Friday, September 22: Orioles face Guardians and Shane Bieber (just off the IL)

[SteveA]

Gametime:  7:10 pm

Forecast:  72 degrees, sunny

Roster Move:  Tyler Wells optioned to Norfolk;  Mike Baumann recalled

Matchup:  Dean Kremer (R) vs Shane Bieber (R)

Lineups

Gunnar Henderson SS (L)
Adley Rutschman C (S)
Anthony Santander RF (S)
Ryan O’Hearn 1B (L)
Aaron Hicks CF (S)
Austin Hays LF (R)
Heston Kjerstad DH (L)
Jordan Westburg 2B (R)
Ramón Urías 3B (R)

Steven Kwan LF (L)
José Ramírez 3B (S)
Josh Naylor 1B (L)
Kole Calhoun DH (L)
Andrés Giménez 2B (L)
Gabriel Arias SS (R)
Will Brennan RF (L)
Bo Naylor C (L)
Myles Straw CF (R)
 

Orioles Bench
Adam Frazier (L)
Jorge Mateo (R)
James McCann (R)
Ryan McKenna (R)
Cedric Mullins (L)

 

Bullpen Availability

Available
Yennier Cano  0.2 IP, 10p Tuesday;  0.1 IP, 3p Monday;  1.1 IP, 9p Sunday
Daniel Coulombe (L) 0.1 IP, 6p Wednesday;  0.2 IP, 12p Monday;  1.1 IP, 11p Sunday
Tyler Wells  0.2 IP, 17p Wednesday

Probably Available
Shintaro Fujinami  0.1 IP, 12p Wednesday;  0.1 IP, 21p Monday;  0.2 IP, 20p Sunday
Jorge Lopez  0.2 IP, 5p last night;  0.2 IP, 6p Tuesday 

Maybe Available
Jack Flaherty 2.0 IP, 45p Tuesday

Probably Not Available
DL Hall (L)  1.1 IP, 17p last night;  0.2 IP, 18p Tuesday   

Not Available
Cionel Perez (L)  0.0 IP, 14p last night;  0.1 IP, 3p Tuesday;  0.2 IP, 8p Monday;  0.1 IP, 5p Sunday 
Jacob Webb  1.0 IP, 21p last night;  1.0 IP, 12p Wednesday;  0.2 IP, 16p Monday

Edited September 22, 2023 by SteveA

[SteveA]

Bieber has been on the IL with elbow issues since June.   He will be limited to around 80 pitches tonight.

He has made two minor league rehab starts, on Sept 12 and 17, and lasted 3.2 innings in each one.

[jdwilde1]

Not loving the OF defense with Hicks in CF.  Good to see Kjerstad in the line-up.  Hopefully Ramon’s recent defensive yips are over.  Fingers crossed that the O’s magic number is down to five after tonight.  Go O’s!  Go Blue Jays! (I can’t believe I typed that… Citi still sucks!!!).

[jdwilde1]

I just noticed that Fuji has thrown 53 pitches in his last 1.1 innings. Brutal.  It would be awesome if the next time he comes out of the bullpen he’s wearing a pair of BCGs and his control issues are completely resolved.

[SteveA]

Roch has a bunch of fun stat tidbits today:

• The Orioles have 8 guys with 60+ RBIs.   The MLB record is 9, held by the 2003 Red Sox and 2009 Yankees.  Orioles are tied with 13 other teams at 8, including this year's Braves.   Unless Ramon Urias can get 18 RBIs in the last 8 games, we will finish with 8.
• The Orioles are only the 2nd team ever with 8 60+ RBI guys and 6 100+ strikeout pitchers.   The other was the 2017 Astros who won the World Series.
• Adley Rutschman needs 2 more extra base hits to become the 10th player ever to get 150 walks and 100 extra base hits in his first two major league seasons.   The other 9 are:  Ted Williams, Ralph Kiner, Eddie Matthews, Jim Gilliam, Alvin Davis, Jeff Bagwell, Hideki Matsui, Kris Bryant, and Juan Soto.
• The Orioles are 12-1 in Dean Kremer's 12 starts since the start of July.   Only 5 pitchers in AL history have a better team record in their starts over the last 3 months of the season:   Whitey Ford (12-0 in 1950), Randy Johnson (15-1 in 1995), Roger Clemens (15-1 in 1998), Gerrit Cole (14-1 in 2019), and Mike Caldwell (13-1 in 1979).

[SteveA]

6 minutes ago, jdwilde1 said:

Not loving the OF defense with Hicks in CF.  Good to see Kjerstad in the line-up.  Hopefully Ramon’s recent defensive yips are over.  Fingers crossed that the O’s magic number is down to five after tonight.  Go O’s!  Go Blue Jays! (I can’t believe I typed that… Citi still sucks!!!).

Yeah, I suspect Cedric is a bit gimpy, he grabbed his groin area after an at bat recently (I think last night but my memory is not 100% sure).   So it comes down to putting Hicks' hot bat and poor range in CF, or McKenna's good defense and weak hitting (especially vs a hard throwing RHP like Bieber).   I understand the decision but I will not enjoy watching Hicks out there tonight.

[jdwilde1]

2 minutes ago, SteveA said:

Yeah, I suspect Cedric is a bit gimpy, he grabbed his groin area after an at bat recently (I think last night but my memory is not 100% sure).   So it comes down to putting Hicks' hot bat and poor range in CF, or McKenna's good defense and weak hitting (especially vs a hard throwing RHP like Bieber).   I understand the decision but I will not enjoy watching Hicks out there tonight.

Yep.  I think its the right move.  I wonder if Hays has something going on with his legs too, since he has not looked great running to first the last week or so.  The O’s need Cedric healthy for the playoffs.  McKenna probably would get the start if a LHP was on the mound.

[Uli2001]

2 hours ago, SteveA said:

Yeah, I suspect Cedric is a bit gimpy, he grabbed his groin area after an at bat recently (I think last night but my memory is not 100% sure).   So it comes down to putting Hicks' hot bat and poor range in CF, or McKenna's good defense and weak hitting (especially vs a hard throwing RHP like Bieber).   I understand the decision but I will not enjoy watching Hicks out there tonight.

I would have picked McKenna's defense in this case. It's not like Hicks is lighting the league on fire.

[Uli2001]

Damn BJs already losing. Orioles cannot count on any help. They have to right their own ship, and quickly.

[Chavez Ravine]

Ok. Unlike the playoffs, we can still recover from the randomness of life and power through to the division title. But the team is tired. We need the super fans to send them energy through the Universal Mind. Calling Fuji Man, OFFNY, my shrine to Tippy Martinez…

[mrbig1]

Rays are up 1-0 in the 2nd. I have faith in Kremer. our bullpen is overused.  they'll get a rest if we get the bye.

[Malike]

I'm completely satisfied with the position they've put themselves in. They wanted to control their own destiny and they do. With TBR winning early, if they crack from the pressure of trying to hang on to the division lead, whatever. Just win in the playoffs.

[baltfan]

I sure hope this doesn’t end up like Wainwright. 

[mrbig1]

Another hit for Gunnar.

[Morgan423]

That's how you start a game.