The Orioles are now 17-8 after pulling victory from the jaws of defeat in Detroit last night. You love to see it.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
This team is fun, huh?
What was shaping up to be an annoying Orioles loss last night instead turned into yet another exciting victory for one of the best clubs in baseball. Stacey recapped the Birds’ come-from-behind thriller, which saw the O’s score five runs in the seventh to overcome a late deficit and take the opener of a four-game set in Detroit.
With the win, the Orioles improved to 17-8, the third-best record in the majors behind the 21-5 Rays and the 18-8…Pirates?? (Wait, really? And I thought the Orioles were surprising. Good for you, Bucs.) The O’s continue to take care of business against the teams they should beat, and they got their season-long 10-game road trip off to a good start.
A year ago on this date, the Orioles were 6-13. At the 25-game mark, they were 9-16. The turnaround is real, and it’s spectacular. And it’s been a total team effort. Up and down the roster, almost everyone has contributed in some way. Even the guy who just got here, Joey Ortiz, drove in three runs in his MLB debut last night. And even in situations that in past years would have led to catastrophic results — such as Félix Bautista walking the bases loaded in the ninth last night — the Orioles so far have managed to brush them off without incident.
There’s a long, long way to go in the 2023 season, and where it’ll take us, nobody knows. But the good times are rolling in Birdland right now.
Links
Orioles’ Joey Ortiz helps fuel 7-4 comeback win over Tigers with 3 RBIs in MLB debut – Baltimore Sun
Nathan Ruiz notes that Ortiz was just the second Oriole in history (Don Baylor) to drive in three runs in his MLB debut. Nice job, Joey! But also kind of a surprising stat. All the great hitting talent in Baltimore’s franchise history and none of them had a 3-RBI debut?
Hyde and Ortiz talk about the infield prospect’s promotion to the majors (plus other notes) – School of Roch
Brandon Hyde wouldn’t commit to a lengthy stay in the majors for Ortiz. Booooo! I mean, I understand the reasoning, but still. Let the guy stick around for a while.
A noteworthy first 4 weeks for the Orioles – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff notes that the Orioles’ bullpen is even better than last year, thanks to out-of-nowhere contributions from the likes of Yennier Cano, Mike Baumann, and Danny Coulombe. Mike Elias is a magician, you guys.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And happy 89th birthday to Jackie Brandt, an underrated outfielder who spent six solid years with the Orioles from 1960-65, including an All-Star campaign in 1961. Even on his way out the door, he was valuable to the Birds; they traded him for one of the guys (Dick Baldschun) who they traded for Frank Robinson. Enjoy your day, Jackie!
Other ex-Orioles born on this day include right-handers Jim Miller (41), Sean Douglass (44), and Jimmy Myers (54), and left-hander Jim Poole (57).
April 28 is a dubious day in Orioles history. On this date in 1988, the O’s set the worst kind of American League record, suffering their 21st consecutive loss to start the season. The 4-2 defeat in Minnesota put the Birds on the wrong end of their seventh straight sweep. Even now, 35 years later, that infamous 0-21 start still is impossible to wrap your head around. Just…how? I’ve seen a lot of horrible Orioles baseball in my day, but how does something like that happen?
Random Orioles game of the day
Random number generator, give us a year: 1962.
On April 28, 1962, the Orioles defeated the Kansas City Athletics, 3-2, on the road at Municipal Stadium. Left-hander Steve Barber came tantalizingly close to throwing a complete game, getting two outs in the bottom of the ninth before three straight A’s singles chased him from the game. Hall of Fame knuckleballer Hoyt Wilhelm retired the last batter to strand the tying and winning runs on base. Orioles leadoff man Johnny Temple contributed a two-run triple.
Despite beating them, the Orioles must have liked what they saw in Kansas City’s manager, Hank Bauer. The Birds hired him as their skipper two years later.