A lopsided loss yesterday didn’t knock the Orioles out of first place. They begin a three-game series tonight against the Blue Jays with the best record in the American League.
They are thriving under circumstances that haven’t been ideal. They aren’t catching all of the breaks. They aren’t at a peak health level.
They just find ways to win on most nights.
What are some of the obstacles that they’ve had to clear?
The rotation has stayed unsettled.
No one in the Orioles rotation has been willing to assist with the difficult task of making room for a sixth starter.
No one has stumbled to the point where an excuse for removal is created. So it’s left to the decision-makers in the organization to figure it out.
Dean Kremer followed his six scoreless innings in Cincinnati by not allowing an earned run today heading into the sixth, with a couple of errors doing more damage than the Diamondbacks.
Three unearned runs already were mountainous against Arizona ace Zac Gallen, and Jake McCarthy’s two-run shot to the flag court in right field was a dagger in the Orioles’ 9-2 loss before an announced Mother’s Day crowd of 31,448 at Camden Yards.
Kremer tied his career high with 10 strikeouts, but he also was charged with a third earned run when Cionel Pérez walked a batter and allowed an infield hit to Corbin Carroll and a two-run single to Ketel Marte.
Grayson Rodriguez is eligible to return from the injured list on Wednesday and he seems to be trending in the right direction.
Rodriguez said he threw about 30 pitches this morning in his latest bullpen session, about double his amount Wednesday in D.C.
“I felt great,” he said.
Rodriguez said he’ll probably throw another ‘pen in the next few days, and the Orioles can decide whether he should go on a brief rehab assignment.
The right-hander’s preference, of course, is to get back on the active roster.
The Orioles are going for the sweep today against the Diamondbacks and trying to improve on a 26-12 record that matches the 1969 and 1970 teams for the best 38-game start in franchise history.
Cedric Mullins is on the bench again today. He struck out yesterday as a pinch-hitter and is 5-for-53 since his two-hit day in Kansas City on April 21.
Colton Cowser gets another start in center field. Ryan O’Hearn is in left after Heston Kjerstad started there yesterday.
Ramón Urías is the third baseman.
Jordan Westburg is playing second base after yesterday’s walk-off single in the 11th inning. Westburg has doubled in three consecutive games, and his four-hit game yesterday was the first of his career and the first this season by an Orioles player.
Dylan Bundy picked up a baseball and couldn’t make it zip like the old days. Couldn't come close. And he knew it was time.
The former top prospect’s pitching career was over.
Bundy made 29 starts with the Twins in 2022 and six last summer with Triple-A Syracuse in the Mets organization. They released him on July 24, and the next phase of his professional life slowly began to take shape.
The retirement papers were filed over the winter, around the same time that Bundy got his realtor’s license. He’s still living in Sperry, Okla., where he bought a house next to the one he grew up in, is working for Ary Land Company and he also offers pitching and hitting instruction to stay involved in the sport.
Bundy and his wife Caitlin also became first-time parents, bringing their son Koda into the world on Feb. 11.
The late-inning bullpen decisions today by the Orioles were lacking in intrigue and excitement. Nothing about the closer. Nothing about protecting a lead. The top story angle also was being reset.
And then, the threat arrived when Anthony Santander hit a home run with two outs in the eighth inning to tie the game. Perhaps there was hope for hysteria after all.
The movements and usages of the relievers were back to being Baltimore obsessions, but the Orioles didn’t let the game carry to a save situation. Better to just walk it off and win the series.
The Orioles fell behind in the fifth inning before Santander’s 410-foot shot to center off Diamondbacks reliever Kevin Ginkel, and Jordan Westburg poked a single down the right field line on Bryce Jarvis' first pitch of the 11th to score Colton Cowser in a 5-4 victory before an announced crowd of 27,882 at Camden Yards.
Danny Coulombe retired the three batters he faced without the automatic runner budging from second base, Craig Kimbrel hit Christian Walker but stranded runners on the corners in the 11th with a strikeout and force play, and the Orioles improved to 26-12.
Cedric Mullins is available off the bench this afternoon. However, manager Brandon Hyde wants to give his center fielder a breather.
Mullins went 0-for-4 last night with a run-scoring grounder and is batting .193 with a .616 OPS in 36 games. He was lowered to ninth Wednesday in D.C., hit eighth last night and is out of today’s lineup despite the Diamondbacks starting right-hander Ryne Nelson.
A 2-for-4 day in Kansas City on April 21 was followed by a 5-for-52 stretch with one home run and three RBIs. He’s struck out nine times in his last five games and slammed his bat in frustration after a recent at-bat.
“He’s pressing big-time,” Hyde said, “so I just want to give him an evening to relax a little bit.”
Colton Cowser is in center field today and Heston Kjerstad is in left. The Diamondbacks are starting another right-hander, Zac Gallen, in Sunday’s series finale.
