Hello, friends.
How ‘bout dem O’s? They have pulled off a similar trick towards the end of the month that they did towards the beginning. After getting miserably swept by a division opponent, they went on to play a much better series the second time around. They did this to the Yankees after losing four straight towards the start of May, and they’ve just done it to the Rays too, pulling off the home sweep with an 11-2 win in the finale last night. Check out John Beers’s recap of the game for more
of the lovely totals.
Among the game’s highlights was Gunnar Henderson hitting two home runs. If he’s back, look out. Adley Rutschman had three hits. If he’s back too, also look out. Then a couple of guys who have not really arrived yet also had multi-hit games, with Blaze Alexander leading the way with six RBI and his first Orioles homer. These guys have had borderline-unplayable bats up to this point. The picture of what this offense could be capable of is a lot prettier if these guys can keep doing good things. As you’ll see in the links below, there was a recent change in how the hitters do their pre-game routines. Perhaps that’s had a positive impact.
One downer from the game is that Yennier Cano hurt himself while getting work in during the garbage time portion of the evening. Cano left mid at-bat with an injury that was obvious enough that he didn’t try any warmup tosses. It wasn’t the elbow. The team said during the game that Cano was suffering hamstring discomfort. That’s still potentially bad news, because it likely means an injured list trip for one of the two or three relievers who’ve been consistently reliable so far this season.
If you really want to get carried away, last night’s win puts the Orioles within one game of a wild card spot. Even when the team was not playing well, they have not fallen far out of that race. That this is hard to believe has not made it any less true. Through the first two months of baseball, there’s a lot of mediocrity in the middle of the American League. One division leader, the Mariners, is currently below .500. The O’s are one game back of the Twins and Blue Jays, who are each 27-29.
Wouldn’t you know it, the Blue Jays are now in Baltimore for a four-game set. There is an opportunity to really sustain the change in narrative about this season if the Orioles can manage to put together a strong series. A split of the set should at least be enough to keep some positive feelings going. Winning three of four might have them in a playoff spot. Losing three or more would take the wind back out of their sails.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
The Orioles’ new approach to hitting meetings gives players more input – and more responsibility (The Baltimore Banner)
Interesting look at a change instituted last week that adjusts from the previous group meeting for hitters with more individual focus that requires players to do their own homework ahead of time. I’m glad they’re trying different things to see what works.
Are the Orioles back? Only if they keep this momentum. (The Baltimore Sun)
Any time you scoff at an obvious headline, at least read the article before making up your mind about it. I’ll tell you from experience, writing headlines sucks.
Albernaz wants Ward’s June to be more like his April (Baltimore Baseball)
The skipper is looking for better things from his leadoff hitter next month. As are we all.
Orioles prospects who have been thriving in the minor league season so far (Orioles.com)
Shoutouts for Nestor German, Ethan Anderson, and, of course, Joseph Dzierwa.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
In their 56th game last year, the Orioles notched a 2-1 victory over the White Sox to bump their record up to 20-36 for the season. Zach Eflin pitched seven scoreless innings in the win. The 2026 Orioles have six wins more than last year’s team did through the same number of games. It’s going to take better than this to get somewhere good this season. They have, at least, avoided the May collapse that destroyed last year’s hopes.
Today in 1978, Jim Palmer picked up the 200th win of his career, dropping a complete game shutout on Cleveland in the second game of a doubleheader in Baltimore.
In 1996, Cal Ripken Jr. hit a grand slam and another two two-run home runs. This was a career-high eight RBI for Ripken. In a 12-8 Orioles win over the Mariners, Billy Ripken also homered – the second time the Ripken brothers homered in the same game.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2024 reliever Craig Kimbrel, 2004-08 pitcher Daniel Cabrera, and 1954-55 pitcher Bob Kuzava.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: gold medal Olympian Jim Thorpe (1888), author Walker Percy (1916), singer-songwriter Kylie Minogue (1968), and voice actress Laura Bailey (1981).
On this day in history…
In 585 BC, there was a solar eclipse. Because this eclipse had been predicted by a Greek philosopher/scientist Thales and it interrupted a battle that was dubbed the Battle of the Eclipse, this is the earliest event in history that can be traced to a precise date.
In 1588 AD, the ill-fated Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon, aiming to reach the English Channel. The Armada’s aim was to sail to Flanders, take on an invasion force, and invade England to overthrow Queen Elizabeth. By the end of August, a third of the ships were lost and it retreated home in failure.
In 1905, the Russian Baltic Fleet, which had sailed all the way around the world to join in the war against Japan, was attacked and almost entirely destroyed by the Japanese Navy in the Battle of Tsushima, with 5,000 sailors killed and another 6,000 captured, leading to Russian defeat in the war.
In 2016, the gorilla Harambe of the Cincinnati Zoo was shot and killed after grabbing a child who had fallen into his enclosure. Yes, Harambe memes are ten years old now.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 28. Have a safe Thursday. Go O’s!
