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For the Orioles, Brandon Young was the stopper · Birdland Territory

0:07
Speaker 1: Well Wednesday night at Oriel Park the Camden Yards. The
0:10
Speaker 1: Birds could have used a stopper, they got one. Brandon
0:14
Speaker 1: Young delivered yet another outstanding performance, seven scoreless on eighty
0:21
Speaker 1: eight pitches as the Orioles beat the Mariners seven to two,
0:23
Speaker 1: and by the way, for six of those seven innings
0:26
Speaker 1: the Orioles had no runs. He was throwing high stress
0:28
Speaker 1: pitches for most of his outing and it was another
0:31
Speaker 1: great one for Brandon Young. Welcome in Birdland Territory, Steve,
0:34
Speaker 1: Brad and Tim to discuss that in a minute. We're
0:37
Speaker 1: going to get to Samuel Bissio and Craig Albernaz. That
0:41
Speaker 1: developing situation, I guess has not gone away. Fummer had
0:45
Speaker 1: some interesting comments on mass and last night. We'll touch
0:47
Speaker 1: on that coming up shortly. But first, Brandon Young a
0:51
Speaker 1: fourth straight quality start, during which his ERA is one
0:56
Speaker 1: six nine. He's allowed five earned runs in the four games.
1:01
Speaker 1: He's two twenty seven his last six games, the Orioles
1:04
Speaker 1: are nine to one in his ten starts, five games
1:09
Speaker 1: under on the year, eight games over. When this kid starts,
1:14
Speaker 1: he's not a kid. He's not twenty two, he's twenty seven.
1:16
Speaker 1: But he's inexperienced and look at what he's doing. What
1:20
Speaker 1: did you guys think of the outing last night?
1:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, I thought he was phenomenal last night. Like we
1:26
Speaker 2: talked about.
1:26
Speaker 3: Just having to keep the score zero zero there for
1:29
Speaker 3: as long as he did, and he's just making quality pitches.
1:32
Speaker 2: It's really fun to watch. As a former pitcher.
1:34
Speaker 3: Myself, I love watching guys who are able to not
1:38
Speaker 3: out stuff everybody who go out there and just make
1:40
Speaker 3: quality pitch after quality pitch. I mean, I think he
1:43
Speaker 3: had eleven ground balls. He kept bad contact all night.
1:46
Speaker 3: He hit the ball on the ground. You're not gonna
1:48
Speaker 3: get hurt too bad on the ground. And it's just
1:50
Speaker 3: been it's been really fun to watch him this entire season.
1:53
Speaker 3: I think it's kind of quietly one of the best
1:55
Speaker 3: stories of this Orioles team so far of this season.
1:58
Speaker 3: I think his development as a starting pitcher, and I
2:01
Speaker 3: think it's kind of a piggyback from last year when
2:03
Speaker 3: he had that perfect game in Houston. How long he did,
2:06
Speaker 3: It's almost like he's carried that into this season. He's
2:09
Speaker 3: got an opportunity, not really one that he kind of
2:12
Speaker 3: knocked the door down, but out of just injuries and
2:15
Speaker 3: all that kind of stuff, and he's really run with it.
2:17
Speaker 3: And I mean, he's just making quality pitches, quality starts,
2:20
Speaker 3: and he's given the chance the team a chance to
2:22
Speaker 3: win every time he goes out there, and that's really
2:24
Speaker 3: all you can ask for from a starting pitcher.
2:27
Speaker 4: Yeah, Brad, it's funny you say that. I was going
2:29
Speaker 4: to say the same exact thing. You know, we pointed
2:31
Speaker 4: out so many pleasant surprises on this Orioles team throughout
2:35
Speaker 4: the year, and there's plenty of them, but Brandon Young's
2:39
Speaker 4: at the top of the list for me, And I
2:41
Speaker 4: don't even know if it's really all that close when
2:43
Speaker 4: you just consider where he was at last year compared
2:48
Speaker 4: to now a six two four ERA and twelve starts
2:52
Speaker 4: last year to an EER just above three a three
2:55
Speaker 4: zero four ERA, and in this four start stress he's
3:01
Speaker 4: recorded at least one out in the seventh innings, so
3:04
Speaker 4: he's giving him a ton of length. And last night
3:07
Speaker 4: probably was his best start. Twelve groundouts, which is the
3:10
Speaker 4: most by in Orioles pitcher this season, six whiffs on
3:15
Speaker 4: the slider, which was a career high.
