Hello, friends.
It is always more fun when the Orioles win rather than lose. That’s certainly true yesterday, when that would have been a painful way to lose and get swept. Instead, the O’s pulled off a comeback win to avoid the sweep. Check out John Beers’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals of a 3-2 victory.
Yesterday’s victory temporarily solves one unfortunate symbolic Orioles problem. They no longer have a worse record than last year’s Orioles team did. The 2026 Orioles are now sitting
on the same 43-51 record as the 2025 team. Last year’s jokers lost their next three games as well, and six of their next seven, from this point forward, so there is an opportunity to regain some ground, so to speak.
Much better would be to see the Orioles rip off a hot streak to regain ground in the wild card race. They also did that yesterday! The Mariners lost a third straight game to fall to .500. The Orioles are four games back with six teams to pass. It’s the six teams to pass more than the four games that is their problem. Not only do the Orioles need to go 43-25 or better, they need the Mariners to do no better than 39-29, and the Twins to do no better than 40-28, and the Astros to do no better than 40-27, and so on.
This is a tall order. I am skeptical of the Orioles ability to do their part of it and not hopeful that every other team will do their part as well. Somebody is probably going to get hot and put the O’s really out of reach. You can still try to bargain your way into a hot streak for the O’s if you want. The Marlins were 26-34 at the end of May and, with their current six game winning streak in the bag, are now 52-42. That is a radical change of fortunes. A team can do it.
The question is whether the Orioles can do it. They can only control their own business. They could really use the lengthy winning streak that has proved elusive to them the entire season long. But before they can ever win four in a row, they need to win two and three in a row. They’ve got a struggling Royals team as their final opponent before the All-Star break here.
It doesn’t mean too much that the Royals are struggling since the Orioles are also struggling. The O’s are perfectly capable of playing poorly against any team. They show us in more than half of their games so far this season. Hopefully they won’t show us again starting at 7:05 tonight. Don’t make all the people there to get their reversible floppy hats sad.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
On Rutschman leading off, Alexander’s spot in the lineup, and the Rogers/Basallo battery (School of Roch)
The manager weighed in on a number of strategic thinking topics ahead of yesterday’s game. Since the Orioles won, they don’t feel as tragic as they might have otherwise.
Will Robertson coded in the clubhouse as a minor leaguer. Now he’s running the Orioles draft. (The Baltimore Banner)
An excellent profile of the guy who’s got a lot of responsibility with the draft this year. The Orioles could really use an unqualified success out of the #7 pick.
How collecting cans helped Orioles prospect Boston Bateman chase his baseball dream (The Baltimore Sun)
Bateman has been doing some interesting things this season, so much so that he merits random stories focusing on him as this one does.
What a World Cup bid tells us about Baltimore as a potential All-Star Game host (The Baltimore Banner)
The Banner does good reporting, you guys. A public records request about the city’s ultimately unsuccessful bid to host one of this year’s World Cup games shed some light on a possible All-Star Game pitch, which apparently the state would like to make for 2029.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1968, the Orioles fired manager Hank Bauer, who helmed the 1966 World Series winning team, replacing him with Earl Weaver. This decision worked out okay.
In 2001, Cal Ripken Jr. was the MVP of the All-Star Game as the AL defeated the NL, 4-1. Ripken hit a home run in the game, his 19th consecutive (and final) All-Star appearance.
One current Oriole has a birthday today. Happy 25th to reliever Anthony Nunez. Former Orioles who were born today: 2018-19 pitcher Josh Rogers, 2018-20 pitcher David Hess, 2002-03 outfielder Marty Cordova, 2000-04 reliever Buddy Groom, and 1975-76 infielder Bob Bailor. Today is Bailor’s 75th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: theologian John Calvin (1509), jurist William Blackstone (1723), Anheuser-Busch co-founder Adolphus Busch (1839), tennis legend Arthur Ashe (1943), baseball Hall of Famer Andre Dawson (1954), musician Béla Fleck (1958), singer-songwriter Jessica Simpson (1980), and pygmy hippopotamus Moo Deng (2024).
On this day in history…
In 988, Dublin was founded after a Norse-descended king, Glúniarin, agreed to recognize and pay tribute to the High King of Ireland, Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill.
In 1778, French king Louis XVI declared war on Great Britain, officially entering the American Revolution on the side of the young United States.
In 1890, Wyoming was admitted to the Union, becoming the 44th state.
In 1925, Tennessee science teacher John Scopes was put on trial for teaching evolution in school, in violation of a state law that existed at that time. The so-called “Monkey trial” resulted in Scopes being found guilty and ordered to pay a fine of $100. However, after appeal, he was not required to pay the fine because a jury, not the judge, was supposed to set the fine.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 10. Have a safe Friday. Go O’s!
