Wednesday Bird Droppings: Finally, a day with no rain

Good morning, Birdland!

The most impressive thing about Orioles baseball the last few days is that they have played every single scheduled inning. There has been a ton of rain in the area, and it has caused a few lengthy delays, but not enough to completely wash away all or part of a game.

Obviously, there is interest from both the Reds and Orioles to do everything in their power to get these games in. Doubleheaders are never ideal, and the two teams do not play again this season. So re-scheduling some kind of one-off matchup would have required a common off day in the future, another unfavorable outcome.

For whatever reason, the Orioles have played just 78 games to this point in the season. That is tied for the second-fewest in the league with only the Chicago Cubs’ 77 coming in below. Meanwhile, the AL-East leading Rays are atop the league with 82 games played.

In some ways this is a benefit for the O’s. While the Rays have seemed like a juggernaut all season, our Birds are only four games back of them in the standings. That gap in games played makes that deficit even more realistic to close.

But the negative is that the Orioles’ schedule has less wiggle room the rest of the season. That means fewer off days to get rest or fit in any potential rainouts.

This is most glaring in August, a month with three off days for the O’s, two of which come in the span of five days when the team is out west. In that same month the Rays get six days off.

All of this is to say that it’s nice to see a positive weather forecast in Baltimore today. There is virtually no chance of rain, partly cloudy, and an estimated first pitch temperature of 80 degrees.

Links

Five infielders, three spots: Jordan Westburg’s promotion presents pileup for Orioles to sift through | The Baltimore Sun
For now, it seems rather clear what Brandon Hyde is going to do. Westburg and Gunnar Henderson are everyday guys. Ramón Urías is going to get in against lefties in some way, shape, or form. Jorge Mateo will play every day in some capacity (maybe off the bench to run or field). Adam Frazier is going to fill the gaps that emerge with days off, etc.

Orioles odds and ends | Roch Kubatko
Some good notes in here about Mateo’s offensive futility and his efforts to improve. It would be great if he could just be somewhat competent at the plate. He has value regardless, but the Orioles need just a little bit more offense from the position.

Wells ‘outstanding’ vs. Reds | Orioles.com
Tyler Wells is 11 innings away from his inning total from 2022. He looks better now than he did at any point a season ago, but it will still be interesting to see how he fares next month and beyond. Maybe that gets him an All-Star nod?

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• The late Don Baylor (b. 1949, d. 2017) is the lone O’s player born on this day. He began his 19-season MLB career with the Orioles, making his debut in 1970 but not sticking on the team until 1972. Over six total seasons with Baltimore, Baylor had a 125 OPS+ and was worth 10.4 bWAR.

This day in O’s history

2000 - B.J. Surhoff extends his hitting streak to 21 games, going 5-for-6, as the Orioles beat the Red Sox 8-7 in 11 innings.