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On a day the Orioles had one of their highest-scoring games of the year and a day when every starter both had a hit and scored a run, one Oriole had two hits and now the club hopes he can get hot again.
Catcher/DH Adley Rutschman had two hits – one a bloop single – and drove in a run. It was just his third two-game game since Aug. 10.
Since posting an .848 OPS in June, Rutschman put up a .482 OPS in July and a .625 mark in August. Before Monday’s game, he was batting .149 with an OPS of .460 his previous 12 games.
Before the O’s beat the Chicago White Sox 13-3, manager Brandon Hyde said Rutschman was physically fine. Nothing bothering him or keeping him from putting up numbers. Now he just has to get out of an extended slump.
“It’s just been a tough couple of months. Tough since the All-Star break,” Hyde said pregame. “You know, he’s grinding. He’s trying every single day to try to get the feeling back. He is putting in so much work, where we have to monitor it honestly. He is such a huge part of our offense and our team, and he knows that. So, he is probably putting way too much pressure on himself also. I think that is why you see the swing decisions are sometimes not Adley-like. Because he is trying to make an impact and to get back to who he is.
Back home for the first time since Aug. 25 after a 3-3 road trip, the Orioles begin a six-game homestand this afternoon versus the Chicago White Sox, who will be followed by the Tampa Bay Rays.
The Orioles (79-59) are a half game back of the New York Yankees (79-58) as play begins today. The Orioles went 1-2 in Los Angeles at Dodger Stadium and then 2-1 in Denver at Coors Field.
They scored 10 runs versus the Dodgers and produced 16 runs on 27 hits with a .759 OPS against Colorado. The Birds have had three straight games scoring five or more runs for the first time since July 14-20.
Today the Orioles host the Chicago White Sox (31-107), who have easily the worst record in the majors. They have lost 20 more games than any other club with Colorado next at 87.
The White Sox were swept over the weekend by the New York Mets, losing 5-1, 5-3 and 2-0.
The Orioles have made the following roster moves:
- Selected the contract of INF/OF Nick Maton from Triple-A Norfolk.
- Designated C David Bañuelos for assignment.
The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
The Orioles had losing months in both July and August, but they began September with a win Sunday by 6-1 at Colorado. The O's won the series over the Rockies.
The Orioles had gone 0-5-1 in their past six series versus National League opponents. But their win at Coors Field gave them their first series win over an NL team since they beat Atlanta and Philadelphia in Baltimore in mid June.
The Orioles have gone just 19-24 this season versus National League teams. During the six-series winless run that ended yesterday they were a combined 5-12 against the Cubs, Marlins, Padres, Nats, Mets and Dodgers.
But now at 79-59 for the season, the Orioles have 24 games remaining. With the Yankees loss Sunday, they are 1/2-game back in the AL East.
Of the games remaining, the O's have three against a club well under .500, six games versus clubs over .500 and 15 against teams hovering around .500.
DENVER - The reaction is about what you’d expect. Players watch a teammate sustain an injury and struggle to comprehend the reasoning or keep count.
Zach Eflin is reinstated from the injured list and starts yesterday’s series finale in Colorado, less than 24 hours after a 103.1 mile line drive slams into Dean Kremer’s right arm, creating a Rocky Mountain high welt above his wrist. The Orioles were dumped again into their gain-one, lose-one way of life.
Kremer has avoided the injured list and perhaps the off-day Thursday works in his favor. But he lasted only 3 1/3 innings and manager Brandon Hyde used six relievers in a 7-5 loss. Hyde said yesterday that he’d be surprised if Kremer started in the next four or five days.
Ramón Urías is hit on the nose by a 93.8 mph sinker, stays in the game and rolls his ankle covering third base. He’s on crutches and the 10-day IL, putting the Orioles’ hottest hitter on ice for an indefinite period.
If it wasn’t for bad luck …
DENVER – The Orioles recorded a hit with a runner in scoring position to take a quick lead, and Zach Eflin retired the side in order on 10 pitches in his return from the injured list. Maybe, just maybe, the Orioles would make it through the afternoon in good health and with a series win. Leaving the drama at the entrance to Coors Field. Starting a new month with a new attitude and better vibes.
They couldn’t possibly know what else Eflin would deliver.
Eflin retired the first 15 batters on only 49 pitches to flirt with the first perfect game in franchise history. He’d settle for seven innings of one-run ball in a 6-1 victory over the Rockies before an announced crowd of 32,961 on another gorgeous Denver day.
Eflin was barreling toward the first Orioles complete game since Dean Kremer on Sept. 23, 2022 against the Astros at Camden Yards. Kremer left last night’s start in the fourth after taking a line drive off his right forearm area. An odd connection was brewing.
Chad Kuhl tossed the last complete game at Coors Field on June 27, 2022.
After winning the first game of their series at Dodger Stadium, the Orioles lost the next two games, losing the series to the Dodgers. They need a win today to avoid the same fate at Coors Field.
