2023 Defense Thread

[Frobby]

Game 7, 7-6 win over the Yankees

- In the first inning, two out and a runner on first, Mountcastle fielded a grounder about 1/3 of the way to 2B with his momentum headed that way.  He looked to throw to second, then wheeled to throw to Kremer, who did a good job of getting to 1B quickly and completing the play.   According to Palmer, Mateo had been slow to cover 2B, necessitating the throw to 1B.
 

- With nobody out in the second, Mateo misjudged a routine infield fly but was able to adjust at the last second and caught it waist-high about 10 feet from where he had been camped out.  

- Next batter hit a soft bouncer near the 3B bag and Urias did a nice job to get to it quickly and make a quick release throw that was a little low but gloved by Mountcastle just before it would have hit the ground.  

- Third inning LeMahieu hit a grounder towards the 2B bag that Frazier got in front of, but it hit him in the chest and the runner was safe.  Scored a hit, though I thought Palmer had said it was an E-4.   A difficult play and maybe a bad hop, still one that Frazier might have had.  

- Same inning, Adley threw out LeMahieu on a strike out/throw out DP.  Adley got rid of it very quickly but the throw was about chest high and a little to the left of the bag.  Mateo put down a perfect sweep tag to nail the runner by a hair.  

- Fourth inning, two out, Cabrera hit a grounder a little to right of 2B that ticked off Mateo’s glove, scored as a single.  Maybe so, but it’s a play Mateo makes 4 out of 5 times IMO.   That would have ended the inning, but then Kremer walked Trevino and coughed up a three run homer to Cordero.  

- Eighth inning, runners on 1st and 2nd with nobody out and the O’s clinging to a 7-6 lead, the O’s were playing in to protect against a bunt.   Trevino hit a sharp grounder down the 3B line, but Urias gloved it backhand, retreated to 3B for the first out, and made a strong accurate throw across to complete a critical DP.  The O’s escaped further damage and hung on to win.  

- Adley had a very busy day blocking pitches, and there were two he couldn’t get to, neither of which was his fault.  He also had at least one miraculous backhand save.  

Overall, a bit of a mixed bag defensively, though no errors were charged to the O’s.
 

[Ohfan67]

I felt Urias’ double play was a particularly nice play. That was the defensive play of the game for me.  

[interloper]

Jorge has to make that play.

[Aristotelian]

Game 8, 4-1 loss to the Yankees.

Vavra, starting in RF, made a nice diving catch early in the game coming in on a liner to take away a base hit.

Late in the game, Gunnar, playing SS, made a spectacular play on a hard grounder, ranging left and laying out full extension, then popped up and made a strong throw to get the runner. 

[Frobby]

4 minutes ago, Aristotelian said:

Game 8, 4-1 loss to the Yankees.

Vavra, starting in RF, made a nice diving catch early in the game coming in on a liner to take away a base hit.

Late in the game, Gunnar, playing SS, made a spectacular play on a hard grounder, ranging left and laying out full extension, then popped up and made a strong throw to get the runner. 

On the flip side:

- In the 4th, Hicks hit a grounder up the middle that Hrnderson dove for but couldn’t quite reach, and a run scored.  Would Mateo have gotten it?   Hard to know.  

- In the 5th, Volpe hit a ball off the wall that ricocheted past Vavra.  Mullins was nearby and retrieved it quickly, but Volpe sailed in with a triple. Does he stop at second if Vavra gets the ricochet on the fly?  Maybe.  I can’t say it was easy to tell how that ball would bounce, but Vavra got too close to the wall.  

- Later that inning, LeMahieu on 3B, Judge lofts a high fly to medium CF.  Mullins gets a running start and launches a throw with a bit too much loft.  It’s accurate but LeMahieu beats it by a step.  A stronger throw might have beat him.  

Also, the O’s turned a 3-6-1 DP in the 1st inning that included a decent feed by Mountcastle and a nice pick of a low throw by Irvin as he got to 1B.


 

[Pickles]

2 hours ago, Frobby said:

On the flip side:

- In the 4th, Hicks hit a grounder up the middle that Hrnderson dove for but couldn’t quite reach, and a run scored.  Would Mateo have gotten it?   Hard to know.  

- In the 5th, Volpe hit a ball off the wall that ricocheted past Vavra.  Mullins was nearby and retrieved it quickly, but Volpe sailed in with a triple. Does he stop at second if Vavra gets the ricochet on the fly?  Maybe.  I can’t say it was easy to tell how that ball would bounce, but Vavra got too close to the wall.  

- Later that inning, LeMahieu on 3B, Judge lofts a high fly to medium CF.  Mullins gets a running start and launches a throw with a bit too much loft.  It’s accurate but LeMahieu beats it by a step.  A stronger throw might have beat him.  

Also, the O’s turned a 3-6-1 DP in the 1st inning that included a decent feed by Mountcastle and a nice pick of a low throw by Irvin as he got to 1B.


 

I'll add:

Vavra made a great diving catch on a ball in front of him in RF.

Henderson made a diving pick up the middle and got the runner at first to end an inning.

Hays made a good attempt on a diving catch in front of him in LF, missed by about 6 inches, but Mullins backed him up and kept the batter to a double.

[Frobby]

Just now, Pickles said:

I'll add:

Vavra made a great diving catch on a ball in front of him in RF.

Henderson made a diving pick up the middle and got the runner at first to end an inning.

Hays made a good attempt on a diving catch in front of him in LF, missed by about 6 inches, but Mullins backed him up and kept the batter to a double.

The good Vavra and Henderson plays were mentioned in the post above mine. That’s why I didn’t mention them.  

[Pickles]

7 minutes ago, Frobby said:

The good Vavra and Henderson plays were mentioned in the post above mine. That’s why I didn’t mention them.  

I see now.  It's too early for posting for me.  Trying to stay out of the Stowers thread.

[Aristotelian]

On Mullins throw, it looked from behind the plate that Adleys swipe may have gotten the runner. On replay from alternate angle you could see the swipe clearly missed but it was bang-bang. Just another thing that Adley is good at.

Hard to blame Vavra the triple. Can't fault him for thinking he may have had a chance to catch it, Mullins covered quickly, and Volpe had it easily. 

[justD]

Lookin great today. Geezus when are they gonna figure out how to play balls in the mid oeft field?

[seak05]

Hays is a below average defender in left field, and it's a problem. Orioles need to face that reality and re-work their OF. Especially as currently none of them are hitting  

[HakunaSakata]

Nice pick by Henderson today. 

https://twitter.com/masnOrioles/status/1644880960595415040?s=20

[Frobby]

Game 9, 5-3 loss to Yankees

- Hays let a high pop in short LF drop between him and Henderson. It’s not clear if it was a miscommunication or if Hays lost it in the sun.  Henderson clearly appeared to lose it in the sun.  The play was really Hays’s to make.  

- Mullins made an excellent leaping play at the fence to rob a possible homer.  The ball was hit at a difficult angle for him to retreat and track but he made the play.  
 

 

Edited April 10, 2023 by Frobby

[Frobby]

3 hours ago, HakunaSakata said:

Nice pick by Henderson today. 

https://twitter.com/masnOrioles/status/1644880960595415040?s=20

That was yesterday, April 8.

[LA2]

10 hours ago, HakunaSakata said:

Nice pick by Henderson today. 

https://twitter.com/masnOrioles/status/1644880960595415040?s=20

Nice play, but it's interesting that he threw to first instead of he short toss to 2nd base to get the force (looked like the chance there was good). Maybe his momentum worked out that way.