Monday Bird Droppings: The battle for last place

Happy Sunday, Camden Chatters! I hope you had a lovely weekend and are ready to face the grind of the work week. The Orioles got their weekend off to a poor start, but avoided the sweep yesterday with a satisfying 8-1 win over the Oakland Athletics. The bats came alive, John Means pitched a gem, and the A’s win streak was stopped at 13 games. Check out Drew Bonifant’s game recap for the lovely totals.

One fun part of yesterday’s game, aside from the win, was the major league debut of pitcher Zac Lowther. Lowther, who is ranked as the O’s #11 prospect by MLB Pipeline, pitched a scoreless ninth inning and finished the inning with his first major league strikeout. Great job, Zac! Welcome to the big leagues, I hope you’ll stick around.

If you’re a player who wants to make their major league debut, the Orioles are a pretty good team to be on. Lowther is the fourth Oriole to debut this season, joining outfielder Ryan McKenna and pitchers Tyler Wells and Mac Sceroler. I am sure he won’t be the last.

With the series against the A’s in the past, the Orioles now move on to a four-game series against the Yankees, beginning tonight at Camden Yards. The teams are tied for last place with a 9-12 record. Who will be in last place when the dust settles after Thursday’s game? As an Orioles fan, I feel obligated to say it will be the Orioles.

Links

Baltimore Orioles offering free COVID tests at home games | WDVM25 & DCW50
Don't go to Camden Yards unless you feel totally healthy! But while you're there, go ahead and get a free COVID test. What can it hurt?

Orioles promote pitching prospect Zac Lowther, who makes his big league debut: ‘Is this a dream?’ - Baltimore Sun
Who doesn't love a good major league debut story? Zac Lowther got the call after Saturday's game and made his major league debut yesterday in the ninth inning.

Austin Hays' bat, John Means' arm help Baltimore Orioles end Oakland Athletics' 13-game win streak - ESPN
When you stop another team's 13-game win streak, you get a story on ESPN.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have just one Orioles birthday buddy, Nate Smith. Have you never heard of Nate Smith? Well, he played in just five big league games in his career, all with the 1962 Orioles. Smith went 2-for-9 with one double and one walk in his major league career, and today he is celebrating his 86th birthday.

Baseball Reference doesn’t have anything good related to the Orioles on their This Day in History page, so I decided to take a look at this day in Camden Chat history.

On this day in 2017, Seth Smith hit a little league home run! Remember that guy? On that day, Mark Brown had the video highlights and the breakdown of the play.

And in 2015, the Orioles beat the Red Sox by a score of 18-7. You don’t see that every day! Tyler Young had the game recap. Bud Norris picked up the win while Chris Davis, Delmon Young, Jimmy Paredes, and Rey Navarro had three hits each. Remember those guys? Me too, except the last one.