Baltimore Orioles: Too deferential

The Baltimore Orioles have had issues with umpires all season. Yesterday for instance – Tampa’s Simpson got a borderline ball four call and took first base. That began a big inning.

Sometimes calls have been putrid. Other times they’re borderline calls that are persistently going the other way. But often times we’re seeing Oriole hitters giving the stink eye back towards the home plate umpire as they walk away. Yet, they toe the line.

Increasingly I see fans calling for someone to lose it with an umpire. Or perhaps for that reaction to come to the dugout. Admittedly, to my knowledge (and I’m going off my memory here), Tony Mansolino hasn’t had an argument with an umpire since taking over. And the end of Brandon Hyde’s tenure didn’t see much of that either.

We all know the Orioles have embraced analytics the past few years. I’ve often wondered if there’s a statistic somewhere showing that teams known as “arguers” actually get fewer calls than teams who toe the line. Needless to say, one thing that’s certain is that ejections, suspensions, and fines are minimized.

Whether there’s a statistic for that is another story. But at times it seems that things happen with the Orioles either way regard to umpires. Whether it’s sloppy umpiring or awful calls, it seems that the benefit of the doubt always seems to go the other way.

So I suppose the question is whether umpires almost respect the teams who do protest a little more. This as opposed to the Orioles’ at times deferential approach to game officials. I do believe that there have been circumstances that would have warranted a manager going out and protesting – maybe to the point of ejection. Yet, all that happens is the aforementioned stink eye.

And maybe that in and of itself is part of the issue. The walking away stink eye is passive-aggressive. In today’s world, that almost ticks people off more than being overtly angry.

Where the disconnect or what the issue is, I don’t know. But the one thing that’s for sure is that the Orioles get short-changed a lot in terms of calls. And they would love for that to change.

Baltimore Orioles: Tampa flips the script, Zach Eflin injured

Tampa got on the Baltimore Orioles from the beginning this afternoon. And it’s no wonder, because starter Zach Eflin was hurt. Eflin’s line: 1.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 0 K,

A double and a single – one by Lowe and the other by Lowe (different pronunciation) – the O’s trailed 1-0 after two hitters. Lowe made it to second on an errant throw. He would later score on Aranda’s two-run home run. Before the inning ended, Simpson would ground into a fielder’s choice-RBI, and the O’s trailed 4-0.

During that inning, Scott Blewett was was warming up in the Oriole bullpen. When the second inning began, he entered the game in place of Eflin. The Orioles later said Eflin was lifted with lower back tightness.

It’s amazing how things change so quickly. On top of the fact that Eflin allowed several bleeders and bloops in that one inning of work (runners who came around to score), the bullpen was going to be taxed – win or lose. Remember that coming out of last night’s game it was Tampa whose bullpen was in bad shape. But without even trying to do so, they flipped the tables on the O’s today. Due to an injury.

Tampa would tack on a sac fly-RBI by Walls in the fifth. This after Simpson reached third following a ball four which looked similar to a strike three, and stole second. On an errant throw he went to third. Later in the inning Diaz’s three-run homer cleared the bases, and the Orioles trailed 8-0.

Walls would add a sac fly in the fifth. But the O’s did get on the board in the home half of the frame with a solo homer by Chadwick Tromp. Not to be outdone, Tampa’s Thaiss continued a tradition this year of backup catcher torching the O’s with a two-RBI triple in the seventh. The Orioles would also tack two on in the ninth on a two-run home run by Ramon Laureano.

The bigger concern of course than the loss is Zach Eflin. The Oriole rotation is in trouble if he has to miss time. The silver lining is he could only miss two starts (maybe one given an off day) due to the break. Depending on the severity of the injury.

That assumes he’s destined for the IL. We don’t know at this point. But as I said above, Tampa totally flipped the script. Not just with the score, but regarding the bullpen. They always find a way to make it work out it seems. Coming in their bullpen was on the ropes, Going into tomorrow’s game, it’s the O’s with a tired bullpen. Not because of the play on the field, but because of an injury.

The series concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Taj Bradley. Game time is set for just after 1:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: An onslaught of caddywampus proportions

Tomoyuki Sugano and the Baltimore Orioles were in trouble after two innings last night at Camden Yards against Tampa. Sugano had an easy first inning, but surrendered six runs in the second – including three home runs. Given that last week Tampa overcame an 8-0 Oriole lead, this seemed insurmountable…then again, would you believe that Sugano was the winning pitcher?! Sugano’s line: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 7 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

The O’s immediately loaded the bases against Tampa starter Pepiot, bringing Coby Mayo to bat. And Mayo smacked a two-RBI double, cutting the lead to 6-2. But it didn’t end there. Ramon Urias’ two-RBI single cut it to 6-4. Tack on one more when Ramon Laureano scored after an errant throw on a stolen base attempt.

