Orioles Now 2-4 on Road Trip Since Series Loss to Minnesota

Chris Bassitt gave an interesting quote to the media during the series loss to the Twins. Bassitt spoke about Mike Elias' decision to sell at the deadline; we talk about that, the series loss, and preview the final series on the road trip vs the Tampa Bay Rays. #Birdland #BaltimoreOrioles #MLBonX #MikeElias #GunnarHenderson #PeteAlonso

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:24

Welcome back in, ladies and gentlemen, to another episode of the Trim City Sports Podcast. I'm your host, Jay Hollahan. The Orioles drop two of three to the Minnesota Twins. They start the 10-game road trip that will now finish up with a four-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays, a wraparound series that begins tomorrow night and will end on Monday. The O's two and four right now after dropping the first series against the Texas Rangers over last weekend. We talked about that on the previous episode and the struggles that the Orioles were having from just being consistent offensively to the pitching, and it finally the team on Sunday finally was able to come around and hit, put up a bunch of runs, put up ten runs, but because of what happened at the deadline, I think I speak for everyone when I say, you know, they took two of three from the Angels, they lost two of three to the Rangers, and it's like, well, and now especially after losing two of three to the twins, it's like, well, good for you. You beat the Angels and you put up a whole bunch of runs against the Rangers on Sunday in the finale. You took a game there against Minnesota where again you put up a whole bunch of runs. It's kind of like the blind squirrel finds the nut eventually, and that's the way that I feel the rest of this Orioles season is going to be is just you'll lose a bunch of series, you'll sprinkle in some wins that will remind everyone of the fact that there's still talent there, but ultimately putting it all together and actually winning series and sustaining wins and going on win streaks. I mean, like the majority of this Oriol season, it's just never going to happen. So let's kind of start off here game one. Uh O's against their former teammate, Dean Kramer. They tie the game in the fourth after the twins took an early one-nothing lead. A double steal, double play. Tyler O'Neill strikes out, leading to the second out of the inning, but a double steal with Jackson Holiday going down to second. He gets caught, but he holds up Royce Lewis enough for Gunnar Henderson to score from third, and it's a 1-1 game. So okay, you manufacture a run. Well, then in the home half of the fourth, as would unfortunately be the case too many times against the Twins in this series, they had a counterpunch. As two on with nobody out, second and third. Kalen Culpepper hits a sacrifice fly to make it two to one. Twins, and then Dean Kramer just had the Orioles in the palm of his hand, going seven innings of just allowing one hit, that one earned run across, strikes out seven, one walk in the game, the Orioles just couldn't do anything against him. And then in the bottom of the seventh, the twins really broke through. Now Trevor Rogers, he only managed to go four innings of allowing two runs on four hits, four strikeouts and two walks. Uh his pitch count in the game seventy-nine pitches. So for him to not even go back out for the fifth was interesting because then you put in well, then later on, as Cam Sanders came in and pitched two innings, solid two innings out of Cam Sanders, they go to Rico Garcia. And Rico Garcia has just had one of the more bizarre seasons, and that could be viewed as an understatement, as it felt like you maybe had a guy who could be a back end of the pen guy, and it just felt like through the first I don't know, two months of the year, his ERA was down, he was at a 066 in March and April, 077 in May. It ballooned to a 697. Well, then he had a 697 in all of June in 12 games. He allowed eight runs on twelve hits, then in July and eleven games, six runs on eight hits and eleven innings, and now to begin August, four runs on four hits and three innings is ERA's at a twelve oh oh for the month of August, and his season total is at a three six two. He had those five saves, and it felt like with Ryan Helsley being out, and especially at the time we thought maybe Helsley would be coming back, which he was for a cup of coffee, but we thought maybe Rico Garcia could be the answer there in the ninth, and that just never matriculated into this summer, and in that seventh Ryan Jeffers comes to the plate with runners at second and third and nobody out. A two-run base hit that plated Ryan Crater and Austin Martin. Then a couple batters later, Josh Bell deposits a four-seam fastball left right over the middle of the plate to center field to give the Twins 7-1 lead. Now the Orioles they would make it a game again with an RBI ground out by CES in the seventh to make it seven-three. But then in the bottom of the eighth with Grant Wolfram out there, Ryan Jefferson's an RBI double eight three, Royce Lewis an RBI single 9-3, and that was all she wrote. Oz would score two more in the ninth, but would in the end fall 9-5 to the twins. Now, as I mentioned, they score all those runs Sunday against the Rangers, they get blanked by Dean Kramer the following day. You move on to Tuesday, and it was interesting because Chris Bassett, for the first time since June, in Minnesota, joins the team in Minneapolis, and he meets with the media to just kind of go over what's been going on with him personally, but he also talked about the Orioles team and as the elder statesman of the team, his thoughts on Michael Ayas selling off at the trade deadline.

