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  1. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
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  3.  <title>Camden Chat -  All Posts</title>
  4.  <subtitle>Put a bird on it!</subtitle>
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  6.  <updated>2024-05-17T22:34:07-04:00</updated>
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  9.  <entry>
  10.    <published>2024-05-17T22:34:07-04:00</published>
  11.    <updated>2024-05-17T22:34:07-04:00</updated>
  12.    <title>Orioles get big innings early and late for comfortable win over Mariners</title>
  13.    <content type="html">  
  14.  
  15.    &lt;figure&gt;
  16.      &lt;img alt="MLB: Seattle Mariners at Baltimore Orioles" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/tTDW3RXsE4NZeezLyyVBapv0Cdk=/0x0:3600x2400/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73354995/usa_today_23305624.0.jpg" /&gt;
  17.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Reggie Hildred-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  18.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  19.  
  20.  &lt;p&gt;John Means was pretty good too in a 9-2 victory&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="apiidh"&gt;The slumping May Orioles lineup going up against a strong Mariners pitching staff seemed like it could be a bad combination. Maybe the Mariners staff only looks so strong because they haven’t had to face the O’s yet. Gunnar Henderson led off with a home run as the O’s hosed down Seattle for five runs in the first, and he delivered a triple later on as the Orioles tacked on four more to make it a stress-free blowout with a 9-2 win.&lt;/p&gt;
  21. &lt;p id="da6xUz"&gt;Adding on to things that you can feel good about from the Friday night win is that John Means threw six solid innings, allowing just two runs, to pick up a win at Oriole Park at Camden Yards for the first time since the 2021 season. There were a few more fans tonight compared to the last time. With the 70th anniversary jersey giveaway for a Friday night game, there were 38,882 fans (minus any Mariners partisans) who got a fun night at OPACY.  Means finished with six hits and no walks allowed. He’s yet to walk a batter this season.&lt;/p&gt;
  22. &lt;p id="cRDfK3"&gt;Although it’s easy to look at the final result and figure this was always a cruiser for Means, that was not guaranteed to be the case early on. Seattle’s leadoff hitter Dylan Moore hit the first pitch that he saw for a double and advanced to third on a deep ball to center field that was caught for the first out. &lt;/p&gt;
  23. &lt;p id="xd9AoP"&gt;Perhaps knowing that runs could be at a premium with the Mariners pitching staff being what it has been so far this year, the Orioles drew in the infield with the hope of cutting off Moore from scoring. A Mitch Garver ground ball came tantalizingly close to being fielded by Gunnar Henderson at shortstop, but snuck into left field for an early 1-0 Seattle lead. I thought maybe Gunnar should have had this ball. &lt;/p&gt;
  24. &lt;p id="n35zdr"&gt;Means gave up a two-out single but got through the inning without any further damage. All in all, three of the Mariners hits against Means came in that first inning and they only scored one run. That’s a good way to help your team win.&lt;/p&gt;
  25. &lt;p id="E630iT"&gt;Whether Henderson owed anything for a misplay or not, he led off the Orioles half of the first inning by launching a home run into the center field seats to tie the game up just like that. Mariners starter Bryce Miller has been good at a lot of things this season, bringing a 2.66 ERA into the game, but he’s also been a bit of a homer-prone guy.&lt;/p&gt;
  26. &lt;p id="29j8zG"&gt;The obscure baseball fact-knowing folks fired up their databases and made the observation that this is the first time that the Orioles have had back-to-back games with a leadoff home run &lt;a href="https://x.com/JakeDRill/status/1791613132034494917"&gt;since Melvin Mora did so on June 28 and 29, 2002&lt;/a&gt;. It’s been a while.&lt;/p&gt;
  27. &lt;p id="rVHZGs"&gt;What came after the homer is what really hurt Miller. Back-to-back singles by Adley Rutschman and Ryan O’Hearn kept the conga line moving, with the O’s having two men on and still no one out. For a moment, it looked like Miller would get a reprieve, as he got Ryan Mountcastle to hit what could have been a double-play grounder. Moore, the shortstop, made a throw to second that sailed into the outfield, letting Rutschman score without getting any outs on the play.&lt;/p&gt;
  28. &lt;p id="sGfGKq"&gt;The bases were juiced after Anthony Santander drew a walk, bringing up Colton Cowser with a chance to drive in more. According to Kevin Brown on MASN, Cowser decided to shave his beard because he hadn’t seen his chin or a fastball since April, and Cowser thought he’d change his part of that. Miller threw Cowser a first pitch fastball and Cowser jumped on it for a two-run double. Moo!&lt;/p&gt;
  29. &lt;p id="qAyfbm"&gt;Jordan Westburg added a sacrifice fly to make it a five-run first for the Orioles, giving them a 5-1 lead that would prove to be all that they needed in the game. These were the first runs that Miller had allowed in the first inning all season; batters were just .080 in the first off of Miller before tonight’s game.&lt;/p&gt;
  30. &lt;p id="ADanC9"&gt;It’s a good thing the Orioles got those first-inning runs on the board, because Miller rebounded from that tough inning to retire nine straight batters and 15 out of 16, taking him all the way into the sixth inning. That first out of the sixth was a deep fly ball hit by Santander that anyone would be forgiven for thinking it was gone off the bat. Seattle center fielder Julio Rodríguez had other ideas, leaping at the fence at almost the deepest part of the stadium and getting full extension of his 6’3” frame for an amazing catch.&lt;/p&gt;
  31. &lt;p id="VRN3QN"&gt;Means was able to match Miller in putting up zeroes after that first inning, retiring the side in order in the second and third and working around a leadoff single in the fourth. Seattle got one back as Moore launched a home run up over Walltimore in the fifth inning, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Means was a little shaky in the fifth and he started the sixth inning with Jacob Webb already warming. No need - Means got another 1-2-3 inning in the sixth to close out his night at 95 pitches thrown. It was a good game for him.&lt;/p&gt;
  32. &lt;p id="UsqfST"&gt;Seattle’s bullpen had its share of problems in the seventh inning, as four straight Orioles delivered extra-base hits - two triples and two doubles - in an inning that eventually brought four more O’s runs across the plate. Jorge Mateo’s triple is the one that got the party started, as he turned on the burners on a right-center field gapper that is a mere double for most other runners in the league. Henderson then scored Mateo with a triple of his own, into whatever you like to call the cutout corner in front of the wall that’s adjacent to the bullpen and in front of the Bird Bath section.&lt;/p&gt;
  33. &lt;p id="aoEF5n"&gt;Rutschman and pinch-hitter Austin Hays added the doubles. All of these guys eventually scored as the inning progressed, taking the game from “I wonder when and how they’re going to use Craig Kimbrel” territory into Mike Baumann territory. &lt;/p&gt;
  34. &lt;p id="PIsSDC"&gt;It seemed like the Orioles were lining up Kimbrel for the ninth, by the way. Webb came in for the seventh, though he only recorded one out and Yennier Cano had to come in and clean up the mess with one of his made-to-order double play ground balls. Cano only threw three pitches and I think he would have pitched the eighth as well, if the game did not become a blowout. We’ll have to see who gets the ninth inning the next time there’s a narrow lead. Maybe it would have been Albert Suárez instead.&lt;/p&gt;
  35. &lt;p id="kFKvxK"&gt;The last out of the game was a fly ball hit to Cowser. Jim Palmer, whose joking with Kevin through the game touched on Brown’s interest in Sour Patch Oreos, Brown not hitting the gym very often, and Brown playing the oboe, let the moment sink in before proclaiming: “You know what that means. MOO-y bueno.” Kevin gave Jim’s pun the moment it deserved, then said, “You have spent too much time around me.” I love these guys.&lt;/p&gt;
  36. &lt;p id="BfgRdI"&gt;The sweepless in the regular season streak is now up to 106 series. The Orioles didn’t drag it out to the end this time. They are only extending what has been the post-World War II record that they’ve held for quite some time. Tonight’s win guarantees that the streak will live for at least two full years. &lt;/p&gt;
  37. &lt;p id="EPptdN"&gt;The win improved the Orioles to 28-14 - again on a 108-win pace for the season. They kept pace with the Yankees at a game back in the division. The Yankees are playing the White Sox this weekend. There won’t be much help from that direction.&lt;/p&gt;
  38. &lt;p id="iZLDkZ"&gt;As of this writing, there’s still not a listed starting pitcher for the Orioles for Saturday’s 4:05 game. It seems that the possibilities are Corbin Burnes pitching on regular rest, or Grayson Rodriguez being activated from the injured list to make the start. Seattle is sending Luis Castillo to the mound as the O’s look to get the series win in the books quickly.&lt;/p&gt;
  39. &lt;div id="HNu55j"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="poll:12336062"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  40.  
