The Orioles finish their 10-game homestand this afternoon and fly to Toronto, returning to division competition that also includes a series in the Bronx.
Let’s start our morning by reading too much or too little into some of the Orioles’ recent decisions.
One of these days we’re gonna get it just right.
Anthony Santander at first base.
It happened in back-to-back games before he was used last night as the designated hitter. Santander hasn't been in right field since Saturday.
A scout who includes the Orioles among the teams he tracks regards Kyle Bradish as a starter capable of winning on a consistent basis in the majors. He grades Bradish highly and agrees to disagree with others in the profession who aren’t quite as sold. They’ve debated it. No two reports are exactly alike.
“He has something,” the scout said this week.
Bradish had more than the Angels could handle tonight.
Facing the team for the first time that drafted and traded him, Bradish allowed one run in 6 2/3 innings in a 3-1 victory over the Angels before an announced crowd of 15,702 at Camden Yards.
Austin Hays homered in the fifth to expand a lead, and the Orioles improved to 28-15 with a chance to win the series Thursday afternoon.
Jorge Mateo is on the bench again tonight to rest his legs before the Orioles finish their homestand on Thursday and hit the road for series against the Blue Jays and Yankees.
Mateo is 5-for-43 this month after batting .347/.395/.667 in his first 23 games.
“It’s nothing about offense,” manager Brandon Hyde said when explaining Mateo’s absence from the lineup. “It’s more of he’s just dealing with that little bit of leg soreness that he’s battling for the last couple weeks. And with a day game tomorrow, he’ll be in there. Just want to make sure with two big series coming up, also.
“It’s mainly about the day game being tomorrow. I didn’t want him to play a day game after a night. So, giving (Joey) Ortiz a start tonight.”
Hyde doesn’t know whether Mateo’s prolonged slump is related to his health.
Joey Ortiz is starting at shortstop tonight as the Orioles continue their series against the Angels at Camden Yards.
Jorge Mateo is on the bench after stopping an 0-for-19 skid last night. He’s 5-for-43 this month.
Terrin Vavra remains in right field. Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.
Ryan Mountcastle returns to first base after coming off the bench last night and contributing a double and home run.
Ryan McKenna is 3-for-6 as a pinch-hitter this season.
Don’t be fooled by the smile.
Logan Gillaspie knows when it’s appropriate to be a nice guy. Like, for instance, when teammates, club employees and reporters walk over to his locker. When he’s around his family or is approached by a fan.
Pretty much anytime except when he’s pitching.
The Orioles recalled Gillaspie from Triple-A Norfolk Monday morning and gave him another chance in their bullpen. They kept him busy after taking him north, with appearances made on March 30 and April 1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12 and 15.
Gillaspie didn’t allow a run or hit in his first three games over 1 2/3 innings. Four of the next five were harsh, including his final outing in the 10th inning in Chicago. The automatic runner scored, and so did pinch-runner Seby Zavala after back-to-back singles by Jake Burger and Oscar Colás.
The swing and the sound provided everything that Dean Kremer needed to know about Mickey Moniak’s at-bat leading off the top of the first inning.
Kremer stood motionless with his arm extended, eyes fixed on home plate, and waited for a new baseball. The one Moniak hit landed 408 feet away in the right-center field bleachers.
The inning must have felt like it was moving in slow motion. Kremer threw 31 pitches, his stay extended when Taylor Ward’s two-out ground ball at 105 mph slammed off Gunnar Henderson’s chest and rolled toward shortstop.
The overall damage to Kremer was minimal, with just the one run scoring. But the game within the game became how quickly he could dispose of the Angels and avoid a short outing after rookie Grayson Rodriguez lasted only 3 1/3 last night.
Kremer earned two wins. He came within a ground ball single of completing the sixth, lessening the strain on the bullpen, and the Orioles defeated the Angels 7-3 before an announced crowd of 13,244 at Camden Yards.
Cole Irvin is in Baltimore to serve as a long reliever. Nothing else to it.
The Orioles don’t have immediate plans to reinsert Irvin into the rotation, but manager Brandon Hyde said, “He’s going to start for us down the road at some point for sure, I just don’t know when that’s going to be.”
“We see him as a starter,” Hyde added, “but right now we needed some length out of our bullpen and he was fully rested. We wanted to bring him back up here at some point anyway.”
Irvin gives the Orioles a long man with Austin Voth unavailable after pitching in back-to-back games. Mike Baumann has done the same and also is down.
