Throughout most of Saturday’s game, this series finale was setting up to be just another nondescript rubber match between inter-league foes. Then, in the ninth inning of a game that was out of reach, the Padres plunked Gunnar Henderson as retaliation for Xander Bogaerts being hit in the head earlier in the afternoon. Now this game has a bit more flavor to it.
Adding another dimension to it are Craig Albernaz’s strange comments afterwards. Mark covered it in the Bird Droppings this morning. Albernaz described
the pitch that hit Henderson in the midsection as “the right way” and that the Orioles had “no gripes” about it. Huh? Henderson certainly seemed to have gripes standing on first base and in his own post-game meeting with the media. And there were angry reactions in the team’s dugout too when the HBP happened. The Padres had attempted to hit Henderson earlier in the game and failed. Twice. It should have been over then. Triple dipping on a bean ball attempt isn’t “the right way” at all.
The charitable way to interpret the manager’s comments are that he doesn’t want anyone else to be hit today. That could be understandable, although his wording is still poor. The more critical reading is that Albernaz is completely out of touch with the locker room. Maybe HE didn’t have any gripes, but some of the players definitely did. It is possible to condemn the Padres and support your players without stirring the pot any further. Albernaz did not achieve that.
My personal hope is that no one else is intentionally hit by a pitch today, mostly because that’s extremely dangerous and it would likely lead to some lengthy suspensions at this point. Albernaz clearly wants it to all be over too. It will be interesting to see what the Orioles players do. If Henderson is genuinely mad about the entire thing, it’s not out of the question that someone on the pitching staff—probably a reliever later in the game—takes matters into their own hands. If that happens, it would be a very bad sign for Albernaz and where he stands in that clubhouse.
Within all of that subtext is a game to win. The Orioles lost a game in their pursuit of an AL Wild Card spot on Saturday. They need to stay on the front foot and keep the heat on those ahead of them in the standings. Another good showing from Trevor Rogers would go a long way towards making that happen. Let’s see it!
Orioles lineup
- Taylor Ward, LF
- Gunnar Henderson, SS
- Adley Rutschman, DH
- Pete Alonso, 1B
- Samuel Basallo, C
- Leody Tavares, RF
- Colton Cowser, CF
- Jeremiah Jackson, 2B
- Blaze Alexander, 3B
LHP Trevor Rogers (3-6, 6.15 ERA)
Padres lineup
- Fernando Tatis Jr., 2B
- Jackson Merrill, CF
- Manny Machado, 3B
- Xander Bogaerts, SS
- Gavin Sheets, 1B
- Samad Taylor, LF
- Nick Solak, DH
- Jase Bowen, RF
- Rodolfo Durán, C
RHP Walker Buehler (3-3, 4.33 ERA)
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