  41. </content>
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  43.    <id>https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24159499/mlb-scores-orioles-mariners-game-recap</id>
  44.    <author>
  45.      <name>Mark Brown</name>
  46.    </author>
  47.  </entry>
  48.  <entry>
  49.    <published>2024-05-17T21:39:02-04:00</published>
  50.    <updated>2024-05-17T21:39:02-04:00</updated>
  51.    <title>Friday Night Orioles Victory GIF Party: O’s beat Mariners, 9-2</title>
  52.    <content type="html">  
  53.  
  54.    &lt;figure&gt;
  55.      &lt;img alt="Seattle Mariners v Baltimore Orioles" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/SegVsJeQk_J5PEIYSSFHwMl-u3c=/0x0:2000x1333/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73354942/2153452418.0.jpg" /&gt;
  56.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Gunnar Henderson’s family came to the game and he had a big night. Adorable! | Photo by Mitchell Layton/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  57.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  58.  
  59.  &lt;p&gt;You know what must be done&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="54WYYx"&gt;It is Friday night.&lt;/p&gt;
  60. &lt;p id="Nllf5f"&gt;The Orioles have taken down the Seattle Mariners in the opener of a three-game series. Gunnar Henderson led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run, the first of five runs that the O’s scored in the first. John Means had a good six-inning outing and the O’s offense piled on extra-base hits to make it a blowout later on.&lt;/p&gt;
  61. &lt;p id="0Uakt4"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;YOU KNOW WHAT MUST BE DONE.&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  62.  
  63. </content>
  64.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24159494/orioles-win-friday-victory-gif-party-yay-woo-awesome"/>
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  66.    <author>
  67.      <name>Mark Brown</name>
  68.    </author>
  69.  </entry>
  70.  <entry>
  71.    <published>2024-05-17T18:35:00-04:00</published>
  72.    <updated>2024-05-17T18:35:00-04:00</updated>
  73.    <title>Friday night Orioles game thread: vs. Mariners, 7:05</title>
  74.    <content type="html">  
  75.  
  76.    &lt;figure&gt;
  77.      &lt;img alt="Arizona Diamondbacks v Baltimore Orioles" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/EWcKIT898XrHn13szwdT98-tucw=/0x0:6966x4644/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73354776/2153311248.0.jpg" /&gt;
  78.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  79.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  80.  
  81.  &lt;p&gt;Hoping for a John Means Business kind of night&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="vQ4cZ0"&gt;The Orioles offense has not been very good so far in May. Despite this, the team has won two out of every three games played in the month. This is not a set of circumstances that feels like they can continue to coexist. One will change, or the other will. O’s fans are obviously hoping that it’ll be better offense rather than starting to lose more often.&lt;/p&gt;
  82. &lt;p id="fouJf2"&gt;The series beginning tonight is not one that offers much relief for a lineup and bench full of slumping hitters. The Mariners pitchers, both their rotation and bullpen, have been pretty darn good so far this season. The Seattle starter for this Friday night opener is the one who’s gotten the best results up to this point: Bryce Miller, owner of a 2.66 ERA and 0.951 WHIP through eight starts. Batters are hitting just .179 against Miller. That’s tough.&lt;/p&gt;
  83. &lt;p id="p6lUXA"&gt;Those who are looking to see something of a different look from the lineup are getting their wish. Kyle Stowers finally gets a start for the Orioles, playing left field. Ryan O’Hearn will be patrolling in right, with Colton Cowser in center field. It’s probably not the best defensive alignment the O’s could run out there, but it does get three lefty bats in action against the righty Miller, and it leaves out the slumping Cedric Mullins.&lt;/p&gt;
  84. &lt;p id="qKyPJO"&gt;All of this is going on behind John Means, a noted fly ball pitcher. The outfield is likely to get some action. With a lefty on the mound and not too many pure lefty batters on Seattle’s roster, maybe they figure O’Hearn won’t get much action out there in right field. Maybe they’ll be right.&lt;/p&gt;
  85. &lt;h4 id="oLH1xp"&gt;Orioles lineup&lt;/h4&gt;
  86. &lt;ol&gt;
  87. &lt;li id="7pDtrV"&gt;Gunnar Henderson - SS&lt;/li&gt;
  88. &lt;li id="9bpyJv"&gt;Adley Rutschman - C&lt;/li&gt;
  89. &lt;li id="BMo0f9"&gt;Ryan O’Hearn - RF&lt;/li&gt;
  90. &lt;li id="RGZuQN"&gt;Ryan Mountcastle - 1B&lt;/li&gt;
  91. &lt;li id="NmKloA"&gt;Anthony Santander - DH&lt;/li&gt;
  92. &lt;li id="G10Kym"&gt;Colton Cowser - CF&lt;/li&gt;
  93. &lt;li id="auQAue"&gt;Jordan Westburg - 3B&lt;/li&gt;
  94. &lt;li id="BJpLyL"&gt;Kyle Stowers - LF&lt;/li&gt;
  95. &lt;li id="a13fmp"&gt;Jorge Mateo - 2B&lt;/li&gt;
  96. &lt;/ol&gt;
  97. &lt;p id="Okv0pl"&gt;The idea of this lineup is sound! The only real problem with it is that four of the guys in it have been pretty bad at the plate in May and then there’s Stowers, who doesn’t have much of an MLB track record. Henderson is the only May slumper where I’m reasonably confident he’ll turn it around, and I want to believe in Mountcastle. The others, I don’t know, but hopefully they turn it around soon so the team doesn’t have to contemplate roster shakeups to do something about all of this.&lt;/p&gt;
  98. &lt;p id="B3Tzvt"&gt;This is going to be just the third start of the season for Means. He’ll be trying to snap the “hasn’t won a game at Camden Yards since 2021” streak again tonight. Means had a great outing against the Reds on the road for his season debut and a bad one last time against the Diamondbacks. The Mariners offense has not been very good so far this year. Means still has to pitch well enough to beat them.&lt;/p&gt;
  99. &lt;p id="yXCZC8"&gt;For tonight, at least, there’s some shifting in the Orioles bullpen, as manager Brandon Hyde told O’s reporters that Cole Irvin is in the bullpen. This is likely recognizing that Corbin Burnes will start tomorrow and possibly Grayson Rodriguez on Sunday, as Hyde said the team wants to keep Burnes on regular rest (a tomorrow start) and that Rodriguez will be back “soon” without an IL stint. The team is now expected to shift into a six-man rotation with limited off days between now and the end of June. I hope it works out.&lt;/p&gt;
  100. &lt;h4 id="uz0wBO"&gt;Mariners lineup&lt;/h4&gt;
  101. &lt;ol&gt;
  102. &lt;li id="d0vdz5"&gt;Dylan Moore - SS&lt;/li&gt;
  103. &lt;li id="bQkbuw"&gt;Julio Rodríguez - CF&lt;/li&gt;
  104. &lt;li id="kARmMe"&gt;Mitch Garver - DH&lt;/li&gt;
  105. &lt;li id="oMnOZX"&gt;Cal Raleigh - C&lt;/li&gt;
  106. &lt;li id="MGHFk5"&gt;Mitch Haniger - RF&lt;/li&gt;
  107. &lt;li id="QSbRI9"&gt;Josh Rojas - 2B&lt;/li&gt;
  108. &lt;li id="ySMTDR"&gt;Ty France - 1B&lt;/li&gt;
  109. &lt;li id="wbnEMl"&gt;Luke Raley - LF&lt;/li&gt;
  110. &lt;li id="lTAOZn"&gt;Luis Urías - 3B&lt;/li&gt;
  111. &lt;/ol&gt;
  112. &lt;p id="H4A8gS"&gt;The Orioles are willing to put their Ryans back-to-back but Seattle does not do the Mitches back-to-back. Does this mean anything? Probably just that both Mitches are righty batters. They aren’t playing well so far this season and I hope that the O’s pitchers this weekend continue that trend.&lt;/p&gt;
  113.  
