We are back! A little time off does us all a bit of good, especially if some of that time is spent with your toes in the water. Let's call it an All-Star break and I didn't make the fan vote for the game. But as we're seeing with some of the names on those voting lists, it clearly isn't always a performance-driven honor...so no need to take that personal.
But I digress, lets talk Birds!
The Yankees Series
A hit-by-pitch fest...would be one way to describe this series. Albert Suarez took the mound Tuesday, allowing the Bombers to take a 1-0 lead thanks to an Anthony Volpe single in the second. Then in the bottom of the third, on a two-strike count, he hit Anthony Judge on the left hand with a pitch that clearly got away from him.
Yankees Twitter reacted like one of the Orioles pulled a gun on their star outfielder, what an entertaining couple of days it was on that app...back to action!
Giancarlo Stanton drove in Judge a few batters later on a rip up the middle before Gleybor Torres added a sac fly to dig Baltimore's hole to 3-0. The lead grew to four before Anthony Santander added a two-run shot off of Clay Holmes in the ninth to make things interesting, but that was all they could muster offensively. 4-2 loss for the Birds
Absolute roller coaster of a middle game. Each team exchanged runs in the first, with Ryan O'Hearn plating Gunnar on a ground rule double. A fifth inning breakout put the O's up 4-1. Ramon Urias was the catalyst, hitting a two-run yard ball before another O'Hearn RBI double.
Gunnar Henderson reached base in the top of the seventh on what seemed like a long anticipated hit by pitch. Much like many of their fans, the Yankees pitchers seem to be a whiny bunch. He'd make them pay, scoring on an error in the midst of a Ryan Mountcastle double. It felt like this one was wrapped up.
Then more Giancarlo-- hitting an absolute moonshot to center off of Yennier Cano to cut the four run lead down to just one. He'd strike again in the ninth, driving in Volpe to force extra innings. Craig Kimbrel's fourth blown save of 2024, for those keeping track.
But it was Cedric Mullins who played the unlikely hero on Wednesday, starting with a single that brought in the automatic base runner to break the 5-5 tie. Then later, while attempting to steal third base, Mullins managed to score after New York catcher Jose Trevino winged a throw errantly into left field. Serves him right for that little bat kick stunt at Colton Cowser two innings prior-- after another hit by pitch.
Dillon Tate allowed the automatic runner to score in the bottom of the frame, but he would hold from there to earn his first save of the year. 7-6 Orioles win!
What a rubber match it was for our Birds. Luis Gil was the first pitcher to deal a shutout to Baltimore in '24, generally dominating the team in his two career appearances against them. It was not the case Thursday.
Seven runs through 1.1 for Gil, thanks to Hits O'Hearn, a Mullins dinger, a bases clearing Mountcastle double and, ironically, a Jordan Westburg hit by pitch with the bases juiced. 7-0 before some people had gotten to their seats. And they weren't done.
New York did show a little fight, tagging Cole Irvin for five runs and forcing him out of the game before he could qualify for a decision. But it wasn't going to happen that afternoon.
Ten runs later, the Orioles were celebrating a 17-5 win in the dugout. O'Hearn drove in three more runs, the same number a towering Anthony Santander bomb plated. Austin Hays also went deep, a sign of a true blowout, and Henderson/Mounty added runs. And that's how you get to 17. A statement win by the team to claw within half of a game for the division, letting their rivals know that it's going to be a slugfest until the very end.
Going Down in H-Town
Then they got to Houston, and it felt like they couldn't get out fast enough. Don't let the score of the first game fool you either. Grayson Rodriguez got absolutely torched, to the tune of seven earned of nine hits. He was either striking you out or giving up a hard hit ball, the latter of which came far too frequently.
After falling behind 14-4, the offense decided to at least make the score respectable by putting up seven in the eighth. Gunnar Henderson hit home runs in back to back innings which was pretty cool, while Jorge Mateo and Santander added their own. Adley went 5-5 on the night too.
But it was an impossible situation with what the pitching gave them. 14-11 Astros.
The Orioles would score twice the rest of the series. Houston's impressive rookie Ronel Blanco outdueled Corbin Burnes on Saturday, a 5-1 loss, before Albert Suarez got mashed by the Astros' potent lineup in an 8-1 Sunday defeat. Jordan Westburg was responsible for both runs score, via solo homers. Just a hapless offensive output after racking up 28 in the previous two games. Time to start a new streak without being swept.
Game One vs. Cleveland
There were hopes that a return to Camden Yards would inspire a little more gusto from the Birds, but it was apparent quickly that that was nothing more than a pipe dream. Tanner Bibee stymied Baltimore's bats, allowing just five hits and two runs (one earned) through six strong. Cade Povich went toe for toe with the Guardians' top arm, really only allowing Jose Ramirez to get the better of him-- no shame there. We'll take three earned over 5.2 innings any day from Povich, especially considering he only allowed one walk.
The lineup though...just so, so cold. While down just one late, they went nine up, nine down against Cleveland's bullpen, and that was without Emmanuel Clase making an appearance. Four runs now over the last three games-- predictably all losses. Something needs to change ASAP. 3-2 Guardians.
Concluding Thoughts
-The bullpen has gone from a weary situation to a toxic one in just a few short weeks here. Dillon Tate's consistently has reminded us that he's not the reliever he was last season. How many more opportunities will he get? Why can't Nick Vespi seem to catch on at all? And Jacob Webb...not sure how he's rocking a 2.83 ERA, all he seems to do is facilitate sketchy situations. Craig Kimbrel's been difficult to trust, Cionel Perez is volatile on his best day. Truly unsure of a single guy that's worth trusting right now out of the pen, which is a monstrous issue. Who knew losing Danny Coulombe would have this type of a snowball effect?
-The Albert Suarez situation appears to be taking a downturn as well. After allowing just six earned runs through the first two months of the season (34.1 IP), the career journeyman has been emaciated in June, to the tune of ten earned over 19 frames. He still could provide a thoroughly valuable role as a long reliever and occasional spot starter, but it seems pretty apparent that the league's caught up to what was working for him early on. Curious how much longer his leash is in the rotation
AL East Standings
1. New York Yankees (52-28)
2. Baltimore Orioles (49-29)
3. Boston Red Sox (43-36)
4. Tampa Bay Rays (39-40)
5. Toronto Blue Jays (35-43)
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@Choppinglines
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