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Orioles news: Bradish struggles, Basallo’s MRI clean
Orioles news: Bradish struggles, Basallo’s MRI clean
Hello, friends.
Not as fun a day of Orioles baseball yesterday. The narrative of improvement for Kyle Bradish was put on pause, hopefully for just that one game. At times his defense didn’t do him favors, but even so, there’s only so much to blame others when the pitcher gives up nine hits and three walks in four innings. Friends, that’s a WHIP of 3. That is bad. The Orioles lost, 6-4. Check out Stacey’s recap of the game for more of the not-so-lovely totals.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIf you are inclined to try to find silver linings in losses, you could feel a little bit better about a few things in the game. Colton Cowser homered. If he is improving, that’s a plus for the team’s fortunes. Pete Alonso hit a two-run homer against a current Birdland heel, Jeff Hoffman. That was fun. Gunnar Henderson had three hits. The Orioles need that guy to heat up. They need all of those guys to heat up. It’s nice to see them fight to make it closer after they fell behind, 6-1.
Still, a loss is a loss. The Orioles have already lost too many games this year to feel like they can take away moral victories out of losses. Although they have improved lately, they dug themselves a hole earlier. Not as deep of a hole as they dug last year, but still a hole. It’s not any less deep just because at the moment they are within a game of a wild card spot. Other teams are going to get hot eventually and if the Orioles do not keep pace, we’ll be looking back on their record through May 20 or so with regret.
As bad as yesterday’s game was, the Orioles have a chance to take this series in Toronto if they can put together a better game today. That would give them a 4-2 record across this little AL East road trip. It’s not enough to put them in a good place, but it would be good enough to feel good about.
They will be going up against former Oriole Kevin Gausman as they attempt to take the series today. Gausman did not pitch in the series between these two teams in Baltimore. He’s doing great so far this season, with a 3.36 ERA and 2.95 FIP through 13 starts. The Jays have gotten a lot of value out of the five-year contract they signed him to ahead of the 2022 season.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementOne guy the Orioles actually did sign to a five-year contract is pitching for them today. Shane Baz has also been working on a narrative of improvement lately. He’s turned in four good starts in a row. It might take another four in a row for him to make up for his early season struggles. It’s been good to see him on the right track. Hopefully, unlike Bradish, he can stay on the right track in his outing against the Jays. The finale is set to begin at 1:37 Eastern.
Orioles stuff you might have missed
Samuel Basallo’s MRI clean after leaving Friday’s game with abdominal discomfort (The Baltimore Banner)The best news from yesterday was that there wasn’t anything bad on Basallo’s MRI, particularly regarding a potential oblique problem. Still, if he needs to heal for a couple of days, I hope they give him the chance to do that.
Orioles add Huff and subtract Wilson before Saturday’s game (School of Roch)One thing that’s going to enable the team to rest Basallo a little bit is the presence of a third catcher on the roster. Sam Huff is back. Perhaps not for long.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWild card gives Orioles more chances to dream of October (Baltimore Baseball)Orioles in October? With this offense, maybe. (The Baltimore Sun)How Orioles climbed back into the AL playoff race behind a resurgent starting rotation (CBS Sports)On some level, it is absurd to talk about the Orioles being in the playoff picture when they’re 31-34. But the reality is, they are in it. They were a game back after losing yesterday. If they can consistently sustain good play for the rest of June, they’ll probably be at least .500 and then it won’t feel as weird to talk about their wild card positions. They’ve gotta get the last few wins out of the way to get there, though.
Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries
In their 65th game last year, the Orioles lost to the Tigers, 5-3, falling to 26-39 on the season. Cade Povich took the loss after allowing five runs in 4.2 innings, while the offense combined for just six hits in a Tigers bullpen game. Six of the 14 O’s players who appeared in this game will be active today. The 2026 Orioles are currently five games better than that team was. It’s better than we feared a month ago, but more work remains to be done.
There are a few former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2000-02 first baseman/outfielder Chris Richard, 1999 reliever Heathcliff Slocumb, and 1968 pitcher Roger Nelson. Today is Nelson’s 82nd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIs today your birthday? Happy birthday to you! Your birthday buddies for today include: author Elizabeth Bowen (1899), Wienermobile designer Brooks Stevens (1911), actor Liam Neeson (1952), musician Prince (1958), and wilderness survival expert Bear Grylls (1974).
On this day in history…
In 1099, Crusaders initiated a siege of Jerusalem. The city was captured about a month later, leading to the founding of the Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem.
In 1776, Richard Henry Lee of Virginia presented a resolution to the Second Continental Congress declaring that “these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent States.” The Lee Resolution is what ultimately led to the Declaration of Independence the next month.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementIn 1892, Mr. Homer Plessy was arrested in a “whites only” car on a train after refusing to leave his seat. The appeals case resulting from this arrest, Plessy v. Ferguson, shamefully enshrined the “separate but equal” doctrine for a long time afterwards.
In 1938, Chinese Nationalist forces destroyed a series of levees on the Yellow River to flood the area and halt the Japanese advance through the country. Somewhere between 500,000 and 1,000,000 civilians were killed as a result of this flooding.
In 1975, Sony debuted its Betamax product, the first video cassette recorder product. Betamax ultimately lost the “format wars” to the later-arriving VHS.
And that’s the way it is in Birdland on June 7. Have a safe Sunday. Go O’s!