Colton Cowser is starting in center field this afternoon as the Orioles try to secure a series win against the Diamondbacks.
Heston Kjerstad gets the start in left field. Cedric Mullins goes to the bench against an opposing right-hander.
Jorge Mateo remains at second base. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.
Gunnar Henderson collected his 40th career double last night, making him the fifth player in Orioles history with 40 doubles and 40 home runs before turning 23. He joins Boog Powell, Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken Jr. and Manny Machado. Henderson is the only Oriole to also have 10 triples.
Jordan Westburg has 24 RBIs, one more than his rookie total last season.
Rarely do a reliever’s first warmup tosses in the bullpen create such a stir.
Craig Kimbrel wasn’t getting ready last night for the ninth inning. He was prepping for the seventh in a one-run game. Cue the gasps.
The Orioles went with the reset over their other options, and Kimbrel retired the Diamondbacks in order to preserve a 3-2 lead. One ball was scalded to first baseman Ryan Mountcastle. Another ball drove right fielder Anthony Santander to the edge of the warning track. But they were outs. Do not quibble.
Kimbrel is working on his mechanics. He isn’t dealing with upper-back tightness or anything else physical. And he’s still the guy who expects the ball in a save situation if he’s available. He said so earlier in the day at his locker.
The Orioles seemed to be on the same wavelength judging by manager Brandon Hyde’s comments after Wednesday night’s thriller in D.C. They didn’t appear ready to demote Kimbrel or do anything drastic.
Craig Kimbrel stood up tonight, removed his jacket and began to throw in the Orioles’ bullpen.
It was the bottom of the sixth inning.
Kimbrel said earlier in the day that he expected to get the ball again in a save situation, but he jogged onto the field for the top of the seventh with the Orioles ahead 3-2. The lights flickered as if he were closing. The entrance didn’t change.
Just the timing of it.
Kimbrel retired the Diamondbacks in order on a 101.4 mph line drive to Ryan Mountcastle, a strikeout at 94.4 mph and a fly ball near the warning track in right field. Twelve pitches, eight for strikes, and Kimbrel was done.
Craig Kimbrel is working on some mechanical adjustments with Orioles coaches and instructors in an attempt to snap out of the funk that’s forced his removal in four of his last five appearances.
He isn’t working on an alibi.
Kimbrel won’t make excuses for the blown saves and runs allowed that have increased his ERA from 0.82 on April 24 to 4.73 and created some shuffling in the back end of the bullpen.
“Let’s make it simple, I’ve got to be better,” he said this afternoon. “I think four of my last five outings have been pretty bad and I’ve just got to be better than that. Whatever they are – walking guys, throwing pitches where I shouldn’t, giving guys opportunities, not capitalizing on opportunities in at-bats and things like that.
“It can be laying in the breaking ball more, being less predictable, you name it. Whatever it is. I need to figure it out and be better, and I fully expect to. I don’t go out there thinking I’m going to give up any runs. I go out there expecting I’m going to do my job each and every time. Unfortunately, the last couple times that hasn’t been the case, but I plan on turning it around and getting on a good roll just like I always do.”
Last year’s National League champions come to Baltimore for a weekend series, with the Diamondbacks bringing along Rookie of the Year Corbin Carroll.
Carroll can pose for photos again with American League Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson.
Henderson totaled his 125th career RBI Wednesday at 22 years and 314 days old, becoming the fifth-youngest player to reach that mark with the Orioles, per STATS. Cal Ripken Jr. is fourth at 22 years and 291 days.
Jorge Mateo is the second baseman again tonight, with Jordan Westburg at third.
Colton Cowser is in left field and Anthony Santander is in right. Ryan O’Hearn is the designated hitter.
Albert Suárez made a run at a rotation spot in spring training, faltered late and was reassigned to minor league camp. He was an unexpected addition to the roster on April 17 after the Orioles placed Tyler Wells on the 15-day injured list with right elbow inflammation. And he keeps finding ways to contribute.
Maybe to complicate, too.
Two starts produced a combined 11 1/3 scoreless innings, because the man is full of surprises. The Orioles ran out of room in the rotation and moved him to the bullpen, where he retired all seven Cincinnati batters he faced Sunday afternoon.
“He made it look pretty easy,” said manager Brandon Hyde.
Nothing was simple about Suárez’s assignment Wednesday night in D.C. The 10th inning, automatic runner on second base, game on the line. Luis García Jr. didn’t budge because Suárez induced a grounder and fly ball and struck out Joey Meneses on a 96 mph four-seamer to keep the score tied.
The latest off-day for the Orioles is upon them. They’ll take it, of course, but they’d like to trade in a few for later in the summer.
Work it into the next Collective Bargaining Agreement. Trade you two Aprils for an August and September.
