Tuesday Bird Droppings: The first three-game losing streak

Happy Tuesday, Camden Chatters! I hope you’re able to enjoy today even with the small losing streak the Orioles have embarked upon. They’ve now lost three games in a row, the first time that has happened this season.

Up against the very good starting pitchers of the Braves and Rays, the bats have not been able to get going. Last night against Shane McClanahan, the Orioles had their chances with four hits and four walks. But they were 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position in the game and struck out 13 times. You can get the full details of the loss in Tyler Young’s recap.

Over the last three games, the Orioles are just 2-for-29 with runners in scoring position, which is not a great way to win.

One good thing happening that I have not expected is the excellent job done by the pitchers, especially the starters. There is a long way to go in this tough stretch and in the season, but the pitchers are on a good run so far against two good offenses. The last four pitchers (Dean Kremer, Kyle Bradish, Tyler Wells, Kyle Gibson) have given up just seven runs in 22 innings, a 2.86 ERA. Bradish’s three runs in five innings was the worst of the bunch and even that kept the team in the game.

It’s a small sample size but so far we’re seeing confirmed what most of us already know. The Orioles are good but maybe not good enough. They’ve been holding their own, though, which is both gratifying and frustrating.

Tonight’s matchup will be a tough test, with Grayson Rodriguez facing off against Zach Eflin. Rodriguez is definitely still figuring things out at the major league level and hopefully tonight will look more like his back-to-back starts against the Tigers and less like his disaster against the Royals. It will most likely be a low-scoring affair on the Orioles’ side so we could really use good Grayson tonight.

Links

Even for Orioles players, baseball means fighting through failure again and again - The Baltimore Banner
Ryan O'Hearn used to have anger management issues, which is what I learned from this article.

Orioles INF Prospect Jordan Westburg Focused On Not Falling Down This 'Rabbit Hole' - PressBox
Jordan Westburg is just taking it day by day, yadda yadda. Some fodder for your Westburgheads.

Baltimore's Shortstop Is Making Strides - MLB Trade Rumors
A deep dive into Jorge Mateo's exciting season and how it's created "the kind of problem that teams dream about."

MLB Power Rankings for Week 6 - MLB.com
It might not feel like it right now, but the baseball world is excited by the Orioles. They're ranked third in the latest power rankings from MLB, behind the team they're playing now and the team they played this weekend.

Birthdays and History

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies. Jace Peterson turns 33 today and is currently playing for the Oakland A’s. He spent 2018-19 with the Orioles.

Tom Chism is 69 years old today. His entire major league career was made up of three plate appearances across six games for the 1979 Orioles. And Ron Jackson, who is celebrating his 70th today, finished up a 10-season career with 12 games for the 1984 team.

It’s a big day for home runs on this day in Orioles’ history.

In 1961, Jim Gentile hit grand slams in both the first and second innings as the Orioles beat the Twins, 13-5. Gentile also had a sac fly for a total of nine RBI. That’s a club record that still stands, although it was matched by Eddie Murray in 1985 and Ryan Mountcastle earlier this year.

In 1962, the grand slams trend continued. Brooks Robinson hit a grand slam against the then-Kansas City Athletics, his second in as many days.

In 1973, rookies Al Bumbry and Rich Coggins hit their first career home runs, back-to-back off of Catfish Hunter.

In 1987, Eddie Murray hit home runs from both sides of the plate for the second straight game, helping the Orioles to beat the White Sox in back-to-back games.