Good morning Birdland,
The Orioles have not exactly started the year on fire. They lost 5-4 on Friday afternoon in Pittsburgh. That makes them losers of three out of their last four, alone in third place of the AL East. Across the board, they just haven’t been good enough.
The starting pitching, outside of Trevor Rogers, isn’t firing on all cylinders yet. Kyle Bradish battled on Friday. He explained after the game that his stuff looks and feels good. He just needs to execute. That could take some time.
Things aren’t much better in the bullpen, although there are hot and cold spots. Dietrich Enns walked three and gave up a run in his lone inning. That came just after the Orioles had clawed back two runs the previous frame and really could have used a stop. At least Tyler Wells delivered two shutout innings, and Rico Garcia continued to look like a weapon.
The defense has been, as expected, a problem. That wasn’t really part of the loss on Friday. In fact, Blaze Alexander made an amazing stop at third base that resulted in an out. But questions still linger, particularly in the outfield, where most of the miscues have occurred early.
The one area of the team that does feel like it’s on the upswing is the offense. The 30 runs they have scored are tied for 17th in MLB. Not great. But they are eighth in batting average (.257), seventh in on-base (.336), and 11th in slugging (.391). They need to be hitting more home runs, and they will. There is just too much talent and power for them to be near the bottom of the league in long balls. Once that happens, scoring will go up, which will buy the pitching staff a little more wiggle room.
At least, that is what the Orioles must be telling themselves right now. Scoring more runs is the only viable avenue they really have at this point. The pitching staff was always going to be a work in progress that they hoped would eventually figure it out. The offense, on the other hand, should have been ready to go out of the box. It’s showing signs of life, but they need more. Maybe that happens today.
We will get our second look at Shane Baz this afternoon. Perhaps there is added motivation for him to face the organization that originally drafted him, but then dealt him away. Or maybe that is irrelevant. Either way, first pitch is at 4:05.
Links
Eflin going to get second opinion on injured right elbow | MLB.com
Typically, players don’t get second opinions unless they don’t like the first one. And since this is an elbow injury to a big league pitcher, odds are that the first opinion was that Zach Eflin needs Tommy John surgery. Players want to avoid surgery whenever possible, especially one that can came with an 18-month recovery process. It could be even worse for Eflin, who is fresh off of a back injury that ruined his 2025 campaign. Losing another season (or two) might cost him his career entirely.
Jon Meoli: Why the top of the Orioles lineup holds the key to their season | The Baltimore Banner
Taylor Ward, Gunnar Henderson, and Pete Alonso have been good. They need to be even better if the Orioles are going to make a playoff run. In particular, they need more home runs. Those should come as the weather warms and everyone gets more comfortable.
Orioles waiting for better days from rotation (and other notes) | Roch Kubatko
It seems like the mantra for the entire team right now is “just wait.” They will hit more home runs. They will play better defense. They will get better starts from their rotation. There is logic in that. Early-season outcomes can be wonky. But the Orioles aren’t projected to be some juggernaut. They will need to fight for a potential playoff spot. So games now matter quite a bit for them. They need to get the most out of them.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Conner Greene turns 31 today. The righty was an obsession of the Orioles’ front office for a bit. They acquired him three different times between 2020 and 2022. Ultimately, he would toss a total of just 23.1 innings with a 7.71 ERA for the O’s in 2021.
- Renato Núñez is 32 years old. The slugging infielder spent parts of three seasons in Baltimore from 2018 through ‘21. He was a solid hitter, posting a 107 OPS+ during his time with the O’s.
- Odrisamer Despaigne turns 39. During the 2016 season he appeared in 16 games out of the Orioles bullpen.
- Jim Dedrick is 58. All six games of his big league career came with the 1995 Orioles.
- Brad Komminsk celebrates his 65th birthday. The outfielder had a 46-game stint with the Orioles in 1990.
- Mike Epstein turns 83. His decade in the big leagues began with a short stay in Baltimore. Between 1966 and ‘67, he played in 15 games for the Orioles before he was dealt to Washington, where he got more of an opportunity.
- The late Tom Fisher (b. 1942, d. 2016) was born on this day. He pitched in two games for the 1967 Orioles.
- Eddie Watt is 85 today. The righty was a crucial member of the Orioles bullpen during the franchise’s best years. From 1966 through ‘73, he had a 2.74 ERA over 363 total appearances and won two World Series titles with the team. He was inducted into the Orioles Hall of Fame in 2000.
This day in O’s history
2001 – Making his Red Sox debut at Camden Yards, Hideo Nomo no-hits the Orioles in a 3-0 win for the visitors.
2005 – As the season opens, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro officially become the first pair of teammates to have at least 500 career home runs each. They bat right next to one another (fourth and fifth in the lineup, respectively) in an Orioles lineup that tops the Athletics 4-0 on Opening Day.
2011 – The Orioles improve to 4-0 on the young season with a 5-1 win over the Tigers. Earl Weaver throws out the first pitch, Jake Arrieta tosses six innings, and Brian Roberts hits a three-run homer.
