We could have easily ended up REAL grumpy about the Royals series, but the Orioles got two walkoffs, so it’s OK

Hello, friends.

How ‘bout dem O’s? Truth be told, for seven innings of last night’s game, the feeling they were inspiring, at least in my household, was gloominess, because it was quite a sad outing for the offense against Royals starter Cole Ragans. That after a five-hour rain delay that was mostly frustrating because the Orioles could have known Wednesday morning that there was no way the game would be played any earlier than, say, 4pm.

The Orioles turned things around at the very end, leaving all of us sweating but happy over what ended up being another walk-off win. Even the fans who hung around through the cold and wet could feel good, since they were allowed to sit anywhere in the stadium for the game and everyone who stayed or left gets a free voucher for a Monday-Thursday home game. There are worse deals. Check out Paul Folkemer’s recap of the 4-3 victory that sealed a second straight series win to begin the 2024 season.

The win was matched by New York, with the Yankees taking an 11-inning game against the Diamondbacks to improve to 6-1. That’s good for a 1.5 game lead over the O’s. The 5-2 Red Sox are also a half-game ahead of the Orioles. These teams are both idle on Thursday. Not idle are the 0-7 Marlins and the 0-4 Mets, the last two winless teams in the league. The Mets are playing a doubleheader after a rainout yesterday. My custom early each season is to root for a team to beat the 1988 Orioles for season-opening futility. We’ll see if either of these guys can keep my hope alive.

When the Orioles were winning last year, I had a running joke where I was constantly wondering, “Is this the worst (pretty good record) team ever?” That feeling hung around here and there until the O’s fired off their eight-game winning streak right after Independence Day. Perhaps they’re going to make me feel like that again, because the Orioles are 4-2 right now, but at the same time they only avoided being swept by the Royals with walkoff wins that took them from losing to winning in one swing in two of the games. There are many good things and also a number of potential flaws that could loom large later.

Wednesday’s struggle against Ragans was the least infuriating of the bunch, because Ragans is a guy who’s been in a “if he can ever stay healthy, he’ll be good” bucket of players. It’s happening for him since being traded from Texas to Kansas City last year. Based on results over the last two years, Monday’s poor performance against Michael Wacha wasn’t so bad either, and that ended up being saved by the Jordan Westburg walkoff homer anyway. But the Tuesday loss, where they had absolutely nothing going against Alec Marsh, a pitcher with a 5+ ERA? That was a big yikes, and if not for McCann’s own walkoff last night, it’s probably all we’d be thinking about today, when there is no Orioles game to look forward to.

It would be all too easy to gaze longingly at the Norfolk stat lines – the prospects exploded again last night – and wonder why this guy or that guy isn’t in Baltimore instead of veteran players who are struggling to begin the season. Austin Hays hasn’t looked great, and neither has the still-hitless Ramón Urías. The longer that goes on, the louder the cries for Jackson Holliday, Heston Kjerstad, or Kyle Stowers will get. Or even Coby Mayo and Connor Norby, each of whom is also doing great through the first handful of Triple-A games!

Still, at least for now, this is what good teams do. Get a starting pitching effort that’s good enough to keep the team in the game. That’s what the Orioles got yesterday from Corbin Burnes, who wasn’t great but managed to limit the damage despite a lot of traffic on the basepaths. That enabled the O’s could mount the comeback against the Royals bullpen. It worked out. The Royals might even be better than advertised, so this whole “Oh no! They only barely beat a bad team!” thought could end up being wrong as the season plays out.

Next up for the Orioles is a trip to Pittsburgh to play the Pirates, who could also end up being friskier than preseason expectations were for them. The Pirates started off their season with five straight wins before losing one in our nation’s capital last night. At least they haven’t got Paul Skenes, last year’s #1 overall pick, around in the mix yet. Their bullpen has been lights out to date and a lot of their hitters are doing well early on. Friday’s game will start around 4 o’clock Eastern as it’s the home opener for Pittsburgh.

Around the blogO’sphere

What’s sweeter than one ace? Having two. (FanGraphs)
I am NOT used to articles like this being written about the Orioles. FG’s Dan Szymborski offers a ZiPS-suggested contract extension for Grayson Rodriguez at eight years, $57 million. I’d put that deal on the table right now.

Practice makes perfect for Orioles ace Corbin Burnes, starting when he makes his bed (The Baltimore Banner)
Reading this one about the importance of routine for Burnes, I had to wonder whether the five-hour rain disruption might have thrown him off. He still did pretty well, considering.

Anthony Santander shows off his ‘lowrider’ skills with epic blasts (Orioles.com)
Have you noticed that Santander occasionally hits REALLY low pitches and does damage with them? O’s beat writer Jake Rill did, and he gets some thoughts about this from Santander and from hitting coach Matt Borgschulte.

Remembering Larry Lucchino, a baseball visionary (The Athletic)
Ken Rosenthal’s tribute to the former Orioles executive Lucchino, who passed away earlier this week, opens with a story about Lucchino expressing confidence in the soon-to-open Oriole Park at Camden Yards.

Birthdays and Orioles anniversaries

Today in 2005, the Orioles season got under way and upon doing so, Rafael Palmeiro and Sammy Sosa became the first ever teammates to each belong to the 500 home run club.

There are a number of former Orioles who were born on this day. They are: 2021 pitcher Conner Greene, 2018-20 infielder Renato Núñez, 2016 pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne, 1995 pitcher Jim Dedrick, 1990 outfielder Brad Komminsk, 1966-67 first baseman Mike Epstein, 1967 pitcher Tom Fisher, and 1966-76 pitcher Eddie Watt. Today is Watt’s 83rd birthday, so an extra happy birthday to him.

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday to you as well! Your birthday buddies for today include: influential Civil War-era congressman Thaddeus Stevens (1792), baseball Hall of Famer Tris Speaker (1888), blues man Muddy Waters (1913), poet Maya Angelou (1928), actor Robert Downey Jr. (1965), baseball Hall of Famer Scott Rolen (1975), and actress Natasha Lyonne (1979).

On this day in history…

In 1841, President William Henry Harrison died at age 68 after contracting pneumonia. He was the first American president to die in office and still has the record for shortest presidency.

In 1887, a woman named Susanna Salter was elected as mayor of Argonia, Kansas. She’s recognized as the first female mayor in the United States.

In 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee.