A brawl, mock drafts, and the Futures Game is today.
Good Morning, Birdland,
Things aren’t going great! Last night was the Orioles’ fourth straight loss, trimming their lead in the AL East to just one game. What’s worse is that the offense has entirely fallen asleep this week. In their last four games the Orioles have scored only four total runs. That won’t win many games, and it doesn’t get any easier with Luis Gil on the mound for the Yankees this afternoon. The Orioles lit Gil up when they saw him last month, but he was very good against the Red Sox in his last outing, so this won’t be an easy task.
It wasn’t all bad last night. Cade Povich showed some moxie, and I liked what I saw. The rookie bounced back from a nightmarish outing in Oakland last weekend to power through 5.1 solid innings on Friday. The walks are a problem, and that 0-2 pitch to Aaron Judge was a real head-scratcher. But I can’t hate on the end result. He got tons of whiffs and showed off his whole arsenal. It feels like the Orioles have something good on their hands with Povich.
Burch Smith introduced himself well, tossing 1.1 perfect innings and striking out two in his Orioles debut. It’s not an overpowering array of offerings, and Smith alone won’t solve the team’s bullpen issues. But he is probably an upgrade over some of the other internal options.
It was pretty grim otherwise. The lineup went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and had only one extra-base hit. They had Gerrit Cole on the ropes a few times, but couldn’t get the key hit. To say it was frustrating would be an understatement.
And of course there was the brawl. Personally, I’m fine with Brandon Hyde’s reaction in the moment. The Yankees have hit a ton of Orioles this season, and although Clay Holmes was certainly not trying to hit Heston Kjerstad in the head, the reality is that it happened. If the Yankees get to be all whiny about Aaron Judge getting plunked on the hand, Hyde has every reason to be furious about one his players being hit in a far more dangerous area. I do not think there could be any sort of retaliation today. Let’s move on and get the win today, by any means necessary.
Links
Orioles mock draft roundup: Switch pitcher, college sluggers among candidates at No. 22 | The Baltimore Sun
Now that the Orioles are good, I have much less interest in the draft. Funny how that works, huh? Obviously, the O’s still need to do good work here. The talent they bring in will extend how long their “window” of contention will remain open, whether that is because of internal reinforcements or significant trades.
More draft talk with Matt Blood, Futures Game is today and a take on last night | Steve Melewski
Both the Orioles game and the Futures Game start at 4 p.m. today, an opportunity for some split screen action if you have the ability.
Orioles have a new voice overseeing their MLB draft. They’re hoping for the same results. | The Baltimore Sun
It will be interesting to see if the philosophy of drafts changes at all under Blood. One would assume that they would not since it’s not as if Mike Elias’ ideas will be going out the window. Could the Orioles actually draft a pitcher in the first round!?
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Pat Rapp turns 57. He spent the 2000 season on the Orioles’ pitching staff, accumulating a 5.90 ERA over 174 innings.
- The second-most important Mark Brown in Orioles history is 65 today. The right-handed pitcher appeared in nine games for the 1984 club.
- The late Fritz Dorish (b. 1921, d. 2000) was born on this day. He pitched for the St. Louis Browns in 1950 and then returned to the organization in 1955 once they were the Orioles to spent a season-and-a-half in their bullpen.
This day in O’s history
1955 – A trade! The Orioles sent outfielder Hoot Evers to Cleveland for pitcher Bill Wright.
1962 – O’s catcher Charlie Lau ties a major league record with four doubles in one game, leading his club to a 10-3 over Cleveland.
1991 – Bob Milacki, Mike Flanagan, Mark Williamson, and Gregg Olson combine to no-hit the Athletics and lift the O’s to a 2-0 win.
2019 – Another trade! Andrew Cashner goes from Baltimore to Boston in a swap for two 17-year-old prospects.
2022 – The Orioles win their 10th consecutive, their first time reaching this mark since 1999