Coming to you Monday's now! At least attempting to, trying to space everything out with this NFL coverage too.
Nice performances by our Birds since we spoke last Tuesday, really burying the Angels before taking two of three in Boston. They're playing well in all facets of the game, seemingly very poised to make some noise in the coming weeks. Can't wait to get there, twenty games to go.
Let's talk about the last five though:
Record since Last Orioles Report: 4-1
Overall Record: 90-52
Last Two in Los Angeles (Anaheim)
Roller coaster middle game of this series. Adley and Mountcastle delivered RBI singles in the third to put the Orioles up 2-0. That'd be all the action until the bottom of the seventh, when LA tied things up off of Jorge Lopez, perhaps signaling that his place on the waiver wire was justified. Jacob Webb could fall into that category too. He allowed a go ahead run to his former team the next inning, setting the stage for part one of the dramatics.
Ryan O'Hearn and Mountcastle provided run scoring singles in the top of the ninth to pull the good guys back ahead 4-3. DL Hall came in for the save, and promptly blew the opportunity, surrendering two hits, one walk and the tying run.
So we went to extras, where Jordan Westburg provided a productive groundout to short that brought Austin Hays in. Fujinami looked sharp in the bottom of the frame, needing just nine pitches to dispose of the three batters he faced. Concerning that it took seven bullpen arms to get through a ten inning game, but we left with the 5-4 win.
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| Photo: Kiyoshi Mio/ USA Today |
Then the Angels quit. The Orioles took a 5-0 lead early and never looked back, thanks to an RBI single from Ramon Urias in the second, followed by two two-run one-baggers an inning later from Austin Hays and Aaron Hicks.
Not even Kyle Gibson could blow that lead Wednesday, giving up just three earned over six workmanlike innings. That's all we ever ask of you Kyle...don't try and do too much. Anthony Santander and Hays picked up RBI's in the sixth before each going yard in the top of the eighth to put things lightyears out of reach. 10-3 Baltimore win; an emphatic finish to a dominant sweep.
Up to Boston for Three
Boston was hot! Many in the media proclaimed this to be a series that'll really show our worth here in this pennant push. Boy, did Kyle Bradish put his value on display. Two earned over six innings, never looking out of control as he struck out nine BoSox batters. His ERA even sank below three for a brief period of time before his two-run, final frame. I've said it before, I'll say it again: our ace, Birdland.
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| Photo: Michael Dwyer/ AP |
The lineup was just as potent, again jumping out to a 5-0 lead before allowing their opponents to score. Ryan O'Hearn kicked things off in the fourth with a solo dong before a four run sixth got us to that aforementioned total. After six runs in the final two innings, the onslaught was over. Adley and O'Hearn each went 2-4 with home runs, Gunnar went 3-6 with an RBI, while Cedric Mullins and Aaron Hicks each drove in a pair. Statement victory over a divisional foe, 11-2 Birds.
The middle game of this series was one of the strangest that you'll ever see in baseball. Baltimore pitchers allowed a mind boggling 23 hits to Boston, that they turned into 12 runs. Of the seven arms used, only Shintaro Fujinami did not allow multiple hits. Five of those seven pitchers worked an inning or less too...not a sustainable style of play.
But the boys stayed hot at the plate! Aaron Hicks, Gunnar Henderson and James McCann each contributed a homer and drove in three. Jordan Westburg continued to play well in limited appearances, going 3-4 with a solo shot of his own. And against all the odds, despite nearly blowing 7-2 and 12-6 leads, the Orioles took this one home, 13-12.
Alas, the six game winning streak had to come to an end. After being spotted a 3-0 lead early, Grayson Rodriguez faltered for the first time since the middle of July, lasting just 4.1 innings. While he only allowed two earned, his command was a bit off, as evidenced by seven hard hits and two walks. Three errors didn't help his cause, accounting for five of the seven runs Baltimore would permit.
Just not the Orioles day, falling 7-3 in their final appearance at Fenway during this regular season.
Farm Report
-Lewin Diaz was excellent all week for the Tides, collecting two hits in each of the five games he played, chipping in four runs and five RBI
-Connor Norby's nine game hitting streak was snapped Tuesday against the Jumbo Shrimp. He bounced back the next night with a 4-5 showing
-Colton Cowser posted a .333/2/10 line on the series, continuing to dominate AAA ball
-Garrett Stallings was back to form Thursday, striking out ten while allowing just two hits, one walk and one earned over six innings
-Five man, three hit shut out for Norfolk the next night, courtesy of Bruce Zimmermann, TJ McFarland, Morgan McSweeney, Wandisson Charles and Tyler Wells
-Billy Cook delivered walk off home runs in extra innings on back-to-back nights to kick off Bowie's final home stint against New Hampshire! The kid was locked in all series, going 8-23 with five long balls and eleven RBI
-Greg Cullen and Donta' Williams were scrappy at the dish all week, collecting seven and six hits each, respectively
-Best Baysox pitching performance against the Fisher Cats belonged to Connor Gillespie, who gave up six hits and two ER in his six frames on the bump. He notched six K's along the way
-Aberdeen wrapped up their season with a six game sweep of the Greenville Drive
-Samuel Basallo concluded his tenure at High-A ball with a booming .473/3/7 line at the plate. His season isn't over though, as the 19 year old will be up with Bowie for their final series at Harrisburg! What a year he's had-- batting .307/20/84 across three levels...and he's a teenager. Sky's the limit with this kid
-Mac Horvath, celebrating that promotion right! The second rounder homered in two of his first three at bats for Aberdeen, really announcing his arrival. He hit a modest .235 on the week, but was very involved in the offense, with nine runs scored
-Kyle Virbitsky was dialed in during a shortened Friday game, twirling a sensational, scoreless six. One hit, one walk and eight strikeouts...tip the cap to the man. The Ironbirds' most consistent pitcher was named team MVP for the 2023 campaign
-We recorded Episode 60 of the pod at Perdue Stadium Tuesday, getting to witness Deivy Cruz, Kelvin LaRoche and Adam Stauffer take a no-no bid into the seventh
-Angel Tejada finished his first year of Class A ball on a high note, going 8-15 at the plate with five runs and three RBI
-Always fun seeing Luis Valdez in action too. The speedy middle infielder hit .333 for Delmarva while stealing four bases on five attempts
A huge thank you to the Aberdeen Ironbirds, and particularly our local Delmarva Shorebirds, for a really entertaining season. It's really a treat getting to see the best farm in baseball from the foundational level and we can't wait to get back out there next April!
Concluding Thoughts
Every Orioles team that's ever won 100 games has gone to the World Series. Just a little tidbit of information as we sit ten games away from the century mark, in case you needed a boost of optimism.
Spanking the Angels the way we did was cerebral, great teams need to do that to awful teams like LA. What a sad, sad franchise they are now; and the next five years is looking even more grim.
Three at home against a pathetic Cardinals team before we invite the Tampa Bay Rays in for the biggest four game set that I've ever witnessed, in the regular season anyway. It's going to be an absolute heavyweight showdown, don't miss it.
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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