Good Morning Birdland,

Rain around Baltimore put a damper on what was a rather impressive win for the Orioles. Andrea sat through the delays to recap the game for us last night, and I highly recommend reading it in case you either fell asleep or don’t have Apple TV+, two buckets that I personally fit into.

Charlie Morton stole the show. Over five scoreless innings he struck out 10. He would have gone deeper if the rain had stayed away. That makes three out of four starts in which Morton has looked really good. His season ERA in that time has dropped from 7.68 to 6.05. He might still have a shot at getting down into the 4’s at some point.

If the Orioles playoff hopes go up in smoke like we expect, Morton could be playing his way into being a valuable trade chip. He had a 3.98 ERA in May, and so far in June he has a 2.57 ERA. That will upgrade any team’s rotation, so perhaps the Orioles can still salvage the $15 million they handed him this winter.

Kudos to the bullpen as well. Yennier Cano, Gregory Soto, Bryan Baker, and Félix Bautista combined for four scoreless innings. That could also be a source of trade bait if/when the time comes.

There was less good news in the lineup. Both of the Orioles runs came on solo home runs (Ryan O’Hearn, Ramón Laureano). O’Hearn also had a double. The other three hits were singles scattered throughout the evening. Just the latest in what has been a frustrating offensive season for the O’s, but at least it came in a winning effort this time.

It’s a quick turnaround today. The O’s and Halos are back at Camden Yards this afternoon at 4 p.m. provided that the threat of thunderstorms is not realized.

Links

Doing a health check on some Orioles | Roch Kubatko
It sounds like Gary Sánchez will be activated today. That probably doesn’t make many people happy around here, but the guy is making $8.5 million, so he’s going to come back. At least we know Maverick Handley is a capable defensive backup in a pinch, and seems like a good clubhouse guy.

Wade Miley declines to address accusations in court documents about death of Tyler Skaggs | The Baltimore Banner
This now makes it two former Orioles that may have been involved in the death of Tyler Skaggs to some degree, Miley and Matt Harvey, although the team itself is not part of the story. Miley met Skaggs in the Diamondbacks organization in the early 2010s. Harvey played with Skaggs on the Angels in 2019.

‘Absolutely’: Grayson steadfast on second-half return to O’s rotation | Orioles.com
We are going to learn a lot about the state of the Orioles pitching staff in the second half of the year. That is when Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish should both be back. If they look good, the rotation might actually be decent in 2026. But we still have a ways to go there.

Orioles birthdays

Is it your birthday? Happy birthday! No current or former Orioles players were born on this day, according to Baseball Reference. But it is the birthday of singer Burl Ives (1909-1995), basketball coach Pat Summit (1952-2016), singer-songwriter Boy George (1961), actor Faizon Love (1968), former Ravens defensive back Chris McAlister (1977), and Royals shortstop Bobby Witt Jr. (2000).

This day in history

1985 – Earl Weaver comes out of retirement to return as Orioles manager, taking over for Joe Altobelli.

1996 – Cal Ripken Jr. plays in his 2,216th consecutive game. This breaks the record of professional games played in a row that was owned by Hiroshima Carp third baseman Sachio Kinugasa in the Japanese Central League.