The Orioles nearly got shut out again on Saturday, at least until one late, awesome inning.
Hello, friends.
It’s weird thinking about how to approach these last two months. On one hand, obviously, hopes for the 2025 season are over. The Orioles’ record by the end of July and their larger-than-expected sell-off at the trade deadline tell us about that. On the other hand, large chunks of a team remain who we want to be good again next year and there are going to need to be some collective signs of life from those guys to start to rebuild some hope.
Getting shut out on Friday was a disheartening effort from that set of players. The same was true for seven innings on Saturday, at least until Jordan Westburg broke through with a two-out RBI single, followed by Gunnar Henderson’s three-run home run that put the Orioles on top. That’s the good stuff. Ultimately, Keegan Akin closed things out in the ninth for a win. Check out Andrea SK’s recap for more of the lovely totals.
It was a nice win to be able to survive getting blanked by a tough lefty, Matthew Boyd, over seven innings and still win the game. Those are the signs of life we need. Over these next two months there are also going to be extensive auditions of figuring out what relievers might possibly be able to cut it next year, either on the roster at all or perhaps, in Akin’s case, in higher-leverage spots than before. Guys like Yennier Cano need to show they can be trusted again. When it works, it’s going to feel fun. When it doesn’t, the number of remaining games will feel more like a curse than a blessing.
I remain bummed that we’ve gotten past the deadline and there aren’t even any newly-arriving prospects to pin our hopes on. I get why we haven’t seen Samuel Basallo right here at this point, but I don’t get why Dylan Beavers is still with Triple-A Norfolk. The best we’ve got right now is getting attached to Jeremiah Jackson as an out-of-nowhere possible contributor based on 40 good games at Norfolk. With three hits through two games, he is doing stuff. It does not bring the same fun as seeing Beavers would. So it goes.
This is an ongoing thing in looking at the Orioles trade returns. There was no immediate help. We’re all going to have to just follow them in the minors, with only a handful even being 2026 hopefuls. In June and July, I was mostly impatient to get to the trade deadline to see how far the Orioles would get torn down.
Now that it’s August, I’m impatient to get to the offseason so I can find out how Mike Elias is going to build this team, particularly its starting rotation, back up for next year, because he sure didn’t do much about that in his trades. Probably I should work on being more patient about the Orioles. In my defense, and sorry for always bringing it up, they have never won the World Series in my lifetime, and that sucks for all of us who are my age or younger.
Orioles things you might have missed
Mike Elias expresses remorse about ‘25 Orioles after flurry of deadline trades (Orioles.com)
There were a lot of takes flying around about how Elias has taken no responsibility for what’s gone wrong this year. That’s been proven wrong repeatedly, including in his immediate post-deadline remarks. Whether he comes out of this experience with a better plan for next year is still to be determined.
O’Neill absent with illness, Orioles claim Noda on waivers (School of Roch)
It’s “claim 29-year-old first basemen with a career .698 OPS” season now, which is not a particularly fun season.
Tony Mansolino wants to win. His job might depend on it. (The Baltimore Sun)
What kind of record would the Orioles have to rattle off between now and season’s end for the front office to even consider bringing back Mansolino? There are 51 games remaining.
O’Hearn and Laureano start a new adventure with the Padres (The Baltimore Banner)
The Banner’s Andy Kostka was already going to San Diego for a vacation so he just decided to put in a day of work to see how the two jointly-traded ex-Orioles are adjusting to their new digs. I believe that’s what you’d call real mensch behavior.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2022 infielder Jonathan Araúz, 2011-12 slugger Mark Reynolds, and 1961 pitcher Dick Hyde.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: war journalist Ernie Pyle (1900), science teacher John Scopes (1900), singer Tony Bennett (1923), TV personality Martha Stewart (1941), and Salt-n-Pepa rapper DJ Spinderella (1971).
On this day in history…
In 1342, a Castilian land and sea force began a siege of the fortress of Algeciras, which lasted for nearly two years before the city surrendered. One notable aspect of this long engagement is that gunpowder was used, one of the first European battles where this is recorded.
In 1852, Yale and Harvard held a boat race, which was won by Harvard. It’s now recognized as the first intercollegiate athletic event in America.
In 1949, two competing basketball leagues merged, creating the National Basketball Association.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 3. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!