Hello, friends.
Boy, that was a stupid one yesterday, wasn’t it? The Orioles started off September with three good series in a row and that momentum has screeched to a halt after two games in Toronto. Saturday’s walkoff loss to the Jays saw Keegan Akin and Yennier Cano combine to give up three runs in the ninth inning. Check out Andrea SK’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
What burns me about that particular bullpen-oriented loss – Kade Strowd also allowed a run in the eighth
inning – is that starting pitcher Tomoyuki Sugano was pulled from the game after just 63 pitches through six innings of work. Interim manager Tony Mansolino offered the post-game justification that the Orioles did not want to have Sugano facing Vladimir Guerrero Jr. a third time to lead off the seventh inning.
In my estimation, there are no relievers worth trusting in the Orioles bullpen. That should weigh in decisions to try to dodge the times through the order penalty. In addition, we already know that the Orioles will be deploying a bullpen game today, so why burn relievers you are not, by the starting pitcher’s pitch count, forced to burn on the Saturday game?
On top of this, when considering Sugano and the TTOP, he gets better as the game goes along! Sugano’s OPS allowed the first time around is .858, the second time it’s .743, and the third time it’s .735. The third time through numbers are a smaller sample than the others, a bit more than half of the plate appearances, but still. Every justification offered does not survive any scrutiny, and the result of that poor choice was unreliable relievers stinking it up righteously. Things like this are why I hope that there is basically zero chance of Mansolino being retained as the regular manager next year.
The Orioles will try to avoid a sweep in the finale here on Sunday afternoon. It’s a bullpen game for them, with Albert Suárez making the start and going however long they let him go. Shane Bieber is set to start for the Jays.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Near end of injury-married season, Tyler O’Neill thinks of Orioles rebound potential in 2026 (The Baltimore Banner)
Maybe by the end of next year, we’ll be glad that Mike Elias’s first-ever multi-year free agent contract was given to O’Neill. No, I can’t type that with a straight face.
Samuel Basallo and the Orioles task of easing in a young catcher (The Baltimore Sun)
Not overwhelming Basallo with a full-time big league catcher workload seems like a solid plan to me.
A player who doesn’t feel Trevor Rogers should win the Cy Young is Trevor Rogers (Steve on Baseball)
Subscription required to Steve Melewski’s Substack for this full article. The correct Rogers take is to recognize he’s been great but of course he won’t/shouldn’t win with what will be at most 18 starts.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1987, Cal Ripken Jr. was removed from a game in the eighth inning, ending a record-setting streak of 8,264 innings at shortstop. In the game, the Orioles were destroyed by the Blue Jays, giving up ten home runs on the way to an 18-3 loss.
There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2014-15 double-hitter Delmon Young, and 2007-08 reliever Chad Bradford. Today is Bradford’s 51st birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: baseball Hall of Famer Kid Nichols (1869), current pope Leo XIV (1955), and singer-songwriter Amy Winehouse (1983).
On this day in history…
In 1741, composer George Frideric Handel completed Messiah.
In 1814, the rockets red glare and bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there.
In 1901, Teddy Roosevelt became President of the United States after the death of William McKinley, who was shot eight days earlier.
In 1994, the remainder of the baseball season was canceled, with no end to the strike in sight.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 14. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!
