Well, that was a frustrating opening weekend, eh, Birdland?
Hot off the surprise 83-win 2022 season, O’s fans were excited to put the disappointing offseason behind us and get back to the games. While things started off good enough (including Adley Rutschman‘s huge Opening Day), the weekend finished with a thud, thanks in large part to baseballs making that exact sound as they bounced off the gloves of Orioles outfielders.
The Birds defense, which was so good in 2022, had an inauspicious start to the new year, bungling fly balls, ground balls, double play balls, and more as the team dropped two of three to what’s expected to be a very poor Boston Red Sox squad.
It started in the very first inning on Thursday’s opener. After Rutschman’s home run gave the Birds a 1-0 lead, big free agent acquisition (sigh) Kyle Gibson took the mound looking for the team’s first shutout inning of 2023. It should have happened. Instead, Cedric Mullins misplayed an Alex Verdugo fly ball to left center, resulting in a triple. Verdugo would come around to score and level the game at 1-1.
With the O’s leading 5-1 in the fourth, it was Anthony Santander‘s turn.
This one would have been a tougher play, to be sure. But the ball got just over his outstretched glove, and resulted in a Raphael Devers ground-rule double. Devers would also come around to score.
Santander wasn’t done though, and his next mistake was much more glaring. With the O’s now leading 8-2 headed into the bottom of the sixth inning, this was looking to be a nice, comfortable Opening Day win. However, we know nothing is ever “easy” at Fenway Park. When things like this happen, Birdland knew we were in for some silliness.
Santander had swung around to left field by this point in the game. Adam Duvall takes a huge swing here, so maybe that’s what Santander was reacting to. Regardless, he broke back when the ball was looped to shallow left, and it ended up falling in front of him. Turner would score in the inning, just like Devers, who had singled one batter earlier. 8-2 was now 8-4.
The Birds added a couple more insurance runs, but it still wasn’t enough to make anyone comfortable. It was 10-5 in the eighth, when Santander again failed to bring in a catchable ball.
Again, these aren’t EASY plays. But you’d expect major league outfielders to make at least one or two of them. When they don’t, bad things happen. Instead of the inning being over, 10-5 was now 10-7.
Felix Bautista had a three-run cushion to protect for his first save of the season. After a walk, Verdugo laced a single to centerfield. Ryan McKenna, now playing left field (we will, unfortunately, talk about him again) ran in front of Mullins, seemingly distracting the centerfielder. The ball bounced off Mullins and now runners were on second and third, instead of first and third.
A couple batters later, the score is now 10-8 Birds, and butts are clenching. Boston rookie Masataka Yoshida hits what should be a game-ending double play ball. Unfortunately, O’s infielders weren’t immune to whatever bug was going around the team’s diamond that day. Jorge Mateo, who should have been the 2022 Gold Glove winner at shortstop in the American League, decides to take it himself. But then…
Oy. Just incredible. Mateo spikes the throw, Ryan Mountcastle can’t scoop it, and now it’s 10-9 and the game continues. Fortunately, Bautista rebounded to strike out Raimel Tapia and end it, but what should have been a comfortable first victory of the year was way too stressful.
And, sadly, it would not be the last time these kinds of issues plagued the Orioles over the weekend.
The most inexcusable flub came on Saturday. With the O’s looking poised to win their second straight and secure the series win – in a game they led 8-1 in the third and 8-7 after seven – Bautista was again called upon. It looked like he was going to have a nice, clean inning, as he retired Devers and Justin Turner without incident. Yoshida, out number 27, popped up to left. Can ‘o corn.
The dropped 3rd out from McKenna.
Two pitchers later, Duvall would hit a walk-off HR. pic.twitter.com/kmi3M3W6St
— Alex Fast (@AlexFast8) April 1, 2023
Two pitches (not pitchers, typo by Alex there) later, Duvall walked it off.
Now, our friends at Bird’s Eye View made a point we should at least consider.
Fenway upgraded LED lights this offseason. Wonder if Orioles are still getting used to it? https://t.co/FGBRwSQ2e0
— Bird’s Eye View – O's Pod ⚾️ 🎙️ (@BirdsEyeViewBal) April 1, 2023
It was Boston’s first time playing under those new lights as well though, and they weren’t misplaying fly balls like a Little League squad all weekend.
That’s enough pain for now. I’d actually forgotten just how many defensive miscues the team racked up just in those first two games. Blocked it from memory, I suppose.
We’ll need the team to do something similar as they head to Texas to take on the Rangers, one of just three undefeated teams left in MLB, and a squad that just hung 29 runs on the reigning NL champs in three games.
The defense wasn’t all that was disappointing, to be sure. The pitching, both starters and relievers, were unimpressive. Again though, they weren’t helped out at all by the guys behind them. All of the miscues above resulted in extra pitches, more batters faced, and most importantly, runs. Gunnar Henderson was 0-for-the-weekend, but did draw a bunch of walks. Adley was 0-for-9 after starting 6-for-6. Still, the offense put up 23 runs in three games, fewer than just Texas and Boston (the latter, of course, due to everything we covered here), and more than any team that’s played four games.
Let’s hope they bring their gloves to The Lone Star State.
