Good morning, Camden Chatters.

I feel like I say it every week, with less conviction each time, but…maybe this is the week the Orioles finally start to turn things around? They actually seemed to be headed that way last week when they won three of the first four games on their homestand, but two pitiful losses to the Royals ruined those good vibes. The O’s are yet to have a winning week this season.

No, but for real, guys — maybe this is the week the Orioles finally put together a hot streak. On this six-game road trip they’ll be facing one of the only teams in MLB as bad as they are — the Angels, who have an identical 13-20 record — and before that they’ll take on the Twins, who are only marginally better at 15-20. The Twins, like the Orioles, were one of the best teams in baseball until about the All-Star break last year before collapsing in the second half. Their collapse was more severe than the Birds’, costing them a playoff spot, and they’ve carried those bad vibes into 2025.

Not only are the Orioles facing two bad teams, but thankfully they’ll mostly get a reprieve from facing any left-handed starting pitchers. All three of the Twins’ scheduled starters are righties, and with the way the Angels’ rotation lines up, they’ll have right-handers for the first two games of the weekend series before southpaw Tyler Anderson pitches the finale. So in five of the six games, the O’s might actually have a chance of scoring runs.

The Orioles, after every loss this year, have preached patience and proclaimed full confidence that they’ll start to right the ship any day now. So far, “any day now” has yet to actually arrive. It’s early in the season, but not that early, and the O’s risk getting further buried in the standings with every game they give away. So the O’s need to take advantage of the soft patches in their schedule when they get them.

If the Orioles are capable of going on a winning streak, it’s time to prove it. If not now, when will they? (Don’t answer that.)

Links

Should Orioles extend Cedric Mullins? | MAILBAG – BaltimoreBaseball.com
Rich Dubroff wouldn’t be surprised if Cedric pulled the ol’ Matt Wieters and accepted a qualifying offer from the Orioles after this season. I wouldn’t hate that outcome.

Baltimore Orioles: Treading water represents progress – The Baltimore Banner
Jon Meoli tries to convince us why we should be content about a 3-3 homestand. I’m going to need more convincing.

Why the Orioles are so bad against left-handed pitchers – The Baltimore Sun
The Orioles’ struggles against lefties have us all asking, “WHAT’S UP, O’S?” Which is an anagram of…SOUTHPAWS. You can’t make this stuff up.

Orioles birthdays and history

Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! Five ex-Orioles were born on May 6: right-hander Yohan Ramírez (30), outfielder Gerardo Parra (38), lefty Tom Bolton (63), and utility guys Mike Kinkade (52) and the late Hagerstown native Leo Burke (b. 1934, d. 2023).

On this date in 1984, Cal Ripken Jr. hit for the cycle during the Orioles’ 6-1 win over the Rangers at Arlington Stadium. Cal started his day with the toughest part of the cycle — an RBI triple in the third — and followed with a fifth-inning single and a seventh-inning double before capping it off with a solo home run in the ninth. Ripken became just the second Oriole in history to accomplish the feat (five others have done it since).

And on this day in 2012, the Orioles played one of the most legendary games in franchise history, a 17-inning marathon at Fenway Park that ended with Chris Davis getting the win as the pitcher. With the game tied 6-6 after regulation, both teams emptied their bullpens until they were forced to use position players on the mound. Davis went first, getting through a scoreless bottom of the 16th in his first career pitching appearance, with the Orioles throwing out the potential winning run at home plate.

The Red Sox brought in outfielder Darnell McDonald to pitch the 17th and Adam Jones crushed him for a three-run homer over the Green Monster, and Davis returned for a scoreless bottom half to close it out — including a strikeout of Adrian González — to become the first AL position player to earn a win since 1968. For me, the fact that the O’s won that bonkers game was the first real sign that something special was in store that year.