Saturday’s Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles will play two today

Good morning, Birdland!

Doubleheaders can be tough on a major league roster, but this may have been perfect timing for the Orioles. The extra-inning game on Thursday both ate away at their bullpen and it caused them to return to Baltimore later than anticipated. The rain out on Friday night gave them a full day to recover.

On top of that, Mother Nature allowed Brandon Hyde to push Alex Cobb back a day. This will serve to get the hurler a few more hours of rest while effectively giving the team a bonus arm on a day when the pitching staff will have to cover 18 innings.

But that still puts a significant amount of pressure on Dan Straily. One of the newest Orioles needs to give his new team some length on the mound. A repeat of his five-inning, one run inning against the Red Sox on April 15 would be just perfect.

If you haven’t gotten tickets for the action at Camden Yards just yet, get on it! It is a rare single-admission double header. Baseball’s version of buy one, get one free! It should be a lovely day in the Charm City as well, with all rain moving out of the area by the 4:05 first pitch and temps in the low 70’s.

Links

Will splitter be there again...for Alex Cobb? - MASN Sports
Cobb has made a career out of fooling opposing hitters with a splitter dubbed “The Thing.” He needs that pitch in order to be effective. At the same time, the veteran hurler needs to find a way to stay healthy, something that has proved evasive throughout his career. As a 31-year-old, that’s unlikely to change.

Few appealing alternatives in high minors for the Orioles - Baltimore Baseball
If you check out one minor league team this summer, it should be the Delmarva Shorebirds. They have lost just one game, have a handful of the Orioles’ top prospects and are especially deep on the mound with Grayson Rodriguez and Blaine Knight among others.

Orioles Minor League Transactions and A Retirement - Birds Watcher
Cael Brockmeyer’s time in the Orioles organization was short-lived. The catcher spent some time in big league camp this spring, but has decided to retire from professional baseball just a few weeks into the 2019 regular season. At best, the 27-year-old was fifth on the organizational depth chart at his position and is likely to slip even further if the O’s do what most expect and draft Adley Rutschman in this summer’s amateur draft.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

Unfortunately, there are no former Orioles birthdays to celebrate today, according to Baseball Reference.

1988 - The Orioles set an MLB record with their 14th straight loss to begin the season. They would lose seven more times before earning their first win of the year.