Baltimore Orioles: Illness and oddities strike again

The Baltimore Orioles had to put today’s starter, Keegan Akin, and Anthony Santander on the IL (COVID protocol) before this afternoon’s series finale in Tampa. More on that in a moment. The O’s were attempting to win today’s game, which would give them a series victory vs. Tampa – a rarity. But that made things look a bit more bleak in terms of winning today’s game, and the series. The Birds replaced Santander and Akin on the roster with Ryan McKenna and Alexander Wells – who ended up being today’s starter, making his big league debut. Wells’ line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 7 K.

It’s unclear what prompted Santander and Akin to need to go into COVID protocol, but the Birds were alerted late last night that there was a problem. However Wells performed admirably in Akin’s stead. He was on the taxi squad for this road trip, so he was already in Tampa. But with little preparation, he was thrust into the bright lights this afternoon. And he got the job done – BIG TIME. In doing so, he left the game with a chance to be the winning pitcher.

The O’s got on the board right away with back-to-back doubles. Austin Hays‘ RBI-double gave them a 1-0 lead. But Tampa came right back – as they’re prone to do. Arozarena’s solo homer tied the game at one. Arozarena’s quickly becoming an Oriole-killer. And he seems to buy into the strange antics that wins games for Tampa over the O’s.

Tampa would get the lead in the last of the second on Wendle’s RBI-triple, but the O’s came right back. Pat Valaika‘s solo homer tied the game back up at two in the third. And one inning later they had the lead back, again on a solo homer. This time by Ryan Mountcastle. To their credit, the Birds never gave up in this one, regardless of the outcome.

And sure enough, neither did Tampa. Arozarena’s second homer of the day tied the game at three in the last of the fifth. One inning later however, Mountcastle’s RBI-single gave the Birds the lead back at 4-3. And the Oriole bullpen seemed to hold that lead – that is until the bitter end.

Tanner Scott was summoned to pitch the ninth. The Birds recorded one out, and allowed two runners on base with a base hit and a walk. That brought Arozarena back to the plate. And this is where the strange plays and oddities that Tampa loves to spring on the Orioles came into play. Everyone in the world’s expecting Arozarena to smack a walk-off three-run homer, and be hailed as a hero. Everyone including the Oriole outfield…

…instead, Arozarena bloops a soft pop up into right field. Austin Hays sprints in, and Ryan Mountcastle sprints out (from first base) to try to make the play. The two collided, and the ball dropped in. Now luckily nobody scored on the play. However the bases were loaded, and Meadow’s subsequent two-RBI single won it for Tampa in walk-off fashion by the score of 5-4.

Regarding the players in COVID protocol, it’s a waiting game at this point. The Orioles have only said that they’re (Santander and Akin) in COVID protocol on the IL; not whether they’re showing symptoms or even if they’ve tested positive. One way or the other, hopefully if they are sick they make a full recovery. If they aren’t sick, hopefully it remains as such.

Alexander Wells deserved the win today, but obviously Tampa’s sneaky trickery prevented that. But you can’t say enough about his outing today, especially given that it was his big league debut. The O’s will have an off day tomorrow at home before welcoming the Washington Nationals to town on Friday night for three games over the weekend.

Baltimore Orioles: John Means struggles in return

Leave it to Tampa to spoil John Means’ return to the Baltimore Orioles from the Injured List. Now on one hand, it would have been tough to expect Means to be what he was before going on the IL. It was a win just to have him back on the mound. But he did have his struggles. Means’ line: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

I don’t think that fans need to worry about this signaling impending doom regarding John Means. He was actually better than his numbers indicate. His strike to ball ratio was about 2:1. And if anything that could have been part of the issue – he was getting too much of the plate. But he’ll work his way back to where he was previously.

Brujan’s RBI-single in the first got Tampa on the board with a 1-0 lead. Franco’s sac fly-RBI later in the inning ran it to 2-0. The Birds would get one back an inning later on Pedro Severino’s RBI-single.

Arozarena’s solo homer in the third have Tampa their two-run lead back at 3-1. And an inning after that Mejia’s two-run homer appeared to break the game wide open for Tampa, giving them a 5-2 lead. However remember how I talk about the strange things that happen when Tampa plays the Orioles? Yeah, about that…

When I say strange things, most of the time I’m referring to Tampa taking the opportunities afforded to them. They seem to have no problem taking what the Orioles give them. But turnabout could have been fair play tonight.

Ryan Mountcastle his what should have been a sac fly with a runner at third in the top of the eighth. However Tampa right fielder Lowe dropped the ball. So Mountcastle would end up on second base. He would later score on Anthony Santander’s run-scoring single.

While the O’s never got any further than 5-3, that’s all a good sign. They held Tampa accountable for their mistake. The Mountcastle play would have yielded a run either way, as he was on third base with less than two outs. But the Birds made Tampa pay for what they did. And again, that’s a good sign. Tampa’s Mejia would smack a bases-clearing triple in the eighth, and Choi added an RBI-single, sending the Birds off to defeat this evening, 9-3.