“Where the game ended last night, we had to cover quite a few innings out of our bullpen, and we just wanted to bring up somebody that gives us a length option out of the ‘pen,” Hyde said.
Anthony Santander gets his second consecutive start at first base tonight against the Angels at Camden Yards.
Santander hadn't played the position in the majors until last night, his experience confined to nine games in A-ball in 2016. He handled every chance flawlessly against the Angels.
Terrin Vavra stays in right field. Ryan O’Hearn bats ninth as the designated hitter.
Austin Hays is in left field and batting cleanup. Jorge Mateo is eighth.
Dean Kremer will try to stay on a roll after allowing one run over 12 combined innings against the Braves and Rays.
Cole Irvin is returning to the Orioles.
The left-hander’s stay at Triple-A lasted a month and cost him a spot in the rotation. However, he’s back in the home clubhouse for tonight’s game against the Angels at Camden Yards.
The Orioles announced that they recalled Irvin from Norfolk and optioned reliever Logan Gillaspie, who barely had time to unpack his bags before leaving.
Gillaspie was informed of the decision last night after allowing a run, plus an inherited runner from Grayson Rodriguez to score, in 1 2/3 innings in a 9-5 loss. The Angels collected four hits and a walk.
Irvin was a surprise demotion on April 14 after making only three starts. His strike-throwing reputation took a hit, with Irvin posting a 10.66 ERA and 1.974 WHIP and averaging 5.7 walks per nine innings.
The annual revealing of the non-roster invites for spring training bring equal parts curiosity over the biggest names and the group of suspicious omissions. The latter can be fueled by prospect status or by previous opportunities in the majors. There's got to be a reason for the exclusion.
The same holds true when the Orioles share their list of extra players brought over from minor league camp for home games or the travel roster.
Zac Lowther was absent from all of it.
Didn’t receive an invitation, didn’t appear at Ed Smith Stadium or on the team bus.
So, what exactly is going on with Lowther, 27, who made his major league debut in 2021, got one relief appearance the following season and seems to have disappeared?
Shohei Ohtani the pitcher didn’t impress tonight at Camden Yards.
Shohei Ohtani the hitter was a destructive force.
The walk and single were tame compared to the 456-foot three-run homer in the fourth inning that further shredded Grayson Rodriguez’s much-hyped start opposite baseball’s two-way terror.
A two-out triple off Logan Gillaspie in the fifth, followed by Hunter Renfroe’s second double of the night, built on the legend of Ohtani. The single in the ninth on a two-strike pitch from Mike Baumann made him the first starting pitcher to reach base at least five times since the Yankees’ Mel Stottlemyer on Sept. 26, 1964 in D.C.
The crowd groaned. It wanted the cycle.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde doesn’t know how long outfielder Kyle Stowers will stay down in the minors after the club optioned him following yesterday’s game. Could be more than a quick reset. What’s important is making sure that a different version of Stowers returns.
“Just like to see him get his confidence back a little bit, get some regular at-bats,” Hyde said today during his media session. “He was swinging the bat so well before he came up here. Just want to see him get the confidence going again.”
Stowers struck out four times yesterday against the Pirates, raising his total to 12, and was 2-for-30 before his second demotion.
“Talking to him after the game yesterday, felt it was important for him to get consistent at-bats,” Hyde said. “That’s a tough adjustment up here. It’s very normal to have player struggles or scuffles, but we really believe in him as a hitter and what he’s going to be like. Just want to see him go play.”
Hyde and executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias met with Stowers yesterday and explained the reasons behind the move.
The Orioles begin a four-game home series against the Angels tonight with Anthony Santander starting at first base and Terrin Vavra playing right field.
Santander hasn’t played first in the majors. He made nine starts in A ball in 2016.
Also in the lineup against Shohei Ohtani are Ryan Mountcastle as the designated hitter and Adam Frazier at second base. Jorge Mateo is back at shortstop after resting yesterday.
The Orioles’ 26 wins are the most through 40 games since 2012. The club record is 28 in 1970, followed by 27 in 1997 and 1969.
All five Orioles with 20 or more RBIs are under 30 years old, tying them with the Rays for the most, according to STATS.
The Orioles have optioned outfielder Kyle Stowers for the second time this season.
They announced the latest move this morning, though Stowers was informed after yesterday’s 4-0 loss to the Pirates at Camden Yards.
