Wednesday Bird Droppings: June continues to be a boon for streaking O’s

Good morning Birdland,

June is only a few days old, and the Orioles have already matched their win total from last month. Their 10-3 win over the Mets on Tuesday night pushed them to a 5-1 record in June. Not to mention they have now scored 28 total runs over their last two games. If they can continue to do that..let me do the math...ah, yes. They will never lose!

Alas, they will not maintain such a ridiculous rate of offensive production, but it sure is encouraging. And to be fair, it was due. Ryan Mountcastle has really started to figure things out in recent weeks. Pedro Severino and Maikel Franco are closer to their modest ceilings. And Anthony Santander is rediscovering his power. There was always reason to think this offense could be pretty good. They just needed to put everything together.

Meanwhile, Bruce Zimmermann is turning into one of the best storylines of the summer so far. It’s easy to root for the local boy done good. But there was some worry earlier this year that Zimmermann was simply going to be the typical pitchability lefty that doesn’t have enough pure stuff to hack it as a major league starter. Well, that has not been the case in each of his last three outings, and instead he looks every bit like a back-end starter long term.

Links & Notes

Orioles’ Hyde: ‘It’s getting closer to back to normal’; Sceroler returns; Hays starts rehab stint | BaltimoreBaseball.com
It will be interesting to see how Mac Sceroler looks following his extended time on the IL. His fellow Rule 5 selection Tyler Wells has seemed to figure a few things out over the last couple of weeks. It would be a huge boost for Sceroler to do the same.

After a year of empty stands, the Orioles are welcoming crowds again. So far, fans aren’t flocking back. | The Baltimore Sun
The Orioles’ failure to answer for why they no longer allow outside food and drink inside Camden Yards is unacceptable. But the obvious answer as to why no one is going to games is two-fold: the pandemic is still a thing and the Orioles are bad. We probably don’t need to think too hard here.

Hits keep coming for Orioles in 10-3 win (updated) | School of Roch
Pat Valaika’s performance was really special, considering the circumstances. We all know he can swing the bat, but he has obviously had some trouble to this point. Hopefully last night’s breakout can serve as reset, and he takes off from here.

All your questions about MLB pitchers, Spider Tack and other foreign substances, answered | The Athletic
We all saw Gerrit Cole’s stammering response to a reporter when asked if he used Spider Tack, right? Baseball has opened up a can of worms on itself, and true to form MLB has completely bungled the handling to make some of their star players look like unabashed cheaters. Kudos all around!

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• John Andreoli turns 31 today. The outfielder appeared in 23 games for the 2018 Orioles, posting a 53 OPS+. He is currently in the Padres organization.

Orioles history

1960 - The O’s and Red Sox swap outfielders. Gene Stephens lands in Baltimore, while Willie Tasby goes to Boston.

1984 - Mike Flanagan beats the Tigers for the second time in one week. The lefty shuts them out here as the O’s win 4-0.