3:18
Speaker 5: He threw seven.
3:19
Speaker 4: Shutout innings for the first time, and Orioles Pitcher's done
3:22
Speaker 4: that since Opening Day when Trevor Rodgers did it. Brandon
3:26
Speaker 4: Young has been spectacular and Brad, that's the thing that's
3:30
Speaker 4: really blown me away with him is it's not the
3:34
Speaker 4: Kyle Bradish stuff. It's not the shame Baz stuff. But boy,
3:39
Speaker 4: if it isn't effective. You know, his fastball hits just
3:43
Speaker 4: over ninety four ninety four point one miles per hour.
3:46
Speaker 4: His fastball is one of the best four seemers in
3:49
Speaker 4: the game this year. Guys opposing batters or hitting just
3:53
Speaker 4: one thirty three off his four steamer.
3:57
Speaker 3: Yeah, and like I just watching his start last night,
3:59
Speaker 3: I really noticed the slider has tightened up a lot.
4:02
Speaker 3: It's it's more of a quick breaker as opposed to
4:04
Speaker 3: kind of like a looping sweeper, and just being able
4:08
Speaker 3: to get ahead with that, get swings and misses with that.
4:10
Speaker 3: And then this rework splitter that he's thrown now has
4:12
Speaker 3: been phenomenal also, And like you said, this bastball, he's
4:15
Speaker 3: obviously working off his fastball. The pitch is e leap
4:18
Speaker 3: regardless of the velocity, and I almost feel like the
4:21
Speaker 3: last three starts we've been seeing him hit more ninety
4:22
Speaker 3: five to ninety six is also so maybe that's just
4:25
Speaker 3: a sign of him getting more comfortable, but it's just
4:27
Speaker 3: been it's been really really fun to watch him pitch,
4:30
Speaker 3: and it's like I said, it's kind of like an
4:32
Speaker 3: old school just using all his pitches, getting ahead, using
4:36
Speaker 3: all of his off speed pitches, but he's just working
4:39
Speaker 3: the zone and it's it's really it's kind of like
4:41
Speaker 3: refreshing to watch a pitcher pitch like the way he does,
4:44
Speaker 3: and to.
4:45
Speaker 4: Think about the expectations that you know, we all had
4:49
Speaker 4: for Brandon Young heading into the season. There was no
4:52
Speaker 4: world in which everyone was healthy in this starting rotation
4:56
Speaker 4: that Brandon Young was going to get a crack at it.
4:58
Speaker 4: And then, unfortunately, injuries happened Zach Effln, Tommy John surgery
5:04
Speaker 4: after his first start, Dean Kramer went down, Katee Povich
5:07
Speaker 4: went down, and Povich was the first one to get
5:10
Speaker 4: the call.
5:10
Speaker 5: So Young was almost their number eight pitcher.
5:14
Speaker 4: We're talking about possible six man rotations at the beginning
5:17
Speaker 4: of the season, and he has been their most consistent
5:21
Speaker 4: starter this season.
5:24
Speaker 1: Well, they lost one game he started. That was the
5:26
Speaker 1: Houston game in late April, that doubleheader, when he gave
5:29
Speaker 1: up ten runs, four earned, and that seems impossible to think, Dow,
5:33
Speaker 1: we'redon Young to have a start. We gave up ten
5:35
Speaker 1: runs because it's just not happening. And his last four
5:38
Speaker 1: quality starts six point two, six point two, six point
5:41
Speaker 1: one seven. I mean he's getting deep, he's getting quality.
