Franchise record for consecutive games with a home run? Check. Win against the Astros? Still waiting.
Hello, friends.
Ah, the Orioles. They went and got our hopes up by really putting it to the Yankees on Thursday afternoon, and now they’ve gone and dropped a couple of games to an Astros team that up to this point has been mediocre at best and is without its best hitter. It’s disappointing to have them needing to win today to stave off the sweep, rather than win today to at least win the series.
Saturday’s 5-1 loss was not nearly as much of a mess for the pitching and defense as the 14-11 donnybrook from Friday. Corbin Burnes delivered seven innings, sparing the bullpen a bit, though he also gave up four runs, the most he’s ever allowed in an Orioles uniform. The O’s offense didn’t get much going against 2024 no-hitter thrower Ronel Blanco. Check out Alex Church’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
The one piece of good news from the game was that the Orioles had one of their batters hit a home run. Jordan Westburg’s solo shot made it 21 straight games that the O’s have hit a homer. That’s a franchise record. It’s always fun to set good records! They’ve got ten more to go for the league-wide record. I won’t hold my breath, but there’s no question this team has some talented home run hitters and anybody could connect any night.
The Braves were no help in beating the Yankees on Saturday, so the Orioles have fallen back to 1.5 games back in the AL East. Also on Saturday, in the minors, Dean Kremer had another rehab outing and he failed to complete the first inning, throwing 39 pitches in the process. That’s a sign to me that he should probably get at least two more rehab starts before the O’s are confident he’s built back up. The rotation will have to proceed without him in the meantime.
We’ll find out if the Orioles can avoid the sweep and/or continue the games with a homer streak starting at 2:10 this afternoon. The scheduled starters for the series finale with the Astros are Albert Suárez and Framber Valdez.
Around the blogO’sphere
Espada vs. Hyde: “It’s great for the family” (MLB.com)
Astros manager Joe Espada and the O’s manager Hyde are married to sisters, so there’s some in-law bragging rights at stake in this series. The Espada part of the clan has all of it so far.
Frequent flyer Vespi back after 16th callup (Orioles.com)
Three years of being called up, sent back down, and called back up again adds up. There’s a limit, so we’ll see if Vespi sticks for good one of these times. It might even have to be this time.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
The Orioles were last victorious on this day two years ago, a 4-0 win over the White Sox. The shape of a better lineup was certainly there, with six regular players from this year’s team around. So was Richie Martin. He was still here in June 2022! Weird.
One current Oriole has a birthday today. Happy 29th to Jorge Mateo! A couple of former Orioles also were born on this day: 2009-11 pitcher Mark Hendrickson, and 1968 infielder Lorencito Fernandez.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: daimyo Oda Nobunaga (1534), mathematician Alan Turing (1912), former Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell (1925), dancer and choreographer Bob Fosse (1927), actress Frances McDormand (1957), and singer-songwriter Jason Mraz (1977).
On this day in history…
In 1314, the Scottish and English began the Battle of Bannockburn, two days of fighting that brought a Scottish victory and eventually led to Scottish independence, for a while.
In 1926, the first SAT exam was given.
In 1991, Sonic the Hedgehog was released for Sega Genesis in North America, beginning a video game franchise that’s still running today.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 23. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!