Winning out west, injury updates, and Urías carries the offense.
Good Morning, Birdland,
That was unexpected! The Orioles got their road trip off to a nice start with a 3-2 win over the hosting Dodgers on Tuesday night. How? A solid start from Cole Irvin, an amazing night from the bullpen, and homers off the bats of Ramón Urías and Ryan O’Hearn, of course.
Urías’ breakout these last two months has come out of nowhere and been crucial to keeping the Orioles’ offense afloat. In July he slashed .341/.463/.477, and although he has seen his OPS “drop” to .850 in August, his power has skyrocketed. Urías is slugging .541 in August with five home runs. He had entered the month with five home runs on the entire season.
In a similar ilk of player is Irvin. Here’s a guy that has plugged in admirably for the Orioles throughout an injury crisis on the mound. Unfortunately for him, he really started to struggle in the run up to the trade deadline. The Orioles made a ton of pitching moves, and Irvin was the odd man out. But he’s been given a big opportunity to re-take his spot on the roster thanks to another injury and a demotion to two of those deadline additions. He alone doesn’t seem capable of winning a game for the Orioles, but he can keep them competitive. That’s gonna have to be good enough right now.
Last night was an ideal start to the series in Los Angeles. On deck for tonight is a pitching matchup of Corbin Burnes and Walker Buehler. Burnes is in the midst of his worst run since joining the Orioles. He has to snap out of it eventually, right? The same could be said of Buehler. It has been a nightmare season for the 30-year-old. But he has an undeniable pedigree that could poke through at any time. If you can stay up for the 10:10 start time, it will be fascinating to watch.
Links
Reviewing more questions attached to Orioles | Roch Kubatko
Sounds like Burch Smith is actually out of options, despite what FanGraphs says. That’s important context given his recent struggles. He has more talent than some other Orioles’ pitchers, which could give him a longer leash to figure things out in time for October.
Ryan Mountcastle’s timetable unclear; Grayson Rodriguez and Zach Eflin throw in LA | The Baltimore Banner
Eflin could be back Sunday and does not expect to want or need a rehab outing. That would be huge! Jacob Webb is getting his rehab started soon. The Orioles pitching staff is what it is, but a little dose of health could go a long way.
Orioles’ Eloy Jiménez making mark with ‘awesome attitude’ and Anthony Santander’s mentorship | The Baltimore Sun
The Jiménez move may have been the weirdest of the entire deadline, regardless of team. He’s done a nice job for the Orioles, although there hasn’t been much power (zero homers) or patience at the plate (one walk). But his bat is a better option than some others.
‘I feel amazing’: Urías stays hot, homers to beat LA | MLB.com
Good for Ramón! He is a player that many were ready to castoff, and I get it. His numbers weren’t great up until recently. But ever since getting regular playing time, he has taken off. Maybe he isn’t the best bench option for this reason, but he is plenty capable of starting major league games. It’s awesome that he has been able to show that.
Orioles birthdays
Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!
- Kelvin Gutiérrez turns 30 today. He became a familiar name during the 2021 and ‘22 seasons in Baltimore, spending most of his time at third base.
- Mike Torrez is 78. During his lone season in Baltimore (1975), the righty won 20 games and had a 3.06 ERA over 270.2 innings.
- Lou Piniella is 81 years old. Perhaps better known for his managerial career later in life, Piniella’s first taste of big league action came in four games during the 1964 season in Baltimore. That would prove to be his only shot with the O’s.
This day in O’s history
1977 – The Orioles strike out 11 times against Angels pitcher Nolan Ryan, putting the legendary hurler past 300 punchouts on the season for the fifth time in his career. But the O’s also knock him around for six runs to win the game 6-1.