5:46
Speaker 1: And consider this is right for the year is three
5:48
Speaker 1: h four that's the best in the oil rotation. If
5:51
Speaker 1: he had enough innings to qualify for league leaders, he
5:54
Speaker 1: comes up about twelve short right now, he would be
5:56
Speaker 1: eighth in era in the American League. So Brandon Young
6:01
Speaker 1: is getting it done, no matter how you want to
6:03
Speaker 1: slice it. And the thing that I'm so impressed with
6:07
Speaker 1: is this split grip change and the dramatic results. Before
6:11
Speaker 1: he made the change this year, they were hitting four
6:14
Speaker 1: to seventy six off the pitch. Since he made the
6:17
Speaker 1: change one seventy six, you talk about instant results, and
6:24
Speaker 1: he threw a twenty five percent last night, So obviously
6:27
Speaker 1: he told me it's well. He remember we were talking
6:30
Speaker 1: about when Farst started. He graded it on a seven
6:33
Speaker 1: on a one to ten scale, So this can get better.
6:35
Speaker 1: It looks like it is.
6:38
Speaker 3: Yeah, And the thing I noticed last night with the
6:39
Speaker 3: splitter is that he's getting takes right down the middle,
6:41
Speaker 3: and to me, that shows that hitters are either it's
6:45
Speaker 3: either playing really well off this fastball that hitters expect
6:48
Speaker 3: to be above his own, or they can't recognize the split.
6:51
Speaker 3: Because there there was a strike three that was literally
6:54
Speaker 3: right down the middle of the plate and the hitter
6:56
Speaker 3: just walked back to the dugout and it was just
6:58
Speaker 3: when you see that kind of thing, you know that
7:00
Speaker 3: it's super effective and that the hitters just aren't able
7:03
Speaker 3: to recognize it and take its swings on it. And
7:05
Speaker 3: I think also with the brain new story, I just
7:07
Speaker 3: think of opportunity and that's that is such a big
7:10
Speaker 3: thing in Major League baseball is it's not only getting
7:13
Speaker 3: an opportunity, but it's running with your opportunity and your chances.
7:16
Speaker 3: And to me, that's some of the stories I love
7:19
Speaker 3: seeing guys do throughout a season, is the guys that
7:21
Speaker 3: get these little sliver of the door and they just
7:24
Speaker 3: push the door in and they really take their opportunity
7:26
Speaker 3: and run with it. And that's what he's done. And
7:28
Speaker 3: to me, he looks so comfortable out there. He looks
7:31
Speaker 3: like he deserves to be top guy in the rotation
7:33
Speaker 3: right now with the way he's kind of presenting himself
7:36
Speaker 3: on the mound and it's just a lot of confidence
7:38
Speaker 3: and it's it's just been really cool to watch him
7:40
Speaker 3: over these last couple of weeks and months really to
7:43
Speaker 3: this point.
7:45
Speaker 5: Keeping me Steve, I can think of just how he
7:48
Speaker 5: was talking.
7:49
Speaker 1: Go ahead, Tim, you go ahead, Oh I was gonna.
7:52
Speaker 4: Say, and Steve, I can just think of, you know,
7:54
Speaker 4: how he was talking following that Astros game where it
7:57
Speaker 4: was really rough and you could tell that he was
7:59
Speaker 4: very Oh, I thought that I've really gotten past these
8:03
Speaker 4: blow up starts. But ever since that outing Steve, there's
8:06
Speaker 4: been no hiccups. There really hasn't.
8:10
Speaker 1: And he keeps making his game better, and you know,
8:13
Speaker 1: albert As has lauded the work he's putting in with
8:15
Speaker 1: true French and the staff, which has been tremendous. Keep
8:19
Speaker 1: in mind two members of the rotation right now are
8:21
Speaker 1: homegrown Brandon Young and Trey Gibson. They were not drafted.
8:25
Speaker 1: They were both signed after the draft. Brandon Young was
8:29
Speaker 1: the five round Pandemic draft out of Louisiana Lafayette and
8:34
Speaker 1: Trey Gibson was a twenty round draft and he was
8:37
Speaker 1: signed after which means they were free agents. Thirty teams
8:41
Speaker 1: could have got those pitchers the Orioles did, and look
8:45
Speaker 1: at what they're doing. So pretty special stuff for both
8:48
Speaker 1: these guys. Here for the Orioles right now, and they
8:52
Speaker 1: needed it. They needed a stopper. Brandon young was the stopper.