Urias was also a pinch-hitter. Jordan Westburg injured a finger on his left hand sliding into second base in the first inning. Yes, the same Westburg who was almost on the IL with a similar injury on Sunday. X-Rays were negative, and he’s day-to-day.

Tampa manager Kevin Cash lifted his starter Pepiot in favor of a reliever in the middle of that onslaught. Which I found fascinating. Win or lose, you’re in a series with a division rival on the road, and you’re blowing through your bullpen. Cash of course finds the smallest ways to get ahead in games, but I would submit he outthought himself a bit there. That said, Tampa also extended their lead to 7-5 in the third.

The O’s took the lead in the fifth after tying it on Colton Cowser’s RBI-double. Gary Sanchez came up behind him, and smacked a two-run home run. Again going back to Cash, he went to the bullpen because he saw this as a big game and he felt his starter wasn’t hacking it. And again, he’s now taxed his bullpen seemingly for nothing.

One inning later the Birds got an RBI-double by Cowser, and a two-RBI single by Sanchez. The game appeared over with the O’s leading 11-8 following Tampa tacking one back on. But Laureano’s two-RBI single and Sanchez’s fielder’s choice combined with an error combined to run it to 14-8. But wait…there’s more.

When the smoke cleared in the game overall, the Orioles went home…wait for it…22-8 winners. Jackson Holliday and Gunnar Henderson each homered. As did Coby Mayo in the last of the eight, a two-run shot. It was Mayo’s first major league home run,

The downside of course is Jordan Westburg, however again, he’s listed as day-to-day. In a year when the Orioles have lost a couple of games big, this was one where they returned the favor. Keep in mind that blowouts like this are anomalies on both sides. But you take it and move on when you’re on the good end of it.

The series continues this afternoon at Camden Yards. Zach Eflin gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Zack Littell. Game time is set for just after 4 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Colton Cowser the lone bright spot

The question tonight was whether the pitching or the bats were less effective tonight for the Baltimore Orioles. The Birds called Brandon Young up from the minors to make the start, and he couldn’t quite make it over the hunt. Young’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 1 BB, 2 K.

Young, and most Oriole relievers, were pitching-to-contact. The problem was Texas seemed to know that. And they happily obliged in terms of putting the ball in play. The Orioles were swinging-for-contact also. But Texas starter deGrom mowed ‘em down.

Texas got on the board in the second with an RBI-single by Jung. One inning later after a single, Jung came up to bat again and smacked a two-run home run. That was only a three-run deficit, but it got worse.

On the flip side, the Orioles didn’t get a guy on base until the seventh. They didn’t get a hit until the eighth when Colton Cowser broke up the no-hitter. It was the third time in five games the the Birds had gone through at least the sixth inning before getting a base hit.

Texas would like on three more in the fourth. Heim’s solo homer in the sixth would extend the Texas lead to 7-0. And the Birds would go onto drop two-of-three in the series.

The O’s are also struggling with allowing guys to take extra bases. Many of their throws from the outfield are to the wrong base. Granted it’s for the purpose of throwing a runner out of course. But lapses in judgement like that are giving guys extra bases. And it’s hurting.

Baltimore Orioles: Back-to-back-to-back homers not enough

The Baltimore Orioles have seen Charlie Morton look better than what we saw tonight. But he’s certainly looked worse as well. On a night when he wasn’t helped much by his team’s offensive output, he labored through five. Morton’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

Morton gave up an RBI-single to Carter in the fourth, followed by a fielder’s choice-RBI. Texas would also add a sac fly-RBI before the inning ended. Garcia’s RBI-single in the seventh also extended their lead to 4-0.

The Orioles didn’t get a hit until the seventh inning. It appeared like it was one of those days, but the Birds finally reached base on a hit with Ramon Laureano’s seventh inning single. After a Gunner Henderson walk, Gary Sanchez put the O’s back into the game with a three-run home run.

That was huge. It appeared like the Birds were already down and out. But they came back. On top of that, Ramon Urias immediately tied the game at four with a solo homer to right field (confirmed by replay). The coup de grace for the Orioles in that inning was a third homer – right after Urias’. Ryan O’Hearn made it back-to-back-to-back with a third home run to give the O’s a 5-4 lead.