  114. </content>
  115.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24159233/orioles-mariners-lineups-probable-pitchers-tonight"/>
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  117.    <author>
  118.      <name>Mark Brown</name>
  119.    </author>
  120.  </entry>
  121.  <entry>
  122.    <published>2024-05-17T10:00:00-04:00</published>
  123.    <updated>2024-05-17T10:00:00-04:00</updated>
  124.    <title>Orioles-Mariners series preview: A pitching powerhouse arrives in town</title>
  125.    <content type="html">  
  126.  
  127.    &lt;figure&gt;
  128.      &lt;img alt="Baltimore Orioles v Seattle Mariners" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z-TILVAZ1v7vMx-Ji5FvSMjN-GU=/0x0:7257x4838/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73353612/1612930258.0.jpg" /&gt;
  129.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Hopefully a slumping Cedric Mullins can regain his home-run stroke this series. Here he hits a two-run home run in Seattle in August 2023, the last time these two teams played.   | Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  130.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  131.  
  132.  &lt;p&gt;The Mariners have one of the best rotations and one of the worst offenses in the league&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="3KIA0w"&gt;Hello! It’s the &lt;a href="https://www.lookoutlanding.com/"&gt;Seattle Mariners&lt;/a&gt;. A team that doesn’t really bother anyone around these parts, since they play far out West, and the memories between the two teams have been mostly nice: Adley Rutschman (and his dad, Randy) proudly &lt;a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;amp;rct=j&amp;amp;q=&amp;amp;esrc=s&amp;amp;source=web&amp;amp;cd=&amp;amp;ved=2ahUKEwivzvzMg46GAxVhjokEHTeRBcEQwqsBegQICBAG&amp;amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DtZ7F3c7EavY&amp;amp;usg=AOvVaw3D382iJDAP0im7abNRVt5Y&amp;amp;opi=89978449"&gt;repping his team&lt;/a&gt; in last year’s &lt;a href="http://www.sbnation.com/mlb-home-run-derby"&gt;Home Run Derby&lt;/a&gt;; Cal Ripken Jr. &lt;a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;amp;rct=j&amp;amp;q=&amp;amp;esrc=s&amp;amp;source=web&amp;amp;cd=&amp;amp;ved=2ahUKEwjozcu9g46GAxXSlYkEHTpOBMsQwqsBegQIDhAG&amp;amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Db_etvGI7WfU&amp;amp;usg=AOvVaw1kn7_9S7RFW8dmhiH_Jj1T&amp;amp;opi=89978449"&gt;homering&lt;/a&gt; in his last All-Star Game in 2001; Mike Mussina &lt;a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&amp;amp;rct=j&amp;amp;q=&amp;amp;esrc=s&amp;amp;source=web&amp;amp;cd=&amp;amp;ved=2ahUKEwiapMeDg46GAxUQvokEHUrMA9AQwqsBegQICBAG&amp;amp;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Doopa15_EADc&amp;amp;usg=AOvVaw2w22UR13ky4MHQLwZd1D4g&amp;amp;opi=89978449"&gt;outdueling&lt;/a&gt; Randy Johnson in the 1997 ALDS; the Orioles getting Adam Jones &lt;em&gt;and &lt;/em&gt;Chris Tillman for Erik Bedard in 2008.&lt;/p&gt;
  133. &lt;p id="d2fnC3"&gt;But that’s all in the past. Despite mostly standing pat in the offseason, the 2024 Mariners are no pushovers. After missing the playoffs by &lt;em&gt;one &lt;/em&gt;game in 2023, they’re currently tops in the AL West, with a one-and-a-half-game lead in the AL West over last year’s champion Texas, and boast one of best rotations in the Majors. Fangraphs/PECOTA projected Seattle as an 84/85-win team, respectively. Despite going 5-5 in their last ten games, against Minnesota, Oakland and Kansas City, the team remains about on pace for about 88 wins.&lt;/p&gt;
  134. &lt;p id="oNDWQf"&gt;The Mariners’ rotation doesn’t look too different from last season’s—but when you have the AL’s best ERA in ‘23, that’s not a bad thing. Seattle has a tough top three trio of Logan Gilbert, Luis Castillo and George Kirby, all of whom will be under team control through 2027. With a 2.94 ERA and 54 K’s in eight starts this season, the 27-year-old Gilbert has already appeared on &lt;a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/tarik-skubal-zack-wheeler-lead-second-2024-cy-young-award-poll"&gt;early Cy Young shortlists&lt;/a&gt; (and Castillo, Kirby and Bryce Miller are also getting notice). At the back end, closer Andrés Muñoz has been highly effective, with a 1.62 ERA, 235 ERA+ and 21 K’s in 16 innings. Also part of the bullpen are two former Orioles, Eduard Bazardo and Austin Voth, and Voth is having a good year so far.&lt;/p&gt;
  135. &lt;p id="TEuHFX"&gt;The offense, meanwhile, has been average—well, &lt;em&gt;bad &lt;/em&gt;is the more accurate term. Seattle strikes out more than any team in baseball, and they’re in the bottom four AL teams in runs scored, average (.227) and OBP (.301). Their one saving grace at the plate is home runs: they’ve hit 50, fourth-best in the AL.&lt;/p&gt;
  136. &lt;p id="8dPnLs"&gt;Part of the issue is that the M’s allowed four of their best position players to walk in the offseason (Teoscar Hernández, Eugenio Suárez, Jarred Kelenic, José Caballero), and their replacements aren’t hitting. Former Twin Jorge Polanco has a .192 average, Mitch Haniger, acquired from San Francisco, is OPS’ing .654, and DH Mitch Garver, who won a ring last year with Texas, is slashing .174/.287/.347. 2022 Rookie of the Year Julio Rodríguez hasn’t found his power yet, with just two&lt;em&gt; &lt;/em&gt;home runs. First baseman Ty France is OPS’ing .663. Shortstop J.P. Crawford was hitting .198 before he hit the 10-day IL.&lt;/p&gt;
  137. &lt;p id="0glRpx"&gt;There are a few bright spots at the plate for Seattle, though. Former utility player Josh Rojas has been a revelation, leading the team in average (.330), slugging (.482) and OPS (.877). Catcher Cal Raleigh is showing plenty of thump with a .759 OPS and a team-best ten home runs. And former Rays outfielder Luke Raley is hitting .276 with some pop, as well.&lt;/p&gt;
