The Orioles lose again, a slew of roster moves, and a prospect making noise.
Good morning Birdland,
The tide can turn quickly in baseball. The Orioles went from an 8-2 stretch to losing three out of four, including last night’s 5-3 loss to the Tigers.
It was a rather typical formula for an Orioles loss. The dam broke on Cade Povich in the middle innings, and the lineup didn’t do much until late in the game. It was a less-than-ideal evening.
Getting Jordan Westburg and Cedric Mullins back into the lineup feels good. Westburg even hit a home run. The Orioles lineup is almost up to full strength now. Ryan Mountcastle is the only regular missing, and you could argue that the plan was always to make Coby Mayo the everyday first baseman at some point this year. You would like to see Mayo put up better numbers, but at least he is learning.
Povich continues to frustrate on the mound. He is capable of striking out anyone in the sport while at the same time giving up oodles of hard contact. Usually when he keeps his walks in check he puts the Orioles in a position to win. But that was not the case on Tuesday.
At least the bullpen was good. Seranthony Domínguez, Yennier Cano, and Scott Blewett combined for 4.1 scoreless innings. Cano was particularly impressive, striking out three of the four batters he faced. He seems to have bounced back nicely from a rough May. In four June appearances he has struck out five and is yet to issue a walk.
The Orioles are no longer getting blown out once or twice a week like they were early in the season. But they are back to losing games because they just don’t have enough when it matters most. Maybe that changes as the recently returned hitters get healthy. For now, it looks like more competitive baseball that doesn’t lead to as many wins as they need.
Links
Orioles Select Luis Vázquez | MLB Trade Rumors
Somewhat lost in the shuffle of roster moves yesterday was what the Orioles did on the middle infield. Jorge Mateo is headed to the IL with left elbow inflammation. That is the elbow he had surgery on last year, and recently seemed to aggravate with a collision into Heston Kjerstad. Luis Vázquez will take Mateo’s place on the active roster. Mateo’s role on the team is not what it was a few years ago, but he still has plenty to provide. This is unfortunate.
Teammates react to Orioles optioning Kjerstad, Mayo getting more starts at first base | Roch Kubatko
The Orioles are trying to win baseball games, and Kjerstad doesn’t help them do that right now. Given his entire skillset, Kjerstad needs to mash at the plate in order to be a consistent part of an MLB lineup. His .566 OPS is not going to get it done.
Estrada putting together impressive season in High-A | Orioles.com
As the season goes on, and the Orioles slim playoff chances evaporate entirely, it’s natural for fans to look towards the minors for some hope. So it’s nice to see a newer name putting him numbers down on the farm. Even better when it’s an international signing, an area that the Orioles have invested a ton in recent years but are still waiting for it to pay off in the bigs.
The emotional swings of the Orioles’ recent play | The Baltimore Banner
There’s part of me that thinks this experience of being straight up bad is important for the entire organization. Players, coaches, and executives are being shown that their way of doing things is not perfect. They need to figure something else out if they are going to be competitive again. They cannot simply rest on what previously led them to glory.
Orioles (and sometimes non-Orioles) birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday! No former Orioles players were born on this day, according to Baseball Reference. So here are a few non-baseballers that will be celebrating today:
- Parris Glendening turns 83 today. He was the 59th governor of Maryland, serving from 1995 through 2003.
- Frank Beard is 76 years old. He is best known as the drummer for the band ZZ Top.
- Joe Montana celebrates his 69th birthday. The Hall of Famer is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history.
- Hugh Laurie turns 66. Among many other roles, he won two Golden Globes for his portrayal of Dr. Gregory House in the show House.
- Peter Dinklage is 56 years old today. He has been in a number of shows and movies, but his most widely appreciated role was that of Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones.
- Diana Taurasi is 43 today. One of the most accomplished basketball players of all time, she just wrapped up a 20-year WNBA career last year.
This day in O’s history
1999 – Albert Belle is benched by Orioles manager Ray Miller for failing to run out a ground ball. That ends Belle’s streak of 392 consecutive games played, the longest active streak in MLB at the time.