On a more realistic note, a few more big decisions are on the horizon. I feel like I’ve typed these words many times since spring training.
It’s true again.
* The Orioles set their rotation for the weekend Diamondbacks series at Camden Yards with Cole Irvin, John Means and Dean Kremer on the bump. Meanwhile, Grayson Rodriguez advanced this week from playing catch to throwing a bullpen session yesterday, his first since going on the injured list April 30 with right shoulder inflammation.
WASHINGTON – Kyle Bradish backed up home plate in the second inning and glanced at his glove, as if checking whether a hole had gone undetected.
That isn't where the leak would spring later in the night.
Trey Lipscomb’s one-hopper made it past Bradish, who reached across his body and rested the glove on his right shoulder as the ball bounced into center field for a run-scoring single.
The Orioles were behind again in D.C. Bradish finished the inning at 44 pitches, stranding two runners by fielding Jacob Young’s high chopper and striking out CJ Abrams. But he’d need to become more economical to get deep in his second start since his reinstatement from the injured list, and the Orioles would need a rally to avoid their first series sweep in the regular season since May 2022.
Anthony Santander hit a game-tying home run in the fourth inning and Gunnar Henderson provided a lead leading off the sixth. Bradish struck out nine batters in five frames and became the pitcher of record. It was setting up ideally until closing again became a major issue.
WASHINGTON – Grayson Rodriguez has advanced his throwing program to today’s bullpen session at Nationals Park.
Rodriguez, on the injured list with right shoulder inflammation, was playing catch before the Orioles cleared him to throw off a mound. He totaled about 15 pitches and spun a few rather than going strictly with his fastball.
“It was good. Everything felt good,” he said.
“Very encouraging. Obviously anytime you go on the IL, not good. But to be feeling good like I am, I guess pretty positive.”
The Orioles haven’t laid out the rest of the plan, but Rodriguez is getting back on the mound. He’ll face live hitters soon and a decision will be made whether he needs a brief rehab assignment.
WASHINGTON – Kyle Bradish makes his second start tonight since his reinstatement from the injured list, and the Orioles are attempting to avoid being swept in a regular season series for the first time since May 2022.
The streak of 102 series is on the line.
Bradish allowed one run in 4 2/3 innings Thursday against the Yankees in his 2024 debut. He’s started twice against the Nationals and racked up 14 scoreless innings.
Keibert Ruiz is 3-for-5 against Bradish.
Cedric Mullins moves down to ninth in the lineup tonight against the latest opposing left-handed starter. Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter while James McCann catches.
WASHINGTON - Dean Kremer was following the rotation’s lead of hanging up zeros, being extra stingy Sunday afternoon with only one hit allowed, and the bats broke out to remove any potential drama. A sweep in Cincinnati was a certainty, with only the final score pending.
Anthony Santander provided the game’s first run with his RBI single in the first inning, but he had one more damaging swing in him. It didn’t influence the outcome, but he needed it.
Facing right-hander Emilio Pagán in the ninth, Santander laid into a four-seam fastball and drove it 402 feet to right-center field for his third career grand slam.
Santander had five hits since April 21 before going 3-for-4 to raise his average from .200 to .218 and his OPS from .668 to .722. He was slashing .179/.225/.381 against right-handers before last night, increasing the important of the blow against Pagán.
The only other five-RBI game in Santander’s career was May 5, 2023, against the Braves and he also hit a grand slam.
WASHINGTON – Orioles starting pitchers were bound to do more than just a little bending. Even the tiniest cracks had to form.
The rotation had gone 22 consecutive innings without allowing a run until Joey Meneses’ hit-and-run single tonight in the second that plated Jesse Winker.
Corbin Burnes didn’t surrender another hit or run until the seventh. Light damage that weighed heavier with no offensive support.
The Nationals scored twice in the inning to provide insurance that wasn’t necessary in a 3-0 win over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 29,542.
The Orioles had allowed two runs or fewer in seven straight games, their longest streak since August 1980. But Meneses led off the seventh with a double and scored with one out on Eddie Rosario’s single, and another Nationals stolen base set up Trey Lipscomb’s RBI single and Burnes’ removal at 95 pitches.
WASHINGTON – Grayson Rodriguez is playing catch and reporting no discomfort in the right shoulder that forced him onto the injured list with inflammation on April 30.
“Feeling good,” he said today. “Just wanted to take some time off. Obviously had some shoulder inflammation. So really just missing a start or two and then right back at it.
“Just a little bit of soreness. We wanted to be a little bit on the cautionary side, just make sure it didn’t turn into anything more than what it is.”
Rodriguez is doing some light tossing on flat ground. He doesn’t know whether he’ll require a rehab assignment but is optimistic that he can avoid it, saying, “Personally, I don’t think so, but that’s not for me to decide.”
“Hopefully be ready whenever the 15 days is up,” he said.
