Friday Bird Droppings: Starting a lengthy homestand

Good morning, Birdland!

The O’s are back home tonight, and that’s where they will remain for the next 10 days and nine games. This homestead is an interesting combination of opponents: Mariners, Reds, Twins.

The Mariners are a talented team at their core that has underperformed both their pre-season expectations and their on-field run differential. They are pretty bad on the road (15-20) and they have really struggled against teams above .500 (13.26). Better yet, the O’s will not have to face staff ace Luis Castillo.

You cannot get hotter than the Reds right now. They have won 11 straight to take control of the NL Central. That streak does include some cupcakes, like the Cardinals and Royals, but there’s also a road sweep of the Astros in there as well. It’s never easy to win that much, so they have to be taken seriously. Perhaps a three-game set against the Braves this weekend will cool their jets.

And finally the Twins, the de facto best team in the AL Central. Byron Buxton just started hitting well this week against the Red Sox. If that can continue, then these Twins are going to ascend. If not, well then this offense is not particularly scary despite some big names.

The Orioles will expect to win each of these series. That’s just the reality when you are a good team playing at home for a long stretch. But none of these clubs are push overs and should provide an important test of the O’s and their playoff aspirations.

Links

How Ryan O’Hearn went from castoff to Orioles cleanup hitter: ‘I couldn’t be more ecstatic’ | The Baltimore Sun
There is no reason that O’Hearn should be moved off of first base in the immediate future. He’s hitting well and Ryan Mountcastle (when healthy) was not. The O’s need to ride the hot hand. Of course, there is plenty of reason to believe that O’Hearn will regress. When/If that happens, we can figure it out

Ambler on “incredibly talented” players in Triple-A Norfolk’s lineups | Roch Kubatko
It is rather obscene how good the Norfolk Tides are. Several of the players would be on big league rosters elsewhere in the league, and that may end up their fate later in the season if the Orioles make them available in a trade.

Here are the All-Star Ballot finalists moving on to Phase 2 | Orioles.com
Adley Rutschman deserves to be the AL’s starting catcher. Let us make it so. Related: the Orioles have apparently entered a partnership with the Phillies to encourage fans to vote for one another’s players. Sooo...vote Bryce Harper too?

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Jorge Mateo turns 28 today. The O’s current shortstop made his way to Birdland via waivers in 2021 and has since exceeded expectations as a top-tier defender and base stealer.
• Mark Hendrickson is 49. From 2009-2011, the 6-foot-9 lefty served as a swingman for the Orioles pitching staff, appearing in 113 total games.
• The late Lorencito Fernández (b. 1939, d. 2020) was born on this day. As a utility infielder he played in 24 games for the 1968 O’s.

This day in O’s history

1957 - The Orioles begin a streak of four straight shutouts by their pitching staff. Skinny Brown is the hurler that blanks the Tigers 6-0 on this day.

1973 - Jesse Jefferson, a rookie for the O’s making his MLB debut, is pitching a shutout against the Red Sox with two outs in the ninth. Then shortstop Rico Petrocelli spoils it when he hits a home run to tie the game at one run apiece. Fortunately, the O’s would score in the 10th to win the game.