8:55
Speaker 1: Way to go, young Man, great job. All right. When
8:58
Speaker 1: we come back, Samuel Scio, Jim Palmer's comments, what's going
9:02
Speaker 1: on here, We're going to touch on that in a
9:04
Speaker 1: moment on Birdland Territory.
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10:07
Speaker 1: So the Birds get the win. Last night, the offense
10:09
Speaker 1: finally came through with some runs late. Pete Alonso hit
10:12
Speaker 1: a home run number fourteen. Jackson Huddaday had his third
10:16
Speaker 1: career Grand Slam. He and Brian Roberts are the only
10:19
Speaker 1: players in oil history to have three Grand Slams among
10:22
Speaker 1: their first twenty five career homers, and Jackson's starting to
10:26
Speaker 1: swing it, so that's exciting to see two. So we'll
10:29
Speaker 1: see as we tape this. Going into the fourth and
10:32
Speaker 1: final game of the series O Seattle, will Rutchman with
10:36
Speaker 1: a hamstring issue and Will Bisaio one or both or
10:40
Speaker 1: neither be in the lineup tonight. They have not started
10:43
Speaker 1: Ruchman slash Basio in any of the last three games.
10:46
Speaker 1: Masio played in a couple of them, and so it's
10:50
Speaker 1: been a little back and forth year between the skipper
10:52
Speaker 1: and the player, and it's not a totally smooth operation
10:57
Speaker 1: right now as we're trying to figure out what's going
10:59
Speaker 1: on with Samuel Besiah. So on Masson last night, Kevin
11:01
Speaker 1: Brown asked Jim Palmer about it, and Jim is he
11:06
Speaker 1: at Futton Man When he speaks, we listen the Hall
11:08
Speaker 1: of Famer and so Jacob Calvin Meyer's tweet from the
11:11
Speaker 1: Baltimore Sun when asked he's the manager, he says it's
11:14
Speaker 1: about accountability. He's the one that's responsible for wins and losses.
11:18
Speaker 1: All I know, and I said this on Monday night.
11:20
Speaker 1: If you don't play Adleie, you don't play Besida when
11:22
Speaker 1: you're trying to win games. I'm happy if I'm one
11:25
Speaker 1: of the Mariners pitchers, I'm elated, joyful. I would send
11:27
Speaker 1: him flowers saying stay hurt. If Basidah's able to play
11:31
Speaker 1: late in the ballgame, I'm surprised he's not in there,
11:34
Speaker 1: that's all. I don't think this is the time when
11:36
Speaker 1: you've lost four in a row to teach a lesson.
11:38
Speaker 1: I don't care how young you are, but that's just
11:40
Speaker 1: my opinion never afraid to express on the Hall of
11:44
Speaker 1: Famer Jim Palmer, and he he makes a good point there.
11:47
Speaker 1: And I don't really know you guys. And I was
11:50
Speaker 1: there yesterday when the skipper was grilled Pregame about this situation,
11:56
Speaker 1: and I thought he handled it well by the way.
11:58
Speaker 1: I mean he was not. I didn't ruffle its feathers
12:01
Speaker 1: to get all those questions about Pasia. It's the first
12:03
Speaker 1: year rookie managerer, remember, who's not used to doing the
12:06
Speaker 1: media twice a day. And and Baltimore. We don't always
12:10
Speaker 1: fire some high hard wins at this skipper, but I
12:12
Speaker 1: think yesterday he was put on the spot a little bit.
12:15
Speaker 1: So what do you guys make of all that's happened,
12:18
Speaker 1: Palmer's comments and where we are with this right now? Right?
12:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, it's it's kind of bizarre. I don't know.
12:25
Speaker 3: I don't really know like how to describe it or
12:27
Speaker 3: what is kind of going on. I don't know if
12:29
Speaker 3: it is a lesson trying to be taught. I just
12:32
Speaker 3: to me, it's when you when you're putting together together
12:35
Speaker 3: immediate league lineup for the day, you put your best
12:37
Speaker 3: players out there, regardless you try to put the best
12:40
Speaker 3: team out there you possibly can every day to win games,
12:43
Speaker 3: and it's I don't know if it's an injury thing.
