Tuesday Bird Droppings: Two games in DC

Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! The Orioles are back in action after yesterday’s off day and, if they are indeed a good baseball team, they should have a successful week ahead of them. They have two games on the road against the 5-11 Washington Nationals, then another off day Thursday, and a weekend series at home against the 5-9 Detroit Tigers.

Dean Kremer is starting tonight’s game and it would really behoove him to start pitching well. The Nationals have scored just 62 runs this season, the fourth-worst in the majors, and a whopping 32 fewer than the Orioles have scored. Kremer survived the first rotation cut when Cole Irvin was sent down, but he and his 9.49 ERA aren’t out of the woods yet. I keep thinking of the 2022 version of Kremer and his low ERA. Can we please see that again?

It hasn’t been announced yet but it stands to figure that Kyle Bradish will make his return to the rotation on Wednesday. This is a much faster return than I anticipated but I’m happy to be wrong. After a strong finish to the 2022 season, I look forward to seeing what he can do. Of course I would have also said the same about Dean Kremer and look where we are.

Links

As improving Orioles court new fans, there’s a delicate dance in shared territory with Nationals – Baltimore Sun
Is there, though? It's every team for themselves!

Did We Underestimate Jorge Mateo? - Eutaw Street Report
I think we need a little more time before making a declaration, but I'm excited about Jorge Mateo.

Minor Monday: Alou likes Delmarva's prospects; Basallo's 1st season; Orioles' 7-foot pitcher - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff interviewed Shorebirds' manager Felipe Alou, Jr. I forgot about that seven-foot-tall pitcher!

Orioles’ infielder Gunnar Henderson working through slump by resisting the urge to tinker - The Baltimore Banner
Gunnar Henderson is a smart guy. A good read about his early season struggles.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have two Orioles birthday buddies. Pete Stanicek, who turns 60 years old today, spent the entirety of his major league career with the 1987-88 Orioles. And Rich Bordi (64) appeared in 52 games in relief for the Orioles in 1986. They missed getting to have a joint birthday party by one year!

On this day in 1899, 26-year-old John McGraw made his managerial debut for the Baltimore Orioles of the National League. These are not our Baltimore Orioles, but some folks like them anyway.

In 2013, Matt Wieters hit a walk-off grand slam to give the Orioles a 10-6 win over the Tampa Bay Rays. It was the team’s 17th consecutive win in extra innings.

And on this day in 2017, Tyler Young asked if Trey Mancini should be an everyday player. The answer was, of course, yes.