Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! It was a rough weekend for the Orioles, who lost three out of four to the Astros since last Thursday. But they ended the series on a high note, with a 3-2 win to close things out. Trevor Rogers continued to do Trevor Rogers things, and the bullpen held on through a dicey finish. You can check out all the details of the win in my game recap.
Tonight, the Red Sox come to town for a four-game series. I am not crazy about back-to-back four-game series. What a strange scheduling
quirk. Not as strange as having last Wednesday off, but still weird. The Red Sox spent the weekend winning three out of four over the Yankees to pass them in the standings. The Red Sox have owned the Yankees this year. The Red Sox loss yesterday snapped an eight-game win streak over the Yankees and they are 9-2 against them on the season. I have no love for the Red Sox, but I do love to see the Yankees fail.
The Orioles, however, have a winning record against the Red Sox this year. After their two-game sweep last week, the Orioles now have a 5-4 edge over the Red Sox this season. Here’s hoping this week’s four-game series isn’t a repeat of when the Astros just came to town. Because that was really not fun.
One thing to look forward to this week is the return of Kyle Bradish. Back when all of the starting pitchers were doing well, there was a question of who would go to make room for the return of Bradish. But Brandon Young’s injury has taken away any question. Bradish will likely start on Tuesday, but both Tuesday and Wednesday are currently TBD for starting pitchers. Tomoyuki Sugano is scheduled for tonight and Cade Povich is slotted in for Thursday.
Bradish’s last major league start came on June 14, 2024. He was having a successful season right up until his injury forced him to miss the rest of the season. He underwent Tommy John surgery five days late, on June 19th. He has made six rehab starts in the minors. The numbers from those starts aren’t impressive, but that isn’t important at this stage. It will be a success if Bradish can come back healthy, get back to facing major league hitters, and be ready to start the season at full speed in 2026.
Links
Orioles’ Rutschman on 2025: ‘It’s been really frustrating’; Bradish might start Tuesday – Baltimore Baseball
Rutschman talked about his current injury, his frustrating season, and what it’s like having Samuel Basallo around.
Will Félix Bautista be the same pitcher after shoulder surgery? The odds are low but not zero. – The Baltimore Banner
A sobering look at Bautista’s road back to pitching
Rogers’ historic run for Orioles: 13 starts, a 1.40 ERA – Orioles.com
It’s unbelievable what Trevor Rogers has been doing this season. His 1.40 ERA is the best 13-start stretch in Orioles history.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have four Orioles birthday buddies, including Albert Belle (59). Belle signed a five-year contract with the Orioles in December 1998 but was forced to retire after the 2000 season due to a degenerative hip condition. People love to hate on Albert Belle, but he was a great, if surly, baseball player.
Also born on this day are former Orioles Chandler Shepherd (33), Gary Matthews, Jr. (51), and Darrell Johnson (b. 1928, d. 2004).
On this day in 1968, the Orioles defeated the Red Sox in 18 innings, 3-2. The game was started by Tom Phoebus, who pitched seven innings, and finished by Roger Nelson, who also pitched seven innings. The Orioles were down 2-1 in the eighth inning when they tied it and then went on to play 10 more innings. In the 18th, Boog Powell doubled and came in to score the winning run on a single from Brooks Robinson.
In 2014, they beat the Rays 9-1. Nick Markakis and Steve Pearce hit back-to-back home runs in the third inning, then Delmon Young, J.J. Hardy, and Chris Davis went back-to-back-to-back in the fifth. Chris Tillman allowed one run in seven innings.
One year ago today, the Orioles lost to the Astros, 6-3. Dean Kremer allowed three runs in six innings, then Burch Smith gave up two home runs and took the loss. Do you remember Burch Smith? He had 25 appearances! The Orioles had just two hits in the game, one of which was a three-run homer by current Astro Ramón Urías.