12:44
Speaker 3: I don't know if it's, like I said, trying to
12:46
Speaker 3: teach a lesson thing. It's just I'm trying to get
12:50
Speaker 3: like gathering my thoughts about all this because it's not
12:52
Speaker 3: really adding up.
12:53
Speaker 2: It's just kind of weird.
12:55
Speaker 3: It's kind of a weird spot to do it, especially
12:57
Speaker 3: when you've lost three or four in a row right
12:58
Speaker 3: then now, in like kind of a critical stretch of
13:00
Speaker 3: the season. To not have basically your number four number
13:03
Speaker 3: five hitters both not in the line of three straight
13:06
Speaker 3: games is just it's kind of bizarre.
13:09
Speaker 2: I don't know. As a as a.
13:10
Speaker 3: Player on the team, I don't think you really would
13:15
Speaker 3: recognize as while it's happening. Everybody has their own things
13:17
Speaker 3: every single day, so you're not kind of sitting there like, oh,
13:20
Speaker 3: I can't believe he's on the lineup.
13:21
Speaker 2: I can't believe.
13:21
Speaker 3: But I think the longer it goes, the more you
13:24
Speaker 3: kind of sit there and go, oh, that was kind
13:25
Speaker 3: of weird.
13:26
Speaker 2: That was three days in a row. They both weren't
13:27
Speaker 2: in there. I wonder if they're all right.
13:29
Speaker 3: So it kind of becomes this story out of nothing, really,
13:31
Speaker 3: because the first couple of days, like I said in
13:33
Speaker 3: the locker room, you're just not you don't really notice it.
13:35
Speaker 3: You probably think something somebody's banged up, or you just
13:38
Speaker 3: don't recognize it. But the further and longer it goes,
13:41
Speaker 3: it kind of like breathes life into a story that
13:43
Speaker 3: almost seems unnecessary at this point.
13:47
Speaker 4: Yeah, it just seems like an unneeded distraction. And you know,
13:54
Speaker 4: we can go back to when we were doing the
13:56
Speaker 4: show Sunday, and that was alburn AS's first comments, and
13:59
Speaker 4: I'm paraphraise, but he was basically saying, Sammy needs to,
14:02
Speaker 4: you know, at work through adversity, work through being nicked up.
14:07
Speaker 4: And Albernas has been asked about this now three straight days.
14:11
Speaker 4: Samuel Bissio even fired back as well. And then of
14:15
Speaker 4: course Jim Palmer's comments last night. It's odd, you know,
14:20
Speaker 4: and it's kind of cliche, but there's a difference between
14:24
Speaker 4: being hurt and being injured, right, and I find it
14:29
Speaker 4: odd that Sam is too hurt to be in the
14:34
Speaker 4: starting lineup, but in back to back days Monday and
14:37
Speaker 4: Tuesday was able to pinch hit for Sam huff and
14:41
Speaker 4: then catch in the ballgame.
14:43
Speaker 5: So it doesn't really add up to me.
14:46
Speaker 4: And I think that this is all even more magnified
14:51
Speaker 4: because Adley Rutchman is hurt and you are in this
14:54
Speaker 4: critical stretch right now, and those have been your two
14:58
Speaker 4: best hitters on the team in terms of ops, two
15:02
Speaker 4: guys over eight hundred ops that have not been in
15:05
Speaker 4: the lineup three straight days.
15:07
Speaker 5: So of course the offense is going to suffer.
15:11
Speaker 1: Now. Albern As did say he and Sam have had
15:14
Speaker 1: conversations and he doesn't believe that Samy feels he's questioning
15:20
Speaker 1: his toughness. He went on to say, is there a
15:23
Speaker 1: disconnect between you and the player? No disconnect, and then
15:27
Speaker 1: went on to say, we're doing what's best for the
15:30
Speaker 1: player and the team for the long term, and we're
15:32
Speaker 1: showing this kid love and support. So it if it's
15:37
Speaker 1: punitive in any way, he's not exactly saying that. If
15:41
Speaker 1: it's about fully about physical well that doesn't seem to
15:45
Speaker 1: be the case, or he would just say that, right.
