After a Thursday rainout in Boston, the O’s will try to avoid suffering two defeats in one day as they did a week ago.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
If there’s one thing a horribly struggling team doesn’t need, it’s having to play even more baseball in a single day. But the Orioles, for the second time in as many weeks, have a doubleheader on tap today, with last night’s rainout forcing a day-night twin bill in Boston. Hopefully this one goes better than last Wednesday’s doubleheader in Baltimore, when the O’s dropped both games to the Twins in painful fashion, blowing multi-run leads in each contest. Cade Povich is set to pitch the 1:35 opener for the Orioles, while their starter for the 7:10 nightcap is listed as TBD but is probably Charlie Morton. Get excited!
This is the Orioles’ first series of this month against an AL East opponent. And heck, maybe it’ll help them play a bit more competently. The O’s actually have a .500 record against their division rivals this year, with a combined 6-6 mark versus the Red Sox, Yankees, and Blue Jays, and have lost only one of those four series (they haven’t yet faced the Rays). Two of those AL East series were the first two of the season, before the Orioles truly revealed themselves as the sorry club they are today.
Who knows? Perhaps there’s something about facing a divisional foe that makes the Orioles extra focused or determined, and sparks them to play their best baseball (and sadly, a .500 record qualifies as their best). If the O’s can scrap out at least one win today, following up on their skid-snapping victory in Milwaukee on Wednesday, it’ll provide a bit of a momentum boost, for whatever that’s worth. At the very least, it’ll really annoy Red Sox fans, which is always a good thing.
Links
What’s wrong with the Orioles’ farm system? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
In addition to the approximately 8 billion players currently on the Orioles’ IL, their minor league system has been ravaged by injuries, too. What did the O’s do to anger the baseball gods?
Orioles rookie Tomoyuki Sugano exceeding expectations – The Baltimore Sun
Amidst the pile of dreck that was the rest of Mike Elias’s offseason, it looks like he nailed it with the Sugano signing. The guy has been delightful to watch.
Four Orioles questions to ponder as they prepare for four-game series in Boston – School of Roch
I have a fifth question: Would it be frowned upon for the Orioles to just pack up and go home for the rest of the season?
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You share your day with two former Orioles left-handers: Logan Allen (28) and Mike González (47).
On this date in 1999, Brady Anderson was hit by a pitch twice in one inning, tying an MLB record that’s going to be very difficult to break. It happened during a 10-run bottom of the first for the Orioles, which also featured three doubles, three singles, a walk, and a home run. Both HBPs were by Rangers starter (and former Oriole) Mike Morgan, who retired only two of the 10 batters he faced. The O’s beat Texas, 15-6.
And on this day in 2015, Orioles reliever Brian Matusz was ejected from a game in Miami for having a foreign substance on his glove, ultimately receiving an eight-game suspension from MLB. The O’s ended up losing a 1-0, 13-inning marathon on a Marlins walkoff.
Random Orioles game of the day
On May 23, 2000, the O’s walked off the Mariners, 4-2, in a wild game at Camden Yards. The Orioles carried a 2-0 lead into the ninth thanks to seven shutout innings from starter Pat Rapp, but embattled closer Mike Timlin blew his second consecutive save opportunity, giving up a game-tying two-run homer to Jay Buhner. But the O’s responded immediately in the bottom of the ninth when Cal Ripken blasted a two-run shot of his own for a walkoff win.