Reliever Logan Gillaspie is joining the club from Triple-A Norfolk, where Stowers is headed after striking out four times yesterday to raise his season total to 12.
Stowers accounted for four of the team’s 17 strikeouts. He’s 2-for-30 in 14 games, with three walks and one run scored.
The Orioles broke camp with Stowers and sent him down April 9 while reinstating backup catcher James McCann from the injured list. Stowers barely had played, going hitless in four at-bats.
Grayson Rodriguez’s last swing as a senior at Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Tx. resulted in a home run in a game that his team was losing by a huge margin. The opposing pitcher was working on a perfect game. The details remain fresh in his mind.
They also bring a smile years later, as he marvels at Shohei Ohtani’s dominance on the mound and at the plate with the Los Angeles Angels. A two-way All-Star player who intrigues Rodriguez, an accomplished prep hitter whose days holding a bat in his hands are far behind him.
The Orioles are invested in the right arm that could make him a staff ace.
Rodriguez will do more than face Ohtani tonight when the Angels visit Camden Yards. They’re also the game’s starting pitchers.
“That’s going to feel like the big leagues for sure,” Rodriguez said yesterday. “Obviously, seeing somebody like that, of that caliber who’s arguably the face of baseball right now. It’s going to be pretty different to see the guy you’re going against on the mound also step up in the box. I’m pretty ready for that.”
Former Orioles starter Scott Erickson stood at his locker after a poor outing and offered a simple explanation to reporters for what happened to him, why the opposition kept getting on base. One sentence that said plenty about his pitching and his dour personality.
“I can make them hit it on the ground,” he said flatly, “but I can’t direct where it goes.”
Next question.
Kyle Gibson has a much better rapport with the media, but his luck this afternoon mirrored what Erickson experienced that day.
The seven Pirates hits were singles, with none of the launch angles registering above 14 degrees via Statcast data. A strikeout/wild pitch fueled a rally in the third that included ground balls from Ke’Bryan Hayes and Ji Hwan Bae that found holes on the right side of the infield and accounted for three runs.
Outfielder Ryan McKenna said he’s available to play this afternoon if the Orioles want to bring him off the bench.
McKenna underwent an MRI on his lower back that didn’t reveal any structural damage. He’s receiving treatment for soreness that began as the Orioles were finishing their trip in Atlanta.
“It seems to be nothing too crazy for concern,” he said. “I’m ready for today if they need me. Just got some sprint work in and it feels pretty good today.”
McKenna hasn’t batted since Monday. He was used as a defensive replacement the next two nights in the ninth inning but hasn’t played against the Pirates.
“I felt it more when I was coming back from that road trip,” he said. “I think I just let my body get a little too tight and it caused some pressure in places that I didn’t really like. Just trying to maintain mobility in some areas and I’ll be good to go.”
The Orioles have reduced their pitching staff to 12 this morning by optioning left-handed reliever Nick Vespi and recalling infielder Joey Ortiz from Triple-A Norfolk.
Ortiz arrived yesterday and joined the 24-hour taxi squad because outfielder Ryan McKenna is receiving treatment for a sore back. McKenna has avoided the injured list, but Ortiz maintains a healthy four-man bench.
Jorge Mateo is one of the reserves today, with Ortiz starting at shortstop and batting ninth. Adley Rutschman also is on the bench.
Vespi was the second Orioles pitcher to be recalled last week and fail to appear in a game. Drew Rom spent a couple of days in the bullpen without making his major league debut.
It also happened to Spenser Watkins while the Orioles were in Chicago.
Orioles infielder Ramón Urías is facing a new opponent.
The amount of time spent recovering from a left hamstring strain.
Urías said yesterday that his leg feels “much better.” He didn’t seem to be limping as he walked across the clubhouse to his locker.
The Orioles put Urías on the 10-day injured list Tuesday after he left the previous night’s game against the Rays in the ninth inning. He was running to first base on a single and felt the hamstring grab.
“It was just a little bit,” he said.
The party rages on with the Orioles.
All of the wins, the water games, the loud music and light shows in the clubhouse. Selling tickets at Camden Yards should be replaced by a cover charge.
They’re mashing, they’re splashing, they’re 13 games above .500 for the first time since the final game of the 2016 season.
Mike Elias wasn’t kidding when he said the rebuild was behind them.
Starter Tyler Wells was in a zone that didn’t include water, shutting out the Pirates on one hit in seven innings, Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson homered early, and the Orioles defeated the Pirates 2-0 before an announced crowd of 21,926.
