Monday Bird Droppings: Home for the Fourth of July

Good morning, Birdland!

Tyler Wells is only getting better, somehow. The reliever-turned-starter is on fire, showing up once again in a 3-1 win over the Twins on Sunday. He has allowed one or fewer runs in each of his last four starts, has won five straight starts, and has lowered his season ERA to 3.09.

Since the start of May, Wells has made 12 starts. In those starts his ERA is 2.59, and he has a .198/.244/.326 batting line against. He has largely done this by pitching to contact (40 strikeouts in 62.2 innings). But he mixed up the formula in his most recent start, striking out seven, a season high.

The impressive start had to be particularly sweet for Wells. He was a Twins draft pick in 2016, and then they didn’t protect him from the Rule 5 draft last year. It’s always fun to get a little “revenge” against your former club.

It was also nice for the team to leave Minnesota with a win. In an alternate world, this could have been a sweep in the Orioles’ favor. But alas, it wasn’t, and instead they did well to avoid being swept themselves.

The Birds return home to begin a series today against the Rangers. As it is the Fourth of July, they will be wearing the, um, interesting...holiday hats. First pitch is 1:05 from Camden Yards.

Links

Orioles reset: 5 takeaways from the ‘way more fun’ first half of Baltimore’s season | The Baltimore
My takeaway is that the move from abysmal pitching to somewhat competent is massive. Imagine how much fun we will be having once there is actually a good (fingers crossed) pitching staff in place. Oh, and promoting players that are actually the best in the organization at what they do is helpful too.

Wells impresses again and late Orioles lead is secured to avoid sweep | Roch Kubatko
All of the quotes from a victory Sunday! I liked Ryan Mountcastle’s comment on the pace at which Wells works. It is enjoyable, and makes for a better viewing product from a fan perspective as well. The pitching clock coming next season should be a welcome change.

New schedule for 2023 will have plenty of changes for Orioles | Baltimore Baseball
The Orioles stand to gain quite a bit from the more even schedule coming in 2023. The AL East is a beast. This team might actually be competitive in the Central, but instead they have to deal with four playoff teams 19 times a summer. It will be interesting to see how the shift in schedule strength changes the postseason picture.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Babe Birrer (1929-2013) is the lone current or former Orioles player to be born on this day. The right-handed pitcher appeared in four games for the 1956 Birds.

This day in O’s history

1944 - The 30-year-old Oriole Park burns down, so the Federal League Orioles move to Baltimore’s Venable Stadium. That stadium will have a second tier added and be renamed Memorial Stadium ahead of the St. Louis Browns relocating to Charm City.