Hello friends.
The Orioles! They’re fun, aren’t they? They’re also now 57-33 for the 2024 season after beating the Athletics on Sunday afternoon. That 6-3 win is (barring a surprise reversal or later expansion/relocation) the last game the Orioles will play in Oakland. The win ended a six-game West Coast run for the O’s at 4-2 and left them exactly one game below .500 in their history at the Coliseum.
Want more fun news? The Yankees lost to the Red Sox on Sunday night, extending the Orioles’ lead in the American League East to three games. It’s the biggest lead the O’s have had all season. The Yankees wait until later this week to try to take a few games off the Orioles in the final series the teams will play before the All-Star break.
Check out Alex Church’s game recap for more on Sunday’s totals. The game also saw Heston Kjerstad hit a three-run home run, All-Star Gunnar Henderson get two hits and reliever Craig Kimbrel, who was one better than at least one All-Star, recorded another save in a scoreless ninth inning.
It’s an off day for the Orioles today, which means there’s absolutely no distraction for anyone who wants to get upset about the fact that only three O’s players were named to the All-Star team. The pitchers and replacements were announced Sunday night, and only one Oriole was named to join Henderson and Adley Rutschman on this year’s American League team. That’s starting pitcher Corbin Burnes.
If you want to indulge in a little extra MLB trick that they’re hoping to use to acquire email addresses, you can vote for an Orioles ballboy who made a great play earlier this season to also be in attendance for the game. Hey, good for him.
Other Burnes news from Sunday is that the Orioles announced their rotation for the upcoming series against the Cubs and had Burnes start Wednesday’s game, his final outing before the break. They could have had him play on regular rest Tuesday instead, setting him up to play on regular rest again Sunday morning against the Yankees. That also likely would have ruled Burnes out of starting the All-Star game.
I don’t think that’s why the Orioles did it this way. They probably want to do what they can to keep everyone on as regular a schedule as possible. Burnes can almost treat the game — assuming he pitches, which he should — as a sideline, and the Orioles can have him at the top of their list coming out of the break.
Maybe you’d rather see him play against the Yankees, which I understand. Those games matter and it would be nice to know that the Orioles have their best pitchers lined up for that, rather than, you know, guys who aren’t at their best.
If a player selected for the American League All-Star Game gets injured between now and the game, there’s always a chance an Oriole could be named to replace him. Right now, they have just three, one fewer than they had a year ago.
Chicago’s National League team will be in Baltimore for a series that begins tomorrow night, which will give the O’s a day off today to rest up after their return from the West. After a win yesterday, the Cubs are 42-49 this season. The O’s have lost series to the Pirates and Cardinals this season, so hopefully they won’t add another National League Central series loss. Dean Kremer is lined up as the O’s starter tomorrow. As of this writing, the Cubs have not named any starters for the series.
Around the blogO’sphere
Logic behind the alignments (Roch School)
Some roster decisions didn’t work out in the team’s favor in the series in Oakland. Manager Brandon Hyde shared some insight into why some of those decisions were made.
With better control, Chayce McDermott makes case for MLB call-up (The Baltimore Sun)
This one had the misfortune of being released before McDermott had given up three walks while failing to complete the first inning of his start over the weekend. Even before that, I don’t think the improved control had been adequately proven.
Spotting notes on some of Delmarva’s shorebirds (The Athletic)
Keith Law recently attended a game between the Orioles and Low-A Rangers and came away with nice things to say about Leandro Arias and Thomas Sosa.
This Bowie reliever excels, but goes a little unnoticed (Steve Melewski)
The radar is definitely not set to think about 26-year-old relievers in Double-A. Heid’s 1.11 ERA and 0.885 WHIP in 40.2 innings are enough for me to think he deserves a shot at Triple-A.
Orioles Birthdays and Holidays
Today in 2011, future Vandal David Ortiz started a fight around the bench by charging the mound after making a weak outing. Kevin Gregg tried to hit Ortiz as the Red Sock was rampaging against him, but as was often the case with Gregg, he missed his target.
Several former Orioles players were born on this day. They include Danny Ardoin, a five-game catcher in 2006, Jerome Walton, an outfielder in 1997, and John Powers, an outfielder in 1960. Ardoin’s son, Silas, was drafted by the O’s last year and spent that year playing for Bowie in Double-A.
Is it your birthday today? Happy birthday! Some of your birthday friends today include: Coca-Cola inventor John Pemberton (1831), pharmaceutical businessman Eli Lilly (1838), Zeppelin inventor Ferdinand von Zeppelin (1838), oil tycoon John Rockefeller (1839), psychiatrist/author Elisabeth Kübler-Ross (1926), chef Wolfgang Puck (1949), actor Kevin Bacon (1958), and actress Maya Hawke (1998).
On this day in history…
In 1709, a Russian force led by their Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedes under King Charles XII at the Battle of Poltava, a victory that effectively permanently swapped the places of Sweden and Russia in the geopolitical pecking order, with Russia becoming the great power of Northern Europe.
In 1853, the Perry Expedition arrived in Edo Bay, Japan, with the goal of opening Japanese markets to American trade using a combination of diplomacy and military threats.
In 1932, the stock market hit its lowest point since the Great Depression, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average reaching 41.22. Last week, it closed at 39,375.87.
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And that’s how it is at Birdland on July 8th. Have a great Monday.