Good morning Birdland,
The Orioles have saved their most exciting baseball for September. They are 6-1 on the month, and their last three wins have been of the walk-off variety. Samuel Basallo is responsible for two of them, including last night’s extra-innings victory over the visiting Pirates.
Now, are the Orioles playing as well as their record in September would indicate? Ehh. Look, these guys deserve a little bit of good luck after the struggle that was April and May. It’s not like this is gonna
catapult them to a playoff spot anyway. Let the baseball gods give us some mercy.
Speaking of which, the narrative on the pitching front has completely flipped since early in the season. The return of Kyle Bradish has certainly helped. Now three starts into his 2025 season, the right has largely looked like the guy that we know and love. Over 17 innings so far, he has a 2.65 ERA, 21 strikeouts, and four walks. If he is truly back and Trevor Rogers can continue on his current path, the rotation is lining up nicely for 2026.
We cannot say the same for the lineup. It was another ugly evening of plate appearances on Tuesday. The winning hit from Basallo came, fittingly, on a weak pop-up that had an expected batting average of .070. If not for that, the two teams might still be playing.
Those bats will be challenged today. Paul Skenes is on the mound for Pittsburgh. The 23-year-old righty may be the best pitcher in baseball. He leads the league with a 1.98 ERA and 7.0 bWAR. But his record is only 10-9 because the offense supporting him stinks. There are no obvious holes in his game, so the Orioles may just have to try and inflate his pitch count and get into the bullpen faster. Either way, it will be fun to watch him.
Tyler Wells returns for the Orioles. This will be his second start since coming off of the IL. He was solid against San Diego in his first outing. The Pittsburgh hitters present less of a challenge, but Wells won’t have the same adreneline of getting back on an MLB mound for the first time in forever. Let’s see how he shows.
Links
This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
Ah, the uncapped potential of youth. The Orioles invited some of their top draft picks to Camden Yards yesterday, and it sounds like everyone had a lovely time. This was the first I had heard of Slater de Brun playing catch with Adley Rutschman last year. Both are Oregon guys, and Rutschman had come to de Brun’s high school. Very neat.
Orioles’ Sugano thinks he can make next start; Updates on Kremer, Rutschman, Westburg | Baltimore Baseball
All sorts of injury updates. It sounds like the Orioles are gonna try to get everyone back that they can before the season ends. It has to be a mental things more than anything else. Get back on the field, take some live reps, and go into the offseason with a better mindset.
Jackson expects to play Wednesday after minor injury scare following HBP | MLB.com
Because clarification is needed on this team full of “Jacksons,” this refers to Jeremiah Jackson. He should be back in the lineup tonight. That’s good! The Orioles need as much offense as they can get, and he has been the source of most of it lately.
Inside the Dugout: The O’s and MLB’s economic landscape | The Baltimore Banner
The Orioles certainly don’t have the easiest path to winning in Major League Baseball. There are other teams with more resources. But they have managed to get themselves to this point, where they have well-regarded talent and a GM that seems to understand most aspects of building a team. They just need to get over the hump.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Mike Baumann turns 30 today. He pitched in parts of four seasons with the Orioles from 2021 through ‘24, and has since bounced around the league as a bullpen arm. Currently, he is pitching for the Yakult Swallows in Japan, where he has a 4.15 ERA over 26 innings.
- Matt Angle is 40 years old. He spent 31 games in the Orioles outfield during the 2011 season.
- Danys Báez turns 48 today. He appeared in 112 games out of the Orioles bullpen betweej 2007 and ‘09.
This day in O’s history
1965 – The Orioles take both ends of a doubleheader over the Royals, 5-2 and 10-5. Brooks Robinson, Curt Blefary, and Jerry Adair hit three straight homers in Game 2.
