Good morning Birdland,
The baseball was electric on Friday night!
In Game 5 of the ALCS, the Mariners got back to winning in emphatic fashion. Eugenio Suárez’s eighth-inning grand slam off of friend Seranthony
Domínguez had T-Mobile Park rocking. That series heads back to Toronto with the Mariners up 3-2.
Shohei Ohtani (almost) single-handedly beat the Brewers 5-1 to finish off an NLCS sweep and another trip to the World Series for the Dodgers. Not only did Ohtani toss six shutout innings on the mound, but he also hit three home runs at the plate, earning himself NLCS MVP honors in the process. I’m just gonna go out on a limb and say…he’s pretty good.
There are no games on the docket today. The M’s and Jays will get back underway on Sunday night north of the border. It will be an extended idle period for the Dodgers, who will not play Game 1 of the World Series until Friday night. The location of that game will depend on the winner of the ALCS. If the Mariners win, the Dodgers will have home field advantage. If the Blue Jays win, the opener will take place in Canada.
Playoff baseball is a good time!
Links
The Orioles’ bullpen will need attention, but there are internal options who may get a longer look | The Baltimore Banner
No team enters the season feeling great about their middle inning pitchers. Look at the Dodgers now. While their team as a whole is clearly very good, they have had bullpen issues. The Orioles will be no different in 2026. However, they do need to make the late innings a priority. How they do that is what Mike Elias will have to decide.
Orioles should bring back Austin Hays | Baltimore Baseball
Hays was a good Oriole. He struggled near the end of his tenure because he had some health issues. It was nice to see him bounce back a bit with the Reds this year. He would fit fine as a part-time player, particularly against left-handed pitching. But is that something he would want to do? Could he find an everyday role elsewhere? All relevant questions.
Because You Asked – The Battle of the Five Armies | Roch Kubatko
Roch talks about the next manager, and unfortunately he has no new information. The Orioles are a steel trap, and the Albert Pujols rumor was almost certainly leaked by his side to put some pressure on the Angels. Nothing new there.
Orioles to resod Camden Yards field as part of deal with LA Rams | The Baltimore Banner
Man, Oriole Park is gonna look brand spanking new next year! New sod, new video boards, and a new section behind home plate.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Jordyn Adams turns 26 today. The outfielder was summoned from the minors severals times in 2025, but ended up playing in just 10 games for the Orioles. He elected free agency at the end of the season.
- Garrett Olson is 42 years old. A supplemental first-round pick by the Orioles in 2005, the southpaw tossed 165 total innings for his original club between 2007 and ‘08. He was traded to the Cubs prior to the 2009 season in a deal that landed Felix Pie in Baltimore.
- Alan Mills celebrates his 59th birthday. He had two stints in the Orioles bullpen, first from 1993 thorugh ’98 and then again from 2000-01. In total he had a 4.16 ERA over 480 innings with Baltimore.
- Terry Clark is 65 today. The journeyman spent part of the 1995 season in the O’s bullpen, compiling a 3.46 ERA over 39 frames.
- The late Ed Farmer (b. 1949, d. 2020) was born on this day. He played just one game in Baltimore as part of a career that spanned 11 seasons and eight different big league teams.
This day in O’s history
We’re in the clear! According to Baseball Reference, nothing embarrassing has happened to the Orioles on this day. At least, not yet. Today could be the day that changes. Until then, here are some happenings from beyond Birdland:
1648 – The first American labor organization is formed by Boston shoemakers.
1867 – The United States takes possession of Alaska after purchasing it from Russia for $7.2 million.
1954 – The first mass-produced transistor radio is announced by Texas Instruments.
1963 – The first cat is launched into space. Its name is Félicette, a black and white stray from Paris.
2019 – Jessica Meir and Christina Koch, two NASA astronauts, complete the first all-female spacewalk when they replace a power controller on the International Space Station