  138. &lt;p id="nsXKJR"&gt;Last season, the O’s won the season series with Seattle for the first time since 2017. They’ll avoid Gilbert this time around, but they’ll still face a tough trio in Castillo-Kirby-Miller.&lt;strong&gt; &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  139. &lt;h4 id="xbm0fD"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 1: Friday, May 17th, 7:05pm ET, MASN 2&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  140. &lt;p id="3VHS5R"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Probable pitchers: John Means (1-0, 3.09 ERA, 11 SO in 11.2 IP) v. Bryce Miller (3-3, 2.66 ERA, 51 SO in 47.1 IP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  141. &lt;p id="s7qNhD"&gt;Which John Means will come to the park today? Means has made two starts since his return from Tommy John surgery in early 2022. His first was superb (7 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 8 SO), the other average (4.2 IP, 4 R, 6 H, HR, 3 SO). But a 2.62 FIP suggests Means is working with good stuff, and even in his bad start he got nine swings and misses.&lt;/p&gt;
  142. &lt;p id="xPo0Tl"&gt;Facing Means will be second-year right-hander Bryce Miller. The former 4th-round draft pick out of &lt;a href="https://www.goodbullhunting.com"&gt;Texas A&amp;amp;M&lt;/a&gt; had a solid rookie season (8-7, 4.32 ERA, 3.98 FIP, 119 SO in 131.1 IP) and he’s improved in most important categories. In eight starts totaling 47.1 innings, the 6’2” righty has a 2.66 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, and has struck out 51 hitters. His four-seam fastball is one of the game’s best in run value, and he throws it often, as he should (45% of his pitches), although this is way down from last season’s 58.5%.&lt;/p&gt;
  143. &lt;p id="bCV42J"&gt;On May 5, Miller allowed four runs to Houston but got the win. And on May 11, he took a tough loss to Oakland despite throwing six two-run innings.&lt;/p&gt;
  144. &lt;h4 id="ENqBkg"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 2: Saturday, May 18th, 4:05pm ET, MASN 2, FS1&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  145. &lt;p id="YsM5DF"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Probable pitchers: Dean Kremer (3-3, 3.72 ERA, 47 SO in 46 IP) vs. Luis Castillo (4-5, 3.31 ERA, 64 SO in 54.1 IP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  146. &lt;p id="ivBuTj"&gt;Dean Kremer is in the middle of a pretty solid year. None of his numbers pop off the page except strikeouts: he’s striking out 9.2 batters per game, which equals a 25.3 K%. Both, &lt;a href="https://library.fangraphs.com/pitching/rate-stats/"&gt;per Fangraphs&lt;/a&gt;, are “Great.” He’s allowing a fair amount of contact, but also getting lots of whiffs, especially from a new split-finger fastball. His last time out, Kremer allowed six runs (three earned) to Arizona in 5.2 innings and struck out ten.&lt;/p&gt;
  147. &lt;p id="CCw9SD"&gt;Opposing Kremer for the Mariners is All-Star Luis Castillo. The three-time All Star was stellar for Seattle last season, going 14-9 with a 3.34 ERA in a league-leading 33 starts. He also whiffed 219 hitters in 197 innings. This season, Castillo is still shoving, despite getting very little run support. His 64 strikeouts are leading all AL starters. Castillo’s fastball is his No. 1 pitch (48%), followed by a slider which he prefers as a putaway pitch, especially against lefties. The right-hander used to throw his changeup more than any other pitch; now he uses it almost exclusively against lefties, against whom it’s got a 39.1% whiff rate.&lt;/p&gt;
  148. &lt;p id="TAdCYl"&gt;Few current Orioles hitters have faced Castillo, a longtime Cincinnati Red. Ryan O’Hearn is 5-for-13 against the right-hander.&lt;/p&gt;
  149. &lt;h4 id="JWSKBQ"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Game 3: Sunday, May 19th, 1:35pm ET, MASN 2, MLBN&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/h4&gt;
  150. &lt;p id="IyoRb8"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Probable pitchers: Corbin Burnes (3-2, 2.68 ERA, 49 SO in 53.2 IP) v. George Kirby (4-3, 3.58 ERA, 51 SO in 50.1 IP)&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  151. &lt;p id="ovRKJ9"&gt;Despite not scaling the highest of Cy Young-like heights since his astonishing 11-strikeout Opening Day start, Corbin Burnes continues to deliver each time he’s out on the mound. He’s never gone fewer than five innings, and has given up two-or-more earned runs only three times. Lately, he’s the mirror image of Kremer in that he’s not striking out a lot of hitters, but the contact allowed is very weak. Back in 2021, when he won the NL Cy Young, Burnes whiffed 13.27 hitters per game and walked 1.83, with a .201 opposing average allowed. This year, the K’s are down and the walks are up, at 9.29 and 3.07, respectively, but hitters continue to struggle against him, with just a .204 average.&lt;/p&gt;
  152. &lt;p id="1y6VFc"&gt;Opposing Burnes is George Kirby, who’s been excellent in his first three seasons. The 2023 All-Star finished last season with a 3.35 ERA and the lowest walk rate in the Majors. BaseballSavant rates his 95.5 mph fastball simply &lt;a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/george-kirby-669923?stats=statcast-r-pitching-mlb"&gt;one of the best in the game&lt;/a&gt;. Kirby doesn’t strike out a ton of hitters, but he walks almost none and isn’t allowing a lot of hard contact.&lt;/p&gt;
  153. &lt;p id="3kH9zS"&gt;In his career, Kirby is 1-2 with a 3.20 ERA against Baltimore. Last season, he faced the Orioles twice and lost both … although, in fairness, the second was a complete-game shutout that the Birds won on a Ryan Mountcastle RBI single in extras. Austin Hays is 3-for-10 against the righty, Anthony Santander 4-for-12 with two home runs, Gunnar Henderson 1-for-4 and Adley 2-for-10.&lt;/p&gt;
  154. &lt;div id="Q2U5sn"&gt;&lt;div data-anthem-component="poll:12331274"&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;/div&gt;
  155.  