15:47
Speaker 1: I mean, we got to sit him out and they
15:49
Speaker 1: haven't hit him out, So it is confusing. I think
15:52
Speaker 1: that's the word here, And I'm just wondering how Besiah
15:56
Speaker 1: will take it. And here's my take, knowing him a
15:58
Speaker 1: little bit, I don't think he'll bat an eye over it.
16:02
Speaker 1: I think this too will pass. This kid will have
16:04
Speaker 1: the big year we think he's gonna have, and two
16:07
Speaker 1: weeks from now it'd almost be forgotten. That's my guess. Now,
16:10
Speaker 1: that doesn't always play out that way. If Sam goes
16:13
Speaker 1: ten for his next fifty, we'll all be wondering if
16:17
Speaker 1: there are these two linked. I don't think he's gonna
16:20
Speaker 1: but we'll see how how it plays out. And for now,
16:23
Speaker 1: I think we're all just kind of waiting and watching
16:26
Speaker 1: to see what happens next.
16:29
Speaker 2: Yeah, and I think I think you're right, Steve. I
16:30
Speaker 2: think you will kind of just at the end of the.
16:33
Speaker 3: Day, when you're a player, if you are put in
16:36
Speaker 3: the starting lineup the man, you just have to go
16:38
Speaker 3: out there and play, and if you're not.
16:39
Speaker 2: Then you just got to be ready.
16:40
Speaker 3: So it's it's a it's definitely like I said, I
16:43
Speaker 3: think it's a story that's kind of like getting life
16:45
Speaker 3: from stuff that isn't really there, but at the same
16:48
Speaker 3: time it's giving it life. So it's like it's just
16:51
Speaker 3: a it's a weird situation for Samy, especially only twenty
16:56
Speaker 3: one years old, his first season in the big league,
16:58
Speaker 3: to kind of be put into this situation, I feel
17:00
Speaker 3: like is the most bizarre part of it all, Like
17:04
Speaker 3: why him and not anybody.
17:06
Speaker 2: It's just like I said, it's not all.
17:07
Speaker 3: Adding up, and I hope, I hope he's in there today,
17:10
Speaker 3: and I hope it just kind of smooths over and
17:12
Speaker 3: for all all sides and sakes and fans, it just
17:15
Speaker 3: kind of rolls over and it's a non issue from
17:19
Speaker 3: here on out.
17:20
Speaker 4: That's the thing that's kind of confused me the most
17:23
Speaker 4: about all of this is Sam being this young of
17:26
Speaker 4: a player and being twenty one and being in his
17:29
Speaker 4: rookie season. And I'm saying this by no means taking
17:32
Speaker 4: a shot at Adley Rushman, because Adley is having a
17:35
Speaker 4: fantastic year, And in part, I think it's with how
17:39
Speaker 4: they've been managing Adley, right, Like, Adley has had several
17:43
Speaker 4: days off this season, and it's been a topic of conversation.
17:46
Speaker 5: That we've had on this show.
17:48
Speaker 4: And again clearly it's working because Adley, this is the
17:51
Speaker 4: best that he's performed since the first half of twenty
17:54
Speaker 4: twenty four.
17:55
Speaker 5: So it just seems a little odd to.
17:58
Speaker 4: Me that that is what's happening, is some sort of
18:03
Speaker 4: example being made. It seems odd, and tonight is probably
18:08
Speaker 4: the inflection point. If Badly and Sam are not in
18:12
Speaker 4: the starting lineup tonight, I think real questions need to
18:16
Speaker 4: be asked because at this point, if they can't play,
18:21
Speaker 4: you need to make a roster move that this is
18:23
Speaker 4: harming the team at this point for two of your
18:26
Speaker 4: best hitters to not be in the lineup four straight days,
18:29
Speaker 4: like someone needs to go on the IL.