That was certainly a momentum swing. However the O’s could stand to learn a lesson from Texas in terms of surrendering the lead and taking momentum back. And Texas did that immediately. Heim’s sac fly-RBI tied the game back up at five,

The game went to extra’s of course with a ghost runner starting the inning at second base. Seranthony Dominguez allowed the runner to get to third on wild pitch, and with one out Haggerty sent a bounding ball to Jackson Holliday at second. Holliday threw home, and nailed the runner at third. Or did he?

Texas challenged the call. And the umpires ruled that the runner’s hand made it in just before the tag. The runner was safe, and the Birds trailed 6-5.

Oriole bats stranded the ghost runner at third in their frame of the inning, and Texas won it 6-5. Good game to watch, even though a loss. Not one they wanted to drop, but it was also one they almost took.

The series with Texas concludes tomorrow at Camden Yards. Neither team has announced a starter of yet. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Trevor Rogers day is a Holliday

Trevor Rogers became the first Baltimore Orioles’ pitcher to complete eight innings in a regular season game since 2023 in tonight’s game against Texas. This in a game where the Oriole bullpen is about as taxed as it could possibly be. It could have been the best outing by an Orioles’ starter this season. On perhaps the hottest day of the year to date. Rogers’ line: 8.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

It was one of those games where everything I just lined up. This including Oriole bats. In fact, the real question is whether or not Rogers was the big star, or Jackson Holliday.

The newly recalled Chadwick Tromp smacked a two-out double in the third, followed immediately by an RBI-double by Jackson Holliday. And the Orioles led, 1-0. The O’s would also put two on in the last of the fifth, the next time Holliday came up. And he smacked a three-run homer, busting the game wide open.

One inning later the O’s had two on with nobody out, and Colton Cowser striding to the plate. And Cowser laid down perhaps the bunt to end all bunts down the third base line, and it just died – in play. That loaded the bases, and the O’s extended their lead to 5-0 on Coby Mayo’s RBI-groundout.

Ramon Urias would add a sac fly-RBI in the sixth, more or less as an insurance run. Not that it was needed, as well as Trevor Rogers pitched. Andrew Kittredge closed out Texas in the ninth, and the Orioles took game one of this series. Rogers was outstanding. So was the offense, headlined by Jackson Holliday. Good team win.

The serie continues tomorrow at Camden Yards. Charlie Morton gets the start for the Orioles, and Texas is yet to announce a starter. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Did New York’s aggressiveness hurt twice over?

You can’t knock the effort of Dean Kremer today for the Baltimore Orioles. Kremer was strong, and only didn’t get credited with a quality start because manager Tony Mansolino opted to match up early. But Kremer put the team in a spot to win the game. Kremer’s line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 7 K.

The O’s got on it early today. Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single in the first inning gave them a 1-0 lead. Colton Cowser followed with an RBI-double. That left the Birds with a 2-0 lead. It could have been more, but Cedric Mullins grounded out.

New York got on the board in the second. Chisholm was singled home by LeMahieu from second base after a double. Colton Cowser’s throw to the plate was up the third base line, forcing catcher Maverick Handley to come up the line. He fielded the ball, but Chisholm lept into Handley and knocked him over – dislodging the ball and cutting the Oriole lead to 2-1.

I don’t think it was a dirty play by Chisholm, although it was certainly aggressive. Handley went flying after the collision, and Chisholm touched home plate. Again needless to say, it showed a certain reckless abandonment on the part of Chisholm. It also showed Handley the showers, as he left the game with an injury.

The O’s couldn’t get much going offensively for the rest of the way. New York threatened in the seventh with two on and two outs – and Judge coming to the plate. New York had an open base, but the Orioles opted to pitch to Judge. Sort of…

…the pitched him away – at first. And if anything, at various points reliever Seranthony Dominguez got slightly too much of the plate. That may well have been the case on Dominguez’s 3-2 splitter. But yesterday I wrote about how Oriole pitchers were trying too hard to steal strikes on the fringes of the plate. But when they attacked hitters (such as Judge), they saw some success.

So in the entire at-bat, Dominguez attacked Judge. Yes many pitches were off the plate. But it was almost setting Judge up for that final pitch. And with a full count, Judge swung through Dominguez’s final splitter, ending the inning.

But it wasn’t meant to be today. Chisholm struck again – perhaps in more than one way. His two-RBI double in the eighth gave New York a 3-2 lead. Chisholm would end up at third on the throw, and he scored on LeMahieu’s fielder’s choice – combined with a Gary Sanchez error. It was a bouncing ball in the infield that was fielded by Gunnar Henderson, who threw home. Catcher Gary Sanchez dropped the ball…

…the runner (Chisholm) was originally called out, but the umpire overruled himself at home plate. It’s debatable whether or not the Chisholm would have been safe without the ball having been dropped. But you have to wonder if Sanchez wasn’t seeing Chisholm bearing down on him and remembering what happened to his “counterpart” (Maverick Handley) earlier in the game. Perhaps the baseball equivalent of hearing footsteps – a term we hear often in the NFL. End of the day it was only an insurance run, as the Orioles couldn’t score in the ninth.

