The Orioles will be back in action to start July tomorrow, playing the first place Twins.
Hello, friends.
We can all celebrate the Orioles first winning month in five years by their getting the day off here at the end of it on June 30. They only needed to win one game in the Seattle series to seal it, and that’s exactly what they ended up getting. Yesterday’s 9-3 loss wasn’t too pretty. Take a look at Stacey’s recap of the game to get some of the not-so-lovely totals.
For their next trick, the Orioles need to find a way to have back-to-back winning months. They haven’t done this within the same season in six years, since May and June 2016. The ‘16 Orioles pulled off three straight winning months, which they sure needed to end up making it into the playoffs, since that year’s team was below-.500 in July and August.
The 2022 Orioles will head into July with a 35-42 record. I think it’s safe to say that’s better than any of us could have expected. That’s on pace for a 74-88 record for the season. 74 wins! That would be 22 wins more than last season if they are able to stay on that pace. They’ve got a better record than ten other teams at this point in time. This is only three months of the season, a few days shy of the halfway point. There’s a lot of baseball left, but what they’ve played so far feels like a real improvement.
What do you think the second half has in store for these Orioles? There is a strong possibility that one or more players who’ve been a part of this performance so far could get traded between now and this year’s August 2 trade deadline. If an outfielder is traded, there should be a prospect ready to replace him. No guarantee that prospect, be it Kyle Stowers or Yusniel Díaz, will be immediately up to equaling or bettering the performance.
If a reliever is traded, the path to replace that guy seems a bit less clear. The only guy in Norfolk who’s going to offer much potential to improve the pitching staff – be it as a starter or a reliever – is D.L. Hall. And even this probably depends on Hall walking fewer dudes. 28 walks in 38.1 innings is a heck of a lot.
After today’s off day, the Orioles will be in Minnesota for three games against the Twins. That series opener will get under way at 8:10 tomorrow. Spenser Watkins and Joe Ryan are lined up as the starting pitchers for the first game.
Around the blogO’sphere
The Orioles aren’t good… but they are interesting (FanGraphs)
This headline is a great summary of how things are going lately. FG’s Dan Szymborski ran some numbers from his ZiPS projection system on the coming seasons for Adley Rutschman, and forthcoming prospects like GUNNAR HENDERSON and Jordan Westburg! There are some good numbers here.
A June to remember for the Orioles (Orioles.com)
Beat writer Zachary Silver runs through three of the big trends leading to the Orioles winning month.
Which players could move at the deadline? One from each team (The Athletic)
Trey Mancini is probably going to show up on just about every one of these articles. I’ve had a while to prepare for this eventuality, but I’m still not emotionally ready for it, you guys.
Jorge López still feels ‘weird’ about his new closer routine, but the Orioles right-hander has earned it (The Baltimore Sun)
I’m not ready for López to get traded either, which is not something I expected to think before the season.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
Today in 2009, the Orioles turned a 10-1 deficit to the Red Sox into an 11-10 victory, pulling off the biggest comeback in the team’s history. Nick Markakis drove in two runs with a double to complete the comeback. Don’t look at what happened the next day.
Of all the players to ever play for the Orioles, not a single one has ever been born on this day. There are also no baseball Hall of Fame players born today.
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: actor Vincent D’Onofrio (1959), early American Idol winner Fantasia Barrino (1984), and Maryland-born swimming legend Michael Phelps (1985).
On this day in history…
In 1688, seven English nobles sent a letter inviting William of Orange to come take the throne of England. William, married to King James II’s daughter Mary, ultimately accepted this invitation, known as the Glorious Revolution.
In 1908, what’s believed to be a meteor caused a 12 megaton impact on remote Siberia. Known as the Tunguska Event, this incident is fascinating because there was never a crater. A meteoroid about 200 feet in size is thought to have burst about five kilometers above the surface.
In 1934, in Germany, the Night of the Long Knives took place. Hitler directed Nazi supporters to murder as many as a thousand political opponents, including the leader of the Nazi paramilitary brownshirts, to secure further control of the country.
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And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 30. Have a safe Thursday.