Looking for offense at home, plus a three-homer game at Bowie

After two close losses to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Orioles got hammered 8-0 on Sunday and got swept to begin the new season. They scored just four runs in three games.

They will look for a better fate when they host Milwaukee today at 3:05 p.m. in the home opener at Camden Yards.

Lefty Bruce Zimmermann (4-5, 5.04 ERA in 2021) will become the fourth Maryland native to start a home opener for the Orioles. Steve Barber did that in 1964 and 1965, Tom Phoebus in 1968 and Dave Johnson in 1990. Zimmermann will become the first Maryland-born pitcher to start a home opener at Oriole Park at Camden Yards in the ballpark’s 30-year history.

The Rays surely have the Orioles’ number and beat them both in close games and blowouts, winning by one, two and eight runs at Tropicana Field.

While the Baltimore bullpen had some good moments in the opening series, the starters the last two days (Jordan Lyles and Tyler Wells) gave up nine runs in 6 2/3 innings.

The O’s offense produced just 21 hits in 99 at-bats, went 2-for-24 with runners in scoring position and struck out 37 times.

And they get no break on the mound today in Milwaukee right-hander Adrian Houser, who went 10-6 with an ERA of 3.22 last season. He didn’t have enough innings to qualify for league leaders or would have finished 14th in the National League last year in ERA. In 11 games in the second half of 2021, he went 5-1 with a 2.43 ERA and a 1.114 WHIP.

So if they get their offense going today, it’s going to have to be against a solid starter in their first home game at the Yard.

Hope to see a lot of fans today at the ballpark. After the game, join me for the “WBAL Orioles postgame show” live from the stadium. You can tune in on the radio or by listening via the WBAL Radio mobile app. 

That was quite the game: Double-A Bowie outfielder Hudson Haskin has had quite the start to the season. Haskin doubled three times in Bowie’s season opener on Friday night to tie a club record. On Sunday, he homered three times at Prince George’s Stadium to tie the club record.

Haskin was retired in the first inning when Bowie scored three runs. But he hit leadoff homers in the fourth and sixth innings, and then added a two-run shot to right center in the seventh. It was a 3-for-4, four-RBI day.

The 23-year-old Haskin is batting .583 at 7-for-12 with a 1.583 slugging percentage and an OPS of 2.166 as the Baysox won 11-6 Sunday to improve to 1-2.

Haskin’s 2021 season, where he played 57 games for low Single-A Delmarva and 26 for high Single-A Aberdeen with an OPS of .787, ended early in August due to a thumb injury. He was drafted No. 39 overall by the Orioles out of Tulane in 2020 and signed to a $1.9 million bonus.

He is ranked as the club’s No. 15 prospect by ESPN, No. 16 via MLBPipeline.com, No. 20 on The Athletic, No. 22 by Baseball America and No.26 via FanGraphs.com.

Tucker Nathans was the last Baysox player to hit three homers in one game, doing so on May 3, 2017, but was released not long after that. Former Oriole Nolan Reimold once hit three in a Bowie playoff game in 2008.

On the mound for Bowie was lefty Antonio Velez, who was acquired eight days ago by the Orioles in the deal that sent Tanner Scott and Cole Sulser to Miami. He threw four scoreless on Sunday, showing his well-commanded fastball around 90 mph and a strong changeup. He allowed just one hit with two walks and seven strikeouts in his O’s organization debut. Velez had now allowed just one earned run over 22 innings in four career Double-A games dating to late last year.

Meanwhile, high Single-A Aberdeen won 8-4 at Jersey Shore to complete a three-game sweep. Outfielder John Rhodes, the club’s third-round draft pick last year from Kentucky, had three hits, including a two-run triple. Rhodes has begun the new season going 6-for-7 (.857) with a double, triple and five RBIs. Winning pitcher Noah Denoyer gave up one earned run in three innings with four walks and eight strikeouts.