On the plane ride home last night, I decided I needed to make some changes and figure out how to get us on the winning side. And with this Baltimore series at home coming up, I did not want to lose another series to them. So, I made some roster moves and started some discussions with other team owners about a trade or two. I sent Blanco down to bring Kyle Isbel back up. His defense is much better, and coupled with his decent baserunning and speed, I’ll accept his mediocre bat over Blanco’s subpar performance so far.
I sent 2B Mike Brosseau down to bring up 2B Mike Massey from his rehab stint there. He had 7 days left, but I wanted to make the change now rather than later. Massey rates better overall, and he gets better contact against either-handed pitchers, which is a primary concern I’m trying to address in this offense. I debated with Paul Hoover about a waiver and DFA of 2B Adam Frazier, but he reminded me we have a team option baked in the contract on him, so I was advised it’s probably best to wait and decide on him then. I agreed.
Finally, I sent down LHP Angel Zerpa to bring up LHP Josh Taylor, who’s coming off his rehab time also. He’s got better stuff than Angel and is throwing the ball well, so I want to give him a try in our bullpen. His problem is his stamina though, so I’ll need to use him for short, situational relief appearances. I slotted him as a LHB specialist with secondary role as middle relief.
I’d like to figure something out for a 4th or 5th starter but haven’t put anything together yet. We’re not bad sitting at 6th in the starters ERA stats, but it’s been slowly moving down since the season started. We were 3rd just about a week ago, but after this past road series, we lost some ground. Matt Sauer has 60 days left on his Rule 5 Active status, so there’s time. I just want to do something sooner than later. So, time to prep new line-ups and depth charts for this upcoming series with Baltimore and hopefully infuse some wins in them too!
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Going 13-5 so far this year, the Orioles have compiled a .722 winning percentage. They are leading the East Division. Their number of runs scored of 117 ranks 1st in the American League, and their .284 batting average ranks 1st. On the other side of the diamond, they have given up 81 runs (8th) with their starters compiling an ERA of 4.09, which ranks 7th. Their bullpen sports an ERA of 4.35, ranking 13th. When playing against our Royals this season, they have a record of 3 wins and 0 losses.
Here are the projected pitching matchups, our pitchers listed first:
RHP S. Lugo (2-2, 3.55 ERA) vs LHP C. Perez (0-1, 4.70 ERA)
RHP M. Sauer (0-1, 5.40 ERA) vs RHP C. Burnes (3-1, 5.84 ERA)
LHP C. Ragans (1-0, 1.48 ERA) vs LHP D. Holland (1-0, 1.38 ERA)
The top 5 players on their team are:
1. C Adley Rutschman (Age: 26, Overall: 80, Potential: 80)
2. SP Corbin Burnes (29, 70, 75)
3. RP Craig Kimbrel (35, 55, 55)
4. SS Gunnar Henderson (22, 55, 70)
5. 2B Jackson Holliday (20, 55, 80)
Game Summary – April 19th – Baltimore Beats Kansas City, 4-1
Baltimore left-hander Cionel Perez pitched his team to victory over the Kansas City Royals at Kauffman Stadium. The final score was 4-1. In the 5.1 innings, Perez surrendered 1 hit, while striking out 2 and walking 3. He allowed 1 run. The win gives Baltimore a record of 14-5. Who knows how it might've ended, had it not been for Adley Rutschman? The Baltimore catcher had a 2-run single in the top of the fifth inning to put the Orioles on top, 4-0. For the game, Rutschman had 1 double and 1 single in 4 at-bats.
"Watch and learn," said Rutschman. "This is what good pitching looks like."
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Cionel Perez
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (53 degrees), wind blowing left to right at 10 mph
Start Time: 6:40 PM CT
Time: 3:27
Attendance: 18223
Special Notes: SP Seth Lugo was injured while pitching. Seth had a great game going too through 3 innings.