SPEAKER_05 7:10

I thought Mike put a really good team together um in the start of the season, um, and we did not hold our end of the bargain up for one one, I mean one reason or next. Um and he did what's best for the team, I think. I mean, obviously you can argue not now, um, but I mean for the future for sure. Um, so um I don't have one ounce of like so-called anger at Mike. Um I'm angry at myself, I'm angry at all the guys in here. Um just because we haven't done we haven't done a good job. We haven't we haven't played a great brand of baseball, we haven't played a clean brand of baseball. Um we're still in it. Um that's the the craziest part about this whole thing is you'd be mad about trade deadline and how the years gone and everything else, but we're right here. So it's just more so just trying to accept what has happened um and then just move forward and grow together and try to hold each other like to the highest standards and win a whole bunch of games and get in the playoffs.

SPEAKER_00 8:12

That is some interesting audio from Chris Bassett because it makes you think, and we heard him say this in May, and I believe it was coincidentally because you're about to go play them at the drop, but I think it was around that Tampa Bay race series in May, where Bassett was basically calling out his teammates, his fellow pitchers about hey, you're gonna give up runs, you're gonna lose games. You can't allow that to affect you the following day. You've gotta put it away. You've got to put it behind you and you gotta move on. Well, the Orioles certainly have struggled doing that so far this summer. And it kind of makes you wonder if Bassett was there throughout this summer, could things have been differently? He also went on to speak about how criticizing the ball club is not the best way to go about it. I mean, you know, in the decisions made by Michael Ice. Publicly, he literally said to the media, This might not be what you guys want to hear, but if we're gonna sit there and criticize the team, that helps no one. And you can't do that. Well you've seen Pete Alonso, you've heard Pete Alonzo on this podcast basically talk about multiple times that they have to put it behind them and they have to move forward. The season rolls on, these are the cards we're dealt, now we have to move forward. Well, it's true, but it's also true that these are young guys, these are guys who don't have, you know, long-term contracts like Pete Alonzo signs with the Orioles, and like Chris Bassett has signed in years past. I mean, not with the Orioles, but in years past. And for a lot of these younger guys, I'm sure they're thinking to themselves, are we gonna be like Adley? Are we gonna be shipped out in a couple years? If we show success here, they don't honor it with a contract and say, hey, uh, you're at the end of the road, let's move on from you. Well, we have value for you, and you go on to play elsewhere. Is there a serious winning culture with this team? I mean, because that's where the frustration mounts from. So you can agree with whether or not Michael Lyas needed to go into that route and make those trades. You can agree with that all you want. But at the same time, you have to recognize why your teammates are upset about it. I mean, I'd be upset about it. I'm upset about it. We're all upset about the fact that it did not look like the Orioles were too far off to being a team that I don't know if they could have made the postseason if they went out and added a couple arms out of the pen. But I wouldn't have it wouldn't have surprised me if you gave them just a little bit of confidence, a little bit of, hey, we've seen what you guys have been doing, we see you've been working hard towards the all-star break and coming out of the all-star break, we're playing better baseball. Let's see if we can't get you guys in armor two. And now you see, obviously they traded away Adley, and it just and without even getting anything back that could play right now. And notice how Adley's been the main source here. You know, no one really talks about them trading Dean or Wells. I mean, uh, we've heard like Trevor Rogers speak about that, but not the majority of the clubhouse was bringing that up. They were all talking about trading away Adley Rutschman and how shocked they all were. The fact that some of his teammates, Colton Cowser, Gunnar Henderson, they were meeting up with him that night to go watch the new Spider-Man movie, and they were shocked when they got the news. Wild situation. Just a wild situation within that team, and it's just kind of continued to snowball. But on Tuesday, like Sunday, the offense broke out. They played five runs four in the first two innings. Pete Alonzo, two run homer, Gunnar Henderson, two run homer, Christian Incarnacio and Strand, solo homer in the third to make it five-one, four hundred and sixty feet to center field. Really unbelievable homer by CES against Brandon Young, the twins scratched across two runs, but only one earned. Young six innings, gave up six hits, struck out four, walked three. Incredible job with runners on base as he's been doing throughout the majority of this season. And the Orioles went on to win five to two. So O's terrific pitching job by Brandon Young, and it's a shame that you know I just spent all that time talking about trade deadline and what Chris Bassett had to say, and not talking about the next day and Brandon Young, which just goes to show you where a lot of people are kind of at right now with this team. It's a shame we're not saying, man, you know, Kyle Braddish, Trevor Rogers, Brandon Young, could that be three guys that can win you a wild card series and advance the division series? It's a shame that's not something we're talking about. But after the game, Craig Albernaz and Gunnar Henderson were talking about it.

