Sunday Bird Droppings: It’s August and the Orioles are in second place

Hello, friends.

The strange experiment that is the 2020 MLB season has survived another day, though as ever there’s no guarantee that will continue to hold true today. In last night’s action, the Orioles made some MLB history by becoming the first team to ever get a leadoff double play in an inning. Yeah, it’s weird. The new extra innings free runner rule was involved.

Even better, they beat the Rays, 5-4, on a walkoff in 11 innings, putting themselves in second place in the AL East. Check out my recap of the game if you went to bed early, and don’t forget to vote in the MBP poll.

Saturday was an eventful day in Birdland even before the walkoff. There was the surprise Friday late night trade of Richard Bleier to the Marlins. The O’s will face those same Marlins in four rescheduled games from August 4-6, two of which will have the Marlins as the home team. There is the strange possibility that Bleier will pitch in back-to-back home games for different teams at the same stadium.

Also strange is that the Orioles have a chance to go for a sweep this afternoon. If they do get a sweep, they’d be doing something that they did not manage to do for the entire 2019 season. They’ve already guaranteed themselves a series win in their second three-game set of the year. It’s safe to say this season has started out better than anyone really could have guessed and there’s nothing wrong with enjoying it for as long as it provides some enjoyment.

Tommy Milone and Yonny Chirinos are the scheduled starting pitchers for a 1:05 start time in the series finale.

Around the blogO’sphere

Hyde keeps preaching importance of relievers throwing strikes (School of Roch)
If they don’t walk too many batters then they, too, might be traded to the Marlins for a player to be named later.

Mike Elias says Marlins had wanted Bleier for some time (Baltimore Baseball)
“We’re going to get something back that we like and is meaningful for our future,” Elias said. I’ll be glad if he’s right about that second part.

Meet the O’s new favorite option out of the pen (Orioles.com)
The beat writers have noticed that Cole Sulser, whose name you probably had no reason to remember a month ago, appears to be the closer.

Marlins to return from COVID-19 quarantine for four games against Orioles beginning Tuesday at Camden Yards (Baltimore Sun)
And if the forecast track I looked at for Hurricane Isaias last night holds through to Tuesday, there might not be any baseball in Camden Yards then either.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2016 two-game pitcher Parker Bridwell, and 1999/2003-04 pitcher Matt Riley.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Washington D.C. designer Pierre Charles L’Enfant (1754), Statue of Liberty designer Frederic Auguste Bartholdi (1834), Warner Bros. co-founder Jack Warner (1892), novelist James Baldwin (1924), horror movie man Wes Craven (1939), novelist Isabel Allende (1942), actress Mary-Louise Parker (1964), and gold medal swimmer Simone Manuel (1996).

On this day in history...

In 1610, Henry Hudson arrived in a bay that has since been named after him. He was searching for the Northwest Passage, a sea route linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Hudson never found the route as he was set adrift by mutineers within six months and never seen again.

In 1798, the British navy completed its victory over the French in the Battle of the Nile, a decisive victory that saw all but three of 17 French ships either sunk or captured.

In 1943, during World War II, the US motor torpedo boat PT-109 was rammed by a Japanese destroyer and sunk. Its commander, future US president and then-lieutenant John F. Kennedy, was able to save 10 of his 12 crew.

In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 2. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!