(April 1st – Day 26)
CF Darion Blanco was placed on the 10-day IL, and our call-up was CF Kyle Isbel. This is Isbel’s 4th time being called up to play with the big club, and he still has 2 option years left. He’ll replace Blanco at CF, and we'll bench Melendez back to his supporting role for now, but try to get him into the lineup as much as possible as a pinch hitter and runner. I adjusted the batting order, putting Isbel at #1 against righties and #2 against lefties. He is crushing the ball in Omaha after 12 AB, hitting a
417/.462/.500, 1 SB, 154 wRC+ and a 142 OPS+. I know that’s a tiny sample, but in his previous years, he showed glimpses of this caliber of play. Let’s see if the kid can break the ceiling with the big club!
Baltimore is projected to match up two LHPs, and the final series game is RHP Burnes. Here's how it goes.
RHP Brady Singer vs LHP Cionel Perez
RHP Matt Sauer vs LHP Derek Holland
RHP Seth Lugo vs RHP Corbin Burnes
Game Summary – April 1st - Orioles Earn 8-5 Home Win
Baltimore first baseman Ryan O'Hearn made his presence felt in the 8-5 Orioles triumph over the Kansas City Royals. O'Hearn went 1 for 3 with a home run and a walk. He scored 2 runs and drove in 2. Dillon Tate, now 1-0, picked up the win in relief. He allowed 1 run on 2 hits in 1.2 innings. Baltimore, with the win, is 3-1.
Cedric Mullins, who finished 2nd in the AL in triples with 3 in 2020, chipped in a 2-run home run for Baltimore in the bottom of the seventh. For the game, the center fielder had 2 hits in 4 at-bats with 1 home run, 1 single, 1 run scored, and 2 runs batted in.
"Winning the game is always the first objective," Mullins said.
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Ryan O'Hearn
Ballpark: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Weather: Rain (41 degrees), wind blowing right to left at 8 mph
Start Time: 6:35 PM ET
Time: 3:17
Attendance: 22369
Special Notes: Jackson Holliday and Nick Anderson were ejected in the 7th inning for igniting a bench-clearing brawl.
The media is spreading the rumor (or fact…) that bad blood could be brewing between the Orioles and the Royals due to yesterday's bench-clearing brawl between Holliday and Anderson. Upon hearing that the league office had suspended both players 4 games each, the Orioles front office and I had some harsh comments. It was just noise, and both clubs were warned about the consequences of premeditated retaliation. I don’t think it was premeditated, but I don’t know the history between those two, so I’ll have to keep it calm next time we meet. I hope tomorrow’s game has no incidents. Brady Singer did not have a good first showing, but we’ll give the kid some time to work things out. I’m confident he’ll figure it out.
Great news came from Omaha today about the 25-year-old RF Tyler Gentry. He hit a two-run double in the 1st, hit an RBI double in the 3rd, hit an RBI single in the 4th, hit an RBI single in the 6th, ground out in the 7th and hit a two-run double in the 8th, giving him a
.533/.579/.733, 15AB, 224 wRC+, and a 214 OPS+ so far this year. Still too early to say anything other than keep it up. His 5-for-6 hitting performance led the Storm Chasers to an 18-9 win. The Columbus Clippers manager, Andy Tracy, said after the game, "He made it look easy; we never figured out what to do with him. Obviously.”
So far, a few games into the season, we have been coming out on the positive side. But the season is long, and the baseball gods have a funny way of reminding us. I’d be a fool not to remember that!
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Game Summary – April 2nd - Royals Lose to Orioles in Walk-Off
The Baltimore Orioles picked up a win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, knocking off the Kansas City Royals, 4-3, in 10 innings. Starting pitcher Derek Holland played a key role in the triumph. The loss drops the Royals to 2-3. The Orioles got a clutch hit from left fielder Colton Cowser. In the bottom of the tenth, he delivered a run-scoring single to win the game for the Orioles.
"We can always improve and get better, but we're feeling confident after that win," said Cowser.
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Derek Holland
Ballpark: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Weather: Cloudy (43 degrees), wind blowing in from center at 9 mph
Start Time: 6:35 PM ET
Time: 3:40
Attendance: 26657
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Game Summary – April 3rd - Royals Sunk by Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles grabbed a win, 10-4, over the Kansas City Royals at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore first baseman Ryan O'Hearn was 1-3 with a home run and a walk, while scoring 3 and driving in 2. Baltimore pitcher Corbin Burnes got the win, upping his record to 2-0. Seth Lugo got the loss.
The Royals had been locked in a 3-3 tie with the Orioles going into the bottom of the fifth inning. That changed quickly when the 2023 Rookie of the Year Award winner, Gunnar Henderson, came to the plate. Henderson hit a 3-run home run on a 0-1 slider from Kansas City hurler Seth Lugo. It was Henderson's 1st home run of the year.
"We're playing like we're capable of," said Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde. With their winning streak at 4, the Orioles have raced to a strong start this season.
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Ryan O'Hearn
Ballpark: Oriole Park at Camden Yards
Weather: Partly Cloudy (46 degrees), wind blowing in from left at 8 mph
Start Time: 1:05 PM ET
Time: 3:21
Attendance: 28790
Special Notes: RP Domingo Acevedo was injured while pitching.
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This series with Baltimore was a complete ****show. We've got to do better. We’re just not hitting or pitching the ball well to put anything together during games. We had two games that we held tight to the middle innings but could not finish. Someone needs to figure something out soon, or this season will seem a whole lot longer than 30 weeks.
However, the bright side is that my free agent signing a couple of weeks ago in C Juan Centeno proved a decent decision. He hit well through the series, striking a
.636/.667/.909, 11AB, 1 SB, 345 wRC+, and a 324 OPS+.
So, the first week is now in the books, and although I’m not happy, I’m also not discouraged. We've got the talent and attitude to be in playoff contention this year. We just have to put it together.