Sweeping the Reds certainly makes the trip to Baltimore a lot more fun.
“Open yourself to the unexpected.”
We are writing a new chapter in our history, fueled by cultural tastemakers and creative entrepreneurs. Today’s Baltimore is a vibrant community that honors the past while keeping a keen eye on the future. Our city is where you can see the largest public collection of Matisse in the world (for free!), sip a craft beer in the sanctuary of a converted church and stay in a four-star hotel poised atop an historic recreation pier. But the Baltimore experience is about more than exploring neighborhoods and cultural sites. To really know this place, you have to meet our artists, provocateurs and visionaries who call Charm City home. Come see why the New York Times named Baltimore one of 52 Places to Go. Plan your visit today. – baltimore.org
As announced by their own tourism website, Baltimore is a great place to visit, and since 2022 they can add another place to their hotspots: Camden Yard. Looks like a fun baseball stadium to visit anyhow and anytime, but since 2022 the Baltimore Orioles are a fun team to watch again, when they took off that big L they had been wearing for 5 years. Tanking was probably a word too big for the Orioles, they were terrible and maybe even worse than that, hitting rock bottom in 2018, 2019 and 2021 with 115, 108 and 110 losses. But being that bad gave them the opportunity to load on terrific prospects and you have to give the Orioles credit for doing just that: Grayson Rodriguez, Adley Rutschmann, Jordan Westburg, Heston Kjerstad and Colton Cowser were all first round picks these past 5 years and are contributing to the big league team now and probably as well in the years to come. Even 2022 first round pick Jackson Holliday sniffed the MLB this year, although he was clearly overmatched.
After showing off their talent in 2022, the Orioles dominated a traditionally strong AL East in 2023 and won 101 games. However, they had a very disappointing exit in the ALDS and were swept by future World Series champion Texas Rangers (3-0). Their biggest hiccup last year might have been a leading ace in the rotation.
That was addressed in the off-season and the Orioles targeted one of the best: Milwaukee’s Corbin Burnes. The Orioles had to give up a couple of interesting players for him, but with all the talent on the team, they were able to give up Joey Ortiz, former first round pick DL Hall and a 2024 first round competitive balance pick. Corbin Burnes has been dominant as announced, although he hasn’t gotten much run support in his games, which is remarkable given this team’s offence.
The other big off-season signing was free agent Craig Kimbrel. Kimbrel shouldn’t have been signed, since the Orioles had a great closer on their team (Félix Bautista), but he went down with TJ surgery at the end of the 2023 season and will not return until 2025. The Diamondbacks’ bats probably still remember Kimbrel very well and now Baltimore might be getting nervous as well, as Kimbrel is clearly the weakest link so far on the Baltimore team. He started the season well, but has botched 4 of his last 5 save opportunities. That certainly gives a short window of opportunity for the Diamondbacks in any close game.
Beside Kimbrel, there really isn’t much to be hopeful about: the Orioles have like 7 strong starting pitchers and might have to decide whom to bump to the bullpen. The team is 6th in the entire league in quality starts and their 5.7 IP per game is 3rd in the league. Their .667 winning percentage is 2nd in the league. WRC+-wise, they are a top 5 rotation.
The relief pitching definitely is up for improvement and Baltimore will surely look to upgrade that part when the trade deadline is near. Their save percentage is below league average and their 9 blown saves are amongst the worst in the league. Let’s be honest though, will that really matter against a Diamondbacks team that often goes cold after the first innings?
Offensively, the Orioles have one of the best offences in the entire league. They lead the MLB with 57 homeruns and only trail the Dodgers in OPS+. Shortstop Gunnar Henderson has amassed an impressive 2.2 bWAR already. Except for Cedric Mullins, every Oriole is hitting well over 100 OPS+.
There should be no doubt: the 2024 Orioles are even better than in 2023 and when they add a few star arms in that bullpen, they will be one of the biggest favourites to lift the World Series trophy at the end of October.
