Sunday’s goal is to get a better record when it’s not Burnes or Grayson Rodriguez starting for the Orioles
Hello, friends.
The Orioles? It would be nice if we could come into Sunday’s series finale against the Royals feeling good about the O’s putting a real stomping in on Saturday night, but that’s not the way it worked out. Well, they stomped Cole Ragans pretty good, which was fun, though problems kicked in beyond that with Corbin Burnes not quite getting through the sixth inning and then members of the bullpen having problems behind him.
Still, a win is a win, and that’s what the Orioles did, beating the Royals, 9-7. Check out Paul Folkemer’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals. Paired with a Yankees loss earlier on Saturday, the O’s are back within a half-game of New York in the AL East standings and are now at least 1.5 games ahead of the other three division teams. Oh yes, the East is doing the “every team above .500” thing with all teams having played at least 20 games. Could the rest of them just… not? That’s too much to ask, at least through mid-April.
Are you having some worries about the bullpen? Part of why last night’s game turned out close after the Orioles took a 7-0 lead early on is that the usually-reliable Danny Coulombe and Yennier Cano each gave up runs. A whole lot of weird stuff happened for Coulombe to get charged with a run, but Cano caused a bit more sweat for anyone who was watching. It’s probably not worth worrying about because everyone was so good early on that they have to give up runs eventually. But, y’know, it’s not hard to start worrying.
At a minimum, it does seem like perhaps the O’s should not give too much more in the way of a chance to Yohan Ramírez, who contributed to last night’s game by hitting one batter and tossing two wild pitches in the span of three pitches. He was only saved further disaster by Colton Cowser – who was only in the game because Austin Hays left with calf tightness – combining for a great throw-and-tag with Ramón Urías to cut down a Royal trying to go first-to-third on a single.
When a guy’s already been DFA’d by one team and this is what he’s showing here, maybe it’s time to take the hint. A few Norfolk relievers have good results early on – Nick Vespi, Jonathan Heasley, and Matt Krook. These guys are all on the 40-man. I guess we’ll see what Mike Elias ends up deciding here. Maybe Ramírez has some better outings in him.
The win on Saturday kept a couple of streaks rolling along. The big one, the no regular season sweeps streak, hit 98 with the O’s ensuring they won’t be swept in Kansas City. They’ve still got to get another eight to reach the next team ahead of them, a 106 series streak from the 1903-05 New York Giants. The Orioles also continued the streak where they win every game started by either Burnes or Grayson Rodriguez. They’re now 5-0 in Burnes starts and are 4-0 in Rodriguez starts.
Less fun is that this means they’re 4-7 when anyone else starts. The Orioles will try to make this number look a little bit better as they close out the series against the Royals with a scheduled 2:10 Eastern start time. The O’s turn to, oh, geez, it’s Cole Irvin. The lefty has a 6.75 ERA for the season, including giving up four runs in five innings when he last saw this KC team at Camden Yards three weeks ago. Seth Lugo, who has a 1.05 ERA, makes the start for the Royals.
Around the blogO’sphere
On Wells’s elbow injury and Hyde’s talk with Holliday (School of Roch)
No structural damage in Tyler Wells’s elbow, which is a solid development. There’s still no plan for a throwing program to get him back in action, but for now he’s still hoping for a brief IL stay.
In an era of shorter starts, several Orioles pitchers hope to hit 200 innings (The Baltimore Banner)
It’s nice for the guys to have hopes for themselves about this, but I gotta say I’m not sure about anybody’s chances other than Corbin Burnes. And even he’s not averaging at least 6 IP/GS (or a 192 IP in 32 starts pace) through five starts.
Q&A: Suárez on 7-year journey to Orioles (Orioles.com)
I’m enjoying every Albert Suárez story that I can because he could stop being as fun of a topic as soon as his next start.
Starting pitcher rankings, with two Orioles in the top 6 (The Athletic)
Eno Sarris with the rankings and an explanation of what goes into them, particularly his Stuff+ model. Corbin Burnes sits at the top, with Grayson Rodriguez at #6. Cole Ragans might be moving down from #13 after last night.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There is one current Oriole who has a birthday today. Happy 28th to lefty reliever Cionel Pérez, who is presently on the injured list.
Others who are former Orioles born on this day: 2011 infielder Ryan Adams, 2012 catcher Ronny Paulino, 1995-99 reliever Jesse Orosco, and 1972-84 outfielder Al Bumbry. Today is Bumbry’s 77th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: writer Charlotte Brontë (1816), environmentalist John Muir (1838), novelist Alistair MacLean (1922), Broadway actress Patti LuPone (1949), The Cure musician Robert Smith (1959), and actor James McAvoy (1979).
On this day in history…
In 753 BC, according to tradition, the city of Rome was founded by Romulus.
In 1836 AD, Sam Houston’s Republic of Texas force defeated Santa Anna’s Mexicans in the Battle of San Jacinto, an 18-minute battle that accelerated the road to Texas breaking away from Mexico and eventually becoming one of the United States.
In 1918, Germany’s famed fighter ace Manfred “The Red Baron” von Richtofen was shot down and killed. The Red Baron was credited with shooting down 80 Allied aircraft in World War I before his death.
In 1972, Apollo 16 astronauts John Young and Charles Duke became the fifth set of men to land on the surface of the moon. The mission spent 71 hours on the surface with more than 20 hours of time spent on extravehicular activity.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on April 21. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!