SPEAKER_01 13:54

It's been awesome. It's been fun to watch his his growth in front of our eyes and Steven Spring training and see where he's at now. And you know, obviously we had some tough injuries on the pitching side, and like we talked about when injuries happen, it's yeah, it hurts for the person that got hurt, but also it's an opportunity for someone someone to step up, and BY did that. He he stepped up big for us, and and we've needed it, so it's been it's been awesome to see what BY can do.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

I mean, he's he's unbelievable. I mean, even even when he doesn't have his eight stuff, I mean he finds a way to get six innings out there and give us a chance to win. So um I can't I can't give any more higher parades of BY. Um I mean, I I love playing behind him and uh really enjoy uh him being on our squad.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

I said talking about it as if they were going to talk about getting through a wild card series with those three. Just talking about Brandon Young is what I meant to say there. But interesting to hear from Gunnar Henderson. Gunner has not spoken, at least to my knowledge, with the media since the trade deadline. He declined to speak, I believe the day after the deadline when Adley was traded, didn't want to speak to the media. Trevor Rogers spoke, Colton Kowser spoke, Pete Alonzo, of course, spoke. Uh there were a lot of Jackson Holiday spoke as well. There were certainly a lot of quotes that came out of that. And that's what, you know, Pete was alluding to about how they needed to flush it and you know, just kind of move forward with the season and try and go out and w and continue to win baseball games and put a good effort out there. But Gunner, you know, it's different when I talk about well, Roger spoke and Pete spoke and Colton spoke and all these guys. There's a different I think with everyone, there is a different animal that comes with mentioning Adley Rutgman and Gunnar Henderson. Talking about Rutsch and Gunner should be like talking about this franchise's version of at the time what we thought would be like another Ed Reed and Ray Lewis type of player in Baltimore, type of players in Baltimore, because in 2023 the future looked so bright with those two. Char leading the charge for the offense for years to come, and I said it last year. I said, you know what's gonna be really interesting is with Anthony Santander gone, Austin Hayes gone, the veterans that w seem to be the voices of the clubhouse, you know, Cedric Mullins could have been on his way out the door as well, or at least it was looking that way. Guys are gonna need to step up. These younger guys are going to need to find their voice. Now, for Gunner, that being just you know, going into year three in the bigs, that's that's a tall task to ask, but you have to step up. For Adley, I mean, obviously it kind of started with him in June of twenty-two, when they really started to show signs of coming out of the abyss that they had been in for the previous five seasons. And that's why Gunnar probably didn't want to say the wrong thing, so figured I'm not gonna speak at all, but then it gets reported by Buster only that he won't be re signing with the Orioles, and probably whenever the lockout's over with and teams can make deals, potentially Gunner could be the next one to be shipped off. But that takes us to yesterday's game after the 5-2 win. And I was saying the same thing the night prior. I said, Alright, well, they won, but is it really gonna mean much? Well then on Wednesday, for about a split second, I thought, you know what? Maybe, maybe, maybe they are gonna play some interesting baseball here. As Jackson Holiday grounded out, had an RBI ground out in the first. Unfortunately, the twins answered to tie it at one. But then Dylan Beavers hits a three-run blast. Beavers been in and out of the lineup, but then hits a three-run blast to put the O's up four to one. Well, then in the home half of the third, it all came crashing down on Shane Baz as the twins, as I believe Kevin Brown put it on air, it was death by a thousand paper cuts. I mean, Royce Lewis leads off with a double, not necessarily scorched, eighty-two point four off the bat in the left, but a double nonetheless, an extra base hit nonetheless, then Josh Bell with a single to left that put runners at the corners. Now all of a sudden, the tying run comes to the play with Cody Clemens. RBI single to right. Then Brooks Lee comes up. Base hit to right. Now the bases are loaded with nobody out. Luke Kieshel, sack fly to center, 4-3, Victor Carantini, adds on to the inning with a base hit into center to plate another one. 4-4, still just one out. Then Alan Rodin. RBI double and a right. Just his second extra base hit of the year. Twins lead 5-4. Baz gets out of the inning with it only being a one-run game still, but the damage was done. And after the game, Craig Albernez spoke about Shane Baz as he did not come back out for the fourth, and Cam Sanders had to come in. Here was Craig Albernaz on Baz's outing.