That Handley play sticks out. You do see runners colliding with catchers (like Pete Rose and Ray Fosse). You don’t often see a base runner lunge into a catcher like that up the line. That play resulted in Handley helicoptering the other way, and New York getting on the board. Again it wasn’t a dirty play. Just against the grain of what you normally see.

Handley’s status going forward is unknown. It’s assumed that he’s in concussion protocol. Meaning the Orioles could need a catcher – this after putting Adley Rutschman on the IL yesterday. Stay tuned.

Before the game the O’s also optioned Yennier Cano to Norfolk. They also have Jordan Westburg who injured his finger yesterday, and could potentially be hitting the IL. Potentially. That would allow them to recall Cano right away due to an injury. What happens with that or with Handley is unknown.

The Orioles now head home to open a three-game set with Texas at Camden Yards. Trevor Rogers gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Patrick Corbin. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Allowing themselves to outthink themselves

The deck was probably stacked against the Baltimore Orioles and starter Zach Eflin today. The bullpen was already taxed, day game after a night game, and Adley Rutschman went to the IL just prior to the game. Eflin’s line: 3.0 IP, 10 H, 6 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

New York smacked three solo homers in the first two innings. Of those three solo homers, only one of the pitches was in the middle of the plate. Similarly, New York strung together three straight singles in the third. Escarra’s sac fly-RBI gave them a 4-0 lead.

Some of those singles were fluky and softly hit. I’ve never seen a team fall victim to so much soft contact. First and foremost sometimes that does happen. But it happens a lot to the Orioles, and it nitpicks them to death. The reasoning for that may well be so many pitches off the plate.

Unfortunately the Orioles aren’t fooling anyone. Teams know that they aren’t pitching-to-contact. They aren’t attacking hitters. They’re trying to buy cheap outs in a sense. There’s nothing wrong with that – to a point. But when teams know they’re throwing off the plate, all the Orioles are doing in effect is selling cheap hits and base runners.

It’s easy to be afraid to pitch-to-contact when you’re facing the likes of Judge and Stanton. However the times when Oriole pitchers have attacked the zone this series against those guys, they HAVE induced outs. So…are the O’s outthinking themselves a bit?

On that aforementioned Escarra sac fly, Cedric Mullins’ throw home allowed the other two runners on base to advance. And Peraza sent a VERY softly-hit ball just over first base, and it landed fair for a two-RBI single. Again on a pitch away, and on the first pitch of the at-bat at that. Almost like they knew it was coming.

New York would add a solo homer by Volpe and an RBI-triple by Rice later in the game. To compound things, New York starter Schmidt took a no-hitter through seven before he was lifted due to a high pitch count. Gary Sanchez broke up the no-hit bid in the eighth with a single.

To make matters worse, the Orioles could have even more injury issues going forward. I mentioned Rutschman going on the IL – Jordan Westburg was lifted after one at-bat with “left hand discomfort.“ You have to hope that this is a precautionary thing, and that Westburg is back in the lineup tomorrow – or Monday. Westburg’s made a huge difference offensively since returning from the IL. The O’s can’t afford to lose him again.

It’s easy to say that the O’s shouldn’t pitch on the fringes of the plate. I recognize that, especially when the likes of Judge and others are staring back at your pitchers. I also recognize that their analytics are telling them to do things the way they are. But you know who else reads analytics? Other teams.

And those other teams are aware that the Orioles are dedicated to analytics first and foremost. So it’s actually working counter to the way it’s supposed to – those analytics are a blueprint for other teams to know what’s coming, and how to beat the Orioles. You can’t allow that to happen. You’re only outsmarting yourself.

The series concludes tomorrow at Yankee Stadium. Dean Kremer gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Will Warren. Game time is set for just after 11:30 AM.

Baltimore Orioles never allowed things to balloon wayward

The Baltimore Orioles saw good Charlie Morton last night in the series finale in Tampa. This in a game the Orioles almost had to win – after blowing an eight-run lead the night before. Morton’s line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 7 K.

Tampa struck first, in the third. Morton hit Caballero to lead off the inning, he stole second base, was sacrificed to third, and then scored on Jansen’s RBI-single. However he shut Tampa down after that, minimizing the damage. And perhaps that was the first indication that the Orioles would have no carry-over from the night before. The inning didn’t balloon into something larger.