18:32
Speaker 5: I just feel like there needs to be a corresponding move.
18:36
Speaker 1: And they do have Sam Huff here, and we got
18:38
Speaker 1: to give him credit for catching or well picked last night.
18:41
Speaker 1: He's most done a pretty good job here the last
18:43
Speaker 1: few days, stepping in on short notice. Silas Ardwin is
18:48
Speaker 1: a catcher from Triple A who's here on taxi squad
18:51
Speaker 1: with the Orioles not on the active roster obviously, and
18:54
Speaker 1: Chadwick Trump is back. They resigned to him the Braves
18:58
Speaker 1: dfa Trump who was briefly an oriol last year, so
19:02
Speaker 1: they needed some depth here catching just in case did
19:06
Speaker 1: a jick move, and that's what it would happened here.
19:09
Speaker 1: They added Chadwick Trump, someone they're familiar with and like.
19:12
Speaker 1: So the Orioles are adding catching to four to five
19:15
Speaker 1: because you've got two catchers banged up who have not
19:18
Speaker 1: started for three straight games. So stay tuned, Birdland. We'll
19:22
Speaker 1: see how the wheel turns on this one and how
19:26
Speaker 1: it goes for the Orioles who won last night seven
19:29
Speaker 1: to two. That's the good news. And let's talk about
19:31
Speaker 1: the offense from last night in a minute here as
19:33
Speaker 1: we roll on Birdland Territory.
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20:37
Speaker 1: On Wednesday night at the Art, it was nice to
20:39
Speaker 1: see a complete game for the Oriols. They got pitching,
20:41
Speaker 1: they got hitting to go with it. During the losing streak,
20:43
Speaker 1: they scored sixteen runs in four games, went four for
20:46
Speaker 1: thirty one runners in scoring position. Last night they went
20:49
Speaker 1: four for thirteen. Reverse those last two digits, not four
20:53
Speaker 1: for thirty one, four for thirteen at six extra base hits.
20:57
Speaker 1: Continue to continue to be impressed by Laot Tavares in
21:01
Speaker 1: clutch spots. Who's about the best stats on the team
21:04
Speaker 1: there He and Blaize Alexander doubled in runs after Pete
21:07
Speaker 1: Anzo homert in an inning. Later in the seventh Jackson
21:11
Speaker 1: how do they hit his third career Grand Slam? So
21:13
Speaker 1: all good stuff to see, Lioe Tavares, I mean, guys
21:17
Speaker 1: aren't getting it done in the clutch some nights, and
21:19
Speaker 1: he keeps doing it. Quite impressive.
21:23
Speaker 2: Yeah, he's been really impressive.
21:24
Speaker 3: I think it's just kind of he's been kind of
21:26
Speaker 3: a topic of conversation throughout the season, just the pleasant surprise,
21:30
Speaker 3: and now it's just he's doing everything this team needs.
21:32
Speaker 3: He's sacrificing guys over when they need to, he's hitting
21:36
Speaker 3: in the clutch. Obviously, he plays great defense day in
21:38
Speaker 3: and day out. He can steal a couple of bases
21:40
Speaker 3: when he needs to. He just kind of a very
21:42
Speaker 3: complete player. And to me, the last couple of weeks,
21:45
Speaker 3: Blaze Alexander has been exceptional. I think his defense has
21:49
Speaker 3: been enough to keep him in the line of every day,
21:52
Speaker 3: and now he's just doing a great.
21:53
Speaker 2: Job of hitting the ball the other way.
21:55
Speaker 3: I've really seen appointed at a approach of his kind
21:59
Speaker 3: of staying right center field, and he's got some pop
22:02
Speaker 3: that way, and last night he showed it with the
22:04
Speaker 3: double and the gaff to the right center field, and
22:06
Speaker 3: he's been really Both guys really have been Who knows
22:09
Speaker 3: where this team would be right now without these two
22:10
Speaker 3: guys being able to slot them in there every day.
22:12
Speaker 3: With the injuries they've had and kind of the struggles
22:14
Speaker 3: with some guys, but yeah, just they've been really, really
22:18
Speaker 3: good and it's been kind of keeping them afloat to
22:20
Speaker 3: this point.
