Mountcastle chosen AL Rookie of the Month (and other notes)

A torrid month of June for the Orioles' Ryan Mountcastle came with its own reward.

Mountcastle was chosen as the American League's Rookie of the Month, with the announcement made earlier today on MLB Network.

He seemed like an obvious choice, but so did Cedric Mullins for the All-Star Game's starting lineup.

Mountcastle wasn't snubbed. He batted .327/.382/.634 (33-for-101) with four doubles, nine home runs, 26 RBIs and 17 runs scored in 26 games.

The outfielder/first baseman led the league in hits - nine more than Tampa Bay's Randy Arozarena - home runs, RBIs and OPS at 1.015.

The month also included a three-homer game against the Blue Jays on June 19 at Camden Yards, when he was 4-for-4.

Mountcastle is expected in the lineup again tonight - whether in left field, at first base or as the designated hitter - when the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Angels in Anaheim.

Left-hander Keegan Akin is 0-4 with a 7.11 ERA and 1.605 WHIP in 10 games (six starts). He's allowed 30 runs and 46 hits in 38 innings.

Akin has surrendered 19 runs and 21 hits and recorded eight walks and 15 strikeouts in his last three starts, covering 14 innings. His only major league win was Sept. 16, 2020 after five scoreless innings against the Braves at Camden Yards.

The Orioles tied their season-high winning streak at three games by sweeping the series in Houston. They haven't won four in a row since Sept. 4-8, 2020.

The last streak of four or more on the road came Aug. 7-13, 2020 in D.C. and Philadelphia, when the Orioles won six straight.

Right-hander Griffin Canning, a second-round pick in 2017 out of UCLA, has registered a 4.95 ERA and 1.417 WHIP in 13 games. He's averaging 3.9 walks and 9.3 strikeouts per nine innings.

In his last three starts, Canning has allowed five earned runs (six total) and only one home run in 16 2/3 innings. The reverse splits have left-handed batters hitting .223/.316/.401 against him in 42 major league games and right-handers .267/.323/.483.

Griffin faced the Orioles twice in 2019 and allowed nine runs and 10 hits in 6 2/3 innings. His only start came May 12 in Baltimore, the third of his major league career, and he surrendered four runs and five hits with four walks and six strikeouts in 4 2/3 innings.

Chris Davis, Stevie Wilkerson and Dwight Smith Jr. hit home runs. Davis is on the 60-day injured list following hip surgery, Wilkerson is in limbo after the Orioles designated him for assignment, and Smith batted .220/.327/.283 in 36 games with Triple-A Louisville before the Reds released him.

The teams didn't meet in 2020 due to regional travel implemented for safety reasons during the pandemic. The Orioles haven't swept the Angels in a three-game series in Anaheim since August 2010. They also swept the series in Baltimore. The Angels took all three at home in May 2018.

The Orioles won three of four in Anaheim in 2019. Wilkerson earned the first nonpitcher save in major league history in a game that lasted 16 innings.

Tanner Scott gave up three runs in the 15th and was credited with the win. Canning took the loss after surrendering five over the last two innings.

Outfielder Mike Trout, voted into the All-Star Game, is on the 60-day injured list.

The Angels rank fifth in the majors with 110 home runs and fourth with a .437 slugging percentage and .754 OPS. Their 5.04 ERA and 1.42 WHIP are the fourth-highest in the majors, while the Orioles' 5.44 ERA is first and 1.45 WHIP second.

Former Orioles pitcher Alex Cobb was pushed back to Saturday due to last night's rainout. Left-hander Patrick Sandoval starts Sunday.

The Orioles are starting Jorge López and Thomas Eshelman in the last two games of the series.

Kyle Bradish starts tonight for Triple-A Norfolk and Mike Baumann for Double-A Bowie.

Former Ravens left tackle Jonathan Ogden, inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in 2013, will throw out the ceremonial first pitch Tuesday night at Camden Yards.

Supervisor of domestic scouting Brad Ciolek told the media today on a Zoom call that there doesn't seem to be a consensus on players likely to be drafted ahead of the Orioles, who hold the No. 5 pick on July 11.

"We've heard rumblings," he said, "but at this juncture we're just keeping an open mind, doing the best we can to rank them internally ourselves and then ultimately see what happens once it's the night of the draft, who goes before us."

Ciolek said signability is important, especially with high school players, but he called it "a secondary factor." He didn't forecast the Orioles' strategy regarding position players versus pitchers, and also said they wouldn't avoid taking a catcher with the fifth overall pick.

Adley Rutschman being in the system won't influence them.

Multiple mock drafts have the Orioles taking Louisville catcher Henry Davis.

"We want to take the best player available," Ciolek said, "and ultimately if it's a catcher, we're not (going) to shy away from that, regardless of what we have in the system or what we have on the major league roster."

Steve Melewski will have more from Ciolek on his side of the site. And he's handling game coverage in this series as we simulate road travel without baggage claim.