Good morning Birdland,
It seems like the Orioles are having themselves a lovely time in San Diego this week. After winning the series opener on Monday, they went ahead and won the second game too, this time by a score of 6-2.
Now, would you say the Orioles played “good baseball”? Eh, they played well enough win. The 2-for-14 with runners in scoring position wasn’t great. Kade Strowd walking the bases loaded was scary. Dylan Beavers dropping a fly ball on the warning track stunk. And Emmanuel Rivera,
who had a great day with four RBI, also got thrown out on the bases looking kinda silly.
Ultimately, none of that mattered because the Orioles pitchers, in general, were quite good! Tyler Wells returned from 17 months on the shelf to toss five strong innings, allowing two runs on five hits, no walks, and four strikeouts. Shawn Dubin, Rico Garcia, and Albert Suárez (pitching for the first time since March) were perfect for their 3.2 innings of relief.
And the offense did some interesting things as well, outside of the inability to hit with runners in scoring position. Jeremiah Jackson homered again. Jackson Holliday, Ryan Mountcastle, Colton Cowser, and Rivera had two hits apiece. Coby Mayo doubled and walked. There are good things here! Consistency seems to be what is lacking. Hopefully that comes with experience and health in 2026.
The O’s get to go for an unexpected sweep this afternoon. It’s a battle of lefties with Cade Povich and Nestor Cortes on the bump.
Links
Orioles Designate Corbin Martin, Elvin Rodríguez For Assignment | MLB Trade Rumors
In order to make room for Wells and Jorge Mateo, the Orioles had to cut loose a couple of players on the 40-man roster. Neither one is terribly surprising. This is the second time the team has DFA’d Martin this year. He elected free agency the first time, but then re-signed. The 29-year-old righty has a 6.00 ERA over 17 appearances with the Orioles this year. Rodríguez has not appeared in the bigs since August 4, when he made his lone appearance with Baltimore.
Orioles’ Jeremiah Jackson just keeps hitting | Roch Kubatko
We are more than a month into the Jeremiah Jackson era of the Orioles, and things are going well! Some caution should be used here. His peripherals are nowhere near as good as his actual stats, so some negative regression could be on the horizon. But at the very least Jackson has played himself into consideration for the 2026 Orioles.
Oh, baby! Wells wins first start off IL, with young daughter in stands | MLB.com
It’s good to have Wells back. He’s been a solid, versatile pitcher for the Orioles, and he got here via the Rule 5 draft, a rare avenue to find useful players. He now gets a month to prove that he should be in the rotation next year. But if that doesn’t work out, there is plenty of room in the team’s bullpen, where he would slot in well as a middle relief option.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Troy Patton turns 40 today. The lefty spent parts of five seasons in the Orioles bullpen from 2010 through ‘14 after coming over in the Miguel Tejada trade with the Astros.
- Rene Gonzales is 65 years old. From 1987 through ‘90, he played all over the Orioles infield.
- The late Morrie Martin (b. 1922, d. 2010) was born on this day. The southpaw played for seven different clubs in his 10-season MLB career. That included nine games with the 1956 Orioles.
- It’s a posthumous birthday for Sandy Consuegra (b. 1920, d. 2005). He pitched in nine total games for the Orioles between 1956 and ‘57.
This day in O’s history
1960 – The Orioles beat the Yankees 2-0 and overtake them for first place in the American League. The game is marred by a scary moment for home plate umpire Larry Napp, who is struck by three foul balls and has to be carried off the field.
1979 – The Orioles sweep a double-header over the Toronto Blue Jays. Eddie Murray gives the O’s a walk-off win in the first game. Mike Flanagan becomes MLB’s first 20-game winner of the year in the night cap.
2012 – Joe Saunders retires the first 17 batters he faces, leading the Orioles to a 4-0 win over the Blue Jays. That draws the O’s to within one game of the Yankees in the AL East.