Similarly, a HBP yielded the Orioles a run to tie the game in the fourth. Gunnar Henderson was hit by a pitch, and he later scored on Ryan O’Hearn’s RBI-single. After Tampa took the lead, the Orioles countered immediately. Also a good sign.

This was a big game, mainly because of the night before. Not only did they blow an eight-run lead, but they didn’t get a hit the rest of the game following their eight-run second inning. That’s the sort of loss that can morph into an elongated losing streak. The Orioles showed early they were on it.

And Morton was eventually rewarded for his prowess. Colton Cowser smacked a three-run home run in the sixth, giving the Orioles a 4-1 lead. That felt like a decisive blow in a sense, but as we saw on Wednesday, Tampa’s a pesky beast that never quits.

They put two runners ins scoring position with nobody out in the seventh following a wild pitch from Seranthony Dominguez. However he struck out the following two hitters, and got the third one to ground out to end the inning. In the eighth Gregory Soto left two on when he departed with two out, and Bryan Baker walked a hitter to load the bases. He then induced a fly out, ending the inning.

Felix Bautista sent Tampa down 1-2-3 in the ninth to end the game. Again make no mistake that this was a huge win. And it wasn’t easy. Tampa had two golden opportunities to not only take the lead, hut to do so in a big manner in the seventh and eighth. And the bullpen came through. On the heels of a big loss, the O’s didn’t allow for any carry-over.

The game was stopped briefly in the seventh inning when Adley Rutschman sent a liner foul into the Tampa dugout. It was immediately evident that someone in the dugout had been seriously injured. A stretcher and a cart was brought to the scene, and reliever Hunter Bigge (currently on the IL) was taken away. He flashed the “thumbs up” to the crowd several times as he was wheeled away. After the game Tampa manager Kevin Cash told reporters that Bigge was coherent and undergoing tests at a local hospital. Best wishes to Hunter Bigge.

The Orioles now open up a three-game weekend series against the NYY this evening at Yankee Stadiun. Tomoyuki Sugano gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by New York’s Max Fried. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Riches to rags

The Baltimore Orioles should know never to sleep on Tampa. Over the last 20 years that’s been proven time and again. Who would have thought that Trevor Rogers would have existed early after getting a huge lead? Tampa willed that to happen – that among other things. Rogers’ line: 2.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

Colton Cowser’s three-run homer in the second inning gave the O’s a 3-0 lead. Cedric Mullins added a solo shot later in the inning, and Gunnar Henderson added a run-scoring single. Ramon Laureano’s three-run homer capped off the inning, and the O’s led 8-0.

You kind of felt the game was over. Not so far as Tampa was concerned. They threatened in the second, causing Rogers to throw over thirty pitches. But he got out of it without surrendering a run. They fouled off pitch after pitch, drawing either walks or eventually putting the ball in play. Even down eight, they refused to give up at-bats.

Tampa had already dipped into its bullpen, which boded well for the Orioles moving into tonight’s game. However the Birds would lift Rogers in the third and he was charged with three runs. Whereas the Orioles scored their runs primarily with power, Tampa just happily chipped away. Piece by piece.

Little by little they chipped away tacking on run after run. Lowe’s three-run homer in the fifth tied the game at eight. Caminero’s RBI-single in the seventh gave Tampa a 9-8 lead. They would go on to tack on there’s more, and the Orioles fell 12-8. This after spotting themselves an 8-0 lead.

Sometimes games like this happen, but that’s a tough loss to swallow. The Orioles have had issues with the strike zone – over a span of years. This being they don’t easily adapt to it. Home plate umpire Shane Livenspargen had a “less than generous” strike zone. There were various pitches on the black that were called balls. This frustrated Oriole pitching.

While those frustrations were well-founded, the zone was consistent. However Tampa was able to adapt. The Orioles weren’t. Oriole pitching tried to live on the fringes of the plate, and kept throwing pitches that appeared to nick the strike zone, but were consistently called balls. As the game went on, Tampa decided to attack the strike zone. And it worked. The Orioles either struck out, or put the ball in play and recorded an out.

A game like this also may have featured someone tipping pitches. Mind you, I didn’t say stealing signs. When you see an eight-run barrage in one inning, it makes you wonder if Tampa wasn’t somehow tipping pitches. OR, if at some point the Orioles didn’t START tipping pitches.

But again I go back to the strike zone more than anything else. It was consistent both ways for the most part. The difference was that Tampa played to the umpire’s zone – and it worked. The Orioles kept trying to pound the fringes of the plate so as to steal strikes. And that didn’t work.

The series concludes this evening at Steinbrenner Field. Charlie Morton gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Drew Rasmussen. Game time is set for just after 7:30 PM.