BALTIMORE- What happened? The Orioles returned from a 5-5 road trip to Cleveland, Toronto and Tampa Bay and fell flat in a 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals on Tuesday night.
Trevor Rogers allowed five runs in five-plus innings, and the Orioles’ only highlight was Anthony Santander’s 36th home run, which set a club record for switch-hitters. Ken Singleton hit 35 home runs in 1979.
Manager Brandon Hyde has watched the Orioles play disappointingly for several weeks. Since June 20th, the Orioles are 21-25.
“We’re really inconsistent,” Hyde said. “We’re giving up way too many runs. Tonight I didn’t think our at-bats were real good. Give credit to their starter. We’re just really out front of off-speed pitches a lot. Besides the 3-0 homer by Santander, we had another opportunity, second and third and one out, and didn’t score.
“We’re not moving the line offensively enough. We’re swinging at times kind of, our swings can get really big at times and we need to improve on that.”
The Orioles (70-50) fell a half-game behind the Yankees (71-50) in the American League East.
How did Rogers pitch? Rogers’ first two starts came in Cleveland and Toronto, and in his first start in Baltimore, he felt at home even if the results weren’t good.
“Great atmosphere,” Rogers said. “The fan base was there, and it was great. Obviously, want better results. It was really fun.”
Overall, Rogers wasn’t pleased with how he threw
“I thought my stuff was about average tonight,” he said. “I think I did a decent job getting to two strikes, but I just couldn’t put guys away today. I faced these guys a lot in the past.
“It seems like they’ve always had a good approach. I was just trying to mix all day. I got a couple of soft contacts early. Just didn’t go my way. I’ve got to keep improving and give my team a chance.”
Rogers pitched well, but in tough luck when he was with Miami, and he’s working on adjustments with his new team.
“Just keeping it simple. It’s all about execution,” he said. “Being unpredictable. I had a good stretch there for a while, and that’s baseball. I’m going to have a couple of rough spots here and there. Keep doing my thing. Keep working. I know I’ll get back to it.”
Hyde removed him after James Wood, who had four hits, singled to begin the sixth.
“We’re losing 4-2, they’ve got a guy on base, the order’s third time through, “Hyde said. “I thought he threw OK. He left a few offspeed pitches up. Wood got him a few times. We didn’t score much early.
“[Bryan Baker] had a tough time. [Keegan] Akin wasn’t his best. Happy about [Gregory] Soto. For me, that was the highlight tonight because we need him badly. The way he threw the ball, hopefully he can take the next step forward for us.”
Sloppy play: The Orioles lost a run in the first when Wood seemed to be picked off at first, and in the ensuing rundown, Juan Yepez scored from third when first baseman Ryan Mountcastle didn’t recognize the runner at third. Wood was tagged out after Yepez had scored.
“Mounty needs to look the runner back at third base,” Hyde said. “I think the throw took him toward the field side and made him turn his back, but you’ve got to have some awareness there and check the runner at third base.”
What does it mean? The Orioles must play better against teams with records below .500 if they want to win the American League East.
What’s the word? “I know there’s a fine balance with that, and I think they’ve been doing a great job with just the short time that I’ve been working with them, but come in tomorrow, talk it over and continue to improve.”-Rogers on working on improving with a new club.
What’s the stat of the day? 10. The Orioles had 10 hits, but nine were singles.
What’s going on in the minor leagues? Brandon Young allowed one run on five hits in five innings in Triple-A Norfolk’s 5-4 loss to Gwinnett. Nick Avila allowed four runs on three hits while retiring only two batters in his first game with the Tides after rehabbing a right shoulder impingement with High-A Aberdeen.
In his first game with Double-A Bowie, outfielder Enrique Bradfield Jr., last year’s top draft choice, had an RBI single and centerfielder Jud Fabian homered and drove in four runs in a 5-0 win over Altoona. Alex Pham (5-3), Dan Hammer and Levi Stoudt combined on a seven-hit shutout.
The Baysox also promoted infielder Tavian Josenberger and outfielder Reed Trimble and activated right-hander Bradley Brehmer. Bowie transferred catcher Connor Pavolony to the development list, released outfielder Dontá Williams and right-hander Lincoln Henzman and sent infielder Noelberth Romero to Aberdeen.
The IronBirds released catcher Randy Fiorentino and sent infielder Luis Valdez to the Florida Complex League Orioles. Infielder Leandro Arias, outfielder Jake Cunningham, catcher Aneudis Mordán and outfielder Thomas Sosa moved to Aberdeen from Delmarva.
Cunningham had three hits in the IronBirds’ 6-2 win over Greenville.
The Shorebirds added infielder Griff O’Ferrell, catcher Ethan Anderson, outfielder Austin Overn and catchers Ryan Stafford and Colin Tuft, all recent Orioles draft choices. They also added catcher Miguel Rodriguez and infielder Elis Cuevas from the FCL Orioles and released outfielder Stiven Acevedo.
O’Ferrell drove in the only run with a single in Delmarva’s 2-1 loss to Carolina.
Who are the top Orioles’ prospects? MLB Pipeline released its new Top 100 prospects. Jackson Holliday remains the top prospect in baseball. Coby Mayo is No. 10, and Bowie catcher/first baseman Samuel Basallo is No. 11.
Among Oriole prospects, this year’s top draft pick, outfielder Vance Honeycutt, who has yet to play, enters the rankings as No. 4 behind Holliday, Mayo and Basallo. Left-hander Cade Povich is fifth, and Bradfield is sixth. Right-hander Chayce McDermott is seventh, outfielder Dylan Beavers is eighth, O’Ferrall is ninth and Aberdeen right-hander Juan Nuñez is 10th.
What’s next? Dean Kremer (4-9, 4.70) will face the Nationals’ DJ Herz (2-4, 4.41 in the final game of the two-game series at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday.
Call for questions: Most weekdays, I’ll be answering at least one Orioles question. Please send yours to: Rich@BaltimoreBaseball.com