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It says a whole lot about the state of the 2019 Orioles that the most exciting day of the year was the one where they signed the #1 overall pick, Adley Rutschman. Following quickly on the heels of that was the signing of their second round pick, Gunnar Henderson. It is much more exciting to think about the future of the Orioles than the present.
The bad storylines around this team continue to roll on. They remain on pace to break the MLB record for home runs allowed by a team in a season. They might even break it before September. They keep extending their own new club record for most games played without managing consecutive wins - they haven’t pulled off two in a row since May 4 and 6.
It is not a surprise that these things are happening. The pitchers have been bad and many of the hitters have been bad. At times, the fielding has been quite bad. That gets you to the worst record in MLB by a 5.5 game margin in the waning days of June. They have earned it. The Orioles are 4-18 this month. They are very bad.
Few winning cards are in the deck. They keep shuffling it and drawing again almost daily anyway. Today’s move has been necessitated by an injury, as lefty Josh Rogers is on the injured list. GM Mike Elias said of the injury, which was announced as a left elbow sprain, “I’m not a doctor, but I don’t think it’s great.”
It’s not like Rogers has even been good, allowing seven homers in 14.1 innings, but he’s been around as a desperate option and now he’s not even going to be that. If it’s bad news about his elbow, I wish him the best in his recovery.
The Orioles season marches on in any case. They conclude this short two-game series against the Padres this afternoon before getting another off day tomorrow. Maybe Manny Machado will hit another home run or two. The Orioles are good at giving them up, as you know.
Today’s lineup:
- Hanser Alberto - 3B
- Trey Mancini - RF
- Renato Núñez - DH
- Pedro Severino - C
- Anthony Santander - LF
- Jonathan Villar - 2B
- Chris Davis - 1B
- Stevie Wilkerson - CF
- Richie Martin - SS
Dylan Bundy is pitching for the Orioles. O’s batters will face off against 27-year-old lefty Matt Strahm, whose 4.85 ERA and 4.95 FIP set up some potential for real disappointment if the Orioles hitters do poorly against him.