Sunday Bird Droppings: The Orioles remain undefeated

Hello, friends.

The Orioles are now undefeated through their first two games of the 2021 season. After once again beating the last place Boston Red Sox by a 4-2 score on Saturday afternoon, the team is 2-0. Check out Tyler Young’s recap of the game for the lovely totals, and don’t forget to vote in the MBP poll. The early favorite is Adam Plutko, who jokingly predicted to media after yesterday’s win that the Orioles are headed for a 162-0 record.

Both the Blue Jays and Rays lost on Saturday, so the Orioles, at 2-0, enter the first Sunday of the season in sole possession of first place in the American League East.

With wins in the first two games and a series win already under their belts, the Orioles have a chance to grab the first sweep of the year at 1:10 today. You may recall that the most recent 162-game Orioles season infamously saw them never get any sweeps at all. Baltimore’s own Bruce Zimmermann takes the mound for the Orioles, with Garrett Richards making his Red Sox debut as he gets the start for Boston.

Today could bring the first roster move of the regular season. Reliever Shawn Armstrong began the season on the paternity list. The baby was born on Thursday. Armstrong is allowed to miss today’s game as well, but he could return to the roster as well.

That would mean someone is getting optioned, most likely from the bullpen. The optionable arms in the bullpen are Paul Fry, Tanner Scott, Cole Sulser, and Dillon Tate. Scott’s role seems secure. The others could be headed for the alternate site in Bowie.

There will likely be a lot of shuffling of the roster as the season goes along, with the position players potentially getting their turn in another few days once DJ Stewart becomes eligible to return from the injured list after his hamstring injury kept him out of the Opening Day picture. Hopefully as the season goes along, some of the shuffling starts involving prospects getting into the big league picture. For now, let’s just enjoy that the Orioles won their first two games against the last place Boston Red Sox.

Around the blogO’sphere

Hyde on catchers, Ruiz, Rule 5 pitchers, Harvey, and more (School of Roch)
There’s been no sign of Mac Sceroler or Tyler Wells through two games, and it looks like we’re most likely to see them debut in a low-leverage spot. Just haven’t had that happen yet.

O’s arms taking ‘all-hands-on-deck’ approach (Orioles.com)
Ten days ago, you would probably not have guessed that you’d be reading post-game quotes by Adam Plutko.

Breaking down Rio Ruiz’s chances of keeping the second base job (The Baltimore Sun)
Brandon Hyde’s early signal is that Ruiz is not necessarily the every day second baseman yet - but through two games, he’s gotten both starts against righties, so that’s something. Today’s Red Sox starter, Richards, is also a righty.

A look at Matt Harvey’s Orioles debut (Steve Melewski)
Harvey’s defense and a little bad luck cost him a chance to complete five innings in his Orioles debut. It’s not the best when you have to come up with excuses for why you couldn’t complete five innings, but it was a sign he could be capable of better.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2005, Sammy Sosa and Rafael Palmeiro both homered for the Orioles on Opening Day. This made them the first teammates in the 500 home run club to homer in the same game. The O’s won the game, 4-0.

In 2011, the O’s kept an early undefeated season rolling by beating the Tigers, 5-1, in the home opener to improve to 4-0. Brian Roberts hit a three-run home run to put the Orioles on top and Jake Arrieta got the win.

There are a number of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2018-2020 slugger Renato Núñez, 2016 reliever Odrisamer Despaigne, 1995 six-game pitcher Jim Dedrick, 1966-1967 reserve Mike Epstein, 1967 two-game pitcher Tom Fisher, and 1966-1973 pitcher Eddie Watt. Today is Watt’s 80th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: Civil War-era Congressional leader Thaddeus Stevens (1792), baseball Hall of Famer Tris Speaker (1888), blues man Muddy Waters (1913), writer Maya Angelou (1928), actor Robert Downey Jr. (1965), magician David Blaine (1973), actor Heath Ledger (1979), and comedian Eric Andre (1983).

On this day in history...

In 1147, two princes are said to have met in Moscow, the earliest mention of the city in any known historical record.

In 1818, the United States Congress adopted the format of the modern flag, with 13 stripes for the 13 colonies and the number of stars to vary with the number of states. At that time, the flag had 20 stars.

In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1975, Microsoft was founded.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on April 4, or at least, it is until something changes later when the Orioles play the Red Sox. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!