The Cubs are coming to town, the new owner is living it up, and more in today’s Bird Droppings
Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! I hope you had a nice off day and are well-rested for the final homestand of the first half. There are just six games to go before Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and Corbin Burnes head to Texas for the All-Star Game and the rest of us take a breather.
The first team coming to town is the Chicago Cubs, who are in last place in the NL Central and seven games under .500. Early in the season, it seemed like the Orioles might have trouble with under .500 teams, but time has taken care of that. To date, the Orioles have handled their business against under .500 teams to the tune of a 28-13 record. That’s what good teams should do to bad teams, but it’s nice to see the proof that the Orioles are.
After the three-game series with the Cubs, the Orioles will close out the first half with a bang. The second-place New York Yankees, currently three games behind the Orioles in the division, play three over the weekend in Baltimore.
The Orioles took two out of three from the Yankees from June 18-20. In the 15 games since then, the Yankees have won just five. They’re playing their worst baseball of the season so far and I do enjoy it. While the Orioles are playing the Cubs, the Yankees will be on the road to face the Tampa Bay Rays.
If the Orioles can maintain their three-game lead over the Yankees through their series with the Cubs, then they will be guaranteed at least a share of first place going into the All-Star break. That’s pretty cool.
Links
Why the defending champion Rangers could be deadline sellers; plus more MLB notes – The Athletic
Ken Rosenthal looks at what the Orioles need, what it would take to get someone like Garret Crochet, and how the Orioles might proceed.
Orioles owner David Rubenstein is having serious fun – Baltimore Sun
Only time will tell if the new ownership group will do what it takes to sustain the success the team is having right now. But there is no denying that David Rubenstein is living his best life.
Catie Griggs named Orioles president of business operations – MLB
Catie Griggs brings an impressive resume to the job including time with the Mariners and Atlanta United.
Latest look at Orioles’ pitching – MASN Sports
Roch Kubatko with the state of Orioles pitching.
Birthdays and History
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have just one Orioles birthday buddy. Steve Luebber turns 75 years old today. Luebber pitched in 66 games over five seasons, including seven games with the 1981 Orioles. They weren’t very good games, but it’s his birthday so not worth discussing.
On this day in 1992, Brady Anderson and Mike Devereaux hit back-to-back home runs to lead off their game against the Minnesota Twins. The home runs were against future Oriole Scott Erickson in a 4-2 Orioles win.
In 2015, the Orioles released 2014 playoff hero Delmon Young. Young hit just .270/.289/.339 in 52 games that year.
One year ago today, the Orioles defeated the Twins by a score of 15-2. Kyle Gibson pitched seven innings with 11 strikeouts and three hits. The Orioles had both a six-run inning and a seven-run inning. Austin Hays, Ramón Urías, Aaron Hicks, Adley Rutschman, and Anthony Santander all hit home runs. Santander hit two!