The series concludes tomorrow at Tropicana Field. Keegan Akin gets the start for the Birds, and Tampa is yet to name a starter. Game time is set for just after 12 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Spencer Watkins, Oriole bats hand it to Tampa

The Tampa Rays were expecting Spencer Watkins to be the most recent Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher to experience the oddities which generally occur when these two teams meet. Oriole pitchers generally fall short on broken bat singles and softly hit balls. But Watkins ensured that didn’t happen, but pitching to a virtuoso performance at Tropicana Field. Watkins’ line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 7 K.

Watkins dominated Tampa hitters all game long. And you could tell that Tampa was kind of waiting and expecting something odd to happen. Because when these teams get together oddities do occur. And they usually work in Tampa’s favor. It just never happened tonight.

Oriole bats also did their part. The Birds got on the board right away with an RBI-double by Ryan Mountcastle. Anthony Santander would add a sac fly-RBI later in the inning, and the O’s were off.

That 2-0 lead held up until the sixth inning. Or I should say the O’s picked the sixth inning to get back on the board. And it was a big inning in a sense – exactly what you want while hitting.

Pat Valaika would double the lead (in the sixth) with a two-RBI double. Before the inning ended the O’s also got RBI-doubles from Kelvin Gutierrez and Austin Hays. The lone run surrendered by Watkins was an RBI-double in the bottom of that 6th inning by Arozarena.

While the runs on the board are probably more important, the performance put on by Spencer Watkins tonight was a great one. Mind you, Watkins was a career minor leaguer after being drafted in the 30th round by the Detroit Tigers in 2014. However his stuff has been superior across the board.

The series continues tomorrow night at Tropicana Field. The Orioles have announced that John Means will return to the Big Apple as a fan of the team tomorrow night, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Shane McLanahann. Game time is set for just after 7:00 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: The Dark Knight shines under the Kansas City sunshine

Matt Harvey took the ball for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon going for a series win in Kansas City. Harvey’s return to NY of course didn’t go well. While he only pitched in Kansas City for one season, this return was starkly different. It was perhaps the best outing by an Orioles’ starter in some time. Harbey’s line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

This was exactly the sort of outing that Harvey needed. And similar to last night, the O’s also got the bats going. Albeit perhaps not as they did last night. But they certainly did enough.

Ramon Urias’ two-RBI single in the third got the O’s on the board. That put them off in the right direction with a 2-0 lead. It also signaled to Harvey that his efforts were going to be backed up on this day.

Trey Mancini’s RBI-single in the fifth ran the score to 3-0. One inning later Austin Wynns’ RBI-double scored Ryan McKenna all the way from first base. And that was impressive; McKenna’s speed brought the run in as much as did Wynns’ placement of the ball. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen the caliber of speed on the Orioles that they have now. And that can be the difference between winning and losing.

Kelvin Gutierrez would give the Orioles an insurance run in the eighth when he reached on an error, scoring a runner from third. So the O’s win today, and with a shutout at that. They also take the series with Kansas City, two games to one.

The O’s now head to Tampa to open up a three-game set at Tropicana Field. Spenser Watkins gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Ralph Yarbrough. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Jorge Lopez struggles again in fifth as O’s snap losing streak

Jorge Lopez made his second half debut for the Baltimore Orioles tonight in Kansas City. The good news was that he was spotted a big lead. The bad news was that he predictably couldn’t get out of the fifth inning. Lopez’s line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 4 K.

Lopez’s issue has been the fifth inning all season. This evening he pitched four very solid innings. He then loaded the bases with nobody out in the fifth, and started giving up runs. The O’s eventually were forced to go to the ‘pen to preserve the lead.

Ramon Urias put the O’s on the board in the second with an RBI-double. Domingo Leyba’s RBI-groundout later in the inning ran it to 2-0. And the Birds were off to the races.

But the real damage was done in the third. Ryan Mountcastle’s RBI-single ran it to 3-0. DJ Stewart, Anthony Santander, Pedro Severino, and Urias all added RBI-singles. Santana would tack on an RBI-double for Kansas City, giving the O’s a 7-1 lead after three.

Mountcastle would add a sac fly-RBI in the fourth. And as I said, it was the fifth where Lopez ran into trouble. He uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded, cutting the lead to 8-2. Kansas City would also add two more before the game ended, with the O’s winning 8-4.

My personal view is that Lopez’s issues in the fifth inning are mainly psychological. He knows he struggles in the fifth inning. This evening, he started going away from his best pitch (fastball) in the fifth, relying more on breaking balls off the plate. That shows a lack of confidence in that he didn’t want to get beat by putting the ball too close to the plate.

Luckily for the O’s they had a big lead. But what happens to Lopez moving forward is another story. My personal view is that he not only should be in the bullpen, but that he’d be a good reliever. But whether the Orioles can afford to put him there is another story.

The series concludes tomorrow at Kauffman Stadium. Matt Harvey 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 2 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Keegan Akin hit hard as second half opens

The Baltimore Orioles taxes Keegan Akin with starting the first game of the second half last night against Kansas City. It didn’t go well. For the sixth time in eight starts, Akin didn’t make it to the fifth inning. Akin’s line; 3.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 3 BB, 2 K.

