Get ready for it early, because Sunday’s Orioles game starts at 11:35.
Hello, friends.
The Orioles have themselves a winning holiday weekend. They followed up Friday’s win in Atlanta with another one on Saturday afternoon, coming out on top of the Braves in 10 innings with a 9-6 victory. There were still parts of the game that were a downer, such as Dean Kremer not being very good, and Gary Sánchez leaving the game early due to an injury, but still, they found a way to win. The O’s were often not able to do that over the season’s first six weeks or so.
At this point, the Orioles are ten games below .500 at 39-49. They have now been playing at a .500 clip going back to May 10, when they first hit ten games below this season. Nearly two full months of .500 baseball would not have been exciting to think about going into this season, and it’s not all that exciting to think about now. There’s no question that it’s better than what this team was doing in April and up through mid-May. They’re now 24-21 under interim manager Tony Mansolino. That’s an 86-win pace over a full season, a clip that would absolutely have the Orioles in wild card contention.
Instead, they sit seven games out of the third spot. That will end up as either 6.5 or 7.5 by the time you read this, depending on Seattle’s late result; I’m not waiting until after that to close out these Bird Droppings. There are seven teams still to pass. The Guardians and Royals are starting to fail their way down to the level of the Orioles. If those trends continue to the All-Star break, maybe the O’s can keep chipping away.
The catching situation could be about to take another turn for the chaotic, depending on the ultimate diagnosis for Sánchez. The Orioles catcher banged his knee against a padded camera stand and shortly afterwards left Saturday’s game. The team announced that Sánchez came out with right knee pain, and after the game said he would be getting an MRI with results to be delivered today.
Every stacked up catcher injury increases the volume of calls that it’s time to see prospect Samuel Basallo up here. I continue to think it is unlikely that Mike Elias will go down that road. This is a lost season and Elias doesn’t waste service time (or a possible Rookie of the Year campaign next year) in that manner. Basallo probably does really still need some catching development in the minors, though his bat seems like it’s ready to start adjusting to MLB-level challenges.
I would guess we’ll see Basallo no earlier than August 29; Elias seems to love debuting hyped guys at weird times instead of in front of the home crowd, and that’s the start of a series against San Francisco. It would be so Elias to have the latest big prospect play his first game at a 10:15 Eastern start time. But in the meantime, if Sánchez hits the IL, with Adley Rutschman and Maverick Handley already there, a weird catching situation is going to get even weirder.
The Orioles have the opportunity to sweep the Braves if they can play another overall good game here. This is going to be weird, too, because it’s starting at 11:35am Eastern time. Yeah, that’s right. This is the strange Roku Channel Sunday morning thing. Be prepared! Trevor Rogers is set to start this thing for the Orioles, with the Braves sending righty Grant Holmes to the mound. Holmes has a 3.47 ERA through 18 games this season.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
The best team defenses, so far (FanGraphs)
This list actually covers all 30 teams rather than just “the best” and the Orioles, well, they’re actually in the bottom five. Having watched a lot of them this season, I don’t have a hard time buying it.
Top 40 trade candidates for this year’s deadline (MLBTR)
Seven Orioles appear on this list, the highest of which is Ryan O’Hearn at #4. How many of these guys do you think will end up getting dealt before the calendar turns to August?
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The Orioles were last victorious on this date two years ago. The 2023 Orioles stomped the Yankees, 14-1, to improve to 51-35 on the season. Things were going a bit better then. Gunnar Henderson led the way with four hits and five runs batted in. Six of the nine Orioles from that starting lineup are on the active roster today. We’re all anxiously awaiting the return of that day’s starting pitcher, Kyle Bradish, who pitched six scoreless to lower his ERA to 3.32.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2012-18 infielder Manny Machado, Maryland-born 1959-62 outfielder Barry Shetrone, and 1954 infielder Frank Kellert.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Revolutionary War general Daniel Morgan (1736), early American naval leader John Paul Jones (1747), painter Frida Kahlo (1907), Wheel of Fortune/Jeopardy creator Merv Griffin (1925), author Hilary Mantel (1952), rapper 50 Cent (1975), and actor Kevin Hart (1979).
On this day in history…
In 371 BC, an outnumbered force of the Boeotian League, with the city-state of Thebes at its helm, defeated Sparta in the Battle of Leuctra. This marked a decline of Spartan influence.
In 1885 AD, the rabies vaccine developed by Louis Pasteur was successfully used for the first time on a boy who had been bitten by a rabid dog.
In 1933, MLB held its first All-Star Game. The inaugural Midsummer Classic saw the AL defeat the NL, 4-2.
In 1957, John Lennon and Paul McCartney had their first meeting. They went on to start the Beatles three years later.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on July 6. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!