O's hope they dodged a bullet with Austin Hays, off to a hot-hitting start

The Orioles hope they have outfielder Austin Hays available today for the series finale at Oriole Park against the Boston Red Sox.

The clubs have split two games in this series and the Orioles' 8-6 loss Tuesday left their record at 15-8 and saw an end to their seven-game win streak.

Hays bruised his right hand while attempting a bunt in the third inning. Luckily X-rays were negative for a fracture, but he’ll undergo further evaluation.

"We caught a break there with the X-rays being negative, so that's great news," manager Brandon Hyde said after the game. "It's day-to-day. It's obviously really sore. I think we got lucky."

Hays is off to a fast batting start, hitting .301/.341/.542/.883 with six doubles, a triple, four home runs and nine RBIs in 23 games.

Bradish and Hays bruised early and Orioles rally late in 8-6 loss (updated)

Kyle Bradish issued a walk and took a brief stroll. Off the mound and toward first base, his eyes locked for a moment on plate umpire Adrian Johnson. His frustration at a non-strike call leading him to take a break before the pitch clock started again.

No distance covered was going to fix Bradish’s night. He couldn’t get far enough away from it.

Bradish lasted only 2 1/3 innings and was charged with seven runs, including Jarren Duran’s first career grand slam, in the Orioles’ 8-6 loss to the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 14,343 at Camden Yards.

Triston Casas was awarded the win in an 11-pitch at-bat with one out in the second inning, with Johnson ruling that Bradish’s slider missed wide. Casas began a string of five consecutive batters reaching base, three of them scoring.

Bradish threw 40 pitches in the inning and 81 before manager Brandon Hyde brought in Mike Baumann. The bullpen held Boston to one run and three hits in 6 2/3, and the Orioles scored five times off Kaleb Ort in the ninth, including Gunnar Henderson's first home run since April 3 and Cedric Mullins' second career grand slam.

Leftovers for breakfast

Félix Bautista struck out Riley Greene on a 100 mph fastball Sunday afternoon to finish the top of the ninth inning, a pitch that didn’t coax a swing out of the Tigers’ center fielder. Akil Baddoo also struck out on a four-seamer after Jonathan Schoop grounded out.

A crowd of more than 30,000 erupted, and the Orioles won in the 10th on a wild pitch that scored Adam Frazier.

Bautista didn’t get a win or a hold, but he had clean inning.

No baserunners to disrupt his outing or remind him of the restrictions imposed by the new rules.

Teams are 4-for-4 in attempted steals while Bautista is on the mound, beginning with Aaron Judge on April 7 after a two-out walk.

Orioles rally from four runs down to ruin Red Sox visit (updated)

Do the Red Sox count as a soft portion of the schedule?

They were a last-place team but with a record above .500 upon arriving in Baltimore. They began the season by winning a series against the Orioles. They led the majors with nine comeback victories.

The Orioles claimed their eighth tonight.  

Austin Hays delivered a tie-breaking single in the fifth inning and threw out a runner at third base in the sixth, and four relievers protected a slim lead in the Orioles' 5-4 victory before an announced crowd of 11,811.

The Orioles have won seven games in a row and 11 of 13, and they improved to 15-7.

Orioles' streak of scoreless innings ends at 34 in 2-1 walk-off win (updated)

An overturned call at first base tonight awarded Detroit’s Riley Greene with an infield single in the first inning, before Orioles starter Tyler Wells disposed of the next two batters to strand him. Wells retired 12 of 14 and ultimately 19 of 23, striking out Greene to end the third after allowing a one-out single, and kept adding links to the scoreless chain.

The Orioles were far from a lock to break the club record of 54 innings in a row set in 1974. The chain was bound to snap on any pitch. That's a lot of length. But it sure was impressive while it lasted.

A leadoff walk in the fifth produced nothing. Wells got a popup and 4-6-3 double play. A leadoff infield single in the sixth also was a hollow threat after Cedric Mullins ran down a fly ball in right-center and Adam Frazier caught a line drive and doubled off the runner at first base.

Just another zero. Perhaps a more fitting symbol on the alternate cap.

Wells worked a career-high seven innings and held the Tigers to three hits and a walk, striking out five batters and pounding his glove after getting a ground ball to retire the side in order in his last frame. The streak had grown to 33 and would get to 34.

Wells, walks, bats waking and a 6-3 win for the Orioles (updated)

CHICAGO – However the Orioles construct their starting rotation, Tyler Wells should have his own room.

Never mind the early talk of piggybacking or maybe sending him down to start in the minors. Demolish it and move on to the next project.

