Stowers had himself a nice offensive debut, but just about everything else was a disaster in the series-opening loss.
The Orioles were put in their place by a strong Blue Jays squad, falling 11-1 in the opener of a four-game set at the Rogers Centre in Toronto on Monday night.
It took two months, but the Orioles finally took on the Blue Jays, a popular pre-season pick to take home the AL East crown. And boy, was it rough.
This could have been a fun game. Some of the Orioles most important young talents were on display, including a big league debut for Kyle Stowers and another start for rookie right-hander Kyle Bradish. Instead, it was a game that served to humble an O’s team that is still a ways off from competing.
This is not the type of game that is benefitted by a detailed recap that goes inning-by-inning in excruciating detail. The box score might be your best bet on something like that.
No, this is a game that can be summed up pretty simply: The Orioles got trounced.
Bradish had another laborious start in which he could not get beyond the fifth inning. It wasn’t a “stuff” problem. He showed fine velocity, averaging 95 mph on his fastball. But he got behind in the count too often, which led to long at-bats, and he wore down early. It took him 29 pitches to get through the first inning, indicative of how his night would play out overall.
The final line for Bradish is a tad unfair: 4.1 innings, nine hits, five runs, one walk, three strikeouts. He pitched (slightly) better than that, but he certainly wasn’t effective. It shouldn’t be cause for concern, at least not yet. The rookie had looked better in his last two starts, and he came up against a really good lineup. It happens, but he really needs a solid outing in his next trip to the mound.
It’s not like the bullpen was much help behind him anyway. Logan Gillaspie was atrocious. He let both inherited runners score and then went on to allow four runs of his own on five hits in one-third of an inning. We also got another look at Austin Voth in an Orioles uniform. It wasn’t terribly impressive as he served up a run on three hits and a strikeout over 1.1 innings.
The most notable thing to happen on the mound for the Orioles was the team debut for Rico Garcia. The righty topped out at 96.9 mph and navigated through two innings, allowing one run on two hits and a strikeout. His performance won’t set the world on fire, but he looked competent, which is better than some relievers can muster.
Things weren’t much better on the offensive side of the ball. The Orioles lineup combined for five hits, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. Not exactly a recipe for success, but context matters once again. Toronto’s starter Alek Manoah is a legitimate Cy Young contender right now, and he pitched like one. If you’re only gonna score one run, make it on a day when your pitching staff gets lit up. That’s analytics, baby!
The clear highlight for the Orioles offense came in the seventh inning. Rutschman reached on a one-out single, and he was driven home two batters later by a Stowers double into the left-center gap.
First career hit First career RBI pic.twitter.com/bkPmRJI2G1
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) June 14, 2022
Stowers laced the offering on a line at 106.3 mph, the hardest hit off an Oriole’s bat all game. It gave him his first major league hit and major league RBI all in one go. His buddy Rutschman is still looking for his first RBI nearly a month into his big league career.
Stowers got on base once more via hit by pitch. Jorge Mateo was the only Oriole with more than one hit. Clean-up hitter Rougned Odor worked the lineup’s lone walk. It was an ugly day for the sticks.
On top of that, the defense left a bit to be desired. The O’s walked away without any charged errors, but there could have been. Stowers took an odd, misjudged route to a ball in left field that fell in. Odor threw away a double play ball on the transfer to first, and he also missed a scoop on a terrific diving stop by Mateo up the middle.
It was just one of those games that was really lame to watch from a fan’s perspective. So I, personally, hope you spent your three hours and 17 minutes in a different fashion on this night.
But the beauty of baseball is that they get to wake up tomorrow and play another game. Unfortunately it is against the Blue Jays once again. Jordan Lyles (3-5, 4.97 ERA) takes the hill for the O’s. He will be opposed by Yusei Kikuchi (2-2, 4.44 ERA). First pitch is 7:07.