Holliday is healthy, the Orioles’ pitchers don’t care about steals, and they were roommates.
Good Morning, Birdland,
Now, that is how you start the “second half” of a baseball season! The Orioles used four home runs to wallop the Rangers 9-1 on Friday night. Gunnar Henderson had four hits, Anthony Santander smacked two homers and drove in five runs, Corbin Burnes was tremendous, and the bullpen tossed three scoreless innings. It was a nice little summer evening.
Tonight is an opportunity for Grayson Rodriguez to get back on the track. The second-year righty has had a rough couple of weeks. Over his last five starts he has a 5.52 ERA and 4.46 FIP. That includes a pair of disastrous starts against the Astros and Yankees, but it also reflects 6.1 shutout frames in Seattle.
The Orioles need Rodriguez to be a dependable arm down the stretch. In all likelihood, the front office will add to the rotation in some way later this month. But that eventual move is unlikely to change Rodriguez’s standing in the starting staff too much. Even if they manage to bring in a Tarik Skubal or Garrett Crochet, Rodriguez is still going to be a playoff starter for this team.
Hopefully the Orioles will go into their game against the Rangers this evening with an additional half game lead in the division and an opportunity to extend it further. The Rays and Yankees are set to face-off at 1:05 this afternoon, and Tampa has Taj Bradley on the mound against Nestor Cortes.
Links
UVA roommates Griff O’Ferrall and Ethan Anderson join Orioles organization as members of the same draft class | The Baltimore Banner
Well, isn’t that neat! I choose to believe that the Orioles had a few players they liked at 61 overall, but they took Anderson because he was friends with O’Ferrall and their internal processes tell them that having close friends within the organization helps with development. It makes sense in my head.
Opponents steal with ease against the Orioles. Their pitchers are fine with that. | The Baltimore Sun
It is interesting that the pitching staff isn’t too concerned about the running game, but the reasoning is sound. Ultimately, the player at the plate is far more important than the one on the bases. Unless they are stealing home plate, you probably want to focus on getting the guy in front of you to strike out, pop out, or hit something weakly.
Leftovers for breakfast | Roch Kubatko
What better way to start your Saturday than with a slew of factoids about the Orioles. Roch has you covered there.
Holliday returns from break rested, ready to mash with 2-HR game at Triple-A | MLB.com
It sure feels like the Orioles are working towards Jackson Holliday being their everyday second baseman by sometime in August. It seems like his shoulder is feeling fine, and the bat is heating back up. Holliday does not have to be a world-beater to be an upgrade there, but he certainly needs to be improved from his two-week introduction from earlier in the season.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Pedro Severino is 31 today. He served as the Orioles’ catcher during the rebuild years from 2019 through 2021, including the John Means no-hitter in Seattle.
- Alexi Casilla is 40. The utility infielder spent 2013 in Baltimore, and got into one major league game with them in 2014.
- Jake Fox turns 42. The Grapefruit League legend played a portion of two seasons with the Orioles from 2010-11.
- Charles Johnson celebrates his 53rd birthday. He was the Orioles’ backstop for a season-and-a-half from 1999-2000.
- Mark Lee is 60. The southpaw appeared in 39 games out of the bullpen for the 1995 Orioles.
This day in O’s history
2021 – The Rays and Orioles game at Tropicana Field is presented by an all-woman broadcast team, a first in MLB history. Melanie Newman provides play-by play and Sarah Langs gives analysis in the booth. Alanna Rizzo serves as the on-field reporter while Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner host the pre- and post-game shows in-studio.
2023 – The Orioles move into first place in the AL East after beating the Rays 4-3 in Tampa. The gap between the two teams had reached 6.5 games on July 1, tied for the largest of the season. Less than three weeks later, the O’s are in first place, where they will remain for the remainder of the season.