While Kyle Bradish pitched tonight at Double-A Bowie on his injury rehab assignment, Wells cemented his role with the Orioles by recording an out in the sixth inning. By providing more length than others before appearing to tire.

The bar has been lowered a bit, but that’s the material that the Orioles are working with this month.

There wouldn’t be another out for Wells, who left after 5 1/3 with the White Sox scoring twice in the inning. Mike Baumann issued a walk to load the bases before stranding the runners with a pair of strikeouts, Yennier Cano escaped a jam that he inherited, and the Orioles took advantage of Chicago’s wild streaks by scoring four times in the seventh to win 6-3 in the opening game of the series.

O's early season homers show on-field talent and dugout creativity

Manager Brandon Hyde called them “SeaWorld” acts this week. The Orioles have a few different ways to celebrate producing solid offense in their dugout, and fans at Oriole Park, throughout Birdland and now even around baseball are starting to see this is a team with a strong collective personality.

And they are doing just what their manager wants.

They are celebrating player and team success while bonding as a group. A couple of players I talked to this week say that not only are the various celebrations fun for the team, but might they lead to more wins too.

They are showing their talents when they hit the homers or other extra-base hits, and different ways to celebrate after a key hit. They are showing that they are a young, creative and maybe a little brash at times group that has a strong personality and is not afraid to show it off.

“Just shows how creative our pitching staff can be. They’ve come up with some creative celebrations this year,” outfielder Austin Hays said.

Mountcastle upstages Rodriguez with nine RBIs in 12-8 win (updated)

Grayson Rodriguez’s major league tour moved the organization’s top pitching prospect from his home state to his home ballpark.

What are the attachments to Chicago, where he’s pitching over the weekend?

Tonight provided another slice of the dream. Standing on the mound at Camden Yards, five years after the Orioles drafted him in the first round. The white uniform. His parents nervous spectators within a more supportive crowd that wore orange T-shirts with “Welcome to the Show” across the back.

Rodriguez jogged out of the dugout with his teammates, began to warm up and heard the applause. He missed with fastballs clocked at 97.6 and 98 mph, ran the count full and issued his first home walk.

There are always firsts.

Orioles funnel three home runs into 5-1 win over Athletics (updated)

If there’s a soft spot in a major league schedule, the Orioles could clutch theirs like a body pillow.

Fresh off two losing series within their division, the Orioles began a stretch tonight of playing 19 of 22 games against sub-.500 teams. An opportunity, perhaps, to offer another interpretation of liftoff in Baltimore.  

Of course, the Orioles weren’t going to turn up their collective noses at anyone. They’d see how many teams are above them in the East.

They, too, had fewer victories than defeats after 10 days. But the Athletics and Tigers were tied for the worst record in the majors at 2-7, and the Orioles would see them in 11 of the next 19 games.

Kyle Gibson ran up his pitch count early but found his economical stride and made it into the seventh inning, Ryan Mountcastle and Adley Rutschman conquered the left field wall while others were less fortunate, Austin Hays took the safer route by homering to center, and the Orioles stayed hydrated and happy with a 5-1 victory over Oakland.

Santander happy for former teammate Cortes' climb to All-Star status

Anthony Santander could see the potential in his new teammate. The rough edges would get the Rule 5 selection cut from the roster. However, Santander knew that the kid would be fine, however long it took for him to make it.

Nestor Cortes was a popular pick within the Orioles organization in the 2017 Rule 5, until he wasn’t. Some people who backed and praised it openly became more critical later.

Cortes wasn’t ready.

Need proof? There were four appearances between March 31-April 9 that produced a 7.71 ERA in 4 2/3 innings.

The final straw was the grand slam surrendered to Toronto’s Josh Donaldson after replacing Mychal Givens with two outs in the ninth inning of a 7-1 loss at Camden Yards.

It's bounce-back Sunday for the Orioles after a brutal ending yesterday in Boston

How do the Orioles bounce back after such a brutal loss? I don’t have that answer, but what choice do they have? A good thing about baseball sometimes is that it's everyday nature. They have another game today and need to win it to win this series.

I’ve been in their clubhouse over the years a day after a tough, tough loss and am always surprised at how well the players can move on. They just know they have to. There isn’t much to learn from their loss on Saturday when Ryan McKenna’s dropped popup should have been the third out of a win. Instead, it gave Boston another swing. And a player having a huge day, Adam Duvall, hit a two-run homer off Félix Bautista for a 9-8 win.

The Orioles should be 2-0. They are 1-1.

How do they respond? We begin to find out this afternoon.

