The Orioles beat the White Sox, Henderson joins an impressive list, and Mabry joins the coaching staff.
Good Morning Birdland,
With their 2-1 win last night, the Orioles guaranteed that they will make it through the weekend without “earning” the moniker of “Worst Team in the AL.” What an achievement.
It was not a great evening for the Orioles offense. They were largely held down by Sean Burke, a University of Maryland product who entered the game with a 4.33 ERA. But to be fair, he has been quite good in May, so perhaps it’s bad timing. You can’t blame the whole season on bad timing though, and offensive outages are nothing new.
The hope is that the Orioles will be getting a boost to their lineup in the week ahead. Colton Cowser is expected to join the team for their west coast road trip, which begins on Tuesday. Jordan Westburg, who is also playing games in Norfolk right now, could be right behind Cowser.
Ramón Laureano is hitting on the field, and he may not need a rehab assignment at all. As odd as it would have sounded prior to the season, Laureano has been a crucial contributor to this lineup. His .852 OPS is second on the team. It will be nice to get him back.
More immediately, it sounds like Coby Mayo could be back on the active roster as soon as today. The youngster is in Baltimore and would be a possible replacement for Ryan Mountcastle, who left Friday’s game with right hamstring discomfort. It’s a shame. Mountcastle was finally starting to hit, although not for much power. His OPS had rebounded from .541 in April to .714 so far in May.
Links
Orioles prove again that guessing moves is a futile exercise | Roch Kubatko
The Orioles have been bad this season, but they have also had really bad injury luck. That combination is now what you want in a season that was meant to be part of a competitive window.
With 400 hits before turning 24, Gunnar Henderson joins exclusive Orioles company | The Baltimore Banner
That is a pretty impressive list of former Orioles that Henderson now joins, although it isn’t much a surprise. He is an amazing talent. It stinks that the team has wasted one of his prime seasons.
Orioles hire John Mabry as senior advisor for major league coaching staff | Camden Chat
In case you missed it, the Orioles have shaken up the coaching staff just a little bit. Mabry’s day-to-day is somewhat unclear, but it does seem like the team is seeking outside opinions and perspectives. That is a good idea.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Matt Bowman turns 34 today. The Maryland-born righty has spent time in the Orioles bullpen in each of the last two seasons. The 2024 season went better than 2025 has so far for him.
- Joe Orsulak is 63. From 1988 through ‘93 he patrolled the Orioles outfield and compiled 8.0 bWAR. He will be inducted into the team Hall of Fame on August 9 alongside Adam Jones and broadcaster Tom Davis.
- Tippy Martinez celebrates his 75th birthday. He was a crucial reliever for the Orioles over 11 seasons from 1976 through ‘86. His most notable single-game performance came in 1983, when he picked off three Toronto Blue Jays in one inning as part of a 7-4 Orioles win. The Orioles added him to their team Hall of Fame in 2000.
This day in history
1980 – The Orioles end Ken Landreaux’s 31-game hitting streak and beat the Twins 11-1. Landreaux’s run was the AL’s longest hitting streak since Dom DiMaggio hit safely in 34 straight games during the 1949 season.
2001 – The Orioles lose 2-1 to the Mariners, but Cal Ripken Jr. hits his 420th career home run.
2008 – O’s reliever Chad Bradford serves up Manny Ramirez’s 500th career home run.