Code:
Player Rslt (W-L) IP H R ER BB K HR PI ERA
S. Lugo L (2-3) 3.0 2 1 1 0 5 1 39 3.49
There’s that damn arm injury rehab that I’ll have to trust with Kyle Turner. Can things get any worse?
I put Seth on 15-day IL until we get his diagnosis on the elbow and figure out where to go from there. I hate to lose him so early in the season because he was one of the few who were giving me hope right now. I called back to Omaha and had them send Zerpa back up since he can start in the rotation at least until I figure out what to do.
Game Summary – April 20th – Burnes Fires 7-0 Shutout in Orioles Win
I’m starting Ragans instead of Sauer since he’s fresh and ready to go sooner from his last start 5 days ago. We need a win today!
Corbin Burnes of the Baltimore Orioles was on top of his game. The 29-year-old tantalized the Kansas City Royals with crisp curves and changeups, mixed in with just enough fastballs to keep the batters honest, shutting them out, 7-0. The Baltimore hurler had 10 strikeouts, gave up 1 walk and surrendered 6 hits in his complete-game effort. Burnes told reporters after the game that "keeping the ball down is the key to being successful in this league."
"If you don't do that, they'll make you pay," he said. This year, Burnes has compiled a 4-1 mark with a 4.28 ERA.
"He had the changeup working," Kansas City manager Todd "BigP" Pollard said in postgame comments. "You knew it was coming, and you still grounded out -- and then he threw it even slower." “It’s almost laughable how bad we are right now!”
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Corbin Burnes
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (53 degrees), wind blowing out to center at 10 mph
Start Time: 6:10 PM CT
Time: 3:07
Attendance: 20073
Special Notes: LF Drew Waters was injured while throwing the ball.
So LF Drew Waters is now out for at least 3 weeks on the IL for bone spurs in the elbow. Things are just going from bad to worse! Renfroe is back in the lineup for now, and I’m bringing Blanco back up to fill the gap and at least give us speed on the base paths.
I’m honestly at a loss for what to do for each game with this team right now. They’re jelling in the clubhouse and seem happy as clams. Don’t they know we're losing games?
Game Summary – April 21st – Orioles Win at Kansas City, 6-3
I told Paul Hoover to take over the lineups and depth charting for this game. If he does better than me, then I’m giving him the reins so I can take a stress break.
Jake Brentz came off the IL today, and I sent him down to Omaha since he hasn’t played a major league game since 2022. Until I know what his control is like, or if he even has any, I delay making a final decision on him since he’s in our system anyway. We still don’t know Seth’s status other than it’s his elbow. Can it get any better?
Baltimore pitcher Derek Holland did his part in helping his team beat the Kansas City Royals, 6-3. The left-hander kept opposing batters from doing too much damage. At 16-5, the 2024 Orioles have been excellent so far. Cedric Mullins hit a bases-clearing triple off Jordan Lyles in the top of the seventh, which put the Orioles in front, 6-3. Mullins had 1 single, in addition to the triple. For the game, he went 2 for 4.
"Derek -- his tempo and rhythm were good," said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. "He was the key to us winning."
GAME NOTES
Player of the Game: Derek Holland
Ballpark: Kauffman Stadium
Weather: Clear skies (65 degrees), wind blowing in from center at 12 mph
Start Time: 1:10 PM CT
Time: 3:10
Attendance: 16950
So, I got an email from team trainer Kyle Turner that Seth Lugo has been diagnosed with a sprained UCL and will be out for about 3-4 weeks. That’s just great. And to top it off, the stats show that my best 2 hitters are cold as ice right now, and Blanco has yet to find his spark.
We have lost 9 in a row, both series with Baltimore home and away, and this last series at home. We are ranked 30th out of 30 in the league power rankings.
Where do I go from here…? The only redeeming positive I can find is that we are +1 above our Pythagorean of 6-16 at 7-15. Yay…?