Wednesday Bird Droppings: Holding out hope that the Orioles offense will eventually figure it out

Good morning, Birdland!

The Orioles 7-2 loss to the Twins on Tuesday was just the latest example of a struggling offense. They have scored two or fewer runs in four of their last five games. Over 24 games this season, they have scored 74 total runs. That is an average of 3.08 runs per game, the second-worst mark in the sport ahead of only the Reds (70 runs, 3.04 per game). That is not a team you want to be compared to as they own an ugly 3-20 record on the season.

It’s not like you can even point at just one or two players that are key to the turnaround. The whole lineup is struggling at the same time. Anthony Santander and Austin Hays lead the team with OPS of .786 and .782, respectively. Those are solid numbers, but probably not what you would like to see at the very top of a team leader board.

The glaring issue is the trio of Cedric Mullins, Trey Mancini, and Ryan Mountcastle. All of them have OPS under .700. And then we have starters like Ramón Urías and Jorge Mateo who still don’t have home runs.

You have to believe that the lineup will turn things around eventually. While it is far from the most talented group in the league, there is more than enough currently in Baltimore to make them closer to mediocre than downright awful.

And just remember, Adley Rutschman will be here later this month. It might be too much to ask him to single-handedly tun the team around, but sometimes an injection of a talented young player forces the more veteran guys to up their games.

Links

How Kyle Bradish’s Orioles debut played out for his parents | The Baltimore Sun
I am a sucker for these types of stories. A big league debut is huge for the player, obviously, but it is also an achievement for the entire support system around that player. These are the people that drove him to practice and games his entire life. They paid for equipment, took him to big league games as a kid. I’m sure they would tell you it was all worth it regardless of the outcome, but seeing that hopeful child turn into a bonafide big leaguer has gotta be pretty cool.

Chris Holt on the O’s improved pitching | Steve Melewski
The season isn’t even a month old yet, but it’s still hard to be anything but impressed by the pitching performances to this point. It’s up and down the roster, and some of the players (like Tyler Wells) have gotten better each time out. Hopefully that continues as the level of talent improves in Baltimore.

O’s offensive struggles clear in loss to Twins | Orioles.com
On the opposite side of the spectrum from the pitching has been the lineup, which continues to scuffle night in and night out. Apart from a rare outburst, they just look bad. You want to say they are a victim of small sample sizes, but the longer the drought goes on the more concerned I become.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Ryan Meisinger is 28 today. The Maryland native appeared in 18 games out of Orioles bullpen in 2018 before the Cardinals claimed him off of waivers that offseason. He is currently in the minors with the Diamondbacks.
• Joe Borowski turns 51. The longtime big league reliever began his 12-year career with six games on the 1995 O’s.

This day in O’s history

Not much has happened on this day in Birdland history, according to Baseball Reference. Here are some things that have occurred outside of baseball:

1904 - Construction on the Panama Canal begins.

1927 - The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is incorporated.

1961 - The “Freedom Riders” begin a bus trip through the American South

1973 - Chicago’s Sears Tower becomes the world’s tallest building at 108 stories and 1,451 feet.