If you’re coming here looking for a flattering report on Shane Baz, keep looking. The Orioles starter’s command was off tonight, and MASN broadcaster Hall-of-Famer Jim Palmer was not impressed. Baz allowed six hits, three runs, and walked two, and at times it could have been worse. More tellingly, he threw 103 pitches and got through only five innings. It was tough to watch sometimes.
But it was also a win, and that’s because the Padres’ Griffin Canning is just sort of hittable. This was something the O’s knew when he was an Angel, and even with a different uniform on, it remains true. O’s hitters racked up six runs on him in the first two innings, with home runs by Samuel Basallo and Gunnar Henderson—his 100th in just 567 games, coming on a three-hit day—leading the way.
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Shane Baz was imperfect today, but he kept it together. He allowed a run in the first inning that felt unlucky, even if the rest didn’t. Fernando Tatis Jr. had reached on an error, a ball that just sort of rolled past Coby Mayo’s glove, and advanced to third on a pair of ground balls. Then, Baz hung a knuckle curve to Gavin Sheets, who roped a run-scoring double into right. 1-0, Padres.
The Orioles got it right back, and more. Taylor Ward walked, because, yes, and Gunnar singled to put him on third. Adley drove Ward home with a sac fly. Gunnar got thrown out trying to steal second after getting a terrible jump. But Canning helpfully lost control of his fastball, walked Alonso (after nearly beaning him), and then Samuel Basallo got hold of this. 3-1, Birds.
Baz hit Ty France on the elbow to start the second, then walked Will Wagner on four pitches well outside the zone. Freddy Fermin flew out to deep center for the first out, but the top of the order, Tatis Jr., got a juicy sinker and drove it up the middle. 3-2.The Orioles pushed the lead back up to two with a Cowser walk, a Tyler O’Neill single off a high fastball, and a Jackson Holliday sac fly. 4-2 Orioles. Gunnar reached base on a swinging bunt, and Adley walked to load the bases. Another rally? Pete Alonso nearly hit a grand salami, but it went just wide of the foul pole. But rejoice, there would still be runs. Alonso drove a ball just wide of Manny Machado’s glove. They called it a hit, but back in his 2013 Gold Glove season with Baltimore, Manny was not making plays like that—or not making plays like that. Two runs scored, and whatever that drive was, it was 6-2 O’s.
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The sky turned orange in the fourth inning. (This has been your Cormac McCarthy game recap.) Baz pitched a good top of the inning, and then, in the bottom, with two outs and a 3-1 count, his counterpart Canning tried and failed to sneak a fastball by Gunnar Henderson. Instead, Gunnar hit a scorching line drive that carried onto the flag court, the 24-year-old’s 100th career home run. This was his 567th game, making him the fourth-fastest Oriole to 100, behind only Anthony Santander (526), Trey Mancini (539) and Boog Powell (566).
We turned to the top of the fifth, and Baz, instead of stabilizing, seemed to lose gas. He allowed a leadoff double to Manny Machado, who’s still hitting .174 on the season. Gavin Sheets’ single up the middle gave him a second RBI on the night, and made it 7-3. But Baz benefitted from an impressive double play kickstarted by Jackson Holliday and completed by Gunnar, firing a rocket to first base.
That was it for Baz, who covered five laborious innings in 103 pitches. No doubt, he looked out of sorts today. Hard to explain what was the matter with his command. Considering, I guess, the results could have been much worse.
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The Birds put men on base in both the seventh and eighth innings, but failed to score in either. In the former, the Birds loaded the bases, but San Diego skipper Craig Stamet brought in righty David Morgan expressly to face Coby Mayo, and, it worked. He struck out. In the eighth, Cowser and Tyler O’Neill got aboard in consecutive fashion—O’Neill with his second hit of the game! But that rally was interrupted by a caught stealing of Cowser.
This game rolled to an unsuspenseful conclusion, because the Orioles bullpen was good today. Anthony Nunez had the sixth, and he whiffed two with a fastball that looked to have impressive zip on it. Keegan Akin pitched the seventh, and though he gave up a double to his former teammates Manny Machado, he escaped further damage. Yennier Cano was perfect in the eighth. Andrew Kittredge pitched a breezy ninth.
One of my favorite moments in the broadcast came, off the field, while MASN treasure Kevin Brown mused about how San Diego had “unjustly” lost its NFL team, the Chargers. His booth partner Jim Palmer came back with, “How do you feel about the [Baltimore] Colts moving in the middle of the night?” Brown deadpanned: “A real display of courage.” 😂
Hey, winning is nice. Brown summed it up at one point: “The Orioles are just playing a much more attractive brand of baseball over the last few weeks.” Jim Palmer agreed: “Little ball when you need it, they’re third [in MLB] in home runs [since May 8], and the starting pitching’s been much better.” True, and despite a wayward Shane Baz, the Birds are back on track! Let’s keep up the momentum tomorrow.
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So who was your Most Birdland Oriole today? Shane Baz, because we include starters by custom in these things? Samuel Basallo, who hit a two-run homer to break open the game in the first inning? Gunnar Henderson, 3-for-3 with a walk and his 100th home run? Pete Alonso, who hit a two-run single and walked three times?
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