And the assault started immediately. Perez’s RBI-single in the last of the first fave Kansas City a 1-0 lead. In the second Lopez would smack a two-RBI single, and Merrifield an RBI-double. Perez would add another RBI-single, breaking the game wide open at 5-0 in the second.

Kansas City would add another four runs before the game ended. Trey Mancini would get the Birds on the board in the top of the fourth with an RBI-groundout. Pedro Severino’s solo homer in the eighth ran the final to 9-2.

Akin tried to remain upbeat after the game, and we do have to remember that he’s a rookie. He admitted that struggles are in essence to be expected:

You’re going to have your ups and downs. You get your chance to go out there every five days as a starter, so you’ve just got to forget about them, take some positive things. Obviously, I’m not happy about it, but confidence-wise I think I’m doing well. You’ve just got to learn from it. It’s a learning process, it’s my first full season up here, so it’s just day in and day out got to learn and get better and execute when it comes time for the game.

Quote Courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports

The series continues this evening at Kauffman Stadium. The Orioles have yet to announce a starter, and Kansas City will throw Brady Singer. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Will COVID-19 affect the Birds in opening the second half?

The Baltimore Orioles begin the second half of the season tonight at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas Cit with the first of three against the Kansas City Royals. It’s really only the second half by virtue of the fact that the All-Star game was this past week. Every team in baseball has already passed the 81-game point.

But as we go into the weekend and the immediate interim here’s something to watch; last night’s Yankees/Red Sox game was canceled due to several NY players testing positive for COVID-19. One of those players was Aaron Judge, who was obviously an all-star.

Both Trey Mancini and Cedric Mullins participated in the all-star festivities. Both in different capacities, but they both participated. Presumably, they will both need to be tested now for COVID-19.

I’m making a broad assumption here, but I believe both players were vaccinated. Mullins reads PSA’s encouraging fans to get vaxed before home games. And Mancini, being a cancer survivor…needless to say it would stand to reason that he would have gotten the vaccine. But ultimately I don’t know that for sure, and at the end of the day it’s actually none of my business.

However mind you that the vaccine MIGHT only protect people from the severe symptoms which could land someone in the hospital. In fact? Many people will only be infected on an asymptomatic basis. Whether or not it stops an infected person from spreading the virus is another story. So both players will have to be tested, and they’d in theory have to sit out if they test positive.

The Orioles aren’t the only team in this predicament – every player on the AL roster would have shared a clubhouse with Judge. So that could be a massive issue as the league opens back up for the second half. Between last year and this year, the Orioles have never had a player test positive.

Again, the Birds open up the second half tonight against Kansas City at Kauffman Stadium. Keegan Akin gets the start for the O’s, and Kansas Coty has yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles represented proudly by Cedric Mullins in the All-Star Game

The Baltimore Orioles’ lone All-Star Game representative this evening was Cedric Mullins. There were arguments to be made for other guys along with Mullins, but Mullins was the only Oriole on the roster. He started the game and played centerfield.

Mullins came to bat for the first time in the top of the third, and struck out. He then ended up reaching on a fielding error on the top of the fifth inning. Mullins would move to second base on a groundout, and would later score on Xander Bogaerts’ run-scoring single.

As it stands at the moment this article is being written, the American League leads the National League 5-2 in the last of the sixth. But Mullins’ night is done. Needless to say, he contributed to the game with the run scored. And in doing so, did the Orioles and their fans proud.

Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini finishes second in Home Run Derby

Trey Mancini of the Baltimore Orioles was already the best story of the MLB all-Star game. He was almost the winner of one of the mos lt prestigious events surrounding the game. He finished as the runner-up in the Home Run Derby.

Mancini advanced out of the first round with 24 homers. He only managed 13 in the second, however the round ended early. Mancini eclipsed his opponent’s high of twelve homers in the round.

He then squared off against Pete Alonso of the New York Mets in the final round. And Alonso bested Mancini by one homer. (And again, the round ended early). However it was a great showing for Trey Mancini, who continues as I said to be the best story of the season.

Mancini had Notre Dame pitching coach Chuck Ristano pitching to him. Ristano pitched to Mancini in the 2013 Big East Home Run Derby when Mancini was at Notre Dame. He told Ristano at that time that that if he ever made it to the MLB Home Run Derby, he’d have Ristano pitch to him. And obviously Mancini was true to his word.

Baltimore Orioles draft outfielder Colton Cowser

The Baltimore Orioles selected outfielder Colton Cowser with the fifth pick in this evening’s MLB Draft. Cowser, 21, is enrolled and plays collegiately at Sam Houston State. He bats left and throws right.

This past season at Sam Houston, he hit .374 with 16 homers and 52 RBI. This over 55 games. He was also named to the conference all-defensive team. All in all his college stats are impressive.

Ultimately the Orioles’ first priority needs to be to sign him. But once that’s done the success or failure of his career will start to be decided at the minor league level. The O’s are stacked in the outfield on the farm, but they took the best player available. And that’s all you can ask.