Good morning Birdland,
The west coast road trip is not going well for the Orioles. After dropping two of three in Seattle, they have now lost the opener in Los Angeles, and it happened in particularly brutal fashion. The game was actually pretty great up until the ninth inning. Our guy’s dug out of an early hole. Trey Gibson settled in. The middle relievers (Andrew Kittredge, Tyler Wells, and Yennier Cano) were very good. Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso contributed key home runs. And the team was able
to hand Ryan Helsley a 5-3 lead going into the ninth inning.
Then, it all fell apart.
Helsley struggled again. He gave up a home run to Mookie Betts to cut the lead in half. Then issued two walks with a pop out sandwiched in between. Despite his struggles, he was one out away from getting the Orioles a win anyway. But it wasn’t to be. Dalton Rushing singled into right field. The tying scored easily. Tyler O’Neill’s throw home got away from Samuel Basallo, and the winning run crossed the plate.
Both Helsley and Basallo took some blame after the game. That feels fair enough overall. Helsley did not pitch well. Four of the six batters he faced reached base. And Basallo needs to catch the ball from O’Neill. It was not a horrible throw, though both he and Craig Albernaz claim it took a bad hop in front of the catcher. Even still, that getting past him was a killer.
Albernaz will likely get some blame from fans too. “Why go with Helsley there? He didn’t look great last series. He’s fresh off the IL. And the Orioles need wins! Cano could have stayed in.” Sure, but you signed this guy to be your closer. He had been really good prior to the injury, his velocity looks fine, and it was a save opportunity. You hand him the ball.
Unfortunately, he was bad. That has been a trend for this Orioles team. When the moment gets big and they need someone to come through, they often wither rather than rise. This west coast trip was going to test them and see if they had what it took to climb back into contention. Right now, it doesn’t seem like it.
Links
Trey Mancini’s MLB comeback was all about who was in the stands to see it | The Baltimore Banner
It really is impossible to not love Mancini. He always came off as the nicest guy during his time with the Orioles, and it was such a bummer to see him struggle with the Cubs. The fact he was willing and able to put in so much work and effort to get back up to the big leagues—just in time for a meeting with his old club—is the stuff movies are made about.
Two years since peak, Orioles approaching a pivotal crossroads | The Baltimore Sun
Yeeeah, we may have already passed the crossroads and found out we took a wrong turn. This season isn’t sunk yet, but there is very little evidence to suggest this roster is capable of a playoff run.
A deeper dive into the mailbag while the Orioles are on the West Coast | Roch Kubatko
A few Albernaz questions in this one. A struggling team and some bubbling clubhouse issues will start to make people uneasy about a skipper.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Félix Bautista turns 31 today. When not injured, the hard-throwing righty is one of the best closers in MLB. He’s got a 2.01 ERA over 156 appearances with the Orioles between 2022 and ‘25. Unfortunately, he is on the IL right now.
- Thomas Eshelman is 32 years old. He’s one of the many former Astros draft picks that Mike Elias has given a chance in Baltimore. From 2019 through 2021, he pitched in 31 games for the O’s. He is now a pitching coordinator within the organization.
- Kevin Gregg turns 48. His time in Baltimore lasted two seasons from 2011 and ‘12. In season one he was the team’s closer, and then in the follow up campaign he was more often a middle-inning arm. Perhaps the lasting image of Gregg in an Orioles uniform will be the brawl he got into with David Ortiz back in 2011 when the Hall of Fame slugger took exception to being pitched inside to.
- Paul Bako is 54 today. He was the Orioles backup catcher during the 2007 season.
- Juan Casto is also 54 years old. He was one of many players that spent time at shortstop for the Orioles in 2008 after the team traded away Miguel Tejada in the offseason and failed to replace him.
- Phil Huffman turns 68. He pitched in two games for the Orioles in 1985, which was his first time back in the majors after debuting with the Blue Jays six seasons earlier.
- Tony Chevez is 73 years old. His only MLB experience was a four-game stint with the Orioles in 1977.
- The late Andy Etchebarren was born on this day (b. 1943, d. 2019). He was a catcher with the Orioles for 12 seasons between 1962 and 1975. In that time he made two all-star games, won two World Series titles, and helped the 1971 pitching staff to become only one of two to ever have four 20-game winners on one team.
This day in O’s history
1964 – Baltimore slugger Boog Powell fractures his wrist in a collision with an outfield fence. The injury will put him on the shelf until September 5th.