The start of the year has produced some record-setting performances. According to STATS, the Orioles are the first team with two players having five hits in the first two games of a season since 1901. Adley Rutschman did it on Opening Day, and yesterday, Austin Hays went 5-for-5 with two doubles and a solo homer.

Orioles flash power and speed again but lose in walk-off fashion (updated)

BOSTON – Adley Rutschman lined a single into left field in the first inning today, his determination growing to reach base in every plate appearance in 2023. To keep spinning major league and franchise records.

The ball left Rutschman’s bat at 109 mph, and it was a foreshadowing of things to come against Chris Sale. But there was no way to predict what would happen in the ninth inning.

No lead is safe at Fenway Park, but this?

Félix Bautista retired the first two batters, but Ryan McKenna dropped a fly ball from Masataka Yoshida and Adam Duvall lined a ball to the first row above the Green Monster for a stunning 9-8 win over the Orioles.

"Ran to it pretty hard, it was up in the sky, and I guess I just didn't follow all the way through with it," McKenna said. "It hit the (heel) of my glove and just fell out. It was unfortunate timing. Bautista was throwing a hell of an inning there and all of our guys were really working hard to give us a chance to win that game. Just tough timing."

A few things the O's may need to break right for a playoffs return

Finally, the 2023 regular season is almost here. We’re counting down hours at this point and it’s great. Baseball that counts and a potentially very exciting season of Orioles baseball is about to begin. 

They gained 31 wins last year, finished 83-79 and were just three games out of an American League playoff berth. The last time they won more than 83 was also the last time they made the playoffs, as an AL wild-card team with 89 wins in 2016.

As the pursuit of a playoff berth begins for real tomorrow, here are a few things the Orioles no doubt hope goes well for the club in the season ahead. It is just a partial list.

Stay healthy: Captain Obvious called to suggest I didn’t need to state this one, but I did anyway. The Captain was not amused. Yes, every team could use good overall health over six months and 162 games. Some teams have a larger margin for error however. But key injuries can make the difference in the standings. The Tampa Bay Rays will begin the year without right-hander Tyler Glasnow, who could debut in May. The Yankees, who won the AL East by seven games with 99 victories last year, will be down a few starting pitchers to begin the season including lefty Carlos Rondón. He has a left elbow strain and is expected to begin the year on the injured list but could return before April is out.

The Orioles are a deeper organization on Opening Day 2023 than a year ago, but still likely need most of their key players to stay on the field to truly have a postseason shot. Getting John Means back in July, if he meets that projection and is throwing well, could be a big lift as someone coming off the IL.

Some examples of what does and doesn't matter in Orioles' camp

I’m flying back into Sarasota this afternoon, with the only off-day of spring training allowing for a later arrival time.

The Twins have three off-days and the Rays have two. How did the Orioles miss out on this?

No rainouts so far, and just one split-squad game with a delayed start while the other was halted early.

The camp roster is down to 51 players after the Orioles optioned left-hander Drew Rom on Monday and optioned shortstop Joey Ortiz and reassigned shortstop Jackson Holliday, infielder Connor Norby and pitcher Kyle Dowdy the following day.

Rom was a long shot to make the Opening Day roster and appeared in only one exhibition game, with the rest of his work done on the back fields. He’s returning to Triple-A Norfolk, with the possibility of making his major league debut this summer.

Austin Hays takes an up-the-middle approach to reverse second-half struggles

SARASOTA, Fla. – After his OPS took a nosedive in the second-half of last year and the strong season he was having was tarnished, O’s outfielder Austin Hays came to this spring camp with a pretty simple offensive approach. Less pulling the baseball and more of using the whole field, especially working to drive balls gap-to-gap.

Hays saw his OPS+ drop a bit, from 107 in 2021 to 103 last season. His WAR per baseball-reference went from 3.1 to 2.2. And after the All-Star break he had a .626 OPS that had been .834 in late June.

“Want to be able to use the whole field rather than be more pull-side like I was later (in the year). Just a very standard middle-of-the-field and be able to drive the ball the other way approach. Nothing crazy. Just sticking with the basics.

“Been hitting the fastball to the other side of the field so far. Hit a lot of balls to the right side early on in camp and like I said that has been my focus, to use the whole field. It’s showing, what I did in the offseason and what I am trying to focus on.”

What caused Hays to get away from that as last season went on?

O's mourn passing of Luis Andrés Ortiz Soriano (plus other pregame notes)

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Orioles announced today the passing of Luis Andrés Ortiz Soriano, a 20-year-old minor league player from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. 

