Thursday Bird Droppings: Where the Orioles are .500 if you don’t count May

Hello, friends.

The seemingly impossible has happened. The Orioles have won consecutive games for the first time in over a month after knocking off the Twins last night, 6-3. The game was the team’s 27th home game and in winning the game, they picked up their first home series win of the season. It is so bad it is almost unbelievable, and yet, they are what they are. Check out Paul Folkemer’s recap of the game for some lovely totals, and don’t forget to vote in the MBP poll.

As a matter of fact, the Orioles now have a .500 record on the 2021 season, so long as you don’t count the month of May. It’s true. They were 12-14 in April and are now 2-0 in June. Probably the same things that dragged the team to a 5-23 will emerge again in June. Or maybe the Orioles will surprise us and rebound a little bit.

Even after the 14-game losing streak, the team is only a half-game away from climbing out of the cellar of MLB. The Diamondbacks, who were losing 13 straight while the O’s were also losing, are 20-37, with the O’s at 19-37.

Next up for the Orioles, after an off day today, is the Cleveland baseball team. That club has poor hitting, a 60% chaotic starting rotation, and a strong back end of its bullpen to date. Two of its three best hitters are on the injured list. They are one of three teams to be no-hit twice this season. John Means is one of the pitchers to already throw a no-hitter this season. That’s hopefully going to be a fun combination.

Don’t forget about the Orioles minors even on the off day for the MLB team. That continues to be where a lot of the fun is in the organization right now. Bowie, Aberdeen, and Delmarva all won again on Wednesday night, continuing to rank among the teams with the best records in the entirety of minor league baseball. Big prospects made big contributions.

You can see the details in our regular daily minor league recap, but just for starters: Grayson Rodriguez struck out eight batters in five innings in his Bowie debut. Aw, yeah.

Around the blogO’sphere

Notes on Lowther, both Harveys, Hays, and Mullins (School of Roch)
Some Orioles injury updates: Hunter Harvey could be back with the Orioles this weekend, with Austin Hays making a return from the injured list late next week.

The Orioles ended their 14-game losing streak. Now comes the rest of the season. (The Baltimore Sun)
The headline is like “Today is the first day of the rest of your life” in the wild. The article’s actually more about the 1988 team than it is about the 2021 squad.

Gunnar Henderson honored as Low-A East Player of the Month for May (Steve Melewski)
Henderson’s been simply awesome for Delmarva so far and his winning this award or not doesn’t change that. The recognition is fun anyway. Oh, and by the way, Rodriguez was the High-A East Pitcher of the Month for May.

Daily prospect notes: Cameron Bishop (Fangraphs)
Eric Longenhagen took note of O’s minor leaguer Cameron Bishop’s 12-strikeout start from Tuesday. He calls Bishop “a spot-starter lefty look.”

‘He had me in tears’: Retired Oriole J.J. Hardy and his dying friend’s struggle with ALS (The Athletic)
Yesterday, if you missed it, was Lou Gehrig Day. J.J. Hardy spoke to The Athletic about a friend of his.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2019, the Orioles drafted Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman with the #1 overall pick in the draft. The hype has not halted yet.

Two 2021 Orioles who are currently in the minors were born today. Happy 27th birthday to both infielder Ramón Urias and pitcher Brandon Waddell. Former Orioles with birthdays today: 2003-04 reserve catcher Robert Machado, 2002 one-game catcher Izzy Molina, 1981-88 outfielder Jim Dwyer, and 1960-63 slugger Jim Gentile. Today is Gentile’s 87th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: World War I-era king George V of the United Kingdom (1865), poet Allen Ginsberg (1926), author Marion Zimmer Bradley (1930), author Larry McMurtry (1936), and TV journalist Anderson Cooper (1967).

On this day in history...

In 1621, New Netherland was chartered by the Dutch West India Company. Its primary settlement, New Amsterdam, is known today as New York City.

In 1839, Chinese viceroy Lin Tse-hsu destroyed about 1.2 million kilograms of opium that had been confiscated from British merchants. This led to the First Opium War and British control of Hong Kong.

In 1940, the last British Army soldiers were evacuated from Dunkirk, France. It would be nearly four years to the day before they returned in large numbers.

In 1943, the Zoot Suit Riots began in Los Angeles, California. White soldiers and marines attacked Latino youths who were wearing the zoot suits, which were claimed to be unpatriotic in wartime as they used a lot of fabric.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 3. Have a safe Thursday.