Hello, friends.
The Orioles will be back at it today after having the day off yesterday. Don’t forget that this is the home opener game for Pittsburgh, which means the very atypical Friday game time of 4:12pm Eastern time. If you show up at 6:30 or 7 wondering when the game is going to start, you may be very confused and potentially disappointed depending on what you missed before that.
One thing I’ll be looking for today is an update on whatever was found or not found on Zach Eflin’s elbow MRI. I have
a feeling they knew yesterday and are just waiting until the next formal availability for manager Craig Albernaz before today’s game in order to deliver the bad news to local media. I could be wrong – as anybody who reads this site for a while knows, it happens all the time.
In the short term, nothing changes regardless of when the news is delivered on Eflin. The Orioles will have to be without him for a while and that will take some juggling by Monday or Tuesday. I’m just as curious what the plan is there. We can all assume that it’s going to be Dean Kremer as much as we want to, but until they announce something, we can’t be sure. Kremer can’t be called up before April 9 unless there’s an injury, so I’d say we can’t rule out the possibility of an Albert Suárez spot start on either Monday or Tuesday.
Pittsburgh brings a 3-3 record into this series, same as the Orioles. They’re also bringing some hype, as it looks like they’ll be calling up the #1 prospect in the game, Konnor Griffin, to join the team and make his debut tonight. Griffin does not even turn 20 years old until later this month. The rumor mill suggests he’s got a handshake agreement to sign a nine-year, $140 million contract extension as soon as he plays one game. It’s going to be interesting to see over time which side got the better out of that deal.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Orioles hope improved rotation depth can make up for Eflin’s loss (Baltimore Baseball)
There’s no question that having Dean Kremer as the #6 guy entering the season is way better than where things were last year. It’s not great that they’re going to have to move everybody below him up the line by one before we reach a double digit day in April.
For any pitching predicament, Orioles can always call on ‘Big Al’ (Orioles.com)
The offer was not valid in 2025. Maybe the Orioles will be able to call on him for much of 2026, though. And hopefully he’ll pitch well enough that they want him to be around.
Colton Cowser and Shane Baz faced each other as kids. Who won is an open debate. (The Baltimore Banner)
Fun story to have both of these guys now Orioles at the same time! Next step: Both of them playing well at the same time.
40% of Marylanders identify as Orioles fans, UMBC poll shows (The Baltimore Sun)
A solid percentage, if you ask me, although I’m sure that the business operations of the Orioles would like it if it was higher. Not that they’re doing much to try to change that.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The most recent Orioles victory on this day came two years ago. The team walked off the Royals thanks to James McCann’s two-out, two-run single in the ninth inning. Earlier in the game, Corbin Burnes pitched reasonably well. Just five players who appeared for the team that day are on the active roster right now.
One lone former Oriole has a birthday today. Happy 51st to Koji Uehara, who finished with a 3.03 ERA in 98 games across three seasons with the team. Uehara was a fun guy in his own right on a couple of bad Orioles teams but is also memorable for being the guy traded for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter in 2011.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author Washington Irving (1783), actress Doris Day (1922), Apollo 1 astronaut Gus Grissom (1926), anthropologist Jane Goodall (1934), and Iron Chef Cat Cora (1967).
On this day in history…
In 1888, the first of the 11 never-solved murders attributed to Jack the Ripper took place in London.
In 1922, Joseph Stalin was named as the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
In 1948, President Truman signed legislation authorizing the Marshall Plan, which at the time provided $5 billion in aid to help rebuild 16 countries after World War II.
In 1996, the Unabomber was captured at his cabin in Montana.
A random Orioles trivia question
I received a random book of Orioles trivia questions for Christmas. I’ve been asking a question in this space each time it’s been my turn this year. I skipped ones that were stupid or repetitive because I’m pretty sure this book was put together by some kind of AI generation with no real human oversight, so this is the final question for this feature for now:
Who was the first Oriole to win the AL MVP award? Bonus if you know what year.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on April 3. Have a safe Friday. Go O’s!
