Good morning Birdland,
The Orioles offense is a three-man operation at the moment: Pete Alonso, Adley Rutschman, and Samuel Basallo. All three of them contributed on Friday night, going a combined 4-for-9 with two home runs, three runs scored, and three RBI. That’s with Basallo beginning the day on the bench in order to catch today’s late afternoon game. The rest of the lineup went 0-for-22 with eight strikeouts.
It’s a widespread problem. Gunnar Henderson is in a deep cold spell. His season OPS is down
to .674. Coby Mayo only got two at-bats before he was yanked on Friday. Colton Cowser is basically just a fourth outfielder at this point, kept around for his glove and speed. They don’t trust his bat at all. Tyler O’Neill isn’t having the bounce back they hoped for. Taylor Ward’s doubles are drying up, and that’s not because they are turning into home runs.
It’s a shame because Kyle Bradish put forth a pretty good start. He went deep, tossing seven innings, and the stuff looked good, striking out 10 in the process. The only runs he allowed all came in the fifth inning, and otherwise he shutout the Athletics offense down. Using Trey Gibson as a bullpen piece was an interesting choice, one likely done to keep the rest of the pen fresh in the middle of this long stretch without a day off. But that’s a lot to ask of a young pitcher, who rarely relieves, and will be making just his second career big league appearance.
But the pitching was the least of our concerns on this day. The lineup is struggling, and at this point we may just have to admit that it’s not very good. And those same players are also not doing well in the field either. It’s a mess with no obvious in-season solution other than holding on for dear life and praying it turns around.
Maybe the return of Jackson Holliday in the next week or two gives some minor boost to the bats, but it’s not as if he has ever shown the upside that was once raved about. The team simply needs more out of Henderson and Ward for starters. And they need some sort of legitimate solution at third base. It seems like the duo of Weston Wilson and Blaze Alexander is gonna get a chance to show what they can do. That doesn’t exactly instill a ton of confidence, but it has to be better than what the position has gotten to this point.
Links
Orioles hold Tupac Shakur bobblehead promotion, and his sister throws out the ceremonial first pitch | The Associated Press
By far the highlight of the evening was the Tupac bobblehead giveaway. Credit to the Orioles marketing department for giving fans a reason to show up at the ballpark because the play on the field certainly isn’t doing it!
Singleton can appreciate Ward’s walks | Roch Kubatko
Ward has been a good addition. The team does need him to hit more home runs, but he is walking at a ridiculous rate and doing his job as a table setter. There can’t be too many complaints about him with everything else going so poorly throughout the roster.
Pitcher Cade Povich becomes latest Oriole to go on the injured list | The Baltimore Banner
In case you missed it, Povich is now on the IL with elbow inflammation. That usually spells bad news for a pitcher, but Povich’s discomfort is on the outside of the arm, not the inside. Tommy John often starts with pain on the inside of the elbow, so the Orioles are optimistic that he will be back rather soon. Yay?
Why Bradish’s ol’ reliable might be key to 2026 turnaround | MLB.com
Bradish is still trying to figure out a successful formula on the mound. It seems like he is getting closer. The timing would be great as the Orioles need someone to step up in the middle of their current injury crisis.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Jace Peterson turns 36 today. He was a utility-man for 11 years in the majors, including a stint in Baltimore from 2018 through ‘19.
- Tom Chism is 72 years old. The first baseman played in six big league games, all of which came with the 1979 Orioles.
- Ron Jackson is 73. He wrapped up his decade in the majors with a 12-game stay on the 1984 Orioles.
This day in O’s history
1961 – Orioles slugger Jim Gentile becomes the third player in major league history to hit grand slams in consecutive innings. As part of a 13-5 whooping of the Twins, Gentile hits a pair of slams in the first and second innings. A sacrifice fly later in the game makes it a nine-RBI day for him.
1962 – The Orioles trade Marvelous Marv Throneberry to the Mets for catcher Hobie Landrith and cash.
1962 – Brooks Robinson becomes the sixth player of the 20th century to hit grand slams in consecutive games. His homer on this day lifts the Orioles to a 6-3 win over the Kansas City Athletics.
1973 – Al Bumbry and Rich Coggins both club their first major league home runs, but the Orioles lose 4-3 to the Athletics anyway.
1987 – Eddie Murray homers from each side of the plate for the second straight game, the first time that this has been accomplished in major league history. The quartet of home runs helps the Orioles win two games against the White Sox, 7-6 and 15-6.
