Sunday Bird Droppings: The Orioles try to avoid going 1-18 vs. the Rays in 2021

Hello, friends.

How many games in a row do you think the Orioles will lose this time? After a two-win interlude in the series against the Angels, the O’s have been back in the loss column for two straight games. They dropped Saturday night’s contest to the Rays, 4-3. Check out Drew Bonifant’s recap of the game for the not-so-lovely totals.

One big difference between this two-game streak and the beginning of the 19-game streak is that the Orioles have actually had a chance to win these games against the Rays. A little bit better luck and better play would have handed them the win on Friday night, and last night all it would have taken was better performances from what passes for high-leverage relievers for the O’s.

The Orioles led 3-0 after John Means came out of the game in the seventh inning. Then Dillon Tate failed at holding the inherited runners on base, and in the next inning, Cole Sulser blew the lead. These are the O’s “good relievers” and they were not good. That’s garden variety bad baseball, as opposed to laughed-out-of-the-stadium baseball. It’s not much consolation as the O’s are now 1-17 against the Rays in 2021. Good gravy.

After Saturday’s loss, the Orioles are on pace for a 51-111 record this season. That was true after Friday’s loss as well, except now I’m rounding up from 50.7 instead of rounding down from 51.4. It would be nice if the O’s can somehow exceed this pace over their last 34 games. I certainly won’t be holding my breath.

For the draft pick nihilists out there, the Arizona Diamondbacks were also losers on Saturday, falling 7-0 to the Phillies. This leaves the Orioles 2.5 games up on the Diamondbacks for the #1 pick in the 2021 draft.

Around the blogO’sphere

Midseason remake of Orioles infield makes for an interesting group (The Baltimore Sun)
The infield combination of Jorge Mateo and Jahmai Jones is much more interesting than what the Orioles have had out there earlier in the season. They may suck too, but at least they’re new faces with potential.

Hyde weighs in on a variety of Orioles (School of Roch)
Lately, Austin Hays and DJ Stewart have been platooning. Stewart has been working hard to improve his defense, if you’re wondering. I would venture to say it has not yet improved enough.

After a Dodgers detour, Conner Greene is back with the Orioles (Baltimore Baseball)
Rich Dubroff decided yesterday that the most interesting Orioles topic he could tackle is Conner Greene.

A steep dive into Shohei Ohtani’s latest homer (Fangraphs)
The Orioles gave up an Ohtani home run when he had a 45 degree launch angle. It’s rare! Turns out the Orioles have two of the ten steepest launch angle home runs allowed this year.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2002-06 reserve Eddie Rogers, 1973-81 infielder Doug DeCinces, 1957-61 reserve catcher Frank Zupo, and 1960-62 outfielder Dave Nicholson. Today is Nicholson’s 82nd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: philosopher John Locke (1632), bebop pioneer Charlie Parker (1920), performing artist Michael Jackson (1958), actress Lea Michele (1986), and One Direction crooner Liam Payne (1993).

On this day in history...

In 1756, Prussian leader Frederick the Great launched an attack on Saxony, beginning the Seven Years’ War.

In 1949, the Soviet Union conducted its first atomic bomb test, detonating a bomb called Joe 1 in a remote part of Kazakhstan.

In 1966, the Beatles performed in front of paying fans for the final time, with a concert at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.

In 1997, Netflix went into business as an Internet DVD rental company.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on August 29. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!