They’re 13-0-5 in their last 18 AL East series. Seems good!
Hello, friends.
The Orioles have gone and done it again. Starting about two years ago and on through into now, that usually means something good rather than something bad. With last night’s win over the Red Sox, the O’s extended their streak of series against AL East opponents where they either win or split the series to 18 in a row – a series record of 13-0-5 over that time, spanning 58 games.
Even though for a couple of minutes early in the game, with the Orioles booting the ball around the diamond leading to the Red Sox first (and ultimately only) run, it looked like things were going to be stupid, the O’s turned it around. Corbin Burnes rallied to go through seven innings, finishing off the Sox in the seventh even as his pitch count crossed past 100 with two men on base. Gunnar Henderson hit a righteous grand slam to deal the big damage towards a 6-1 win. Check out John Beers’s recap of the game for more of the lovely totals.
Did the Orioles gain any ground in the AL East with this win? Actually, you can tell me, because I’m putting this article in the can before I go to bed on Wednesday night and I’m not going to be awake whenever the Yankees and Angels game that started close to 10 o’clock Eastern time is done with. If it’s a Yankees loss, the O’s are only a half-game back. That would be fun. I’m not counting on it.
At worst, the Orioles are 1.5 games back. The Yankees are in action late in LA again, with Carlos Rodón in action. He’s been good this year after being hurt/bad a year ago. Too bad for me, who constantly roots for Yankees failure and misery. Patrick Sandoval, who has been bad (like a 5.60 ERA level bad) is the Angels starter. I’m not counting on anything happening here either.
With one-third of the season in the books, the Orioles are 35-19. They’re on pace to win 105 games! Is that good? I think that’s good. They have been beset by a variety of problems through the first 54 games and they’ve managed to overcome them enough to win this many games. It’s really impressive and it’s not something I am used to my favorite baseball team being able to do.
The next 11 Orioles games, starting tomorrow, will be played against AL East teams. A three-game series against the Rays finishes this homestand, then they go on the road for four in those domed hellscapes in Toronto and Tampa (well, St. Petersburg). These are not games that will be adding to the Orioles tally of games against teams better than .500. The Rays and Blue Jays are both below.
That’s no guarantee of easy wins, as we know from the St. Louis series – the Cardinals are now up to .500, by the way – but hopefully the Orioles will be able to take advantage because tougher opponents await after that.
Around the blogO’sphere
Hyde on Westburg: “I think we really caught a break and got lucky” (School of Roch)
Jordan Westburg was hit in the wrist with a pitch in the way that you had to fear a substantial injury. The x-rays were negative, so Westburg sat last night and gets the day off to rest today. We’ll see if he’s good to go tomorrow.
How Ryan O’Hearn became a complete hitter with the Orioles (The Baltimore Banner)
Swing changes are all the rage! As long as they work.
No. 5 prospect Enrique Bradfield Jr. is burning up the basepaths (Orioles.com)
Last year’s first round pick is fast, there’s no question about that. We can only hope he doesn’t end up as a player where what you say about them is, “You can’t steal first.”
Gunnar Henderson talks about why he’s drawing more walks (Steve Melewski)
One of my takeaways in this article is that Gunnar doesn’t even think he’s been locked in yet. If there’s better stuff coming than what we’ve already see, hoo boy.
These Orioles are a threat to win everything that’s out there (The Washington Post)
The Post jumping on the Orioles bandwagon is when you know things are getting serious.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 1982, then-rookie Cal Ripken Jr. was back in the starting lineup after sitting out the second game of a doubleheader the previous day. This was the first game of The Streak.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2022 outfielder Brett Phillips, 2013 pitcher Jairo Asencio, 1993-95 pitcher Mike Oquist, and Baltimore-born 1962-67 pitcher John Miller. Miller passed away in 2020 at age 79.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: jeweler Peter Carl Fabergé (1846), voice actor Mel Blanc (1908), King of Swing Benny Goodman (1909), football Hall of Famer Gale Sayers (1943), Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello (1964), actress Idina Menzel (1971), and singer-songwriter CeeLo Green (1975).
On this day in history…
In 1431, Joan of Arc was burned at the stake in Rouen, France.
In 1536, England’s Henry VIII married Jane Seymour, the third of his eventual six wives. Seymour was a lady-in-waiting to the previous two wives.
In 1814, the War of the Sixth Coalition – the penultimate of the Napoleonic Wars – came to an end with the signing of the First Treaty of Paris. The warring parties agreed on a restoration of French borders to where they were in 1792, with the deposed Bourbon dynasty returning to take over from Napoleon.
In 1922, the Lincoln Memorial was dedicated.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on May 30. Have a safe Thursday.