Sunday Bird Droppings: The Orioles take aim at another series win

Hello, friends.

The Orioles continue being something that can, on the right day, resemble fun. Yesterday’s doubleheader split against the Red Sox featured a very annoying, recent Orioles vintage loss, and also a fun win that feels different than what we’ve seen in the last few years. Check out my recap of the 5-3 loss from the day game, and Stacey’s recap of a 4-2 win in the nightcap if you missed any of the action.

Yesterday’s results leave the Orioles with a 20-28 record for the season. Last year’s Orioles had a 20-38 record at one point. It is much better this way. The team is now on pace for a 68-94 record, which is the kind of record that no one would confuse for a good team, but also no one except for the dedicated cadre of Orioles haters among national baseball media would confuse for one of MLB’s worst teams either, especially with that record within the AL East.

There are eight teams with a worse winning percentage than the Orioles have right now. Again, this is a big difference even if the team is not good. Last year’s 20-38 losers were only better than the 20-40 Diamondbacks. How long this state of affairs will last is an open question. The Orioles starting pitching feels like it could be on the precipice of falling apart, and then who knows what kind of negative effect that will have on the bullpen. But it hasn’t happened yet.

The Orioles even still have a chance to be victorious in this five-game set against the Red Sox. They only need to win one of the next two games to do it. The fourth game of five is set for 1:35 this afternoon, with Baltimore’s own Bruce Zimmermann on the mound for the O’s, and Nick Pivetta expected to pitch for the Red Sox.

It will take wins in each of the last two games of this Boston series for the Orioles to keep hope alive for their first winning month since August 2017. They can’t lose again if they want to end May above .500. Considering that the O’s have not yet had a winning streak longer than three games this season, it feels unlikely that they could pull off a 4+ game winning streak to secure the winning month. You never know, though.

Around the blogO’sphere

As Kyle Stowers pushes for a debut with the Orioles, the path into Baltimore’s talented outfield is tough to find (The Baltimore Sun)
Three of the big league team’s four best hitters are their regular outfielders. Sure makes it seem like an outfield prospect’s only chance for playing time is an injury to or trade of someone already here.

Ramón Urías getting more regular playing time in Baltimore (The Athletic)
I would enjoy that regular playing time more if he was currently hitting significantly better than a .645 OPS. May has been much better than April though, with Urías OPSing .803 for the month. That’ll work, if that level of performance continues into June.

Orioles DFA Jahmai Jones, Cody Sedlock poised for debut (School of Roch)
The roster merry-go-round spun again yesterday, with the result being that Jones was designated for assignment within days of getting Tommy John surgery, and the top Orioles pick in the 2016 draft arrived for “just in case” bulk innings.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

The most recent Orioles victory on this day was five years ago. The 2017 team beat the Yankees, 3-2, to improve to 26-23 on the season. Dylan Bundy pitched seven innings and gave up only two runs to get the win, with Jonathan Schoop’s two-run double in the third inning putting the O’s on top for good.

One member of the 2022 Orioles has a birthday today. Happy 25th to Tyler Nevin, who is in the minors now but perhaps will be back. There are also a few former Orioles with birthdays today: 1998-2004 infielder Jerry Hairston, 1997-98 outfielder Eric Davis, 1976-77 reliever Fred Holdsworth, and 1975-77 reliever Dyar Miller. Today is Miller’s 76th birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: early American patriot Patrick Henry (1736), writer G.K. Chesterson (1874), actor Bob Hope (1903), author T.H. White (1906), 35th president John F. Kennedy (1917), movie composer Danny Elfman (1953), The Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder (1974), Spice Girl Mel B (1975), and Baltimore-raised basketballer Carmelo Anthony (1984).

On this day in history...

In 1453, the city of Constantinople was captured by the besieging Ottoman forces after 53 days. Its fall ended the Byzantium Empire, which had reigned in some form since 395.

In 1660, England’s monarchy was restored after an 11-year interregnum. Charles II was crowned as King of England, Scotland, and Ireland on this day, his 30th birthday.

In 1790, Rhode Island ratified the Constitution, the last of the original thirteen colonies to do so.

In 1953, Sherpa Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary reached the summit of Mount Everest, becoming the first people to ever achieve this feat.

**

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