  156. </content>
  157.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24157672/orioles-mariners-probable-pitchers-series-preview"/>
  158.    <id>https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24157672/orioles-mariners-probable-pitchers-series-preview</id>
  159.    <author>
  160.      <name>Andrea SK</name>
  161.    </author>
  162.  </entry>
  163.  <entry>
  164.    <published>2024-05-17T09:09:52-04:00</published>
  165.    <updated>2024-05-17T09:09:52-04:00</updated>
  166.    <title>Survey results: O’s fans see Kimbrel back as closer before too long</title>
  167.    <content type="html">  
  168.  
  169.    &lt;figure&gt;
  170.      &lt;img alt="Arizona Diamondbacks v Baltimore Orioles" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/AkDn4rBVVkmmOerfY_h-MquERYE=/0x0:4098x2732/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73353473/2153305349.0.jpg" /&gt;
  171.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  172.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  173.  
  174.  &lt;p&gt;Kimbrel needs 12 more saves to get into the top five on the career leaderboard&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="MsSX0w"&gt;Early in the past offseason, the Orioles went out and signed Craig Kimbrel with the idea that he would be the closer. If you wanted to be excited about the signing, there was plenty to be excited about. Guys with his experience who are not hanging on to their careers by a thread don’t show up on the Orioles very often. If you wanted to be nervous, you could be that too, because Kimbrel’s best days are long behind him and his second act has not been a consistently successful one.&lt;/p&gt;
  175. &lt;p id="dKKImf"&gt;After a mostly successful April, the unpredictable Kimbrel of recent seasons appeared right around when the calendar turned to May. At this moment, he is not the closer. Manager Brandon Hyde is using Kimbrel in different spots that are usually still fairly high leverage but not “one-run lead in the ninth inning” level of leverage. It’s not clear who in the Orioles bullpen is the closer, or if there is any one closer just now.&lt;/p&gt;
  176. &lt;p id="DLa5Gg"&gt;This week, I asked fans &lt;a href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/14/24156598/orioles-closer-relief-pitchers-bullpen-fan-poll"&gt;to weigh in on who they think will end up getting the most saves from this point forward.&lt;/a&gt; The results of the survey are in and here’s what you had to say about it:&lt;/p&gt;
  177.  &lt;figure class="e-image"&gt;
  178.        &lt;img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/1ZqzXu9PPmb6MkRR0K5lpqMEyIA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25452439/Baltimore_1_51524.png"&gt;
  179.  &lt;/figure&gt;
  180. &lt;p id="XsmXPg"&gt;That’s a plurality believing Kimbrel is going to reclaim his closer role soon and keep it the rest of the way. Not far behind, “someone else” could be either Danny Coulombe or Albert Suárez. At this point, Coulombe has gotten one save and Suárez has yet to record one. Yennier Cano and Jacob Webb, players who each have two saves so far, are also in the survey but received much less support.&lt;/p&gt;
  181. &lt;p id="faRvqg"&gt;Kimbrel hasn’t allowed a run in the three outings since he was shifted out of the closer’s role. Although Hyde said that the Orioles were going to stick with Kimbrel and some people interpreted that to mean he would keep getting save chances, that is not how things have played out. It’s not clear how long he will need to do better in order to demonstrate that he deserves to be the first choice for save chances again, and there’s always the possibility that someone else could come along and go on a heater that can’t be ignored.&lt;/p&gt;
  182. &lt;p id="9m0aS0"&gt;I think that the Orioles would still like Kimbrel to be the closer and it won’t take him much more to convince them to put him back. In that sense, the poll result seems about right: Kimbrel is recognized as the most likely option but not the choice of the majority. All that’s left to do now is figuratively hold our breath every time there’s a late, narrow Orioles lead until people prove themselves trustworthy enough that fans can be confident.&lt;/p&gt;
  183. &lt;p id="htIq7O"&gt;&lt;em&gt;Check out &lt;/em&gt;&lt;a href="https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/featured?wpcid=163864&amp;amp;wpcn=SBNation&amp;amp;wpcrid=Reacts&amp;amp;wpscn=Social&amp;amp;wpsrc=Vox&amp;amp;category=live-in-game"&gt;&lt;em&gt;DraftKings Sportsbook&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;&lt;em&gt;, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  184.  
  185. </content>
  186.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24158890/orioles-craig-kimbrel-closer-saves-survey"/>
  187.    <id>https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24158890/orioles-craig-kimbrel-closer-saves-survey</id>
  188.    <author>
  189.      <name>Mark Brown</name>
  190.    </author>
  191.  </entry>
  192.  <entry>
  193.    <published>2024-05-17T08:00:00-04:00</published>
  194.    <updated>2024-05-17T08:00:00-04:00</updated>
  195.    <title>Orioles minor league recap 5/17: Jackson Holliday gets Mike Elias’s attention, Coby Mayo exits early </title>
  196.    <content type="html">  
  197.  
  198.    &lt;figure&gt;
  199.      &lt;img alt="Baltimore Orioles v Kansas City Royals" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/TePrER36XOx2wfJtShT3g03Oqkk=/0x0:4677x3118/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73353305/2149326521.0.jpg" /&gt;
  200.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  201.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  202.  
  203.  &lt;p&gt;Jackson Holliday recorded a pair of extra-base hits, and Coby Mayo left the game “as a precaution.” &lt;/p&gt; &lt;h4 id="8uDkBn"&gt;Triple-A: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Phillies) 8, Norfolk Tides 6&lt;/h4&gt;
  204. &lt;p id="3syJlK"&gt;Jackson Holliday drove in the tying run with a double in the eighth, but Lehigh Valley struck for two more in the ninth. Bryan Baker allowed a solo homer and another run on a two-out single. The rough inning brought Baker’s ERA to 8.78 over 14 games. &lt;/p&gt;
  205. &lt;p id="YZq1Md"&gt;Holliday did his best Jordan Westburg impression with a leadoff homer. Holliday finished 2-for-5 with the pair of extra-base hits, and he quickly gained the attention of a familiar face in the stands.&lt;/p&gt;
  206. &lt;div id="3xE3wd"&gt;
  207. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  208. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Peep the guy in the stands   &lt;a href="https://t.co/OhEhBL5HHM"&gt;https://t.co/OhEhBL5HHM&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— The Verge- An Orioles MiLB Podcast (@TheVergePod) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/TheVergePod/status/1791146554524381596?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 16, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  209. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  210. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  211.  
  212. &lt;/div&gt;
  213. &lt;p id="FAkrRD"&gt;Coby Mayo and Heston Kjerstad followed with doubles to add the second run. Mayo went 2-for-2 before &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/JakeDRill/status/1791165169558581737"&gt;exiting the game as a precaution after a collision.&lt;/a&gt; Kjerstad finished 2-for-3 with a pair of walks. &lt;/p&gt;
  214. &lt;p id="ELDaHW"&gt;Billy Cook doubled in five trips, and Daniel Johnson added a two-run home run. &lt;/p&gt;
  215. &lt;p id="SJLLtc"&gt;Garrett Stallings allowed six runs on six hits over the first four innings, but three relievers kept the Tides in the game. Nick Vespi tossed two scoreless frames, while Nolan Hoffman and Kade Strowd each posted a zero.&lt;/p&gt;
  216. &lt;h4 id="Fq4kEl"&gt;Double-A: Bowie Baysox 3, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Mets) 0&lt;/h4&gt;
  217. &lt;p id="7pAgNk"&gt;Jud Fabian broke a scoreless tie with a solo homer in the sixth inning. Fabian pulled a middle-middle fastball and launched it over the scoreboard in left field.&lt;/p&gt;
  218. &lt;div id="ues3W2"&gt;
  219. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet"&gt;
  220. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Another day, another Fabian big play &lt;a href="https://t.co/C0UBqEnJAA"&gt;pic.twitter.com/C0UBqEnJAA&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Bowie Baysox (@BowieBaysox) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/BowieBaysox/status/1791252297324072977?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 16, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  221. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  222. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  223.  
