Craig Kimbrel Discourse is available for those who wish to partake, even as the Orioles won another one
Hello, friends.
The Orioles! Okay, I might still need to get my breath back to normal after holding it through a more hectic ninth inning last night than any of us would like, but a win is a win. John Means looked great (against what is admittedly a terrible Reds offense) as he made his 2024 season debut, pitching seven shutout innings, and the O’s held it together in the ninth inning even as Craig Kimbrel couldn’t complete the save. Check out Andrea’s recap of the game for more on the lovely totals.
No ground was gained in the AL East due to the Tigers once again not doing a solid for the Orioles in their own series against the Yankees. The Orioles maintain a one-game division lead over their closest chaser after improving to 22-11 with last night’s win. That is once again a pace for 108 wins over a full season. At this point, just a touch over 20% of the season has been played.
There is a lot to be excited about with the team right now. Things are going great with the rotation. Means’s debut went well, and Kyle Bradish looked enough like his 2023 self to satisfy us back on Thursday. Large portions of the lineup are hitting well, though there are some prolonged slumpers, including Cedric Mullins, Anthony Santander, and Colton Cowser.
Games like last night’s 2-1 win also set up another round of Kimbrel discourse. What should the Orioles do with the guy? He looked great on Friday night after getting four days rest! He didn’t look as bad (to me) last night compared to the way he pitched against Oakland, but the results definitely weren’t there.
Perhaps more importantly to consider going forward, Brandon Hyde was not willing to just let Kimbrel be the guy who was staying in no matter what. The way the game played out, with Means going seven innings and Cionel Pérez pitching the eighth, Yennier Cano was available as a backup option. Once things started to get out of hand, Kimbrel got the hook. This worked out for the best on Saturday.
Are they just not going to be able to pitch Kimbrel in consecutive games from here on? It seems impossible to figure that they can manage that from now until what we hope will be multiple playoff series. Kimbrel had done well with the second game of pitching on consecutive days in April. It didn’t happen last night and I’m glad we didn’t find out if Kimbrel would have pulled it off.
I can make one bold prediction for you: Whatever happens today, Kimbrel won’t be pitching. Worry about him again on Tuesday at the earliest. The Orioles only very rarely pitched guys three days in a row a year ago and Kimbrel sure isn’t going to be one of the exceptions after last night. I’m not sure we’ll see Cano either, though he only threw three pitches on Friday before adding 14 more yesterday, so that’s a bit more possible. Should the Orioles bring a narrow lead into the late innings, prepare for High Leverage Jacob Webb to return.
The Orioles will be going for a sweep of the Reds behind Dean Kremer in a 4:10 start. It’s a later than usual Sunday start due to the Flying Pig Marathon. Really. Nick Lodolo gets the ball for Cincy against the O’s. He’s a lefty who brings a 1.88 ERA over four starts into this series finale.
Around the blogO’sphere
How Gunnar Henderson became an early MVP candidate (ESPN)
They noticed us for something positive! I’m not used to it yet.
The Orioles are running out of lineup spots (FanGraphs)
Dan Szymborski’s article begins with this line: “It’s a great time to be a fan of the Baltimore Orioles.” Yeah! He’s particularly impressed by the team’s talent that is aged 26 and younger, a group that’s not matched by any other team’s similarly-aged talent.
Gunnar Henderson shows off custom Star Wars Day bat (Orioles.com)
If you have a particular kind of Star Wars nerd in your life, you may have noticed that yesterday’s date, May 4, is marked with some assorted festivities. Gunnar got himself a custom (not game-legal) bat. There seem to be at least a few Star Wars nerds in the Orioles clubhouse.
Hyde on Means’s return and recent stolen base success (School of Roch)
The manager said there’s no particular emphasis on getting more stolen bases, that’s just the way that things have played out.
Union Park, home to the Orioles in the 1800s, finally gets recognition (The Baltimore Sun)
The current franchise is not particularly connected to it, but it’s always cool to remember that there IS Orioles history in Baltimore dating back two centuries ago.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2021, John Means pitched a no-hitter against the Mariners. It was a unique one in that the only thing preventing it from being a perfect game was a dropped third strike wild pitch allowing a runner to reach, who was erased when he then tried to steal a base.
There are two former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2022 reliever Beau Sulser, and 1955 two-game pitcher Chuck Locke.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: philosopher Soren Kierkegaard (1813), political theorist Karl Marx (1818), world-traveling journalist Nellie Bly (1864), actress Danielle Fishel (1981), actor Henry Cavill (1983), and singer-songwriter Adele (1988).
On this day in history…
In 1821, Napoleon Bonaparte died on the island of Saint Helena, his exile for the previous six years after the first exile to Elba did not prove far enough. Saint Helena is located over 1,800 kilometers west of the nearest African nations.
In 1862, Mexican general Ignacio Zaragoza led a force outnumbered 10-to-1 that defeated an invading French army in the Battle of Puebla. The day’s date in Spanish, Cinco de Mayo, retains cultural significance stemming from this battle on into today.
In 1961, the Mercury-Redstone 3 mission crewed by Alan Shepard was a success, launching Shepard into outer space in a 15 minute flight that made Shepard the first American in space. He returned to space a decade later, walking on the moon as part of the Apollo 14 mission.
In 1973, Secretariat won that year’s Kentucky Derby with a record time, still standing today, of 1 minute and 59.4 seconds. The 150th edition of the Derby ran yesterday, with 18-1 longshot Mystik Dan taking the race in a three-way photo finish that took 2 minutes and 3.3 seconds.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 5. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!