Saturday Bird Droppings: What’s better than beating the Yankees?

Happy Saturday, Camden Chatters! Did you catch that game last night? Did you see the performance from the bullpen? Who are these guys? And I mean literally, WHO are these guys? Would you recognize any of them if they walked past you on the street?

After Jordan Lyles pitched 5.1 innings and left the bases loaded with one out, Dillon Tate came in and got an inning ending double play, then pitched a perfect seventh. He was followed by Jorge López, Bryan Baker, and Cionel Pérez, all perfect. Joey Krehbiel would have been perfect except for the fact that he was pitching in extra innings and the Manfred Man, Anthony Rizzo, got hit by a batted ball on a grounder to shortstop! Rizzo was out but Giancarlo Stanton was credited with a single.

Almost everything about this season so far has been awful, but the bullpen is an exception. And last night it kept the team in the game all the way until the 11th inning when the offense was finally able to strike, as it were. Walk-off home runs might be exciting, but give me a walk-off walk off of Aroldis Chapman any day of the week.

It’s been a bummer of a few days for Orioles fans (even more than usual) with injury to John Means. And that is still one of many gray clouds hanging over the Orioles right now. But for a little while last night the Orioles had fantastic pitching and a walk-off win over the Yankees. And for today, I will take that. Seriously, someone get me a Bryan Baker jersey.

You can get all of the details of last night’s win in Harrison’s game recap, and don’t forget to vote in the Most Birdland Player poll!

Links

Early Reaction To Orioles' New Left Field Wall - PressBox
The new design of the left field wall at Camden Yards was the hot topic of conversation when the Orioles returned home early this week. Austin Hays, Brandon Hyde and Ryan Mountcastle share their reactions.

Brandon Hyde on losing John Means, plus O's next steps - Steve Melewski
Detailed comments from Brandon Hyde on the John Means injury.

Resisting temptation while trying to fix rotation - School of Roch
Should the young guys get called up? Or do they need a little longer to get ready? Bring 'em up, I say!

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies. Former Oriole and current Marlin Richard Bleier is celebrating his 35th birthday today. It’s also the birthday of Sergio Robles, who appeared in 10 games for the Orioles in 1972-73. Today he is 75 years old, so happy birthday to Mr. Robles!

Per Baseball Reference, there are no notable moments in Orioles history today, but it was on this day in 1948 that the first ever baseball game was televised! It was an exhibition game between the White Sox and Cubs played on WGN, and I’m sure you could barely tell what was going on. Now I can watch Orioles games on my phone (with proper cable account certification)!

Elsewhere in the world, it was on this day in 1862 that the District of Columbia passed a law making slavery illegal in the city.

In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote the Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated for protesting segregation.

In 1990, Dr. Jack Kevorkian participated in his first assisted suicide. Approximately eight years later I, for some reason, bought my brother a Dr. Kevorkian coffee mug. He still has it.

In 2003, Michael Jordan played in his final NBA game.