soon forget. For starters, he smacked a solo homer in the last of the second which cut the Toronto lead in half. Cedric Mullins would continue hot at the plate and inning later with a solo shot of his own, tying the game at two.

Mountcastle would come up again in the fourth with a runner on base. And his two-run homer gave the Birds the lead at 4-2. Mind you, that was his second homer of the day. Had he stopped there, he would have still had a darn good game. Incidentally, DJ Stewart added to the homer parade, going back-to-back with Mountcastle and smacking a solo shot – giving the O’s a 5-2 lead.

However remember a moment ago when I said Mountcastle could have stopped there and had a pretty good day? He didn’t do that. He came up again in the sixth, and – you guessed it – smacked a solo homer (his third home run of the game). You don’t get much better than that in terms of performing at the plate. Did we mention that Mountcastle was a rookie?!

After Toronto put one across in the top of the seventh, the Birds got it back on Mullins’ second homer of the game – a solo shot. The Orioles took a 7-4 lead into the top of the ninth. Life appeared to be good.

The Birds called on Paul Fry to close the game for the second consecutive game. He promptly loaded the bases and walked a run in. Bichette and Guerrero proceeded to smack two-RBI singles, giving Toronto a 9-7 lead. Grichuk would add an RBI-double, and the Birds fell 10-7. This despite Mountcastle’s three homers, and Mullins’ two.

Bichette hardly hit the ball hard, as it was a dying quail into right field. But Paul Fry hardly looked comfortable, and when that’s the case you don’t have to hit the ball hard. It’s tough to lose a game like that, with the opponent putting up six runs in the ninth inning to come from behind. But you have to get right back at it tomorrow.

Incidentally, Toronto’s starter Manoah was ejected with one out in the fourth inning after he hit Maikel Franco. This after the DJ Stewart solo home run. The benches and the bullpens emptied, but no real fight ensued. Just the Toronto pitcher being ejected.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Matt Harvey gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Hyun-Jin Ryu. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.