Hello, friends.
No, you are not dreaming. The last two games have really happened. The first place Orioles got back-to-back seven inning starts from Dylan Bundy and Kevin Gausman, their first round picks at #4 overall in consecutive drafts. Bundy and Gausman accomplished this feat against another first place team, the Rangers, that made two big trade deadline moves to fortify their offense. They scored two runs in 14 innings against those guys.
Make sure to read Stacey's recap of the game if you haven't done so already - and of course, since it was a win, register your choice in the Most Birdland Player poll at the end of the recap. Are you down with the starting pitcher bias, or do you think that Matt Wieters deserves the crown for the day for his clutch first inning hit and clutch ninth inning cannon shot?
For all that, the Orioles still hold only a one game lead over the Blue Jays, who once again beat the Astros. However, they did pick up another game on the Red Sox, who are now three games back. Boston lost to Seattle, 3-1. The Red Sox, in fact, have tipped out of a playoff position entirely - now a half game behind the surging Tigers, winners of eight straight games. Do you feel bad for them? No, I don't either.
You may, in your rounds about the Internet, have seen this video yesterday. If you didn't, you need to see it now.
Birdland Superheroes Crush Davis and his English Bulldog Samson hold press conference at Oriole Park at Camden Yardshttps://t.co/ktsEzA5iGe
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) August 3, 2016
OK, now back to reality. Wade Miley is making his first Orioles start tonight against a Rangers team that's now been held down for the two games before this. Good luck, Wade!
Around the blogO'sphere
The Baltimore Orioles Are Baseball’s Slowest Team in Decades - WSJ
The Wall Street Journal, of all the publications, has deigned to notice the existence of the Orioles long enough to point out that the Orioles are probably going to set the record for fewest triples ever hit in a single season - and they're not doing so great with stolen bases either.
Orioles notebook: Wade Miley stays on turn, to make debut Thursday - Baltimore Sun
It may be that none of us can ever be ready for this, yet it's coming tonight anyway. The good news is, the Orioles have already won the series.
Schmuck: Yankees' rare rebuild puts them in stark contrast with win-now Orioles - Baltimore Sun
The Sun's Peter Schmuck points out how unusual it is that the Orioles are winning right now while the Yankees have had to punt into a rebuilding mode. Sadly for my schadenfreude, the Yankees remain above .500 even while "rebuilding." I hate those guys.
Minor League Podcast: Brian Graham gives insight on specific O's prospects - BaltimoreBaseball.com
Connolly's crew gets the skinny on Sisco, Scott, Peralta, Mountcastle, and Stewart. Take a listen if you want to hear about what passes for the top of the O's system.
Showalter on Britton: "There's nobody out there better than him" - School of Roch
Buck is a little biased here, admittedly, but then again, the leaderboard absolutely speaks for itself in this regard.
When it comes to Dylan Bundy, the veteran is impressed with the kid - Steve Melewski
Yovani Gallardo is among the people who are impressed by Bundy's recent performance. This gives us solid confirmation that Gallardo still possesses two working eyes.
On the Pirates' disastrous Francisco Liriano trade - Bucs Dugout
A periodic reminder to all of the rabid Peter Angelos haters out there that this is what a cheap owner really looks like.
Birthdays and anniversaries
On this day in 2005, the Orioles fired one double 'z' manager, Lee Mazzilli, only to replace him with another, Sam Perlozzo. The Orioles would go on to finish the season 23-32 under Perlozzo.
There are two former Orioles with birthdays today. They are 2007 short-timer Jon Knott, and Camden Chat's #31 Oriole of all time, B.J. Surhoff (1996-2000, 2003-05). Surhoff turns 52 today.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Your birthday buddies for today include the following: Pope Urban VII, owner of the shortest papacy (12 days) in history (1521), Ozymandias poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792), jazz legend Louis Armstrong (1901), Homicide/SVU actor Richard Belzer (1944), President Barack Obama (1961), NASCAR driver Jeff Gordon (1971), and Rectify actress Abigail Spencer (1981).
On this day in history...
In 1265, in the Second Barons' War in England, royalists led by the future King Edward I defeated rebel forces led by Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and others; de Montfort was killed and mutilated in the battle.
In 1693, tradition tells that Dom Perignon invented champagne, though whether or not he actually did so is one of those unknowns of history.
In 1944, an informer's tip led to the discovery in an Amsterdam warehouse of the family of Anne Frank; they were ultimately sent a month later on the last train to Auschwitz.
In 1964, destroyers USS Maddox and USS Turner Joy reported coming under attack in the Gulf of Tonkin. This attack in fact never occurred, which did not stop President Lyndon Johnson from going on television to the American people to request authority for a military response to the incident.
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And that's the way it is in Birdland on August 4 - or at least, until something happens later. Have a safe Thursday. Go Orioles!