Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! The Orioles finished up a two-coast, nine-game tour of the NL West yesterday. Overall against the Giant, Padres, and Giants, the Orioles went 6-3. It started off poorly with two losses to the Giants, but the Orioles turned it on after that. They swept the Padres without much drama, then staged two walk-offs against the Dodgers before finally losing yesterday.
If you attended a game over the weekend, I hope for your sake it was Friday night, when Samuel Basallo homered
for the win, or Saturday, when the Orioles paid tribute to 2131 and then overcame 8.2 no-hit innings to win in the ninth. I attended a game this weekend, only it was yesterday’s loss. Shohei Ohtani homered twice and Clayton Kershaw got the win against a sad Orioles lineup. For the full details, check out Alex Church’s game recap.
On Friday, the Orioles lost Dean Kremer after three innings due to elbow soreness. On Saturday, Samuel Basallo left early with an injured hand when he was hit by a pitch while catching. And yesterday, Tomoyuki Sugano was hit in the foot by a line drive and had to exit the game. The Orioles have struggled with injuries throughout that year, but to lose a player in three straight games seems a bit cursed. Thankfully, at this point none of them seem to be injured badly. I’ll keep holding my breath on Kremer, though.
The Orioles have a home off-day today before starting a three-game series with the Pirates. Like the Orioles, the Pirates have been toiling in last place all year. Two terrible teams and a weekday series with school back in session isn’t going to bring in a lot of attendance. But if you have Wednesday night free, I recommend heading to Camden Yards to see Paul Skenes.
Skenes is in his second season with the Pirates, and he’s working on another sub-2 ERA. He won Rookie of the Year last year and is on his way to Cy Young this. He leads the league in ERA, strikeouts, FIP, and bWAR (6.9). Maybe the idea of watching a pitcher like that go against the Orioles turns your stomach. If so, I understand. But the Pirates won’t return to Baltimore until 2027 and it’s not every day you get the chance to see a pitcher like that.
Links
Orioles updates on Basallo, Kremer, rotation, Westburg and more – MASN Sports
Roch Kubtako wrote up the status on the many injured Orioles. It sounds like Dean Kremer is doing pretty well and should only miss one start, although I don’t think that Tony Mansolino is using the word asymptomatic correctly.
X-rays negative after Sugano takes comebacker off foot – MLB.com
And here is more injury news. Tomoyuki Sugano left the game yesterday after being hit in the foot, but like Samuel Basallo’s hand, there are no broken bones.
Sunday Notes: Bubba Chandler Is Done Playing Catch With Paul Skenes – FanGraphs
The Orioles got a small mention in this week’s Sunday Notes. Micah Ashman, who the Orioles received in the Charlie Morton trade, is having a nice stretch season. Ashman has a 1.95 ERA, a 1.55 FIP, and a 33.5% strikeout rate over 55.1 innings. His results haven’t been as good since he joined the organization, but he does have 20 strikeouts in 13 innings.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have five Orioles birthday buddies, including Don Aase (71). Aase had a 13-year career as a pitcher, including 1985-88 with the Orioles. In 1986, Aase had a 2.98 ERA in 66 games and was named to his only All-Star game.
Other former Orioles born on this day are Nick Hundley (42), Al Pardo (63), George Werley (b. 1938, d. 2013), and Lou Sleater (b. 1926, d. 2013).
On this day in 1993, the Orioles released Glenn Davis. It closed the book on one of the worst trades in team history. In 185 games over three seasons, Davis accumulated 0.7 bWAR for the Orioles. The three players he was traded for went on to combine for 141.3. (Steve Finley – 43.5; Pete Harnish – 17.6; Curt Schilling – 80.2).
In 2012, the Orioles defeated the Yankees to move into a tie for first place in the division. However, in the game, CC Sabathia hit Nick Markakis with a pitch and broke his thumb. Markakis missed the rest of the season and the team’s first postseason appearance since 1997. It was very sad.
One year ago today, the Orioles lost to the Tampa Bay Rays, 2-0. Corbin Burnes pitched six innings and took the loss. The Orioles had just five hits: three from Gunnar Henderson, two from Cedric Mullins.
