Bautista and Morton will pitch today, following impressive outings from Povich and Kremer
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! I hope you had a nice weekend. If you are one of those who lost power due to the wind, I hope it’s back and you didn’t get too cold in the meantime.
Down in spring training, the Orioles had a few nice starting pitching performances over the weekend. Both Cade Povich and Dean Kremer pitched three one-hit innings apiece. Povich was especially impressive with six strikeouts on Saturday. Kremer picked up two. Kremer is a presumed member of the starting rotation with Povich on the outside looking in, but if Povich keeps racking up two K’s per inning that could change.
If you took a peek at the scores over the weekend, you’ll see that the Orioles lost on both Saturday and Sunday, but don’t fret. Spring scores mean nothing, of course. Both losses came in the ninth inning. On Saturday, Brandon Young game up two runs his third inning of work followed by Gerald Ogando. Ogando allowed a third run.
Yesterday, the Orioles took a 4-3 lead into the bottom of the ninth until Christian Herberholz blew the lead. So yeah, don’t worry about final scores.
One of the biggest worries of the spring so far is the possible injury to Gunnar Henderson. Henderson left the game early on February 27 with lower right side discomfort. It’s been played down so far, with the Orioles not opting to do an MRI. But we’ll all be a little nervous until Gunnar is back on the field. Last we heard, they were letting Gunnar rest over the weekend. So there should be another update on his health today. The best update, of course, would be to see his name in today’s lineup.
Speaking of today’s lineup, the 41-year-old Charlie Morton is scheduled to start today against the Red Sox. And guess what? This game will be on TV! You can watch the game on both MASN and ESPN. Watch it if you can, because you won’t have another chance for a week.
I can give you an even better reason to tune in than Charlie Morton: Félix Bautista. That’s right, the big righty is scheduled to make his spring debut today. I don’t want to get my hopes up too much for a pitcher who was been out for well over a year, but I can’t help it. Hopes are high. It’s Félix!
Links
Ben Vespi and brother Nick face off at Spring Training – Orioles.com
Did you know the Orioles signed Nick Vespi’s little brother as an undrafted free agent last year? Me neither! The elder Vespi is currently part of the Phillies system.
Bautista expected to make Grapefruit League debut Monday in Sarasota – MASN Sports
Exciting news! I can’t believe his last game pitched was in August 2023.
Cade Povich further pushes for a place on the Orioles with each strikeout – The Baltimore Banner
It’s exciting to imagine Povich forcing his way into the rotation, but let’s not get too worked up yet.
MLB All-Under-25 Team: Bobby Witt Jr., Elly De La Cruz, Paul Skenes and more – The Athletic
Two Orioles make the list.
Projecting 2025’s Biggest Bounce-Back Candidates | FanGraphs Baseball
Dan Szymborski used ZiPS to calculate the projected probability of 2024 underperformers getting their mojo back. Guess who tops the list?
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have six Orioles birthday buddies, including relief pitcher Jorge Julio (46). Julio started his career with five seasons with the Orioles from 2001-05. He appeared in 281 games for the team with 83 saves.
Also born on this date are José Rondón (31), Dilson Herrera (31), Bobby Muñoz (57), Francisco de la Rosa (b. 1966, d. 2011), and Jesse Jefferson (b. 1949, d. 2011). Don’t feel bad if those names don’t sound familiar to you. These five players combined for 57 games, and 42 belong to Jesse Jefferson.
There is no Orioles history of note today, so please enjoy these general baseball facts from Baseball Reference:
- In 1983, the Phillies signed Steve Carlton to a four-year, $4.15 million contract to make him the highest-paid pitcher in baseball.
- In 1998, Larry Doby was elected to the Hall of Fame. Doby was the first Black person to play in the American League.
- In 2006, the first ever World Baseball Classic game was played. South Korea defeated Taiwan in the Tokyo Dome, 2-0.