Kremer shoved, Elias dished, and the Orioles won
Good Morning Birdland!
It’s amazing what a modest stretch of competent baseball does for the confidence you have in your favorite team. The Orioles have won three out of four, taking a series from the Yankees and then snagging the opener from the Royals last night. That’s a nice little run. Those are two playoff teams from a season ago, including the club that knocked the O’s out of the postseason. It’s gonna take more of those performances for the Birds to get back into the mix at the top of the standings, but it’s a good start.
Dean Kremer was the story of last night’s win. He entered the day with a 7.04 ERA on the season. After seven shutout innings he got that down to 5.73. It’s still ugly, but closer to what you want out of the backend arm. His xFIP is down to 4.84, and his fWAR went positive, up to 0.1 fWAR on the year. Progress.
There was more good news on the pitching front. Mike Elias let the media know that Zach Eflin and Andrew Kittredge will be pitching on Sunday at Aberdeen. For Eflin, that may be all he needs to be ready for a return to Baltimore, but it’s up in the air. For Kittredge, that will be the beginning of a longer rehab as he builds up from missing a chunk of the spring and all of April.
The Orioles rotation, as it exists, is never going to be a top tier bunch. But they have been better, and they are getting healthier. Hopefully that will be enough to tread water until July, when they can seek outside reinforcements. Of course, that will require the team to keep on winning games in order for that to matter.
That starts with another game against the Royals tonight. It won’t be an easy task. They face a good lefty on the mound in Kris Bubic (2.25 ERA), and the game is being broadcast nationally on FOX. Those are two factors that have tended to not work out for the Orioles in recent memory, but maybe two negatives will create a positive.
Links
Elias ‘really optimistic’ Orioles can overcome slow start | Orioles.com
Quotes from Elias on the current state of the team and where he thinks they can do. Unsurprisingly, he is confident, albeit disappointed, it all facets of the team. It’s about what you would expect from an early May update.
Orioles hoping ‘pen makes Morton mightier | Roch Kubatko
It’s worth a shot. It doesn’t make much sense for Charlie Morton, despite his age, to have fallen off a cliff during the offseason. He was solid for the Braves last summer. The results should not be so drastically different right now. The Orioles have nothing to lose in seeing if the bullpen can straighten him out.
Despite Orioles’ struggles, Mike Elias not taking drastic action | The Baltimore Sun
The timing of the struggles makes drastic action difficult to take. There just isn’t much to be done in late April/early May that is going to help your team.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Bob McCroy turns 43 today. He pitched in 15 games out of the Orioles bullpen between 2008 and ‘09.
- Gabe Molina is 50 years old. Between 1999 and 2000 he came on in relief in 29 games with the O’s.
- Tony Arnold celebrates his 66th. Another reliever, he appeared in 38 games for the Birds between 1986 and ‘87.
This day in history
1963 – Buster Narum, a pitcher, takes his only at-bat for the Orioles and hits a home run off of Cleveland’s Don Mossi. Narum, who pitches just nine innings of the season never earns a decision on the mound, becomes the first pitcher to have more home runs than wins in a season.
1992 – Gregg Olson records the 100th save of his career. At just 25 years old, he is the youngest pitcher in major league history to reach the milestone.
1999 – For the first time, an MLB team hosts the Cuban national team as the Orioles lose 12-6 to Cuba at Camden Yards.
2017 – Tensions continue to run high between the Orioles and Red Sox. The teams have had bad blood since a Manny Machado slide in late April injured second baseman Dustin Pedroia. The latest dustup results in Kevin Gausman being ejected for hitting Xander Bogaerts with a curveball. Adam Jones would also be thrown out in the fifth inning for arguing balls and strikes.