Wednesday Bird Droppings: Offensive outburst and web gems

Good morning, Birdland!

They had me in the first inning. I’m not gunna lie. Winning performances don’t typically start with the top of your lineup being retired on strikeouts, and then your best pitcher allowing a pair of homers in the bottom of the frame. But these Orioles are far from typical.

The offense was doing it all last night. Ryan Mountcastle went deep twice and drove in five. Adley Rutschman had a team-leading four hits. Gunnar Henderson worked three walks. It was a lot of fun to watch!

Tyler Wells did not have his best stuff, but he managed to bounce back nicely and go six innings. All three hits he allowed were home runs, and he doubled his season walk total by issuing three free passes.

For a more detailed run through of all the action in Kansas City, Alex has a full recap of the 11-7 win.

The much-anticipated old man face-off takes place tonight. Kyle Gibson for the O’s, Zack Greinke for the Royals. If we don’t get at least one 50-mph eephus from Greinke then it may feel like a disappointment. But I think an Orioles’ win would help me get over it pretty fast.

Links

This, that and the other | Roch Kubatko
All sorts of numbers about the Orioles here, including the bullpen ERA. It has fluctuated a bit recently, but it remains true that this group is good. The unexpected ascendence of Yennier Cano helps things. It will be interesting to see what the team does to accommodate the imminent return of both Mychal Givens and Dillon Tate.

What’s more impressive than the O’s 11 runs? The defense | MLB.com
The poor glovework early this season has been frustrating because we know what this team is capable of. They showed some of that on Tuesday, especially Cedric Mullins. He covered a ridiculous amount of ground in right-center field on a Kyle Isbel drive to make a fantastic diving catch.

What we’ve learned in first 30 games of MLB season, from pitch clock to Rays to A’s | The Athletic
Including a note on how the schedule change has been a welcome development for the entire AL East.

The Orioles might actually be good! (Ep. 105) | The Warehouse Podcast
Oh look, a podcast! It would actually be so funny if you went through this link and subscribed. Haha! Oh my gosh, what if you told your friends about it and had them subscribe too? That would be wild!

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Bob McCrory turns 41. He appeared in 15 games out of the Orioles bullpen from 2008-09.
• Gabe Molina is 48 today. The righty began his career with 29 relief appearances for the O’s between 1999 and 2000.
• Tony Arnold celebrates his 64th birthday. His MLB career spanned two seasons as an O’s reliever in 1986 and ‘87.

This day in O’s history

1963 - Orioles pitcher Buster Narum hits a home run in his only at bat of the season, becoming the first pitcher in MLB history to have more homers than wins in a season.

1992 - Gregg Olson becomes the youngest pitcher to reach 100 saves for his career. The Orioles’ righty is just 25 years old.

1999 - Cuba faces major league competition in the United States for the first time as they beat the Orioles 12-6.

2017 - The Orioles and Red Sox continue their feud when Kevin Gausman is ejected after plunking Xander Bogaerts with a curveball. It’s the latest event in a weeks-long dispute that started when Manny Machado injured Dustin Pedroia with a slide into second base on April 21.