The Orioles beat the Rockies 5-3 in the series-opener on Friday night, but they lost 7-5 last night. So the O’s and Rockies play the rubber match game to end this series and road trip. The Orioles are 8-5 in rubber match games.
At 78-59, the Orioles begin play today 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees. They are 39-29 on the road and 2-3 on this trip.
The Orioles have lost three of four, six of 10 and 11 of their past 19 games. The O’s are 20-21 since the All-Star game after going 58-38 in the second half.
The Orioles have now played 137 games:
DENVER – Coby Mayo was on a flight to Denver last night when third baseman Ramón Urías sprained his right ankle. Mayo was joining the Orioles’ expanded roster, unaware that he’d do more than fill out the bench.
“Obviously, I saw what happened after the fact,” Mayo said.
He also heard plenty about it. His phone was blowing up with text messages about Urías and the opportunity that arrived as he checked into the team hotel.
Urías rolled his ankle while covering third base on Ezequiel Tover’s stolen base in the seventh inning. Urías laid on the ground, writhing in pain, and remains on crutches today.
An offense that’s scuffled for prolonged periods lost a player batting .357 with a 1.178 OPS over his last 14 games before last night. Just another unfortunate injury that tests this team’s depth and resolve.
DENVER – Zach Eflin is reinstated from the injured list and starting this afternoon against the Rockies. Coby Mayo is recalled from Triple-A Norfolk as the 14th position player on an expanded roster.
And that’s just the beginning.
Infielder Ramón Urías is on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle. He’s on crutches again today after rolling the ankle last night on a tag play at third base.
The Orioles selected catcher David Bañuelos’ contract from Norfolk. He was on the taxi squad and likely will return to it by Monday afternoon.
Outfielder Forrest Wall was designated for assignment to make room for Bañuelos. He was 4-for-11 with a home run for Norfolk after the Orioles claimed him on waivers last week from the Marlins.
DENVER – Seranthony Domínguez has converted his seven save opportunities with the Orioles following the trade that unfolded near the deadline that sent outfielder Austin Hays to the Phillies.
The ride can’t be described as smooth, but he usually gets the team where it wants to finish.
The occasional bumps have resulted in all of the scoring against Domínguez. He’s allowed five runs in 15 innings on solo homers by José Ramírez on Aug. 3, Rob Refsnyder on the 18th, Francisco Alvarez on the 19th, Jesse Winker on the 21st and Brendan Rodgers Friday night.
Alvarez and Winker had walk-off homers for the Mets at Citi Field to stick Domínguez with both losses. Four of the home runs were hit in a span of seven appearances.
In 16 games, Domínguez has registered a 3.00 ERA and 0.933 WHIP with 10 hits, four walks and 19 strikeouts.
With last night’s game, a 7-5 loss at Colorado, the Orioles have played 137 games with 25 to go in the 2024 regular season.
If we count March as its own month and we will as the Orioles played three games then, they’ve now completed six months of baseball.
Here is a statistical look at each month with the team record, the staff ERA and OPS against and the offense’s runs per game each month with the OPS on offense by the club.
* March, 2-1 record: 3.00 ERA, .533 OPS against, 8.33 runs per game & .823 OPS.
* April, 17-9 record: 3.75 ERA, .695 OPS against, 5.08 runs per game & .755 OPS.
The Orioles have made the following roster move:
- Agreed to terms on a 2024 Minor League contract with RHP Adrian Houser.
The Orioles, 2-2 on their road trip out west, play Game 2 at Colorado tonight after beating the Rockies 5-3 last night at Coors Field.
Getting to five runs seems to be big for the Orioles. Last night they did that for just the third time in the last 13 games. They are 3-0 in those games. For the season the Orioles have scored five runs or more 63 times, and they are 55-8 (.873) in those games.
So, score five and thrive.
But over those 13 games, in going 6-7, the Orioles scored 48 runs for 3.7 runs per game, well under their season average of 4.95, which ranks fourth-best in the majors.
In the 13 games, the O’s have a team batting line of .185/.260/.334/.594. They went 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position last night but have gone 13-for-77 (.169) in the 13 games.
Orioles reliever Matt Bowman has made a nice first impression with the Orioles in his first few games with the team. As it turns out, they made a real nice first impression on him too.
Bowman has thrown 20 1/3 innings this year, but for four different major league teams. The Maryland native knows something about starting over with a new club, and he really likes the way the O’s pitching coaches basically have let him do his thing so far.
The results are quite good. He got five big outs in Tuesday’s win at Los Angeles and was not scored on with the Orioles until his fifth outing, on Thursday at Dodger Stadium.
In 5 1/3 innings with the club he’s allowed two hits and one run with a 0.94 WHIP and .111 batting average against. He’s also stranded three inherited runners.
