Good morning Birdland,
The Orioles have cooled off since their last home stand. The team had forced its way back into contention and into our hearts the last time they were at Camden Yards. Now, they are back to frustrate us. Their 6-5 loss on Tuesday night made it four L’s in a row. And while a .500 record was on the horizon just days ago, they now sit six games under and two games back of the final wild card spot. Harumph!
Andrea had all of the details of last night’s excruciating loss. It’s tough
to win a game when you go 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and leave 10 runners stranded on base. Even when you manage to score five runs, those sorts of numbers are going to come back to bite.
Credit to the Birds for showing some fight in the ninth inning. Coby Mayo hit a big home run. Tyler O’Neill finally had a positive moment. And Samuel Basallo put the ball in play, when that is all the moment called for. It was fun! But they should have done more. They should have won the game right there! The bases were loaded with one out and the heart of the order coming up. Instead, Gunnar Henderson and Pete Alonso both failed to get the ball out of the infield. That is disappointing.
Maybe Adley Rutschman would have made the difference. The Orioles primary catcher missed his second straight game with hamstring tightness. Hopefully it’s nothing serious and instead the O’s are just taking advantage of Sam Huff being around for now. Rutschman has been playing behind the plate a lot as Basallo has dealt with a few minor knocks himself. If giving Rutschman a few days off now keeps him fit deeper into the summer, then it’s worth it.
Brandon Young will be on the bump later today. As odd as it may have sounded a few months ago, Young has been the team’s stopper. Or at least, he has been their most dependable arm the last few weeks. It’s a welcome sight as the O’s look to get back on the rails.
Links
Morning notes on Mancini’s comeback, Henderson’s struggles and Alexander’s read on Monday’s mistake | Roch Kubatko
Trey Mancini getting back to the majors feels like something that will eventually get a deeper dive from someone in local media. This guy was a fan favorite in Baltimore, got cancer in the middle of COVID, returned and played well, was traded, won the World Series, got a nice little pay day, and then his playing career went south. Rarely does that player ever resurface. And yet, Trey managed to do it. Really incredible stuff.
Orioles owner David Rubenstein marries in not-so-secret ceremony at Supreme Court | The Baltimore Banner
I didn’t know the Supreme Court was available for wedding ceremonies. I’m not exactly in the club that would know, to be fair.
Rutschman’s absence felt in O’s loss as Basallo manages bony growth in wrist | Orioles.com
The Orioles catching duo is the best in baseball. To have them both dealing with nagging injuries at the same time is not ideal. Huff has been a serviceable fill-in when called on. But the team really needs both Basallo and Rutschman fit in order to put their best foot forward every day.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Jay Flaa turns 34 today. He pitched in one game for the 2021 Orioles.
- Julio Mañón is 53 years old. He spent part of the 2006 season in the Orioles bullpen, pitching in 22 total games that year.
- Ken Singleton is 79 today. An Orioles legend, he spent a decade in Baltimore from 1975 through ‘84. In that time he made three all-star teams, earned down-ballot MVP votes in five separate seasons, and won the 1983 World Series. The O’s added him to their team Hall of Fame in 1986.
- The late Hank Foiles (b. 1929, d. 2024) was born on this day. The catcher played for seven different clubs in his 11-season career. Only one of those seasons was spent in Baltimore, which came in 1961.
- It’s a posthumous celebration for Ken Lehman (b. 1928, d. 2010). Between the 1957 and ‘58 seasons he pitched in 61 games for the Orioles.
This day in O’s history
1978 – For the third time in 18 days, the Orioles win a game 1-0 with Jim Palmer on the mound. Today, they beat the A’s. Previously, Palmer had bested Detroit on May 24th and then the Yankees on June 1st.
1995 – Orioles third baseman Jeff Manto hits a home run in his fourth consecutive at-bat and eventually hits five home runs in six at-bats across a three-game stretch. Prior to this season he had only hit four total major league home runs since his debut in 1990.
2005 – The Orioles beat the Reds 4-3 in the first major league game to ever feature three players that had reached 500 career home runs. Those players are Sammy Sosa, Rafael Palmeiro, and Ken Griffey Jr.
2006 – Orioles pitcher Daniel Cabrera tosses six scoreless innings against the Twins, and his offense gets them out to a 9-0 lead. The Twins storm back to make it 9-7 late, but the O’s hang on to win.
2010 – Orioles hurler Jake Arrieta wins his big league debut, 4-3 over the Yankees. The young righty allows just three hits over six innings.
