Another winning week in the books Orioles fans. What a magical month of April it was for the good guys. Some emerging young stars, a ton of hitting and a booming farm system. Truly as optimistic as I've been as an O's fan in my whole life, for the present and future. But we'd be remiss looking too far ahead instead of enjoying the now, so let's dig in Birdland!
Record since Last Orioles Report: 4-2
Overall Record: 19-9
Final Two Games vs. Boston
After such a dazzling display against Washington, Kyle Bradish followed things up with a really rough outing at Fenway. Before we fans could blink, the O's found themselves in a 7-0 hole in the third inning, right before he got the hook. He allowed eight hits and four walks, while only recording seven outs. Ouch. The offense came alive late though, making the game appear much closer than it was. A Gunnar Henderson bomb and Cedric Mullins grand slam in the final frame were to credit for that. Tough way to have the winning streak end.
But Tyler Wells had them right back on track Wednesday night! The oft-overlooked member of our staff remained steady as he has all season, striking out seven in 5.2 of ball. Our Birds put up six runs but without the pop we're used to seeing. Productive outs and small ball style of play helped to secure the series win, with half of the runs coming on sac flies. Nice bounce back series win over Boston, after literally dropping the ball last go round.
Four in Detroit
Kyle Gibson was due for a bad start and gave us one Thursday, so we can let those eight hits in 4.1 slide. But Baltimore rallied, as they've tended to do so far this season, stealing a 7-4 road victory over an inferior opponent. Five runs in the seventh doomed Detroit in game one of the series, capped off by a two-run Anthony Santander shot. Let's get that bat going Tony! Shout out Joey Ortiz too, going 1-3 with three RBI in his professional debut! Super encouraging display from the up and comer. Cionel Perez walked half of the batters he faced...
Friday's game was postponed due to shitty weather, setting up a double header Saturday, kicked off with Dean Kremer/Eduardo Rodriguez showdown.
And Dean was bad, again. Eleven hits and two walks over five innings...not going to cut it. He's had one start this year where he's given up less than four earned runs. Eduardo just fucking owns the Orioles too...onto better things.
Like five innings of shutout ball from a Rodriguez of our own! Grayson was unbelievable in game 2 of the double header, striking out nine as he earned his first career professional decision. Ortiz had another RBI and Ryan McKenna chipped in a dinger and three RBI of his own. Always nice going into the final game of a four game series with at least the split in hand.
Bradish was back on the bump Sunday, where he was really sharp until the 5th. He maintained the lead, but gave up three runs and could not escape the inning. Detroit was really teeing off on everything he threw, even on their outs. But the bullpen slammed the door, aided by a late insurance run from a Jorge Mateo homer. Taking 3/4 on the road-- always something to be celebrated, regardless of the opponent.
Farm Report
-Stowers up to the Big Show for Joey Ortiz after a massive 3 HR game. Ortiz did well in majors however, so expect him back sooner than later
-Norfolk as a team averaged just under eight runs per game on the week, just another offensive juggernaut on the Baltimore farm
-Jordan Westburg went 11-26 (.423) at the dish in their six games against Charlotte
-Bowie had another bad week, salvaging just win one in five chances vs. Richmond
-Cade Povich earned the sole 'Sox victory, allowing one hit and no runs through five innings, striking out 10
-Houston Roth had his best start of the season, allowing one hit and walking one batter over four scoreless for the Baysox
-Home run #6 for Heston. Dude's going to be rising up prospect rankings like a stray helium balloon at a kid's birthday party
-Dillon Tate threw for an inning Thursday, giving optimism that he'll be back up in the big leagues soon
-Jackson Holliday hit a dinger and a triple in his third game with Aberdeen. He's currently hitting .235 after his first week in High-A
-Dylan Beavers had 3 multi-hit games this week, bumping his average up from .245 to .269
-Jud Fabian's starting to see the ball better too, hitting another long ball and raising his batting average 63 points
-Another strong start for our guy Jean Pinto, giving up one run on two hits over four innings, striking out six
-Juan Nunez and Moises Chace each had scoreless outings for for Delmarva, throwing five and four innings, respectively, while combining for thirteen strikeouts. Bradley Brehmer keeps chugging along too, only allowing one run in four innings of work Saturday
-Creed Willems keeps rockin'! The kid went 3/4 on Thursday with a homer and three RBI. He's slashing a torrid .373/5/16 through just 15 games
Concluding Thoughts
Cionel Perez is a liability the likes of which we haven't seen in a while...what a fall from grace he's experiencing. A 1.40 ERA and 1.16 WHIP from 2022 have ballooned into 5.23 and 2.52 through our first month. It feels like he's due for a walk every time he enters the game, at a bare minimum. Dillon Tate's impending return has to be shortening his leash.
Yennier Cano has already taken his job as the set up man, firmly entrenching himself in that role while not giving up a single run over eleven innings of work. Between his domination and Cade Povich's encouraging work down in Bowie, the Jorge Lopez trade is aging like a fine wine with every passing day.
Jorge Mateo is finally on the FanDuel Sportsbook as an AL MVP candidate, currently at +10000. Through April, he's leading all shortstops in every major offensive category but home runs. Given the multiple dimensions in which he regularly impacts games, there's much worse bets to throw a few bucks at.
Shoutout to Adam Frazier for always seemingly making a productive play. Whether it be a sacrifice, scoring as a pinch runner or an occasional big hit, the dude's delivered for us when we've needed it. Definite upgrade from Odor.
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@Choppinglines
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