Happy Monday, Camden Chatters!
It was a very successful weekend in Birdland. After dropping the first two games of the series with the Blue Jays, and getting very close to ruining the good vibes created over the first six games of the homestand. But they staged an incredible ninth-inning comeback on Saturday and scored nine runs on Sunday on the way to an easy win. They ended their homestand with a 7-3 record and are 28-32 overall.
Yesterday’s game was a lot of fun. It was a big crowd at Camden Yards,
over 34,000. That included a ton of kids on youth sports day. The Orioles went up early and had a big inning that was capped by a three-run home run by Colton Cowser. I was at the game with my family, and my daughter is just getting into watching baseball in person. She accidentally cheered for the Blue Jays’ home run for a few seconds, but she’ll learn. Home runs ARE exciting.
This has been a real rollercoaster of a season for the Orioles so far. There is a lot of talk about their spot in the Wild Card race, but I don’t want to pay attention to all of that. I can’t help it, I do pay attention. But I don’t want to. There are steps on the way to caring about playoff position. And the next step for the Orioles is .500. Get there, then take the next step.
The good news for the Orioles is that tomorrow, they start a six-game road trip against two teams they are capable of beating. They’ll play three games against the Red Sox followed by three in Toronto. The Red Sox are currently in last place, although they did win two out of three from the Orioles at the end of April. And the Blue Jays just left town and didn’t look that impressive to me.
The bad news for the Orioles is that they are going on the road, period. They have been just awful on the road so far this year. They have a 9-17 road record and allow an average of six runs per game. Their team OPS on the road is .670 but their pitchers allow an OPS of .811. It’s been ugly.
But the Orioles are playing good baseball lately, and I am starting to feel cautiously optimistic that the team is gelling. The starting pitching looks stronger than it has at any point this season. Maybe the Orioles will spend the next week putting their road demons behind them.
Links
Samuel Basallo caps superb month as Orioles complete resurgent homestand – The Baltimore Banner
Andy Kostka focuses on Samuel Basallo in his homestand wrap-up. Is he the best hitter on the team?
More dominance from Bradish and early lead guide Orioles to 9-5 win and series split – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko has game quotes for days in this one.
Brandon Young’s new splitter grip: From drawing board to the mound in just days – Steve on Baseball
This is a repeat clipping from the weekend, but an interesting one if you missed it.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies. Tayler Scott is 34 years old today and was the first South African to make the majors. He pitched in eight games for the 2019 Orioles before heading to Japan. He returned to MLB in 2022 and pitched through 2025. He’s currently playing for Triple-A Gwinnett.
Also born on this day is Ray Moore (b. 1926, d. 1995). Moore was a Maryland guy who played for the Orioles from 1955-57. He pitched to a 3.93 ERA in 112 games in that time. Overall, he had an 11-year career.
On this day in 1975, the Orioles found themselves on the wrong side of a no-hitter. It was Nolan Ryan’s fourth no-hitter and his 100th career victory. The Orioles lost, 1-0.
In 2005, Miguel Tejada had a four-hit game with a home run and three doubles. The Orioles defeated the Red Sox, 9-3. Sidney Ponson allowed three runs in 6.2 innings.
In 2021, the Orioles beat the Twins to stop a 14-game losing streak. And that wasn’t even their longest losing streak of the year! They also lost 19 in August. Bruce Zimmermann was the winning pitcher with a 5.1 inning, 2-run effort. Pedro Severino and Maikel Franco homered. The lineup was horrifying.
And one year ago today, the Orioles beat the White Sox, 3-2. Charlie Morton gave up one run in 6.2 innings. Dylan Carlson, Ryan O’Hearn, and Ramón Urías drove in one run apiece.
