Sunday Bird Droppings: Taking aim at a series win against the Yankees

Hello, friends.

The sun shines a little brighter in Birdland on the day after the Orioles beat the Yankees, doesn’t it? At this point it’s just plain funny, because the O’s have won more games against New York than they have against any other team. Yesterday’s was their sixth triumph over the Yankees in 2021. That’s still only a 6-9 record, which isn’t very good at all, but it’s a whole lot better than the 1-18 record against the Rays. Check out Andrea’s recap of the 4-3 win from yesterday.

The only downside of the O’s beating the Yankees right now is that the team that’s chasing them is the Red Sox, so the Yankees loss will end up being the Red Sox gain. Of course, the ideal scenario is that both of these teams somehow drop out, but it’s not looking likely right now. Two AL West teams are chasing at four games behind the Red Sox each, the Mariners and the Athletics.

Six games against the Red Sox for the rest of the season, so the O’s will have their chances to take a bite out of Boston down the stretch. I don’t think anyone around here would be too sad if a Robert Andino-level nemesis emerged down the stretch.

Saturday’s win leaves the Orioles needing just two wins to end up with more than the 2003 Detroit Tigers, and six more wins to end up ahead of the 2018 Orioles. There are 28 games still to play. I sure hope they can do notably better than going 6-22 from here on out, but who knows with these guys. In the race for the #1 pick, the O’s lost ground yesterday, as Arizona lost to the Mariners. The O’s and D-backs are tied with 92 losses. Arizona has 45 wins, so the O’s have a 1.5 game lead, for now. This one is coming down to the wire.

The series finale is set for 1:05 this afternoon. Corey Kluber is scheduled to pitch for the Yankees, while Keegan Akin will try to continue the Keeganaissance for the Orioles.

Around the blogO’sphere

Taking the Orioles rotation for another spin (School of Roch)
Roch tries to guess at how the Orioles might play with the rotation from now until season’s end. I’m interested by his thought that we might get to see a debut for Mike Baumann.

Mancini: ‘Definitely trying to finish strong’ (Orioles.com)
Trey was on base safely five times in yesterday’s win, which would be a good way to finish strong indeed.

Amid big roster attrition, Aberdeen pushes for winning year (Steve Melewski)
Aberdeen lost yesterday. They’re holding on two games above .500 for now. Hopefully Gunnar Henderson can put up some good numbers, whatever happens with the team. He had a hit and walk in five plate appearances yesterday.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 1995, Cal Ripken Jr. tied Lou Gehrig’s consecutive games played streak at 2,130. The Orioles won that night against the Angels, 8-0.

There are a pair of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2000-02 pitcher Calvin Maduro, and 1995-96 pitcher Jimmy Haynes.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: long-reigning French king Louis XIV (1638), outlaw Jesse James (1847), actor Bob Newhart (1929), and gold medal figure skater Yuna Kim (1990).

On this day in history...

In 1666, the last of the Great Fire was put out in London. Around 10,000 buildings were destroyed, though there were only six known fatalities.

In 1781, the French Navy engaged the British Navy near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The British were repelled, preventing reinforcements at Yorktown, where the British surrendered within six weeks.

In 1914, French and British armies launched a counterattack against the German forces advancing on Paris. This marked the beginning of the First Battle of the Marne.

In 1960, Cassius Clay - later known as Muhammad Ali - won a gold medal in the light heavyweight class for boxing in the Rome Olympics.

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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on September 5. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!