Good morning, Camden Chatters.
If you’re looking to unplug from the Orioles for a while, you’ve got an easy excuse for the next week and a half. The Orioles are off to the West Coast, where six of their next nine games will start at 9:40 PM EST or later. That’s a lot of late, late nights for us viewers in the eastern time zone, and the Orioles haven’t exactly shown that they’re worth giving up sleep for.
This nine-game road trip is the Orioles’ longest since August 2024. It’s also the first time in two
years that the O’s will play three different opponents on one trip. And two of those foes are first-place teams, one more daunting than the other. Starting tonight the O’s have a rematch against the 37-36 Mariners, who lead the AL West, after splitting a four-game series in Baltimore last week. Then the Birds will head to Los Angeles to take on the two-time defending champion Dodgers, who are running away with the AL West with a 45-27 record. The only sub-.500 team the O’s will play on this trip is the last-place Angels next Monday through Wednesday.
The Orioles, at five games under .500, are hanging on to the fringes of the weak AL Wild Card race, but they’re going to need to make a push sooner than later. Their losing homestand against the M’s and Padres didn’t exactly inspire confidence that they’re about to rattle off an extended winning streak, and now they’re heading to the other side of the country for their longest road trip in years against some tough opponents. It’s not ideal.
If the O’s can tread water with a 4-5 record or so on this road trip, I guess that would help them survive a while longer, even if it won’t push them any closer in the postseason race. At least that would beat the worst-case scenario of three series losses (or sweeps), which could be the nail in the coffin for the Orioles’ hopes of contention.
Come on, Orioles. On behalf of the sickos who will be staying up to an ungodly hour watching you play, don’t make us witness the death knell of your 2026 season. Let’s make this West Coast trip memorable — or at least slightly tolerable.
Links
Orioles players on track to be shut out in MLB All-Star fan voting – The Baltimore Sun
No real surprise here, as no Oriole is the best player in the AL at his position, and most aren’t particularly close. Which is kind of why they’re in this mess.
What’s the latest on Orioles’ Ryan Mountcastle? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
I keep forgetting that Ryan Mountcastle exists. I might continue to forget until the day he returns, which sounds like it’s at least a month away,
O’Neill leaning on experience as O’s slugger potentially turns corner – MLB.com
O’Neill’s contract, and a lack of viable outfielders in the O’s minors, will give him plenty of leash. But I’m gonna need to see more than a 7-for-20 stretch before I believe that he’s “turning the corner.”
The biggest win of Ryan Helsley’s season? His young daughter can hear. – The Baltimore Banner
I’m not crying. You’re crying.
MLB Issues Three-Game Suspension To Ron Marinaccio – MLB Trade Rumors
Marinaccio is appealing his suspension for throwing at Gunnar Henderson on Saturday. No truth to the rumor that he’ll be calling Craig Albernaz to speak in his defense.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Three former Orioles were born on this day, including lefty Joe Saunders (45), whose improbable Wild Card Game win over Yu Darvish and the Rangers in 2012 is the stuff of Birdland legend. Enjoy your day, Joe. Other ex-Orioles with June 16 birthdays are infielder Chris Gomez (55) and the late right-hander Ernie Johnson (b. 1924, d. 2011).
On this date in 2015, the Orioles set a franchise record by hitting eight home runs, powering a 19-3 shellacking of the Phillies at Camden Yards. Right fielder Chris Parmelee mashed two dingers in his Orioles debut, and Manny Machado added a pair, while Jimmy Paredes, Chris Davis, David Lough, and Ryan Flaherty each hit one. Phillies reliever Dustin McGowan coughed up five of those homers and never pitched for the team again.
Random Orioles game of the day
On June 16, 1983, the Orioles lost a walkoff to the Brewers in 11 innings, 2-1, at County Stadium in Milwaukee. This one was a heartbreaker for O’s starter Scott McGregor, who carried a 1-0 lead into the bottom of the ninth and retired the first two batters, putting him one out away from a shutout win. But Cecil Cooper kept the Brewers alive with a double and Ted Simmons singled him home to tie the score.
McGregor ended up pitching 10 innings with just that one run of damage, but reliever Tim Stoddard surrendered a walkoff homer to Rick Manning in the 11th. Meanwhile, the O’s offense squandered plenty of scoring opportunities, scoring just one run on 10 hits. They went 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 13 runners on base.
No biggie. That season turned out pretty well for the Orioles anyway.
