The Orioles are out of it but lots of good baseball is still being played
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! How are you adjusting to a postseason without the Orioles? I adjusted pretty quickly, honestly. Much faster than I did after the 2023 ALDS. That probably has to do with the fact that the Orioles didn’t look like a very good baseball team for much of this season, so I was less hyped to start.
I’ve had some fun watching the first few games of the Division Series this weekend in a way that I never could have if I was a fan of any of these teams. Aside from game one between the Tigers and Guardians which was an easy Guardians win, the other three series have been varying levels of wild. Wild in a way that would have had me in the fetal position if I were a fan of any of those teams.
On Saturday the Yankees and Royals engaged in a back-and-forth contest that saw the Royals take a 1-0 lead, blow it, take a 3-2 lead, blow it, take a 5-4 lead, and then blow it again. A similar scene played out in Los Angeles between the Padres and Dodgers. And the Phillies took a 1-0 lead into the eighth inning before the Mets came storming back with five runs to win the game.
Yesterday the AL teams were off but the two games in the NLDS were wild. The Phillies and Mets game was heart-attack-inducing for fans of both teams. Luis Severino was cruising for the Mets, who took a 3-0 lead into the 6th. But then Bryce Harper and Nick Castellanos went deep to tie the game. The Mets grabbed a run back and then, with two on and two outs in the bottom of the inning, went to their closer Edwin Díaz to preserve the lead.
It worked until the next inning when Díaz fell apart, the game went back into chaos. Three runs in the bottom of the eighth gave the Phillies the lead, but the Mets stormed back with two in the ninth! That set up a walk-off hit by Castellanos and it was chaos in Philly. Watching it, I was both jealous and relieved that neither of those teams matter to me.
The Padres and Dodgers had high drama in their game as well despite a lopsided final score that favored the Padres. After Jurickson Profar robbed a home run by Mookie Betts and had some fun revealing he made the catch until Betts had pretty much rounded the bases, it was on. Dodgers pitcher Jack Flaherty was yelling at every Padre he saw and the Padres were giving it right back.
The attitudes on the field, combined with the fact that Yu Darvish was dominating the Dodgers lineup, got to be too much for the Dodgers fans. In the bottom of the seventh inning, someone on the stands threw a baseball at Profar. Other debris was also tossed on the field. Security and the umpires brought the Padres outfielders in towards the infield as Darvish tried to stay warm on the mound. He pitched a scoreless inning once the field was secure.
When the broadcast returned from the commercial break after the seventh inning, cameras caught veteran Manny Machado holding an impromptu team meeting in the dugout. How did the Padres come back from the shenanigans of the previous inning? Two home runs in the eighth and two more in the ninth. Maybe the Orioles could use a guy like Machado in the dugout.
Links
A deep dive into the O’s offensive approach and why they should stay the course – MASN Sports
Steve Melewski basically says we have to trust the process.
Early playoff exit doesn’t define 2024 Orioles season – Birds Watcher
I agree with this. What defines the team’s 2024 season is that they played mediocre baseball for the entire second half.
Reviewing Orioles’ arbitration candidates – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff looks at who could be non-tendered as part of the arbitration process.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have four Orioles birthday buddies:
- Yusniel Díaz turns 28 years old today. Díaz was supposed to be the jewel of the Manny Machado trade back in 2018, but it turns out that was actually Dean Kremer. Díaz has played in one major league game with one plate appearance back in 2022. He was granted free agency at the end of that year.
- Alex Cobb turns 37. He made 41 starts for the Orioles in 2018-2020 with an ERA of 5.10. Since leaving the Orioles he has gotten much better. He spent nearly all of the 2024 season injured but was traded to the Guardians at the deadline and made three starts with a 2.76 ERA. He is on their ALDS roster.
- John O’Donoghue is 85 today! He had a nine-season MLB career including 16 games with the Orioles in 1968. He pitched to a 6.14 ERA.
- Grady Hatton was born on this day in 1922. He played in 1312 major league games, including 27 with the Orioles in 1956. He passed away in 2013.
The Orioles have played in four postseason games on October 7th with a record of just 1-3.
- In 1973, the Orioles fell to the Oakland A’s 6-3 in game two of the ALCS. Dave McNally gave up five runs, the final two coming in the eighth inning. He gave up a four home runs. Catfish Hunter and Rollie Fingers combined to allow three runs on eight hits in Oakland’s win.
- In 1983, it was a different result. The Orioles destroyed the White Sox, 11-1, to take a 2-1 lead in the ALCS. They scored that many runs despite having just eight hits. Eddie Murray walked three times and hit a three-run homer. Cal Ripken, Jim Dwyer, and John Lowenstein doubled. Mike Flanagan pitched five innings with one run allowed and Sammy Stewart went the final four.
- In 2012, the Orioles began their first postseason series in Baltimore since 1997, the ALDS vs the Yankees. After a long rain delay, they took a 2-2 tie into the top of the ninth only to see Jim Johnson blow the game by allowing five runs in the ninth. Nate McLouth knocked in both Orioles runs with a single in the third. CC Sabathia pitched into the ninth inning for the Yankees.
- And in 2023, the Orioles kicked off the ALDS at home vs the Texas Rangers. Kyle Bradish allowed two runs in 4.2 innings and Jacob Webb gave up a home run in the sixth which turned out to be the winning run. The Orioles scored once on an RBI double from Ryan Mountcastle and once on an Anthony Santander home run.