If the O’s hope to turn things around, performances like Cade Povich’s in D.C. last night will be the key.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
The Orioles’ starting rotation has just delivered back-to-back quality starts. Will wonders never cease?
One night after Tomoyuki Sugano’s impressive seven-inning performance (albeit in an O’s loss), Cade Povich stepped up for his best outing of the year last night, throwing 6.2 excellent frames to lead the Orioles to a 2-1 win against the Nationals. It was a much-needed effort from Povich, one of a trio of atrocious O’s starters this season and the one who was most at risk of a minor league demotion. He certainly strengthened his job security with that gem. Tyler Young recapped Povich’s great night.
With the victory, the Orioles averted a three-game sweep in Washington. It’s hard to believe considering how they’ve played, but the O’s still have yet to be swept this year. I suppose the Birds do have a knack for that sort of thing, dating back to their AL-record 106-series sweepless streak from 2022-24. The difference is that during that streak, the Orioles were winning most of those series. This year they’ve lost five, won one, and split two. Not so fun.
The Birds’ pitching — Povich and three relievers — stepped up in the finale, but concerns remain about the O’s offense. Last night, facing a dreaded lefty, the Orioles had only four hits and struck out 13 times while walking just twice. Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson, and Ryan Mountcastle combined to go 0-for-10. Mountcastle’s season OPS is .602. Rutschman, Henderson, Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad, and Tyler O’Neill (who missed the game with a sore neck) all have sub-.700 OPSes as well. A lot of guys that the Orioles were counting on as productive bats just haven’t been hitting, and the team won’t be going anywhere until they do.
But enough about that. Let’s enjoy an Orioles win however we get one, and last night proved that the O’s can, in fact, notch a low-scoring victory once in a while. Sugano and Povich have given the Birds’ rotation a tiny bit of momentum, and with any luck they can keep it rolling a little bit longer.
Links
Baltimore Orioles: Povich, Mullins lead 2-1 win over Nationals – The Baltimore Banner
Kudos to Cedric Mullins for being basically the one guy keeping this O’s offense afloat. Can the Orioles just re-sign this guy already?
The Biggest Cedric Mullins Yet | FanGraphs Baseball
So what exactly has made Cedric so great this year? Michael Baumann (not that one) notes that he’s swinging at the right pitches, laying off the bad ones, and pulling the ball in the air a lot. Turns out that’s a good combination.
Arbitrator could soon decide IronBirds’ fate at Ripken Stadium – The Baltimore Banner
It sure seems like the Orioles minor league team in Cal Ripken’s hometown won’t be staying there much longer. What a bummer.
Who should Orioles fans be mad at? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Can’t the answer just be “everybody”?
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And happy 41st birthday to Robert Andino, which of course gives me an excuse to link to this clip. Legend. Other former Orioles born on April 25 include right-hander and former coach Darren Holmes (59) and the late lefty Art Schallock, who passed away just last month at age 100.
The Orioles’ last win on this date was in 2021, when they defeated the then-Oakland Athletics, 8-1, at Camden Yards. John Means delivered a quality start with 6.1 innings, and Zac Lowther pitched a scoreless ninth in his major league debut. Austin Hays hit two dingers off A’s starter Jesús Luzardo, while the Athletics’ only run came on a solo homer by now-Oriole Ramón Laureano.
Random Orioles game of the day
On April 25, 1998, the Orioles had an 8-2 win over…the Athletics, again. Sorry to pick on the A’s today, but apparently they always lose to the O’s on this date. This was a scoreless game until the sixth, but the Orioles plated eight runs in their final three innings to make it a rout. Seven of the runs came against former Oriole Jimmy Haynes. Cal Ripken snapped the 0-0 tie with an RBI single in the sixth and added another in the Orioles’ five-run seventh. That was just the Orioles’ third win in their last 10 games after starting the year 10-2.