  224. &lt;/div&gt;
  225. &lt;p id="kfHEwQ"&gt;The Baysox added some insurance in the ninth on a two-run single by Collin Burns. Burns finished 2-for-4, while Connor Pavolony went 3-for-4 with a double. Samuel Basallo recorded a single in four trips. &lt;/p&gt;
  226. &lt;p id="vieWAU"&gt;Brandon Young started and recorded seven of his 10 outs via strikeout. Kyle Brnovich earned the win with 4.2 scoreless innings of bulk relief.&lt;/p&gt;
  227. &lt;h4 id="oOFwOt"&gt;High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 3, Aberdeen IronBirds 2 — Game 1 F/7&lt;/h4&gt;
  228. &lt;p id="3Emz4n"&gt;Aberdeen dropped a pair of seven-inning contests in Wilmington. Jackson Baumeister struck out seven over four innings, but he allowed a two-run single in the fourth. Dan Hammer allowed a run on three singles and a walk, and Deivy Cruz tossed a scoreless sixth inning. &lt;/p&gt;
  229. &lt;p id="F3ZSUf"&gt;Creed Willems evened the score at two with a two-run homer in the fourth inning. The blast marked Willems’ eighth homer on the season. Isaac De León recorded the only multi-hit game with a pair of singles. &lt;/p&gt;
  230. &lt;h4 id="lYyF7n"&gt;High-A: Wilmington Blue Rocks (Nationals) 3, Aberdeen IronBirds 0 — Game 2 F/7&lt;/h4&gt;
  231. &lt;p id="vZb5dB"&gt;The IronBirds managed only one hit in this one. Matthew Etzel singled in the sixth but was immediately wiped out by a Willems’ double play. &lt;/p&gt;
  232. &lt;p id="cDfqCw"&gt;Zack Fruit allowed all three runs in the third inning. &lt;/p&gt;
  233. &lt;h4 id="2VnSLd"&gt;Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds 5, Lynchburg Hillcats 2 — Game 1 F/7&lt;/h4&gt;
  234. &lt;p id="zKF2sR"&gt;Delmarva racked up 10 hits in the seven inning contest. Angel Tejada led the charge with a 3-for-3 effort that featured a two-run blast. Aneudis Mordán homered, walked and singled in three trips, and Noelberth Romero added a solo shot. &lt;/p&gt;
  235. &lt;p id="XDZSbO"&gt;Aron Estrada scored twice after a pair of singles. &lt;/p&gt;
  236. &lt;h4 id="hKaU9G"&gt;Low-A: Delmarva Shorebirds vs. Lynchburg Hillcats — Game 2 PPD&lt;/h4&gt;
  237. &lt;p id="hAK28U"&gt;Delmarva and Lynchburg hoped to play two, but the game was postponed due to poor field conditions. The two clubs will take another crack at a doubleheader today.&lt;/p&gt;
  238. &lt;p id="rR3MpO"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.milb.com/scores/all/all/orioles"&gt;Box Scores&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  239. &lt;h4 id="SVOOUI"&gt;Friday’s Schedule&lt;/h4&gt;
  240. &lt;ul&gt;
  241. &lt;li id="g8KBKE"&gt;Norfolk: vs Lehigh Valley, 6:35. Starter: Tucker Davidson (1-0, 2.95 ERA)&lt;/li&gt;
  242. &lt;li id="yHOqYj"&gt;Bowie: at Binghamton, 7:05. Starter: Seth Johnson (0-4, 4.82 ERA)&lt;/li&gt;
  243. &lt;li id="hstKrZ"&gt;Aberdeen: at Wilmington, 6:35 Starter: TBD&lt;/li&gt;
  244. &lt;li id="EDy1P2"&gt;Delmarva: at Lynchburg, 3:00 (Game 1). Starter: Braxton Bragg (1-0, 2.70 ERA)&lt;/li&gt;
  245. &lt;li id="X5V0kd"&gt;Delmarva: at Lynchburg, TBD (Game 2). Starter: TBD&lt;/li&gt;
  246. &lt;/ul&gt;
  247. &lt;p id="Tg3ryK"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  248. &lt;p id="WNdX8r"&gt;&lt;/p&gt;
  249.  
  250. </content>
  251.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24158701/orioles-prospects-minors-recap-jackson-holliday-coby-mayo-jud-fabian"/>
  252.    <id>https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24158701/orioles-prospects-minors-recap-jackson-holliday-coby-mayo-jud-fabian</id>
  253.    <author>
  254.      <name>Alex Church</name>
  255.    </author>
  256.  </entry>
  257.  <entry>
  258.    <published>2024-05-17T07:00:00-04:00</published>
  259.    <updated>2024-05-17T07:00:00-04:00</updated>
  260.    <title>Friday Bird Droppings: Taking stock of the Orioles after the first quarter</title>
  261.    <content type="html">  
  262.  
  263.    &lt;figure&gt;
  264.      &lt;img alt="MLB: Toronto Blue Jays at Baltimore Orioles" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/UCzMQk_DuQEHvpMunSI10FxdNyQ=/0x0:6863x4575/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73353224/usa_today_23281522.0.jpg" /&gt;
  265.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  266.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  267.  
