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MINNEAPOLIS – The scene keeps playing out with only a few small changes.
Players sit at their lockers, staring at their phones or in space. Others walk through the clubhouse to or from the showers. Meals are consumed mostly in silence. The televisions are turned off and there’s no music. Media waits out its targeted interview subjects, trying to stay out of the way.
There are no signs of panic or distress, but the joy of playing baseball is masked and muted. The Orioles have lost five games in a row, their longest stretch since June 21-25 and July 9-13, 2024. The last six-game skid happened from May 13-18, 2022.
Five veterans sat in chairs and formed a circle yesterday with plates of food in their laps – Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano, Cedric Mullins, Zach Eflin and Kyle Gibson. They could have touched on a variety of topics – there’s a lot going on in the world – but the plight of the Orioles probably was the predominant subject.
Why this is happening to them and how to fix it. With no easy answers or it would have ceased instead of sending the team spiraling into last place, 10 games below .500 and losers of 12 of the last 16. They need to lead, being among the most equipped on the 26-man roster.
The rotation can’t be blamed for yesterday's 5-2 loss. Dean Kremer was terrific again with two runs allowed in seven innings after tossing seven scoreless in his previous start. Yennier Cano walked one batter in 11 2/3 innings heading into the game and he handed out two free passes in the eighth. Manager Brandon Hyde brought in Gregory Soto to face Trevor Larnach and was rewarded with a strikeout. Brooks Lee was batting .191/.191/.238 against left-handers this season and .280/.357/.440 against right-handers, so Hyde had his desired matchup.
Lee fell behind 0-2 before stroking a tie-breaking, two-run double into left-center field. Of course he did.
This is where the old adage about it pouring when it rains is applicable.
Kremer was removed at 86 pitches. Maybe try to push him through the eighth. But Hyde had the bullpen set up as he wanted and it just didn’t work.
“Should never have gotten to that point,” he said.
He’s right. The Orioles went 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and have the lowest average in the majors at .190. Seven of their 11 strikeouts came with RISP. Nine Orioles were stranded and the last 10 batters were retired.
They’ve scored three runs or fewer 22 times this season. They’re taking early batting practice and hitting in the cages and watching video and studying data and holding meetings. Different voices are conveying the same messages. And players still strike out, pop up or ground out to kill a rally. Runners stand at second and third base with fewer than two outs and don’t budge.
“All the guys up and down the lineup are working hard,” said Heston Kjerstad. “Our hitting staff, they're fully on board with working on approaches with all of us and just doing anything everybody can. And sometimes that work takes a little bit of time to show up and eventually it will. It will be there.”
The sense of urgency is growing like a weed. Hyde senses that inexperienced players are pressing. Kjerstad struck out three times yesterday on pitches out of the zone to give him 31 in 33 games and only two walks. Some veterans are slumping, including Mullins, who was carrying the offense. It truly misses Colton Cowser, who’s out indefinitely with a fractured left thumb. He packed up his bags and left the clubhouse yesterday morning, presumably for a return to Baltimore while the Orioles play a weekend series in Anaheim.
Jordan Westburg is working out with Triple-A Norfolk but didn't appear in last night's lineup. He must be getting close.
This was supposed to be an easy part of the schedule. The Angels are in last place in the American League West and they began yesterday with a .218 average that ranked 28th in the majors and a .276 on-base percentage and 250 runs scored that were last. Mike Trout is hurt again, this time with a bone bruise in his left knee.
The Orioles have won the last three season series against the Angels, but they also won 10 straight games against the Twins before arriving at Target Field, and they were swept. They absolutely must take out every ounce of frustration on their opponent this weekend and return home on a streak of their own.
"I still do believe that it’s still early," Kremer said, echoing what his teammates are saying. "It’s really hard to not be able to go to the playoffs in the first few weeks of the season. But guys are taking the losses hard and the wins are awesome when we get them. Just trying to take it one day at a time and try to keep things as positive as possible."
The trick to doing it is to block out the noise – reporters, social media, anyone reciting stats that explain how a team with back-to-back playoff appearances and World Series aspirations landed in last place.
“I think there was some good things throughout this series, even though we came out with some losses,” Kjerstad said. “I think there's some things that a lot of us are going to build off going forward and you just got to keep working hard, keep improving and everything will turn out.
“None of us are enjoying losing. It definitely takes a toll on us. You show up every day and you want to win, so going home with a loss is never the funnest way to go home.”
“We come in each and every day with a good mindset, and hopefully that will start turning into some wins,” said Ryan Mountcastle, one of the veterans who can lead this club.
“It’s a difficult game, and whenever I kind of see somebody down, I try to bring them up, just let them know to take it one day at a time, one pitch at a time. And just do whatever we can to help win the game.”
If frustration isn’t boiling over, it must be percolating.
“It’s just the nature of the game,” Mountcastle said. “It’s a tough game and you’re frustrated sometimes, but just got to keep your head up and keep moving along.”
Forward would be the preferred direction.
