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Good morning, Camden Chatters.
If you plan on going to an Orioles game anytime soon, be sure to watch your head when walking around the concourse. Balls tend to fly out of the yard when the Orioles are playing.
Well, scratch that. Balls tend to fly out of the yard when the Orioles are pitching.
The O’s set a dubious club record by coughing up a home run in their 13th straight game to start the season. And not just one home run — five of ‘em. Mark Brown recapped the latest long ball barrage.
The Birds have given up a ridiculous 37 home runs this season, which not only leads all MLB teams, but leads all MLB teams by double digits. And we’re only 13 games into the season! The O’s are on pace to allow 461 homers this year. They probably won’t actually allow 461 homers. Probably.
But they will, probably, be very bad at pitching all year long. The Orioles are currently carrying a 6.50 ERA, and their pitchers are dropping like flies, with Alex Cobb, Nate Karns, and Richard Bleier injured. Dylan Bundy is unable to keep batters in the ballpark, Miguel Castro and Mike Wright are sporting 11+ ERAs, and Dan Straily has made an uninspiring first impression. And there isn’t a lot of help on the horizon, either, with most of the Birds’ best pitching prospects toiling in the low minors, years away from Baltimore.
If it’s any consolation, the rebuilding Orioles aren’t alone in their pitching struggles. The defending champion Red Sox, too, are sporting one of the league’s worst team ERAs, and the two clubs are set to face off for a four-game wraparound series in Boston starting tonight.
Be prepared for some high-scoring games.
Links
Dylan Bundy succumbs to the home run ball again as Orioles lose to A’s 8-5 - Baltimore Sun
For what it’s worth, Bundy thinks he was carrying really good stuff for the first three innings. Three innings of good stuff would be more useful if he weren’t, you know, a starting pitcher.
Bleier: “It’s just not working out for me or the team” - School of Roch
Richard Bleier is back on the injured list, and it sounds like he won’t be back for a while. There go the Orioles’ playoff hopes! Seriously, though, that’s a bummer for a guy who was expected to play a key role in the bullpen this year.
Myriad Orioles Thoughts: The Chris Davis hitless saga marches on; Losing Bleier unfortunate but not unexpected; Scott is back – The Athletic
So why was Bleier on the Opening Day roster when it turns out he wasn’t fully healthy? Dan Connolly defends the decision, and also weighs in on fans’ more positive reaction to Chris Davis since the home opener.
Baltimore Orioles: Yusniel Diaz Is Demanding All Of Your Attention - Birds Watcher
This year, tracking the Orioles’ prospects is probably going to be a lot more interesting than watching the big league club. Yusniel Diaz, in particular, is off to an intriguing start for Bowie.
It’s a healthy new start for Orioles’ Hunter Harvey - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Hunter Harvey, too, is still young enough that he might just be intriguing. Perhaps this is the year he finally stays healthy and effective. Stranger things have happened.
Orioles birthdays and history
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! It’s the 33rd birthday of recent Oriole Brad Brach, who’s now with the Cubs and has a 1.50 ERA in five games. The O’s traded Brach during last year’s fire sale, receiving international bonus slot money in what amounted to a salary dump.
A very happy 90th birthday to 1956 righty Mel Held, who appeared in four big league games. And today would have been the 86th birthday of 1960s catcher Charlie Lau, who died in 1984.
On this day in 2016, the Orioles ran their record to a perfect 7-0 — the best start in franchise history — with a 9-5 win at Fenway Park led by two J.J. Hardy home runs. That was a pretty good year.
On this day in 2013, the Orioles lost to the Yankees when, in the span of one inning, Adam Jones dropped a fly ball with the bases loaded to score three runs and then the O’s ran themselves into a triple play. That wasn’t such a good year.