The Orioles swept the Reds before they met the Diamondbacks and just had an interleague play against their neighbours west, the Nationals. It was a tough matchup, the Nationals play surprisingly good baseball this year, and shutout the Orioles in the first game and then went extra innings in the second game and ended an 8-game streak of very strong Baltimore pitching, but went down in extra innings. It shows, though, that we should be open to enjoy the unexpected in Baltimore.
Matchups.
Game #1 Fri 05/10 4:05 PM MST, Brandon Pfaadt (ARI) vs Cole Irvin (BAL).
Mr. Splash Bobblehead.
- Brandon Pfaadt. 7 GS, 41.0 IP, 1 W-2 L, 4.61 ERA, 3.28 FIP, 1.20 WHIP, 7.00 K/BB.
- Cole Irvin. 6 GS, 34.2 IP, 3 W-1 L, 2.86 ERA, 3.33 FIP, 1.07 WHIP, 3.14 K/BB.
Brandon Pfaadt faced this year two strong line-ups this season and both times the result was similar: 5 runs given up. That happened against the Braves and in his latest start against the Padres. The Orioles, league leader in homeruns, is yet another potent lineup, so there are fears that Pfaadt might be knocked around again in homer happy Camden Yards and will exit after 5 innings.
Lefty Cole Irvin is this year a hurler with six different pitches and excellent control. He pitches to contact, amassing in ground balls, especially with a great curveball, which he has been employing a lot this year. With the Diamondbacks being one of the worst in double play groundballs in the entire league, I say we don’t stand a chance against 2024 Cole Irvin, although last year was different: the Diamondbacks hit 2 homers and scored 4 runs on 8 hits to beat the Orioles 4-2 on September 1.
Game #2 Sat 05/11 1:05 PM MST, Ryne Nelson (ARI) vs John Means (BAL).
Early Bird Saturday.
- Ryne Nelson. 5 GS, 20.2 IP, 2 W-2 L, 5.23 ERA, 4.37 FIP, 1.60 WHIP, 2.67 K/BB.
- John Means. 1 GS, 7.0 IP, 1 W-0 L, 0.00 ERA, 0.87 FIP, 0.43 WHIP, 8 K/0 BB.
It will be yet another test for Ryne Nelson this season. He has given up multiple runs against Yankees, Braves and Padres but got enough run support in his latest outing (Padres) to earn his second win of the season. If he will receive more than 5 runs this time remains to be seen.
The Orioles will send their former ace John Means to the mound, who returned from TJ at the end of last season but was then shut down with elbow soreness. Means recently returned and had an impressive start of the season in his outing on May 4 against the Reds, when he allowed no runs and just 3 hits over 7 innings, racking up 8 strikeouts. That isn’t usual for Means who is a flyball pitcher and thrives on weak popups because of the spin and movement on his pitches (the fastball averages below 92 mph).
Game #3 Sun 05/12 10:35 AM MST, Zac Gallen (ARI) vs Dean Kremer (BAL).
Orioles Wristlet.
- Zac Gallen. 7 GS, 38.0 IP, 4 W-2 L, 2.84 ERA, 3.40 FIP, 1.13 WHIP, 3.42 K/BB.
- Dean Kremer. 7 GS, 40.1 IP, 3 W-2 L, 3.57 ERA, 4.72 FIP, 0.97 WHIP, 3.36 K/BB.
We really needed a strong outing from Zac Gallen, to lift our confidence in him again, and luckily we got just that against the Reds. Normally, you’d say this is the best opportunity for the Diamondbacks to win a game in this series (and avoid a sweep), but Dean Kremer has been pitching really in the last 4 games, including 6 scoreless innings and 1 hit against the very same Reds that Gallen shut down. The Diamondbacks thus will face a tough task against a guy who is basically middle of the rotation on the Orioles squad, but could keep up with Zac in this lineup. It could be, though, that Dean Kremer has been too lucky this season and that he will have to say goodbye to his luck on Sunday. His velocity is down on almost any pitch and especially the fastball, that he throws to lefties, is graded poorly. Lots of opportunities for our lefty sluggers.