The Orioles’ matchup against Tarik Skubal turned out exactly as everyone predicted.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
They say the great thing about baseball is that, on any given day, you might see something you’ve never seen before. That’s true enough, of course. But there’s also plenty of games where you see, well, exactly what you expected.
Last night was one such game. Pretty much every Orioles fan thought the O’s offense would get completely shut down by Tarik Skubal, the reigning Cy Young winner who also happens to be a lefty, the Orioles’ Kryptonite. And that’s precisely what happened. Skubal dominated, throwing seven shutout innings and making most O’s hitters flail like fools, and the Tigers cruised to a 4-1 win that felt inevitable from the get-go. Check out Tyler Young’s recap for the deets.
The defeat in the rubber game marked the Orioles’ second straight series loss and their 14th of the season. They’ve won just five series and split three. You don’t have to be a math major to figure out that that’s not gonna get it done. The Birds became the third AL team to reach the 40-loss mark, following the White Sox and Athletics, and with every passing day they’re inching closer to being sellers at the trade deadline. The Orioles’ tough AL East road trip next week against the Rays and Yankees could further bury them in the standings.
Even as the team finally gets healthier — with Colton Cowser having returned last week and Jordan Westburg on this homestand — it feels like a case of too little, too late to make any kind of noise in the playoff picture. Even if we generously assume that the Orioles could earn a wild card spot by winning 86 games (which both the Royals and Tigers did last year), they would have to go 59-36 for the rest of the season to reach that mark, a .621 winning percentage. For comparison, the 2023 AL East champion Orioles, who won 101 games, had a .623 winning percentage.
Do we think this year’s Orioles will play like the 2023 version for the rest of the season? It feels extremely unlikely. Sure, it’s baseball, so maybe we’ll see something we never thought we would. But more likely, things will turn out exactly like we expect.
Links
Orioles run into buzzsaw Tarik Skubal, fall 4-1 to Tigers – The Baltimore Sun
Skubal is great, but doesn’t it seem like every left-handed pitcher the Orioles face suddenly becomes a “buzzsaw”?
Akin to open for Orioles; O’Neill resting at Norfolk with shoulder soreness; Sánchez close to return – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Tyler O’Neill has suffered another injury during his rehab assignment from his previous injury. Color me shocked!
Cal Ripken Jr. on new foundation initiative and ownership role: “It feels like the world does revolve around baseball again” – School of Roch
It’s nice to see Cal at the ballpark so often again. If only the Orioles were giving him some better baseball to watch.
The unraveling of former Baltimore Orioles pitcher Brian Matusz – The Baltimore Banner
Warning: this story is a heartbreaking read. Extremely well written, but heartbreaking.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Four ex-Orioles were born on June 13, and three of them are catchers: James McCann (35), Ernie Whitt (73), and the late Tom Gastall (b. 1932, d. 1956). Also celebrating a birthday today is right-hander Pedro Strop (40).
On this date in 1999, the Orioles scored a franchise-record 22 runs in a destruction of the Braves on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. The O’s put up a crooked number in seven different innings, including a five-run first against Hall of Famer John Smoltz and a pair of four-run innings. Cal Ripken had the most prolific offensive game of his legendary 21-year career, going 6-for-6 to tie an American League record while clubbing two home runs. Will Clark added four hits and five RBIs. The O’s were a whopping 13-for-22 with runners in scoring position. Good times!
Random Orioles game of the day
On June 13, 1959, the Orioles beat the White Sox, 6-4, in Baltimore. The O’s carried a 4-1 lead into the eighth behind Hal “Skinny” Brown’s strong seven-inning effort before Hall of Famer Nellie Fox mashed a game-tying three-run shot in the eighth. But the Birds responded immediately in the bottom of the inning on Bob Boyd’s tie-breaking two-run dinger. Just over 8,000 fans were at Memorial Stadium to take in the action.