Hello, friends.
The west coast road trip of disappointment is finally over. At times, it seemed like it could have been something better than it was. If only the Orioles had scored more than six runs in three games against the Mariners. If only they hadn’t blown the series opener against the Dodgers. If only they hadn’t laid an egg against Ryan Johnson. And then, added to the pile freshly yesterday, if only they hadn’t… I don’t even know how to describe that. Check out Tyler Young’s recap of the game for
more of the not-so-lovely totals.
These guys ain’t got it. They can trick you a little bit for a few days at a time at most, and because of the general state of the American League they haven’t yet faced a crisis point in the standings stemming from not having it. But we’re now past the halfway point of the season and it’s clear that this is what they are. There is not some other, better thing waiting inside to break out.
The Orioles are everything bad that they inflict upon us in more than half of their games. Perhaps there is nothing more representative than the play in the tenth inning where the Angels tied the game, where Keegan Akin was slow to cover first base and therefore did not catch what would have otherwise been an easy toss to end the game, and this error let the go-ahead run get all the way to third base. That runner promptly scored on a bad-luck (for the Orioles) chopper where only catcher Samuel Basallo could field it and he tried to tag the runner because Akin wasn’t moving for home.
He was not able to do this and they lost. Maybe he should have tried to throw to first instead. I don’t know. After the game, Basallo took the blame for this decision:
In a lot of ways, the specifics don’t matter as much as the fact that there’s always something stupid that finds a way to happen. That is just how the 2026 Orioles do it. I don’t understand why or how they do it. They just do. If you didn’t know any better, you might think that they never practice anything, routine or otherwise, to do with fielding baseballs.
They could have built something after winning two of three against the Dodgers. They could have! They just can’t do it because the players aren’t good enough. Mike Elias did not put together a roster with the horses to do this thing. He apparently thought the relief corps he assembled could get him through the season. What’s happened is a couple of guys were good in April and/or May and nobody else was, and now the good ones are collapsing too, as in the case of Rico Garcia’s contribution to yesterday’s loss. They wasted a game where Basallo hit two home runs for the first time in his career. It could have felt good.
The fact that the game unraveled in the hands of the bullpen does make the decision to lift yesterday’s starter, Trey Gibson, after only 66 pitches, something worth second-guessing. This was not a desperation move. Gibson could have gone for longer. He wasn’t struggling at the end; he’d given up runs in the first inning and then was doing better.
There was, of course, a logic to it. The bullpen had been lightly used in recent days and, with an off day tomorrow, spreading the work around was important because if guys get rusty and stink for that reason, that’s not good either. Gibson dodged the third time through the order penalty and things were lined up so five guys could get an inning. This failed on the first guy: Grant Wolfram couldn’t get an inning. Tyler Wells saved his bacon, then Yennier Cano couldn’t get an inning. Garcia got an inning but gave up three runs in the process.
On the other hand, if Gibson had pitched six innings instead, the Orioles probably still would have turned to Garcia in either the eighth or the ninth inning and would have been just as vulnerable to getting wrecked by June Garcia. They don’t have any good choices because they haven’t given themselves any good choices.
We all get a day off from them today. That’s nice. I need one after watching that Wednesday game squandered in the most frustrating fashion possible. Do you have anything fun planned on this off night? I’ll likely try to take a bite out of one of my nerdy pursuits, logging some time in a JRPG called Trails of Cold Steel.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Ike Irish could be a key piece for the Orioles. The question is where. (The Baltimore Sun)
Having prospects where you’re not actually sure where on the diamond they’re going to play hasn’t quite worked out for the Orioles yet. Maybe Irish will go a different direction.
Updates on Jackson Holliday and Adley Rutschman (Baltimore Baseball)
It’s far down the list of things to complain about after everything else that happened yesterday, but the Orioles not having Holliday available for four straight games and not just putting him on the injured list so the team ends up short-handed is silly and counterproductive. One visible manifestation of this was Leody Taveras having to play third base mid-gae a couple of days ago.
Collecting trading cards is exploding. Orioles and Nationals players collect them, too. (The Baltimore Banner)
I have a tough time getting excited about fun side stories in the aftermath of days like yesterday, but I’m sharing this in case you might feel differently.
This last one is about a former Oriole.
Cedric Mullins is elevating and… oh no. (FanGraphs)
The .199/.286/.305 for Mullins this year is sad to see. Apparently, he’s currently in position to set a record for highest fly-ball percentage by a batter ever recorded.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The most recent Orioles victory on this day came in 2023. That year’s team beat the Mariners, 3-2, to raise their record to 47-29. That’s pretty good! Kyle Bradish tossed seven innings with two runs allowed and the Orioles only gave up three hits all game. Only two players who appeared in that game for the O’s remain on the 40-man roster: Bradish and Gunnar Henderson.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2008-11 outfielder Luke Scott, 2000-01 pitcher Ryan Kohlmeier, and 1977 pitcher Dick Drago.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: five-star Air Force general Henry Arnold (1886), author George Orwell (1903), singer-songwriter Carly Simon (1943), baskeball Hall of Famer Dikembe Mutombo (1966), and actress Mckenna Grace (2006).
On this day in history…
In 1876, Lt. Col. Custer led his men of the 7th Cavalry Regiment into an ambush by a force of three native tribes that had him outnumbered more than 10-1. The Battle of the Little Bighorn was one of the last battles that saw the army battle native tribes; despite the victory in the battle, the Great Sioux War came to a close before long and the tribes could not withstand a reinforced army.
In 1947, The Diary of a Young Girl, secretly written by Anne Frank, was published posthumously.
In 1950, North Korea invaded South Korea, beginning the Korean War. There was an armistice after close to three years of fighting, though the two Koreas have never concluded a peace treaty so the war has technically never ended.
In 1978, the rainbow flag waved at the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade, the first time that was used to represent gay pride. Tomorrow night is Pride Night at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 25. Have a safe Thursday.
