If one among Brandon Hyde’s gamers have been to ask him the distinction between the main leagues’ common season and postseason, the Orioles’ supervisor would level to this weekend in Seattle as a detailed comparability.
Baltimore’s mid-August assembly with the Mariners — that includes a persistently packed stadium, ace-level pitching and video games the place, as Hyde put it, “every little thing matters” — evoked ideas of October in Hyde, who frequented the playoffs whereas on the Chicago Cubs’ teaching workers however has but to achieve them in 5 years guiding the Orioles. This 12 months’s crew is well-positioned to finish that drought.
Despite proudly owning baseball’s most difficult schedule to this point, the Orioles have absolutely established themselves as one of many sport’s finest groups. Through Sunday’s sequence finale with Seattle, Baltimore has performed 83 of its 118 video games towards groups with profitable data, probably the most of any membership. But over the following month, the Orioles will play solely two sequence towards groups presently above .500, each coming towards American League East opponents, with the division that includes 5 profitable golf equipment.
The mushy spot within the schedule offers Baltimore the possibility to broaden on its three-game lead over the Tampa Bay Rays and additional enhance the probability of its first playoff look since 2016. But a number of Orioles stated the stretch gained’t change the psychological strategy that’s led them to the AL’s finest report.
“One thing that myself and some of the other veterans have preached from day one is taking care of today’s business,” backup catcher James McCann stated. “Not worrying about the standings, not worrying about who we play tomorrow, not worrying about the next road trip. We’re worrying about each inning, each pitch, and if we win each pitch in each inning, it’s going to stack up to a lot of wins. And that’s what you’re seeing.”
A younger Orioles crew has greater than held its personal towards baseball’s different playoff contenders. The Oakland Athletics, the house owners of the majors’ worst report, are the one different crew with greater than 78 video games towards profitable opponents; the Atlanta Braves, the one crew with a greater report than Baltimore, have performed 59 such video games. Baltimore’s 47 victories in these matchups are 9 greater than another crew.
Relatedly, the Orioles have performed a league-low 35 video games with shedding groups, going 26-9.
“It’s been a tough schedule, for sure,” second baseman Adam Frazier stated. “We’ve simply sort of been preaching handle the little issues all 12 months, and that’s going to steer us to be ready to win these video games each evening.
“I think a lot of these young guys have grown up pretty quick. That’s what we talked about at the start of the year: The faster we can get them to grow up, the better off we’ll be. I don’t know if anybody saw us being this good, but that’s where we’re at because of it.”
Veteran starter Kyle Gibson recalled how when he first got here to the majors a decade in the past, he checked out opposing lineups for contending groups and at instances dreaded the stacks of gifted hitters he noticed inside them. He stated the inexperienced gamers among the many Orioles don’t have those self same hesitancies.
“When you get in a lot of these games with teams everybody knows are really good, it doesn’t seem to faze these guys,” Gibson stated. “It doesn’t seem like they have a mentality where they feel overmatched or feel like they’re out of a ballgame.”
The Orioles’ targets of reaching the postseason might actually turn into extra in attain over the following month. All however six of their subsequent 27 video games by way of Sept. 13 are towards sub-.500 golf equipment, with the chance the Arizona Diamondbacks and Los Angeles Angels, Baltimore’s first two opponents of September, climb above that mark by the point the Orioles go to.
But that gained’t change how gamers view them. Gibson acknowledged the significance of getting forward early towards struggling opponents, on condition that they’re much less prone to battle again right into a recreation, however he stated the Orioles will in any other case maintain enjoying the identical manner. Frazier famous the risks of a crew taking its foot off the fuel right now of 12 months, risking an incapacity to place it again on.
“We know what’s at stake,” first baseman Ryan Mountcastle stated. “No matter who we’re playing, they’re still a big league team, and it’s going to have really good players on it. We’re going to take each series the same and just do whatever we can to win.”
What’s to return?
