Three more home runs help to fight off the starting rotation anxiety for another day.
Hello, friends.
The 2025 Orioles season is now three games old. How are you feeling about it? The O’s are 2-1 so far after taking a 9-5 game from the Blue Jays yesterday. Check out Paul Folkemer’s recap of the Saturday afternoon affair for more of the lovely totals. The key takeaway of the game might be that Félix Bautista is back in action.
It was the kind of win that didn’t exactly do a whole lot to quiet anyone’s concerns about what was expected to be the biggest problem for this team: the starting rotation. Dean Kremer was no good, giving up five runs over 5.1 innings. Games like that are a reminder that pitcher wins are meaningless. Kremer wasn’t good enough to win. His offense was, and so was the bullpen that came behind him. Still, a win is a win. This is a worry for another day.
The offense carried the day, going from Colton Cowser’s leadoff home run all the way to Jordan Westburg hitting a solo shot in the seventh inning to make sure it wasn’t a save situation later on. Westburg hit two homers to take the team lead with three so far this season. He had four hits! That’s good stuff. Ramón Urías drove in three runs in a three-hit day. All this in a game started by future Hall of Famer Max Scherzer. Not bad. (Scherzer left after three innings with lat soreness.)
Let’s not ignore the bullpen either, which added 3.2 scoreless innings after Kremer came out of the game. That was hardly guaranteed. Gregory Soto doesn’t get to share too much of the credit after walking two guys while getting just one batter out, but everyone else, good job. Bautista’s ninth inning had a pair of baserunners allowed as he struck out three batters. It was good to get him his first work in a lower-pressure situation.
While all of this was going on, the Orioles even snuck in some roster-margin maneuvering. The team announced during Saturday’s game that they have acquired pitcher Cody Poteet from the Cubs for cash considerations. Poteet, who had been designated for assignment, is a 30-year-old righty who appeared in five games for the Yankees last year, posting a 2.22 ERA in 24.1 innings.
Obviously, the Yankees would not have traded him to the Cubs and the Cubs would not have gotten rid of Poteet if they thought that’s what he’d do in 2025. Poteet still has minor league option years remaining so the Orioles took advantage of openings in their roster to stash him at Triple-A Norfolk. If he looks like he’s worth being used as a Norfolk-Baltimore shuttle guy in the bullpen, they can bring him up and see what he does.
The Orioles are guaranteed at least a split of this four-game series, with a chance to come away with a series victory if they can pull off a win in the 1:37 finale this afternoon. Tomoyuki Sugano will make his Orioles and MLB debut as he makes his first start of the season, with Chris Bassitt set to pitch for Toronto. If Sugano can pitch well, that might ward off some of the early ill feelings about the rotation. If he doesn’t do so well, everybody’s going to keep on worrying about what happens if the home runs stop falling.
Around the blogO’sphere
A celebration beyond baseball: How the Orioles block party unites Baltimore (The Baltimore Banner)
The Orioles put on a little party at Camden Yards that coincided with yesterday’s game. Sounds like it was a good time. Did you check it out?
Camden Yards wall was a mental hurdle for Ryan Mountcastle. Now he’s free. (The Baltimore Sun)
One of the regular features of the last couple of seasons was Mountcastle’s exasperated reaction after hitting a ball that would have easily been a home run anywhere except for Camden Yards. He’ll be running into fewer of those this season.
Terps hoops stars to throw out first pitch at Camden (Orioles.com)
Star players from both the men’s and women’s basketball teams of the University of Maryland will be around to throw out first pitches at tomorrow’s home opener.
Two new ballparks enter the villa (FanGraphs)
FG takes a look at the anticipated park factors at the two stadiums coming into use this year – the Rays temporary home at the Yankees minor league field in Florida, and the Athletics taking up residence in Sacramento.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Of all of the players to ever play for the Orioles, not a single one has a birthday today.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Ottoman sultan Mehmed the Conqueror (1432), Salem witch trial victim John Proctor (1632), painter Vincent van Gogh (1853), actor Warren Beatty (1937), musician Eric Clapton (1945), rapper MC Hammer (1962), and musician Celine Dion (1968).
On this day in history…
In 1856, the seven European powers who had been waging the Crimean War for the past three years signed the Treaty of Paris, ending the war. Among its terms was neutrality of the Black Sea, preventing Russia from establishing any bases on that coast.
In 1867, the land that is now the state of Alaska was purchased from Russia for a price of $7.2 million. Initially dubbed “Seward’s Folly” or “Seward’s Ice Box” in mockery of the Secretary of State who concluded the purchase, the land turned out to have valuable natural resources, especially oil.
In 1945, during World War II, the Soviet army launched an invasion of Austria that would quickly lead to the capture of Vienna.
In 1981, a gunman who believed he was going to impress actress Jodie Foster shot President Reagan and three other people outside of a hotel in the nation’s capital.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on March 30. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!