His wild ride this year began when he signed with the Twins in January. Arizona picked him up in a cash deal May 2. He was granted free agency several times this year through various opt-outs. In late May he refused a minors assignment with Arizona and wound up with Seattle. They released him, and on July 4 Minnesota signed him again, then released him on Aug. 12. The O’s got him three days later.
DENVER – Orioles manager Brandon Hyde broke out the right-handed lineup tonight, having learned a while ago to write with his fingers crossed.
Emmanuel Rivera would play first base and bat seventh, getting another start with Ryan Mountcastle on the injured list. Rivera responded with his first hits, home run and RBIs with the Orioles to prove that he can do more than draw walks.
They’ll take anything from their offense, of course. This isn’t a team that can afford to be picky.
Albert Suárez navigated some early trouble to complete a career-high seven innings, Jackson Holliday had an RBI triple and run scored in the ninth, and the Orioles defeated the Rockies 5-3 before an announced crowd of 30,444 at Coors Field.
The Orioles went 4-for-15 with runners in scoring position but improved their record to 78-58. The Yankees defeated the Cardinals earlier today to maintain their 1 ½-game lead in the division.
The Orioles West Coast trip moved a bit inland but still far away from Camden Yards. The O's have moved from Los Angeles to Denver and tonight will begin a three-game series at Coors Field versus the Colorado Rockies.
The Orioles (77-58) begin play this weekend 1.5 games behind the New York Yankees (78-56) who this weekend host the St. Louis Cardinals.
The Rockies (50-85, .370) have the second-worst record in the National League, ahead of only Miami. Colorado just split four games versus Miami, scoring eight runs each of the last three games and 27 runs in the series.
Colorado has lost six of nine and 10 of their past 16 games. The Rockies are 12-20 since July 26 with a -49 run differential in that span.
But while the Rockies are 19-50 (.275) on the road, they are much better at home at 31-35 (.470). In their past 26 games at home, they are 15-11.
DENVER – The Orioles can feel a lot better about their rotation.
Zach Eflin had a bullpen session this afternoon at Coors Field and is ready to hop back onto the active roster. He’s eligible to be reinstated Sunday and the Orioles kept that spot TBA.
Manager Brandon Hyde said Eflin is “probable” to close out the series against the Rockies which also concludes the latest road trip.
“Probably see how he recovers tomorrow and then we’ll see how it goes,” Hyde said.
Eflin has registered four quality starts in his four appearances with the Orioles. He went on the injured list retroactive to Aug. 17 with inflammation in his right shoulder, another harsh blow to a club that’s already missing Grayson Rodriguez until mid-to-late September and Kyle Bradish, John Means and Tyler Wells for the rest of 2024.
DENVER – The Orioles have totaled four hits or fewer in five of their last 11 games. They’ve scored three runs or fewer in eight of their last 12.
Manager Bandon Hyde has only so many lineup combinations to play. He’s got Austin Slater leading off tonight and Emmanuel Rivera playing first base against Rockies left-hander Austin Gomber at Coors Field. James McCann is catching.
Slater is 9-for-19 with three doubles and two triples against Gomber. Rivera and McCann are 1-for-6 with a home run.
Adley Rutschman is on the bench. He went 2-for-12 against the Dodgers and is batting .211/.285/.325 in 33 games since the All-Star break.
Eloy Jiménez is the cleanup hitter. Ramón Urías is batting fifth.
LOS ANGELES – The Orioles won by 3-2 on Tuesday night. They beat the Los Angeles Dodgers with a shutdown bullpen and a go-ahead homer by Ramon Urias.
They were in excellent shape to win the series from the club with the best record in the majors and one with a great home record. But two losses followed, and the Orioles fell to 1.5 games back of the idle Yankees for the AL East lead.
Their bullpen had a strong series, how about that? But their starters and batters did not.
The win one, lose one mode might be enough to get the Orioles to the playoffs but they will need to play better when they get there.
The O’s offense hit .182 this series, scoring 10 runs with six extra-base hits in Los Angeles and they went 3-for-20 with runners in scoring position.
DENVER - The Orioles are in Colorado for three games against the last-place Rockies, who are a bottom-three team in the majors. They are polar opposites of the Dodgers. It’s like drinking San Pellegrino or straight from the garden hose.
The clubs met at Camden Yards last summer and the Orioles won two of three, with each game decided by a single run. The Rockies won two of three in 2019 at Coors Field during the infant stages of the Orioles’ rebuild.
Known as “infant” because it made you cry every hour.
In the Orioles’ lone victory, Keon Broxton played center field and Stevie Wilkerson was in left. Hanser Alberto batted leadoff. Josh Lucas tossed three scoreless innings for his only major league save.
My only memory of that series isn’t Josh Lucas. It’s Broxton swinging at the first pitch thrown to him as an Oriole, by former prospect Jeff Hoffman, and hitting it 474 feet onto the left field concourse. Jaws dropped in the press box simultaneously, creating a sound louder than the home run.