The Orioles’ lighter slate begins with a disappointing crew and one other that was anticipated to wrestle. Baltimore performs three video games with Manny Machado’s San Diego Padres, who’re 56-62, 15 1/2 video games out within the National League West and 5 1/2 out within the NL wild-card race. Right-hander Dean Kremer, the lone participant left in Baltimore of the 5 they acquired from the Los Angeles Dodgers for Machado in 2018, is scheduled to start out Wednesday’s sequence finale.
The Oakland Athletics have been baseball’s worst crew nearly all 12 months. The Orioles, who’re acquainted with that place, have a report 40 video games higher than Oakland.
What was good?
The return of Cedric Mullins was at all times going to supply a lift to the Orioles, but it surely occurred in fairly emphatic style over the weekend in Seattle.
On Friday, in his first play again in middle for Baltimore after lacking 24 video games with a proper groin pressure, he made a leaping catch to start the underside of the primary. He scored the game-winning run in Saturday’s 1-0 victory. Sunday, he robbed a game-tying dwelling run within the backside of the ninth, and after the Mariners managed one two pitches later anyway, he delivered a game-winning homer within the high of the tenth.
“It’s a difference when he’s not out there,” Hyde stated.
What wasn’t?
When The Baltimore Sun started its weekly Orioles reset in 2019, this part was usually dedicated to the most recent embarrassing on-field occurring in a season filled with them. But now, the one embarrassing factor concerning the Orioles is their CEO. Maybe it’s John Angelos who ought to cease making references to the previous.
A 12 months of unforced errors for Angelos got here to a head final week. Monday, it was reported that MASN announcer Kevin Brown had been pulled from Orioles broadcasts after he talked about the crew’s previous struggles towards the Rays throughout a pregame section July 23, with a number of media shops reporting that Brown’s absence stemmed from Angelos — the CEO of each the Orioles and MASN — taking umbrage with these factual remarks. Instead of any nationwide discuss on the Orioles being about their lead within the AL East, it as an alternative centered on Brown, Angelos and the latter’s illogical punishment of the previous. After an absence of almost three weeks, Brown returned to broadcasts Friday, however not earlier than issuing a four-tweet assertion so clearly crafted with path from the Orioles that YES Network and ESPN broadcaster Michael Kay aptly referred to it as a “hostage tape.”
What occurred between was maybe extra damning, with Angelos’ dealing with of the Orioles’ expiring lease at Camden Yards additionally drawing scrutiny. Despite the crew being assured entry to $600 million in public funds to improve the ballpark ought to it conform to a long-term lease, Angelos has requested for extra all through negotiations, together with an extra $300 million from the state, growth rights for state-owned parking heaps between Oriole Park and the Ravens’ M&T Bank Stadium, and the Orioles not having to pay hire to their landlord, the Maryland Stadium Authority.
Angelos additionally sat on his arms for about 10 weeks, electing to cease negotiations with the MSA after the 2022 election till Gov. Wes Moore took workplace. Angelos revealed that in a Jan. 31 letter to Moore through which he instructed a two-year extension to the lease to permit extra time to barter. The subsequent day, he declined an possibility within the settlement so as to add one other 5 years, leaving 11 months till its expiration. There at the moment are fewer than 5 left.
Not to be forgotten, Angelos’ 2023 has additionally featured him twice providing to go over the Orioles’ funds with reporters with zero intention of following by way of, all whereas claiming to be clear. In a way, Angelos is true about that: His guise is straightforward to see by way of.
On the farm
Chayce McDermott, one among two right-handed pitching prospects the Orioles acquired in final 12 months’s deadline deal that despatched fan favourite Trey Mancini to the Houston Astros, has excelled since a promotion to Triple-A Norfolk.
With 5 innings of one-run ball Wednesday, McDermott has a 1.88 ERA whereas putting out a 3rd of batters he’s confronted in 5 appearances. McDermott, who turns 25 later this month, is Baltimore’s No. 14 prospect in keeping with Baseball America.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com