  268.  &lt;p&gt;The O’s have played roughly one-fourth of their schedule. It’s gone quite well so far.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="zl5oS0"&gt;Good morning, Camden Chatters.&lt;/p&gt;
  269. &lt;p id="V8gGDs"&gt;For the second time in three days, the Orioles didn’t play a game yesterday, although unlike Tuesday’s rainout, this one was a scheduled idle date. And with the O’s having reached the 40-game mark (actually 41, but who’s counting?), they’re now roughly one-quarter of the way through the 2024 regular season.&lt;/p&gt;
  270. &lt;p id="JMXDOF"&gt;Our own John Beers &lt;a href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/14/24156102/baltimore-orioles-2024-season-best-worst-players"&gt;analyzed the O’s standouts and disappointments&lt;/a&gt; through the first quarter, and &lt;a href="https://www.thebaltimorebanner.com/sports/orioles-mlb/orioles-analysis-quarter-of-2024-season-O2XJNRRI3ZFH3AWBTAFD2MQ5NY/"&gt;the Baltimore Banner beat writers gave their own assessments&lt;/a&gt; of the team in its first fourth of the season, offering their responses to four questions.&lt;/p&gt;
  271. &lt;p id="izWm2O"&gt;How would you answer the questions posed in the Banner article? Here are mine:&lt;/p&gt;
  272. &lt;p id="C5xBlM"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Looking back at your opening day predictions, do you still feel the same or has it changed?&lt;/strong&gt; In &lt;a href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/3/27/24112613/orioles-2024-season-predictions"&gt;Camden Chat’s predictions post &lt;/a&gt;before Opening Day, I forecasted an 89-73 record. That’s looking a little low now, with the Orioles currently on pace for more than 100 wins. Maybe I’m just a pessimist, but I don’t know, it still feels kind of presumptuous to &lt;em&gt;predict&lt;/em&gt; a 100-win season, doesn’t it? I’ll stick with my original prediction and will be happy to be wrong.&lt;/p&gt;
  273. &lt;p id="abRCpp"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. What’s been the biggest surprise?&lt;/strong&gt; The Banner’s Danielle Allentuck and Andy Kostka both answer Cole Irvin, and Kyle Goon mentions Jordan Westburg, and I feel like that covers the two best answers. I’ll give an honorable mention to Ryan O’Hearn, who has the third-best OPS+ on the team and is proving he wasn’t a one-year fluke.&lt;/p&gt;
  274. &lt;p id="kwEIZR"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. What is the Orioles’ biggest weakness?&lt;/strong&gt; The Banner writers identify the bullpen (specifically the ninth inning) and the Birds’ low-OBP offensive approach here. Another somewhat surprising weakness has been the O’s outfield, which was expected to be one of the most stable units of the team but has been (aside from Colton Cowser’s April) pretty unproductive.&lt;/p&gt;
  275. &lt;p id="vxz70z"&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. Who do you think will be the Orioles All-Stars?&lt;/strong&gt; Adley Rutschman and Gunnar Henderson are locks. Westburg should be, too, barring a significant dropoff before the first half ends. Corbin Burnes has the name recognition but could be frozen out if the O’s keep giving him zero run support. The Banner writers mention a few relief pitchers also, but I’d be surprised if any members of this O’s bullpen make it.&lt;/p&gt;
  276. &lt;p id="OGXXQa"&gt;What are your thoughts, Camden Chatters?&lt;/p&gt;
  277. &lt;h4 id="fkd5yl"&gt;Links&lt;/h4&gt;
  278. &lt;p id="vgQmZp"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.baltimoresun.com/2024/05/15/orioles-jackson-holliday-new-stance-hitting/"&gt;With lower stance, Jackson Holliday is back to raking at Triple-A - The Baltimore Sun&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;Holliday has been making a subtle change to his leg kick in the minors, and it seems to be working. He might be back in the majors sooner rather than later, especially if the Orioles’ current offensive funk continues.&lt;/p&gt;
  279. &lt;p id="bMTp7B"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2024/05/16/midday-mailbag-will-felix-bautista-return/"&gt;Orioles' Midday Mailbag: When will Félix Bautista return? - BaltimoreBaseball.com&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;Rich Dubroff answers a question from a reader who rather rudely wonders why it’s taking Félix Bautista “so long to recover” from Tommy John. The guy literally had his elbow reconstructed, how about we give him more than a few months, &lt;em&gt;Jerry&lt;/em&gt;?&lt;/p&gt;
  280. &lt;p id="fUUz0l"&gt;&lt;a href="https://www.masnsports.com/blog/elias-on-orioles-outfield"&gt;Elias suggests patience with struggling outfielders - School of Roch&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br&gt;Mike Elias has heard our complaints, like mine above, about the O’s outfield. But if you’re expecting him to hit the panic button and immediately replace all the struggling veterands with prospects, you don’t know Elias very well.&lt;/p&gt;
  281. &lt;h4 id="mIy9ac"&gt;Orioles birthdays and history&lt;/h4&gt;
  282. &lt;p id="mj3iG9"&gt;Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! And happy 92nd birthday to former Oriole Ozzie Virgil, who had one of the most blink-and-you-missed-it Orioles careers of all time. In his only game with the Birds, he pinch-hit and was intentionally walked, never playing the field or even getting a chance to swing the bat. He did have longer stints with a few other clubs and is famous for being the first Dominican-born player in MLB history. Enjoy your day, Mr. Virgil. Other former Orioles born on May 17 are outfielder Jack Voigt (58) and the late left-hander Billy Hoeft (b. 1932, d. 2010) and righty Jim McDonald (b. 1927, d. 2004).&lt;/p&gt;
  283. &lt;p id="u7INfB"&gt;On this date in 1984, the great career of legendary Oriole Jim Palmer came to an end when the O’s gave the Hall of Fame right-hander his release. The 38-year-old had made his final appearance four days earlier, giving up four runs in two innings of mop-up relief that inflated his ERA to 9.17. He thus finished his career with 558 games pitched over 19 seasons, all for Baltimore, winning 268 games, three AL Cy Young awards, and three &lt;a href="https://www.sbnation.com/world-series"&gt;World Series&lt;/a&gt; rings. He was pretty good, you guys.&lt;/p&gt;
  284. &lt;h4 id="sm8znr"&gt;Random Orioles game of the day&lt;/h4&gt;
  285. &lt;p id="5pFNXI"&gt;On May 17, 2000, the Orioles lost a walkoff in Anaheim, 8-7. Scott Spiezio’s game-ending single off O’s closer Mike Timlin in the ninth capped a frustrating evening in which the Orioles jumped out to an early multi-run lead but kept letting the Angels back in the game. Cleanup man Albert Belle drove in three runs and Jeff Conine added a pair of RBIs, but O’s starter Pat Rapp and three relievers all were scored upon as Anaheim chipped away. The loss dropped the Orioles to 17-22, a precipitous drop after they’d started the season 11-5 in their first year under manager Mike Hargrove.&lt;/p&gt;
  286.  
  287. </content>
  288.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24158652/orioles-news-links"/>
  289.    <id>https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/17/24158652/orioles-news-links</id>
  290.    <author>
  291.      <name>Paul Folkemer</name>
  292.    </author>
  293.  </entry>
  294.  <entry>
  295.    <published>2024-05-16T09:00:00-04:00</published>
  296.    <updated>2024-05-16T09:00:00-04:00</updated>
  297.    <title>Aggressiveness at the plate looks good on Adley Rutschman </title>
  298.    <content type="html">  
  299.  
  300.    &lt;figure&gt;
  301.      &lt;img alt="Toronto Blue Jays v Baltimore Orioles" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Ytl3MsygEGms3G7x5rYoyZlR3QI=/20x0:6136x4077/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73351101/2152822245.0.jpg" /&gt;
  302.        &lt;figcaption&gt;Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images&lt;/figcaption&gt;
  303.    &lt;/figure&gt;
  304.  
