Wednesday Bird Droppings: Time to start another winning streak

Good morning, Birdland!

The winning streak is over, but it’s not for a lack of trying. A ninth-inning rally that saw Gunnar Henderson hit a solo shot and Cedric Mullins smack a grad slam gave the O’s a chance, but ultimately they fell 8-6 in game two of this series with the Red Sox.

It was a bad day at the office for starter Kyle Bradish. He served up seven runs on eight hits, four walks, and just one strikeout over 2.1 innings. Fastball velocity was down slightly, and he wasn’t getting the sorts of whiffs he typically does.

But at least the offense had some bright spots, including a two-hit day for Henderson. We knew he wasn’t going to hit below .200 all season long. The bat will get going, and once that happens the Orioles lineup will be even more formidable. That’s pretty darn exciting!

Despite the loss, the Orioles remain in second place in the AL East and at the top of the wild card standings. The Rays and Yankees also lost, further tightening baseball’s toughest division, which has a realistic chance of all five teams finishing above .500.

We have daytime baseball on the docket to wrap up this set with the Red Sox. First pitch is 1:05 from Camden Yards, and then it is off to Detroit for another weekend series against the Tigers.

Links

The Orioles’ winning streak showed what they’re capable of. What happens after will matter more. | The Baltimore Sun
It has not been lost on anyone that the teams the Orioles have beat over these last two weeks are all rather bad. And it is true that they will need to show they can handle stiffer competition as well. But at the same time, this also doesn’t feel like the best version of the 2023 Orioles. Henderson will improve. A notable prospect or two will replace less productive veterans at some point. John Means will rejoin the rotation eventually. The bullpen isn’t even at full strength yet.

Cora explains comments that Hyde deems disrespectful | Roch Kubatko
If Alex Cora was referring to tipping his pitches then he should have said he was referring to tipping pitches rather than leaving it open-ended at the time. At least he clarified.

Minor league notes: Scouts dish on Rangers’ Cody Bradford, others | The Athletic
A few Orioles get mentioned for their glovework, and Jackson Holliday is shouted out for his promotion to Aberdeen.

How could the top 10 picks of the 2023 MLB Draft shake out? | MLB Pipeline
It’s funny how when the major league team you like is playing well, and they don’t have a particularly high draft pick then you don’t care too much about the draft. I prefer it this way! But just in case you want to familiarize yourself with some of the top young talents, here ya go.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• The late Nate Smith (b. 1935, d. 2019) was born on this day. A catcher, Smith appeared in five games for the 1962 Orioles, his only big league experience.

This day in O’s history

It’s been a slow day in Orioles history, according to Baseball Reference. Maybe something noteworthy will happen today! Until then, here’s a few occurrences from beyond Birdland.

1954 - The first clinical trials of Jonas Salk’s polio vaccine begin.

1958 - The Baltimore and Ohio Railroad’s Royal Blue makes its final run from Washington D.C. to New York City. After 68 years, the first U.S. passenger train to use electric locomotives retires.

1962 - The British space program launches its first satellite.

1986 - The Chernobyl disaster occurs in Soviet Ukraine.

2019 - Avengers: Endgame is released, and it soon becomes one of the highest-grossing films of all time.