Orioles Report (7/4)

Photo: Tommy Gilligan/ USA Today Sports

It feels like the sky is falling... Worst week of the season. Wasting good starts and barely scrounging hits together, let alone runs. Ugly, ugly baseball. 

But, we are fifteen games above .500, and have acknowledged deficiencies on the roster, so perhaps a little regression was to be expected at some point in the season. It would be nice to stop the bleeding though before the first half wraps up.

On a positive note, congratulations to our four All-Stars: Adley Rutschman, Austin Hays, Yennier Cano and Felix Bautista! They've had incredible campaigns thus far, helping lay the foundation for greatness to return to Camden Yards. Adley getting the nod for the Home Run Derby was a surprising choice, but we love to see it!

Let's get into things...

Record since Last Orioles Report: 1-5

Overall Record: 49-34

Final Two vs. Reds

Andrew Abbott is very good. The Reds' rookie left hander has been superb since being plugged into the starting rotation at the beginning of June, going 4-0 in five starts with a 1.21 ERA. It was very much status quo for him against our Birds Tuesday night, allowing one run and striking out eight in six innings. 

Photo: Katie Stratman- USA Today Sports

Tyler Wells held serve, only giving up two earned over that same frame, but was let down by an anemic offensive showing. Three hits just won't get it done. Jordan Westburg had two of them, providing something to be happy about. Tough 3-1 loss however.

Roller coaster to wrap this series up, with Kyle Gibson allowing three in the top of the first to get the action going. After an explosive four run answer by the Orioles in the bottom of the inning, Gibson let Cincy hang another three in the top of the subsequent frame. Irritating. The Reds' lead would grow to 7-4 before chaos ensued.

With two outs in the bottom of the eighth, Aaron Hicks singled to keep the inning alive. Jordan Westburg followed with a rope of a double, plating Hicks and cutting the lead to two. Then Adam Frazier provided the heroics, ripping a game tying home run to right, sending Camden Yards into a frenzy. 

Unfortunately, an overused bullpen was down to Keegan Akin for the tenth, who predictably surrendered an RBI triple and two run homer against his first two batters... Luke Maile added an insurance run for good measure on a wild pitch and that was that. 11-7 Cincinnati, taking the series in the process.

Twins in Town for Three

Bad Dean was back Friday night, somebody Minnesota was thrilled to run into. He lasted just three innings, giving up seven runs before getting the hook. Loved seeing Nick Vespi go three scoreless though! The offense was useless yet again, getting mowed down by Pablo Lopez and company. Baltimore mustered just four hits and one consolation run via an Adley Rutschman bomb. 8-1 Twinkies in the opener.

Kyle Bradish stayed sharp Saturday for the Birds, surrendering one earned and seven hits over six frames. His ERA is down to an impressive 3.58, having given up three runs or less in every start since May 23rd, quietly providing the team with some real competence in a position of need. That competence was yet again absent on the offensive side of things though, with three empty hits in the 1-0 shutout defeat.

Photo: Kliff Welch- Getty Images

Gritty win to close out the trio, quite possibly the Win of the Year up to this point. Austin Hays left early after a collision at first base during his first at bat, depleting an already underperforming lineup. He's currently day to day, something we hope doesn't become an extended stay as he's had an excellent season. Cole Irvin got hit hard, but tamed a Twins lineup over his five innings of work. 

Trailing 1-0 going into the bottom of the eighth, Adley Rutschman reached on a tapper that rode the first baseline. He scored two batters later, after Aaron Hicks delivered a huge single up the middle. Then, with two outs, after a Ryan O'Hearn intentional walk to load the bases, Jordan Westburg ate a fastball off the left hand on the second pitch of his at bat, forcing in the second run of the game. He remained in the game for the ninth, getting to witness Mount Bautista strike out the side for his 22nd save of the season. 2-1 Orioles.

Up to the Bronx

Really bad loss to wrap up this report with. Baltimore led 3-0 going into the fifth, with Tyler Wells really locked in on the mound. Back to back jacks by Anthony Volpe and Kyle Higashioka changed that quickly, cutting the lead to just one. A wild pitch by Yennier Cano allowed the Bombers to tie things up, setting the stage for Harrison Bader to hit a game deciding, three-run moonshot off of Danny Coulombe in the eighth. 

Need to bounce back this afternoon! 6-3 Yanks.

Farm Report

-Nice week at the plate for Maverick Handley, going 6/12 with three doubles and five RBI

-Heston Kjerstad hasn't skipped a beat since his promotion to AAA, slashing a .289/4/10 line in 22 games for the Tides

-Nice showing from Garrett Stallings Saturday, going six strong with four hits, no walks, one earned run and nine strikeouts

-Best work we've seen from Anthony Servideo since his promotion to Bowie, going 6/18 at the dish with three RBI and his first AA home run

-Coby Mayo: Just stamping his usual place in the farm report. He ripped a .346/3/5 line in their series versus Somerset, putting him squarely in the discussion for a third consecutive Eastern League Player of the Week

-Alex Pham and Jean Pinto put together the best start for the Baysox this week, combining for eight innings, eight hits, eight strikeouts and three earned runs

-Frederick Bencosme was productive in the hitting department, going 5-16 and scoring four runs

-Ryan Higgins also batted well for Aberdeen, jacking a home run on Saturday to put the cherry on top of a .294, three RBI week

-Daniel Lloyd was awesome in two starts for the Ironbirds, going 1-0 while combining for nine scoreless innings and eleven strikeouts

-Weird series for the Shorebirds where each team was shut out twice. Deivi Cruz and Juan de los Santos combined for the first on Thursday while Jared Beck, Eris Rodriguez and Moises Chace held the Hillcats off the board Monday

-Speaking of Beck-- he shined in his two starts, racking up nine innings with ten strikeouts and just one earned run

-Samuel Basallo had four huge hits on the week, launching two dingers and batting in eight runs. His power tool is really exciting

Concluding Thoughts

I hope Keegan Akin's IL trip is nothing too serious, but I appreciate the notion of not having to watch him pitch for the Orioles anymore. It was fun last year, glad some things click, but the ship's sailed. The bullpen in general needs help, sooner than later.

Love Tyler Wells and Kyle Bradish stepping up as legit starters for us. If we can get Dean Kremer back to his form from last year for the playoff push, they could be a fun trio.

The offense has been alarming of late, only scoring 14 runs this week-- half of which coming in just two innings Wednesday against the Reds. With our best hitter Austin Hays on the mend, my short term forecast is a bit pessimistic. Perhaps another prospect from Norfolk could provide a similar jolt that Jordan Westburg recently has?? Colton's time has to be coming.

As of writing this, it feels like the division is out of reach, but we don't want to lose our grip on a wild card spot. Three more in New York, up to Minnesota for three and then the All-Star Break. Feels like it can't get here soon enough... Go Birds!

------

@Choppinglines

*I own no rights to any images found in this blog