SPEAKER_01 20:08

Wasn't missing many bats today. You know, they had nine hits and a lot of good swings, a lot of loud contact. Um Shane had like looked like he had a tough time just like feeling out the strike zone. You know, he had some of the bats where he was getting head, they couldn't finish, or he was behind and had to come in the strike zone, and you know, it just his feedback just he felt like he was just moving slow today, you know. But I mean he battled and grinded through his outing. Down across the board.

SPEAKER_04 20:37

Any concern for that?

SPEAKER_01 20:38

Yeah, that's why I like that's he said he was moving, he just felt like he was moving slow.

SPEAKER_07 20:43

So after that, I mean after that third inning with all those it just felt like he had no choice, but uh checking out.

SPEAKER_00 20:51

Now from Baz's perspective, he describes his outing in his own right.

SPEAKER_04 20:55

Just kinda didn't have command. Um you know the the command was just not good. I wasn't really executing um anything really. Um was kind of just in the zone and not, you know, executing pitches to where I wanted. Um and yeah, they just kept putting them all in play. Um and yeah, I just find an old correct said you were feeling slow out there. Do you feel like that mechanical thing that was contributing to the drop and deal? Yeah, I mean, I don't know if it was like just the day game or just one of those days where you're just not, you know, feeling good. Um but yeah, I'll I'll try and look back and um kind of see if there's anything that was glaring to me. Um but yeah, I just someone was just a little off, I felt like today, and um you know, just wasn't able to really reel it in or like make a lot of consecutive pitches in a row. Um stuff. Like that. Are you concerned about a potential injury or anything? Um no. I mean I I felt fine. Um you know, I feel like like normal. Um yeah, it's just I I don't I don't really have an explanation. Um just poor execution, really. Um felt like a lot of pitches were just in the heart of the plate.

SPEAKER_03 22:24

You went eight five days ago uh really efficiently to say the things. But you know, is there any carryover effect? That was your longest start the season is your shortest start with. Is there anything there that compared to carry?

SPEAKER_04 22:36

I mean, I don't think so. I threw a good bullpen in between um a few days ago and you know stuff looked sharp and um you know I I body felt good and um I think we were a little smarter about just pitch count and catch play during the week and stuff like that. So uh yeah, I mean it's just just unacceptable to have that type of you know going from that outing to this one. It's just it's just honestly just pissing me off.

SPEAKER_06 23:12

About 40 games to go, you probably have seven, eight stars left. Overall, are you still feeling are you still feeling star?

