Wednesday Bird Droppings: The final west coast game of the season

Good morning, Birdland!

That was a wild one! The Orioles ultimately beat the Angels 5-4 in 10 innings on Tuesday night, but not before a few poor base-running decisions and a rough night for half of the bullpen made things far more tenuous than they needed to be.

Ryan Mountcastle had three more hits. His resurgence since the bout with vertigo in June and July has been insane. He may not be this team’s best hitter, but he’s in the discussion. That didn’t seem possible in the first half of the season.

Gunnar Henderson made another ridiculous defensive play at third base. It sure sounds like Jackson Holliday is going to be in the big leagues early next year, so perhaps the hot corner is Henderson’s long term home. If so, we very well could see a Gold Glove in his future.

Adley Rutschman walked three more times last night. His 76 walks on the season is the most by any catcher. Second place (Will Smith) has 56. As a result, he also has the highest on-base percentage at the position (.370).

Dean Kremer only went 4.2 innings, but they were good innings. It’s the sort of outing that feels a bit annoying in the regular season because it forces the bullpen to work. But in the playoffs it’s probably enough to get you through the lineup twice, and that puts your team in a decent position.

We got the good stuff from Shintato Fujinami. He worked a perfect 10th inning, struck out two, and kept the Manfred runner off the board. Hopefully Brandon Hyde and the rest of the Orioles coaching staff is getting a handle on when they can trust him and when they should stay away.

The Orioles’ AL East lead remains at 3.5 games after the Rays beat the Red Sox last night. That will once again be the out-of-town game to watch, starting at 6:40. The O’s will get their final west coast game of the year going at 9:38, so we may know the Rays outcome before first pitch.

Links

Some business that awaits Orioles | Roch Kubatko
Roch looks ahead to the offseason, whenever that may be. He mentions the potential of the O’s calling up Joey Ortiz or Heston Kjerstad before the season is out. Obviously, if an injury occurs, that could be necessary. But without one, I’m not sure where either fits at this point.

Six pitching questions facing the Orioles before the playoffs, from John Means’ role to Shintaro Fujinami’s reliability | The Baltimore Sun
It is anyone’s guess as to how the pitching situation works out. There’s a chance that a good chunk of the current staff is not part of the playoff roster, replaced by John Means, Tyler Wells, and others.

O’s show off ‘never-say-die attitude’ with another comeback win | Orioles.com
It wasn’t the prettiest game, but the Orioles played to the moment and ultimately came back to get the win. At this point in the season it’s all about doing whatever it takes to get the W.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday!

• Donnie Hart turns 33. The left-handed reliever spent parts of three seasons in the Orioles’ bullpen from 2016 through 2018.
• Derrek Lee is 48. He spent part of the 2011 campaign as the I’s everyday first baseman.
• Roy Smith is 62 years old. In 1991 the righty appeared in 17 games—mostly as a starter—for the O’s pitching staff,.
• The late Jim Fridley (b. 1924, d. 2003) was born on this day. He spent 85 games in the Orioles outfield in 1954, the organization’s first season in Baltimore.

This day in O’s history

1974 - The Orioles set an AL record with 54 straight scoreless innings pitched. The record is clinched on a day when the O’s sweep a double-header from Cleveland. Dave McNally and Mike Cuellar toss their fourth and fifth straight shutouts, respectively.

1995 - Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 2,131st consecutive game, surpassing Lou Gehrig’s record. In the middle of the fifth inning Ripken takes a lap around Camden Yards and receives a 22-minute standing ovation from the sell-out crowd.

1996 - Eddie Murray hits his 500th career home run, becoming the 15th player in MLB history to reach the mark. And he is only the third player to have both 500 home runs and 3,000 hits.

2012 - The Orioles move into a tie for first place in the AL East, beating the Yankees 10-6 on the power of six home runs.