Up and down week for the Birds, but they're not all going to be top tier. Plenty of good things to harp upon, plus a few concerns that we'll want addressed sooner than later.
Nonetheless, it feels good sitting atop the AL East. Let's stay here a while.
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| Photo: Gail Burton/ Baltimore Banner |
Final Two in Anaheim
I guess Grayson Rodriguez was due for a stinker...and that's exactly what he gave us on Tuesday. Eleven hits allowed, in just 4.1 innings. The Halos turned those into seven earned runs during that stretch...yikes.
Unfortunately, the hole G-Rod dug was too deep for the Orioles attempted comeback attempt. Gunnar Henderson knocked two in on a sac fly and solo dinger, sandwiching a two-RBI double by Ryan O'Hearn to at least make the final score more respectable. 7-4 Angels in this middle game.
Good Dean was back for the rubber match! The righty took a no-no into the sixth inning before starting to falter a bit and getting the hook after 5.1. His day ended with two earned runs, three hits and ten strikeouts, tying his career high.
Baltimore's offense popped while their starter was on the bump, building him a six run lead at one point. Another solo bomb from Gunnar broke the ice in the third before Adley doubled the lead with a single in the fifth. A three run sixth put the O's into the driver's seat, at least until the bullpen arrived.
Jacob Webb isn't supremely reliable. Yennier Cano is solid, but a little inconsistent so far through 2024. Craig Kimbrel even allowed an unearned run before shutting the door and notching his seventh save of the season. But regardless of your thoughts on the trio, they nearly blew this one for Kremer, allowing five runs in the final 3.2 innings. Had there not been a blatantly missed call on Jo Adell's stolen base attempt, they may not even have escaped victorious. But that's the way it goes sometimes. 6-5 Orioles win.
A Weekend with the A's
Doesn't get much more frustrating than this set! Friday night kicked off with a Shea Langeliers dinger in the top of the first to announce the Athletics' arrival. It'd be the last time they scored for a while, really struggling to maneuver Corbin Burnes, despite the ace not being quite on his A game.
Ryan O'Hearn provided an RBI single in the third, followed up by a Cedric Mullins long ball the next inning to put the Birds up 2-1-- exactly where the score would remain until the top of the ninth. Enter Craig Kimbrel, 7th all time in converted saves, against the bottom of arguably the worst lineup in the league. And he goes double-walk-double-fielder's choice-walk-walk, before getting the pulled for Keegan Akin, of all people.
Miraculously, Oakland only managed the tying run. Unfortunately, they'd make up for it in the tenth, with Brett Rooker driving in the game winning run on a double. The Birds' bats went quiet late, not recording a hit in the final 4.2 frames. Which is how you lose a game like this to the Athletics, 3-2.
Cole Irvin arrived to the stadium Saturday with an attitude of vengeance, delivering his second consecutive quality start. Seven scoreless innings, four hits, five K's and no walks-- absolute excellence from one of the unlikelier sources.
The offense did their job, with a busy fourth to kick off the scoring. Santander drove in one on a double before coming home a batter later, thanks to a Jordan Westburg single. James McCann would also add an RBI one-bagger to put the O's up 3-0 after four. Then the big boy bats got broke out.
With two outs in the fifth, Adley and Mountcastle went back to back to build the lead up to five. Two innings later, Gunnar would hit a two-run shot of us own. No late heroics today, just an evening firework display in Birdland. 7-0 Baltimore.
Blown saves, the theme of this series. Albert Suarez looked as vulnerable as he has all year, giving up seven hits and four earned in just four innings. He managed to escape with his team ahead, thanks to a productive Mullins out, a Cowser double and more home runs by Adley, Mountcastle and Ramon Urias. 6-4 lead going into the top of the fifth.
No reason to score six against the A's and lose. But here we are. Danny Coulombe gave up a solo shot to former Oriole Tyler Nevin to cut Baltimore's deficit to one. Then Craig Kimbrel stayed shaky, allowing a walk and the go-ahead home run before getting pulled for back tightness, which is still a fluid injury situation. Lucas Erceg shut down the O's in the ninth, stealing the game and series-- 7-6 Oakland.
Game One vs. the Bombers
As we've talked about regarding Corbin Burnes in recent weeks, possibly the greatest sign of an ascending ace is how well they manage to get by with way less then their best stuff. That's exactly what Grayson Rodriguez did on Monday night against the Yankees. He gave up five hits and three walks through 5.2, striking out just three. He threw a ton of pitches and got himself into some jams. But that goose egg, that's all that matters at the end of the day, and G-Rod left in the sixth with his team in a position to win.
Gunnar Henderson was integral in that, leading off the bottom of the first with a solo dong-- his tenth of the year. He'd score on an error in the eighth to put up the second Orioles run, which would be more then enough. Cionel Perez, Yennier Cano and Coulombe notched the final ten outs while showing us what life in the foreseeable future may be like without Kimbrel
Headaches. Get on the horn Mike. However, Orioles win 2-0.
Concluding Thoughts
-It's nice to see Gunnar Henderson getting a little national shine as a legit MVP candidate. Juan Soto's in the NY market, and admittedly has been great, so I understand him being the frontrunner currently. But man, .289/10/23 with a .983 OPS through the first month of the season...keep an eye on that race.
-Jordan Westburg's emergence has been awesome; a key catalyst to our offense. During Spring Training, he seemed to be completely forgotten amongst the glutton of middle infield talent the Orioles have. Now he's somebody you can't take off the field. He's batting .305, but everything he hits is hard. He's clutch. He's versatile in the field. A glue guy on this team, but truly possesses individual star power
-Bullpen assistance...please get here soon. I'm not sure if it's going to come in the form of Albert Suarez and Cole Irvin bumping out there once Bradish and Means get settled, but it's a shaky bunch that could end up dooming a great rotation and lineup.
Even in the best case scenario that all of those changes take well between our starting five and relief pitchers, I'd still argue a high-end, high leverage reliever would be our most important trade deadline target. Maybe it's recency bias after a weekend of drooling over Mason Miller's stuff on Oakland's back end, but that is something this team truly lacks.
Get well soon Felix...
AL East Standings
1. Baltimore Orioles (18-10)
2. New York Yankees (19-11)
3. Boston Red Sox (16-13)
4. Toronto Blue Jays (15-15)
5. Tampa Bay Rays (14-16)
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@Choppinglines
*I own no rights to any images found in this blog
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