Good morning Birdland,
These Orioles are a resilient bunch. After last night’s 7-5 win over the visiting Padres, they have now taken three straight, scored seven runs in each of them, and find themselves within one game of the AL’s final wild card spot.
What has been most apparent during the Orioles’ recent resurgence is the improvement of the offense. Yes, they are scoring more runs. But that is simply a byproduct of a better approach. They are more competitive at-bat to at-bat. They are showing patience.
They are working counts. They are putting up fight. It’s a beautiful thing to see.
Since May 22, the Orioles have the best offense in baseball. Or at least, no one has scored more runs than them in that span. They also rank in the top 10 of MLB in home runs (7th, 30), walk rate (4th, 10.7%), batting average (9th, .262), on-base percentage (3rd, .346), and slugging percentage (8th, .441), among other metrics.
In that same time, the Orioles have been trotting out eight different players with a wRC+ of 100 or better. That doesn’t even include Samuel Basallo, who just missed the cut off (90 wRC+) and has been dealing with an injury saga in that time. Finally, it feels like the potential of this roster is being realized, to a degree.
It’s probably no coincidence that the Orioles are probably as healthy as they could really hope to be from this day forward. There are some key names missing, including Ryan Helsley, Dylan Beavers, and Dean Kremer. But it’s hard to miss them too badly when some of their replacements have been playing quite well.
Rico Garcia is pitching like one of the game’s best relievers. Colton Cowser has rediscovered his 2024 form and seems to be the everyday center fielder again. And Brandon Young has quietly become the best starter on the team. Sure, there is room to improve, and this team would probably still like to have someone like Jordan Westburg back on the roster. But considering where this team has been at times already this year, things are pretty good!
Links
More this, that and the other leftovers for breakfast | Roch Kubatko
Included in this are Basallo’s post-game quotes regarding the extremely odd injury critique that came from manager Craig Albernaz earlier in the week. It’s unclear what exactly happened internally with the Orioles, but obviously something did happen. Basallo suggests that he wants to move on from it, which seems wise. Hopefully he and Albernaz have had a heart to heart about it, and that will be the end of it.
Jon Meoli: Samuel Basallo’s ‘uncomfortable’ wrist issue made for an uncomfortable week for the Orioles | The Baltimore Banner
Yeah, it was weird. One day we will find out exactly what happened. Was Basallo on the bench so frequently because of the injury, or was Albernaz discipling him in some way? Usually with injuries it’s wise to be cautious. Playing on it can make it worse. And Basallo is a bat that the Orioles need in their lineup in order to get back into playoff position.
3 takeaways: Orioles offense finally hitting the way Mike Elias envisioned | The Baltimore Sun
The lineup was designed to not be overly top-heavy. They wanted a group that could beat you up and down the order. Right now, it’s is firing on all cylinders, and it is a lot of fun to watch.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- James McCann turns 36 today. He was the backup catcher in Baltimore for two seasons from 2023-24, with his trademark moment coming when he got hit in the face by a wayward pitch but stayed in the game and played through a clearly broken nose. Currently, he is with the Diamondbacks in the same role.
- Pedro Strop is 41 years old. A power righty, Strop become a crucial piece in the Orioles bullpen between 2011 and ‘13 before he was traded to the Cubs along with Jake Arrieta.
- Ernie Whitt turns 74. Much of his 15-season MLB career ws spent in Toronto, but he wrapped up his time in the bigs with 35 games on the 1991 Orioles.
- The late Tom Gastall was born on this day (b. 1932, d. 1956). He was a reserve catcher with the Orioles between 1955 and ‘56. He died the day after his final game when a small aircraft he was piloting crashed into the Chesapeake Bay.
This day in O’s history
1957 – Baltimore acquires Jim Busby from Cleveland in exchange for Dick Williams. This is the first of three times that the Orioles will either trade away or sell Williams in his career.
1966 – The Orioles trade away a disgruntled Jerry Adair, who wants more playing time, to the White Sox in exchange for Eddie Fisher.
1999 – The Orioles set a club record for runs scored, beating the Braves, 22-1. Cal Ripken Jr. goes 6-for-6 with two home runs. Will Clark goes 4-for-4 with five RBI. Mike Mussina gets the win, tossing seven innings and allowing just the one run.