  305.  &lt;p&gt;The Orioles star catcher is doing damage by swinging more than ever before.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p id="l7n7gV"&gt;Adley Rutschman’s ninth-inning walkoff home run on Wednesday afternoon was another demonstration that the Orioles’ switch-hitting catcher is on a tear. And the hits have come, in part, thanks to a more aggressive approach at the dish.&lt;/p&gt;
  306. &lt;p id="riedM6"&gt;Hitting a baseball is not a one-size-fits-all activity, of course. Take free-swinging first baseman Ryan Mountcastle, who’s currently topping his career averages in average, slugging, OPS, and others. He’s doing it by being more selective, especially by swinging less often at the first pitch. Mountcastle’s swing rate is &lt;a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/new-approaches-improving-hitters-results-2024"&gt;-10.7 points from last season&lt;/a&gt;. Two immediate effects: he’s striking out less and he’s spraying the ball around more, with the highest oppo-field percentage of his career.&lt;/p&gt;
  307. &lt;p id="Ak4n2z"&gt;Now, compare this to Rutschman. The 26-year-old catcher had a great year at the plate in 2023, batting .277/.374/.435/.809 in 154 games with 31 doubles, 20 homers, 92 walks and 80 RBIs. He earned Silver Slugger honors at catcher, and finished ninth in the AL MVP voting.&lt;/p&gt;
  308. &lt;p id="iDEqOg"&gt;But Rutschman also &lt;a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/new-approaches-improving-hitters-results-2024"&gt;took the fifth-most called strikes&lt;/a&gt; of any player, and some pointed out that his patient approach could, at some point, &lt;a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/new-approaches-improving-hitters-results-2024"&gt;become a hindrance&lt;/a&gt;. MASN’s Steve Melewski &lt;a href="https://www.masnsports.com/blog/how-more-first-pitch-swinging-could-help-at-least-one-oriole"&gt;called this out&lt;/a&gt; back in January. As good as Adley is, wrote Melewski,&lt;/p&gt;
  309. &lt;blockquote&gt;
  310. &lt;p id="4xn2bj"&gt;[T]here may be one tweak or adjustment he could make to help his offense take the next step. He could get more aggressive swinging earlier in the count, especially at the first pitch. It would be taking a page in a sense out of Gunnar Henderson’s book. When Henderson got more aggressive early in the count last May his offense trended up and it all led to his winning the AL Rookie of the Year award and winning Most Valuable Oriole as well.&lt;/p&gt;
  311. &lt;p id="mUkMBa"&gt;Could Rutschman do something similar? Absolutely yes, I believe.&lt;/p&gt;
  312. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  313. &lt;p id="BkWEdC"&gt;Were Adley and his coaches paying attention? Signs point to yes! The 26-year-old catcher is swinging more than ever, from 60.6% of pitches seen in 2023 to 67.2% in 2024, or +7.4%. This is a significant margin: of 190 qualified MLB players, only five saw a greater jump.&lt;/p&gt;
  314. &lt;p id="Zqt7ml"&gt;So far, the change in approach appears to working for him. When Adley swings on the first pitch he’s hitting .375, slugging .625 and OPS’ing 1.000. He’s leading the Orioles in hits and average, and his 27 RBIs are tied for the team lead. His home run percentage has increased by 64%, and his hard-hit percentage by 25%.&lt;/p&gt;
  315. &lt;p id="wpd1sB"&gt;The question is: does all this free swinging come with a downside in the form of chasing pitches outside the zone? Yes, it turns out. Among qualified MLB hitters, Rutschman has gone from the 81st percentile in chase rate (that is, rarely-a-chaser) to 26th (a frequent one). The effect has been even more pronounced when it comes to walks: he dropped from the 91st percentile to the 9th! For comparison, this is like going from Freddie Freeman to Tim Anderson in one season.&lt;/p&gt;
  316. &lt;p id="QiXNny"&gt;The good news is, this swinging isn’t translating into lots more strikeouts, though. His 17.4% whiff rate is three-and-a-half percentage points more than last year, but he’s still in the top 77th percentile of hitters in avoiding the K.&lt;/p&gt;
  317. &lt;p id="icFML3"&gt;There seem to be a couple of reasons for this. One, Rutschman is swinging more, but he’s swinging more often at strikes in general. This is consistent with the team’s general emphasis on swinging only at pitches that can really be driven (in fact, &lt;a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/this-isnt-the-same-adley-rutschman/"&gt;they have an app&lt;/a&gt; that gives players scores for their swing decisions after every game). Adley’s so-called “meatball swing rate” has jumped from 64.3% to 74.5%, for instance. Putting more of these in play is allowing him to do more damage.&lt;/p&gt;
  318. &lt;p id="w0iMdn"&gt;Plus, as FanGraphs’ Davy Andrews reports, Rutschman is swinging more aggressively &lt;a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/this-isnt-the-same-adley-rutschman/"&gt;&lt;em&gt;during the pitch&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/a&gt;, that is, going out and meeting the ball in front of the plate. Evidence of such: his groundball rate is down by nearly 10 points, and his hard-hit rate is up by the same amount.&lt;/p&gt;
  319. &lt;p id="lCXwfh"&gt;A look at Rutschman’s &lt;a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/savant-player/adley-rutschman-668939?stats=statcast-r-zones-mlb"&gt;heat zone maps&lt;/a&gt; confirms the point. When he’s batting from the right side, he’s swinging a lot more at inside offerings, especially ones high and inside. The effect is even more pronounced from the left: Rutschman is swinging at 78% of high-and-inside strikes. And he’s doing damage, with a .500 average on these. &lt;/p&gt;
  320. &lt;p id="x9mKpf"&gt;Here is proof of concept: his walkoff home run swing on Wednesday. The ball is so inside that Adley nearly loses his balance on the follow-through, even while driving the ball to the fences. &lt;/p&gt;
  321. &lt;div id="HwmFlx"&gt;
  322. &lt;blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-dnt="true" align="center"&gt;
  323. &lt;p lang="en" dir="ltr"&gt;Feel the Rutsch. &lt;a href="https://t.co/WpTMX1rhR6"&gt;pic.twitter.com/WpTMX1rhR6&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) &lt;a href="https://twitter.com/Orioles/status/1790836275626299436?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw"&gt;May 15, 2024&lt;/a&gt;
  324. &lt;/blockquote&gt;
  325. &lt;script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"&gt;&lt;/script&gt;
  326.  
  327. &lt;/div&gt;
  328. &lt;p id="6md1y1"&gt;Overall, these results are awesome, but there are two reasons to think this version of Adley Rutschman not going to last in its current form. One is a moderately inflated .336 BABIP. The other is that Rutschman is continuing to see more strikes coming his way (51.8%) than in his first two seasons, and almost no change in the number of fastballs—this, despite his becoming one of the &lt;a href="https://baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/pitch-arsenal-stats?type=batter"&gt;Top 3 fastball hitters&lt;/a&gt; in the Majors this year. It makes sense that Rutschman’s longstanding reputation for patience at the plate convinced pitchers not to throw him garbage, but if he’s hunting fastballs now now, pitchers &lt;a href="https://blogs.fangraphs.com/this-isnt-the-same-adley-rutschman/"&gt;will probably adjust&lt;/a&gt; and start throwing him more offspeed junk out of the zone.&lt;/p&gt;
  329. &lt;p id="lZQhxQ"&gt;The Orioles as a team have been &lt;a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yp2MXq9kjLM"&gt;preaching patience&lt;/a&gt; at the plate for some time now, but they also love it when their hitters crush hittable pitches. Is there an ideal balance point in between patience and aggression? Probably, but it’s a moving target. Count on an evolving cat-and-mouse game between Adley and MLB pitchers as the season unfolds. &lt;/p&gt;
  330.  
  331. </content>
  332.    <link rel="alternate" type="text/html" href="https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/16/24157990/orioles-adley-rutschman-plate-discipline-swing-rate"/>
  333.    <id>https://www.camdenchat.com/2024/5/16/24157990/orioles-adley-rutschman-plate-discipline-swing-rate</id>
  334.    <author>
  335.      <name>Andrea SK</name>
  336.    </author>
  337.  </entry>
  338. </feed>
  339.  

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