SPEAKER_04 23:23

I mean, yeah. Um you know, I think my last outing kind of reflected that. Um but yeah, I mean I I'm I'm still getting my work in. Um body still feels fine and keeping on my weight and everything like that, and staying on my lifting and armpare, and um, you know, just I think the routine's been good. It's just you know, it's just gotta get out there and execute. It's not, you know, I I've got no excuses or reasons or you know, stuff like that. It's just it's this is the time of year where you either show up or you start to freaking mail it in and um and give up, and that's not really what I do, and I you know, I'm gonna go out there in five days or however many and um just execute better.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

I do like that quote at the end by him that at this point in time in the year it's about either you start playing your better baseball or you kind of start to mail it in. Sad, but that is the truth. At this time of the year, you know, you're in the quote unquote dog days, and it's the dog days for bad teams too. As things start to unfold and they start saying, eh, you know, we're September's around the corner, we'll kind of get going then as you know, we kind of try to remind everyone that we still have talent here and you know, try and get contracts elsewhere for the next year. I mean, um wouldn't surprise me if that's not the mindset of many um professional athletes as well in any sport. But regardless, the O's offense just could not come through again against Xavy Matthews, as it just seemed like the light was completely taken out, you know, the wind taken out of their sails, whichever way you want to put it. Geraldo comes in to take out Sanders, who gave up a single and a double to start the fifth to put runners in scoring position, then gets an out there with Ryan Cradler, and they go to Sanders, and he gives up an RBI ground out to Larnik, then an RBI double to Royce Lewis, and it's seven to four. Now that was the score for the majority of the game. Looked like there was an opportunity there in the seventh with Jeff Hoffman with two outs, Gunner and Pete Walk, then a wild pitch, gets both of them in scoring position, and Jackson Holiday lines out to Cody Clemens on a pitch low and end, probably would like to have that back. But in the top of the ninth, with Gomez into the game, closer for the twins, Leote Tavares hits a bomb. First pitch, fastball, hits a bomb, 378 feet over the right field wall to make it 7-5. Christian Franklin follows with a walk on six pitches, and then Colton Kowser pinch hits for Carlos Navare, and then all of a sudden, Kowser's ahead and they count 2-0. No outs, 2-0 and a runner at first, and Kowser lines right to the first baseman, Royce Lewis, who then touches the bag at first to double up Christian Franklin. Gunner grounds out to end the game, and the O's lose 7-5. And now sit two games out of a wild card spot at 58 and 63. The Blue Jays are ahead of them. Cleveland's ahead of them. Obviously, the Twins are, the Rangers. But how about the Detroit Tigers? Now holding a postseason spot at 60 and 61 after trading Mysey away and School Ball, they own a postseason spot. Just a total bizarre scenario in the American League. And Detroit, obviously, if you had to pick a team that like describes it, you'd pick the Tigers. But the Orioles will make their way to Tropicana Field to begin a four-game series tomorrow against the Red Hot Tampa Bay Rays, the team that's been the talk of the American League just about all year long, up until really the Boston Red Sox got going. But the Rays are on a nine-game win streak coming into this series against the Orioles. We remember earlier in the season, I believe it was at this point earlier in the year, Ben McDonald when the Orioles we thought, we hoped, that the low point was going to be in May. Now you're gonna you were gonna hit some bumps in the road, but in May, when the Orioles took to the road to take on the Nats and then the Rays, and they went one and five on that road trip and were swept by Tampa Bay, and Ben McDonald had kind of a viral was definitely viral in Baltimore for you know the Tampa Bay Rays do and the Baltimore Orioles don't, and that he didn't want to hear about analytics or any of that stuff. But the O's after that, they took two of three from the Tigers, then they swept the Rays at home. Pretty exciting Memorial Day weekend. Felt like the Orioles are were right back into the thick of things, and then the season continued to get wonky and up and down and all around. But now they take on Tampa Bay for four, and let's get to the starting pitching preview. Steven Mads takes them out. He's five and four at the four five-four-six ERA. Pitched seven innings this year and two starts, gave up seven runs on ten hits with seven strikeouts and four walks. He's one and two with a six-seven five ERA and five starts and nine appearances at home. Hasn't started a game since June 2nd versus the Tigers. He's been making a lot of appearances out of the bullpen. This will be his first start since then. Kyle Bradish, who's seven and eleven with a three-six-nine ERA, pitched eleven in the third innings, gave up a run on nine