Tuesday Bird Droppings: It’s a seven-game win streak!

Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! And it’s a very happy one because the Orioles are on a seven-game winning streak! They handled Chris Sale for the second time this season and came back from a four-run deficit to defeat the Red Sox by a score of 5-4. Everyone’s favorite new pitcher Yennier Cano pitched the ninth to become the first non-Bautista to record a save this season. You can read all of the lovely totals in Tyler Young’s recap.

The Orioles also answered another question in our pre-season contest by winning their seventh straight game. One of the questions asked if participants would take the over or under on 6.5 consecutive wins this year. The group who answered was overwhelmingly positive about the Orioles in the pre-season and a whopping 200 correctly took the over. If you played, you can check your answers here to see how you stack up.

We labored over that 6.5 number when brainstorming questions. It’s very easy for a good team to win six games in a row but much tougher to win seven. They did it last year with their 10-game winning streak, but in their winning stretch from 2012-2016 they managed a seven-game streak just once. So it’s really cool and exciting that we’re not even out of April and they already have one under their belt.

The Orioles offense also did a few cool things last night. For one, they didn’t strike out a single time! It’s the first time since August 8, 2010 that has happened for them. In that game, the Orioles defeated the White Sox 4-3 as Jeremy Guthrie outpitched Mark Buehrle. The lineup featured cleanup hitter Ty Wigginton and a bottom four of Félix Pié, Jake Fox, César Izturis, and Josh Bell. I don’t miss those days.

Another unusual thing happened last night. The Orioles ended the game with 13 total hits. But when they got their ninth hit, a single by Adley Rutschman in the fifth inning, every single batter in the lineup had exactly one hit! I don’t know when the last time that happened was, but it’s certainly unusual.

At 15-7, the Orioles are solidly in second place in the AL East. They have the second-most wins in the American League behind the dominant Tampa Bay Rays, who won last night and who are now 14-0 at home.

Tonight the Orioles will try to win their sixth series of the year and send Kyle Bradish to the mound against the Red Sox' Corey Kluber. Bradish is coming off of an excellent start against the Nationals, his first since returning from the IL. Kluber has been pretty bad in three of his four starts this season and has an ERA of 8.50. It’s very hard to win eight games in a row, but I’d like to see the Orioles do it all the same.

Links

How a mechanical tweak to his ‘nasty’ stuff turned Yennier Cano into one of Baltimore’s best relievers – Baltimore Sun
Yennier Cano spent the offseason working on keeping his front shoulder closed to better command his pitches. The difference has made him a force out of the bullpen.

Starting pitcher Tyler Wells is free of restrictions and thriving for the Orioles - The Baltimore Banner
Tyler Wells is restriction free and loving it! It's going pretty well so far as he is arguably the team's best starter.

Orioles pregame notes on minor league awards and promotions, extended spring training and more - Blog
Jackson Holliday and Colton Cowser were named the MiLB players of the week for their respective leagues while Dillon Tate and Mychal Givens will be back soon. Things are going ok in Birdland.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies. A very special birthday to Art Schallock, who turns 99 years old today! Mr. Schallock pitched in the majors from 1951-55, including 30 games with the Orioles in 1955. The rest of his career was spent with the Yankees. He is the oldest living former major leaguer!

It’s also the birthday of Darren Holmes, whose 13-year MLB career included a stop in Baltimore in 2000. And Orioles’ legend Robert Andino turns 39 today. In honor of his special day, here is a video about the game of his career:

Baseball-Reference.com has no Orioles history on this day, so here is some fun general baseball “on this day” for you:

• In 1957, a new rule was adopted prohibiting baserunners from interfering with balls in play. A few players on the Cincinnati Redlegs thought it was a good idea to interfere to mess with double plays, which inspired the new rule.
• In 1962, catcher Harry Chiti was traded from Cleveland to the New York Mets for a PTBNL. On June 15th, he WAS that PTBNL.
• In 2001, Rickey Henderson takes the 2,063rd walk of his career, a major league record.