As the Birds begin their biggest series of the year so far, they’ve got major questions about their relief crew.
Good morning, Camden Chatters.
The Orioles’ warm-up act for their biggest series of the year could have gone better.
Hoping to stack some wins against a sub-.500 Athletics club before the Yankees come to town, the O’s instead lost a series that they easily could have swept. Both defeats happened in a similarly painful way, with Craig Kimbrel coughing up a one-run lead in the ninth in both the opener and the finale. Yesterday’s was literally painful as well, as Kimbrel was forced to leave the game after two batters — a walk and a go-ahead two-run homer — with upper back tightness. Mark Brown recapped the game, which was a very enjoyable contest for the first eight innings.
The two on-field failures compounded by an injury made for a nightmarish series for Kimbrel, who before that had been quite solid as the Orioles’ closer, converting seven of his first eight save attempts while allowing only one earned run in 11 games. He wasn’t going to continue that kind of dominance all season, but for him to implode twice in one series was a tough blow. And now he could be on the shelf for a little while, depending on the severity of his injury.
For the Orioles, the timing isn’t ideal to lose their closer. The Yankees arrive in Baltimore today to begin a four-game series between the two top teams of the AL East. The Yanks are a game ahead of the Orioles in the standings — though tied in the loss column — so this will be the Birds’ toughest test yet of the young season.
The Orioles’ bullpen was already on shaky ground even before Kimbrel’s injury, and now the situation has gotten even more complicated. If Kimbrel is out, Yennier Cano will presumably slide into the closer’s role temporarily, putting more pressure on some of the Orioles’ less effective relievers — Mike Baumann, Jacob Webb, and the like — to step up into more high-leverage situations in the late innings. It’s not ideal, especially against a thriving Yankees offense that has scored 15 runs in each of their last two games.
I know I shouldn’t feel so antsy about a series in April, but I do. I don’t want the Yanks building some confidence and momentum by dominating the Orioles on their Birds’ home turf, and I won’t feel particularly comfortable handing any small O’s lead to this bullpen. Maybe the Orioles should just go ahead and score 16 runs every game to make things a lot less stressful.
Links
Kimbrel can’t hold lead and leaves with injury in 7-6 loss (updated) – School of Roch
Brandon Hyde and the trainers initially visited Kimbrel after the leadoff walk, but he insisted he could still pitch. The lesson here: don’t be a hero. If you’re hurt, just leave the game instead of staying in to give up a home run and then leaving anyway.
Orioles’ Samuel Basallo posts first two-homer game of year – MLB.com
It’s been a slow start for Basallo at Double-A this season, but yesterday he was back to doing Samuel Basallo things.
Orioles prospects like Jackson Holliday were demoted and improved – The Baltimore Sun
Grayson Rodriguez and Colton Cowser are proof positive that sending a player back to the minors after initial MLB struggles can reap serious rewards. I expect we’ll see a much better version of Jackson back in the majors in a not-too-distant future.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And happy 90th birthday to shortstop Luis Aparicio, a member of both the National Baseball Hall of Fame and the Orioles Hall of Fame. Aparicio spent five of his 18 MLB seasons with the Birds, earning two Gold Gloves, making two All-Star Games, and winning a World Series in 1966. Other former Orioles born on April 29 include catcher Omir Santos (43) and infielders Ron Washington (72) and Rick Burleson (73).
On this date in 1970, Paul Blair crushed three home runs in an 18-2 Orioles blowout at White Sox Park. Blair swatted a two-run homer in the third, then capped off a seven-run O’s fourth inning with another two-run blast before leading off the ninth with a dinger to complete the hat trick.
April 29 was a joyous day in 1988. The Orioles, at long last, snapped their 21-game, season-opening losing streak, winning the opener of a three-game series in Chicago. The O’s jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first on Eddie Murray’s two-run homer and never looked back, scoring again in the fifth, seventh, and ninth, led by Cal Ripken’s 4-for-5 performance. Mark Williamson pitched six shutout innings to earn the Orioles’ first win of the year, and Dave Schmidt three scoreless for the first save.
And on this date in 2015, the Orioles made dubious baseball history by playing a game in front of no fans, necessitated by safety concerns after rioting in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray. It was an eerie, silent scene at Camden Yards as the Orioles won, 8-2, in two hours and six minutes. (This was, of course, five years before fanless games became commonplace during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.) That game, like the other two I’ve mentioned, was also against the White Sox. The O’s always have something significant happening against the White Sox on April 29, apparently.