hits with nine strikeouts and five walks and two starts. He's two-and-two with a two-four-two ERA in four starts at Tropicana Field. So with that being the start of it, you know, to set the tone for the series, hopefully the O's can get going. Now I believe with Shea McClanahan and Griffin Jacks on the I. L, that's why Matt's is getting the start here. Now we also know that former Orioles reliever Tyler Wells is probably going to be someone that will be making appearances, of course, throughout that Rays bullpen. Um I'm curious to see and also former Orioles reliever Brian Baker, who is the closer for the Tampa Bay Rays, who was traded last year at the deadline. I don't know what it is about trading guys to Tampa Bay, but I'm sure the Orioles have also helped them out a good good bit here in closing late games uh this season and even some of last season. But it'll be interesting to see game one tomorrow night how the Orioles come out to set the tone. Game two, Ian Seymour takes him out. He's 9-3 with the 408 ERA. Pitched out of the bullpen versus the Oriol this year. He's gone four and a third innings, giving up no runs on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks. The Rays have been ramping him up. As I mentioned, he started the year off in the bullpen and due to injuries. He has started to see his leash get longer and longer and longer, and now he's pretty much comfortable pitching into the sixth. He's four and two with a three-five-O ERA and five starts and fifteen appearances out of the bullpen this year at home with the raise. Trevor Rogers will make the start on Saturday. He's seven and eight with a four-two-one ERA. Now last time he pitched at the drop, he blew up. Blew up after the game with the media not at anyone, but just was visibly upset with himself. Gave up seven runs on eight hits with three strikeouts and two walks and three and two thirds innings. He's one and one with a seven five O ERA and four starts at Tampa Bay. He's now had two starts, including that one back in May, where he hasn't made it through four, but in the other two he has gone six. So hopefully after the rough outing on Monday against the Twins, which has kind of been a rarity here since that start, actually back in May, where he has looked much, much better. Now game three, Freddie Peralta, five and nine with a five-three seven ERA, traded over from the Mets. He's making his first start for the Rays at home. He's made two starts so far, went nine and two thirds, or has gone nine and two thirds innings, giving up ten runs on 15 hits with eight strikeouts and two walks. Brandon Young, who's 9-3 at the 3-3-3 ERA. He's never faced the Rays in his career, and he's seven and one with a 3-2-4 ERA and seven starts on the road. And the Nick Martinez for Tampa Bay goes, he's 12-3 at the 27-4 ERA. 7-2 with a 3-3-1 and 12 starts at home. 3-3-1 ERA and 12 starts at home. And then Shane Bass, the former Tampa Bay Ray. 4-12, the 4 flat ERA. He's pitched 13 innings this year against Tampa, so two starts. He's given up two runs on nine hits with 15 strikeouts and five walks. He's 1-8 with a 4-2-5 ERA and 13 starts on the road. Hopefully he turns in like Trevor Rogers a much better performance than what we last saw in Minnesota. But the bottom line is when I talk about all those numbers, it's kind of tough to not give the nod in terms of the starting pitching category to the O's. But the problem is, and it's what Pete Alonso talked about, can they say, you know what? We just lost two series in a row, but we're gonna end this road trip on the right note, and we're gonna try and get this get this season back on track and get start playing better. Now, I I mean that's total wishful thinking on my part, and I'm sure a lot of people rolling their eyes, but if you're the Orioles, that's how you have to look at it. Now, the Tigers will be taking on the White Sox this weekend, Cleveland's taking on the Padres, you've got the Blue Jays playing the Yankees, the Mariners playing the Astros, Rangers taking on the A's. If they can take advantage of the fact that they should have the scale tipped in their favor with the starting pitching, I'm not gonna hold my I mean, don't hold your breath, and I'm not saying buy in, but for this Orioles team, it could be sitting right there for the chance to have one final go at it. Now, it's not just about the starting pitching. Number one, the offense has to hit, and two, their bullpen has to close games out, which I would bet is going to be if they get good starting pitching, I would bet that's going to be the biggest problem in this series. But if Tampa Bay is due for a rough series after winning nine in a row, and if you're the O's and you want to help out maybe the Yankees here close the six and a half gap in the division, then be my guest. But again, I'm not holding my breath. Thanks everyone for tuning in. Coming up this weekend, Baltimore Ravens and the Philadelphia Eagles will have their first preseason game, so look out for that. We'll be talking about that coming up this Saturday night. But until then, and until anything, of course, special or interesting happens this weekend with Yo's, so long, folks, and we'll talk to you next time.