A team statement read: "Our hearts are heavy today as we mourn the passing of minor league pitcher Luis Andrés Ortiz Soriano. Luis was an inspiration to all who knew him, especially as he courageously battled cancer. Our hearts go out to his family and friends."

The young man did not have any stats for the 2022 season. In 2021 in the Rookie-level Florida Complex League he went 1-2 with a 5.52 ERA in 14 2/3 innings.

Manager Brandon Hyde passed along his thoughts to start his pregame press update.

"Want to pass on condolences to the Luis Ortiz family. Sad news last night. From all of us here - our major league staff and players - we want to give our condolences to the Ortiz family," he said. 

Gibson with three scoreless innings, Hays and Mountcastle homer (O's win 7-4)

hays-points-gray

SARASOTA, Fla. – Kyle Gibson didn’t overwork his outfielders today during his three innings on the mound. Two balls made it through the infield for singles. Colton Cowser, playing center, fielded one of them and fired to second base to prevent a double.

Greed might be good, but it also can cost you.

Gibson is costing the Orioles $10 million after signing as a free agent, the largest contract negotiated by executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias. He could be the Opening Day starter, an honor he wants but isn’t obsessing over.

The Pirates managed two hits off Gibson, didn’t draw a walk and struck out twice. He threw 40 pitches, 23 for strikes, and got more work in the bullpen.

The veteran right-hander sat down with pitching coach Chris Holt and assistant pitching coach Darren Holmes to study video of a delivery that didn’t satisfy him.

Can a couple returning vets elevate their offense for the O's?

When it comes to how much a team may be improved from one year to the next we often look at what offseason additions they made. Did they get better there? We seldom look at improvements players already on the roster could make.

During a media session with reporters last Friday at the Warehouse, O’s executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias discussed two important, and still young, players on his roster and their abilities to take a step forward in 2023. He was talking specifically about Ryan Mountcastle, whose .729 OPS last season was five percent over the American League average, and outfielder Austin Hays, whose .719 OPS was three percent above league average.

Both players got off to good starts that didn’t hold up in 2022. Mountcastle had an OPS of .786 in the first half and .659 in the second half. He hit just five homers total in July and August. Hays posted an OPS of .779 in the first half and .626 in the second half.

In Mountcastle’s case, his homer total dropped from 33 in 2021 – which was an Orioles rookie record – to 22 a season ago. His homer percentage dipped from 5.6 percent to 3.6.

But when it came to expected stats, a formula that uses a combination of exit velocity and launch angle, Mountcastle looked strong on the stat sheet.

Hays aims to stay healthy and keep hitting throughout the season

Orioles outfielder Austin Hays takes pride in his ability to field anything that comes his way. Or anyone.

Hays was pouring beers at Crooked Crab Brewing Company in Odenton on Sunday, the Birdland Caravan’s final stop of the weekend, when a woman passed her 5-month-old daughter across the bar. An adorable and safe photo opportunity, with the baby secure in Hays’ hands.

The father of two young sons, Hays joked later that he might need a little girl to complete his family. After all, she did snuggle up against him. He took it as a sign.

In exactly one week, Orioles pitchers and catchers report to spring training in Sarasota and ready for the first workout the following morning. Position players are due the 20th, but Hays won’t wait that long. He’s driven to give his team a complete season.

Hays avoided the injured list in 2022 but played in pain and delivered two different halves. He batted .270/.325/.454 with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs in the first 85 games and .220/.276/.349 with four homers and 14 RBIs in the last 60.

Looking further into projection system stats for the Orioles

In this recent post, Dan Szymborski, senior writer for FanGraphs.com and the developer of the ZiPS projection system discussed how his system saw Adley Rutschman’s 2023 season playing out.

Pretty well is the answer.

ZiPS projects Rutschman to produce an .823 OPS and 126 OPS+ in 2023, which would rank 26 percent above league average. It would be another strong season for Rutschman, and if his ZiPS projection of 4.7 Wins Above Replacement is accurate, per its current player projections, Rutschman’s WAR would rank 11th best in the majors.

But Rutschman is not the only player that ZiPS or another projection system, Steamer, sees as having strong numbers in 2023. In looking at both ZiPS and Steamer, it seems ZiPS expects a bit more offense from other Orioles too.

For instance, ZiPS projections have four Orioles producing an OPS+ of 115 or more next season, with Rutschman at 126, Gunnar Henderson 123, Ryan Mountcastle 119 and Anthony Santander at 115. By comparison, the Yankees have just three players projected to exceed a 115 OPS+, with Aaron Judge at 164, Giancarlo Stanton 119 and Anthony Rizzo at 116.