22:22
Speaker 5: And they both contributed in the sixth inning.
22:24
Speaker 4: Obviously, Jackson Holliday that was kind of the death mail
22:28
Speaker 4: for Seattle with the grand Slam to make it seven
22:30
Speaker 4: and nothing at that point.
22:32
Speaker 5: But the sixth inning was the most fun for me. Guys.
22:35
Speaker 4: You have Pete leading off that inning with a bomb
22:39
Speaker 4: over four hundred feet, Colden Cowser walks, steals second base,
22:43
Speaker 4: then Leodi Taveres coming through with runners and scoring position,
22:47
Speaker 4: Steve hidden the RBI double, then he steals third base,
22:51
Speaker 4: which was a very bold move. You never want to
22:54
Speaker 4: be the first out or third out at third base,
22:56
Speaker 4: but he was able to get in there despite the
22:58
Speaker 4: throw beating him there. And then Blaze Alexander coming through
23:03
Speaker 4: with that sacrifice fly, so you're manufacturing multiple runs there,
23:09
Speaker 4: and Leodi Tavers and Blaze Alexander were the ones driving
23:13
Speaker 4: him in.
23:14
Speaker 1: When you think about it, it's been a season of
23:16
Speaker 1: surprise Orioles starting out, Anthony Nunez as he came out
23:19
Speaker 1: of the box in April, Rico Garcia all year. We
23:23
Speaker 1: talked about Brandon Young, Leodi Tavers, Blaze, Alexander There's others
23:29
Speaker 1: we could mention. Where would they be without these guys,
23:32
Speaker 1: you know, And it takes a twenty six man roster
23:35
Speaker 1: and really a forty man roster and then some to
23:37
Speaker 1: win over the full season. So yeah, real impressed by
23:41
Speaker 1: the offense last night. Let's talk about Jackson Holiday, whose
23:45
Speaker 1: ops is up to seven forty three after the Grand
23:47
Speaker 1: Slam in his first twenty games he finally got back
23:51
Speaker 1: on the field. He just looks like he's in a
23:53
Speaker 1: really comfortable place right now. He just looks hitterish up
23:57
Speaker 1: there when he's in the box right now.
24:00
Speaker 2: Yeah, definitely, I think that's the biggest thing. He's just
24:02
Speaker 2: feeling comfortable.
24:03
Speaker 3: And when you miss a spring training, no matter what
24:06
Speaker 3: you do in rehab, no matter how many games, how
24:08
Speaker 3: many at bats you get to have, it's still not
24:10
Speaker 3: the same thing as having a spring training. So I
24:13
Speaker 3: think he's just kind of getting his feet under him
24:15
Speaker 3: right now. And like you said, he looks more comfortable.
24:17
Speaker 3: He's gonna have a swing and miss, that's part of
24:19
Speaker 3: his game. But when he hits home runs like he does,
24:21
Speaker 3: and he has the power like we've seen, it's a
24:25
Speaker 3: big part of this offense, and it just extends the lineup,
24:27
Speaker 3: Like we keep talking about making a one through nine lineup.
24:30
Speaker 3: He really helps the bottom half of that lineup keep
24:33
Speaker 3: some of the power there, keep some of the threat there,
24:36
Speaker 3: and really just makes this offense better overall when he's hitting.
24:41
Speaker 4: I think it's great that he's been in that bottom
24:44
Speaker 4: third of the lineup because we know that he was
24:46
Speaker 4: a leadoff guy for a lot of last year's team,
24:49
Speaker 4: but it takes so much pressure off of him and guys.
24:52
Speaker 4: He's kind of surprised me because I just didn't know
24:55
Speaker 4: what to expect with him coming off the hammate surgery
24:58
Speaker 4: and that not going acourse to plan at all with
25:01
Speaker 4: three separate rehab assignments. I was just keeping measured expectations
25:06
Speaker 4: for Jackson. But he's been a key contributor in this stretch.
25:09
Speaker 4: You know, ten RBIs and twenty games. He's got three
25:13
Speaker 4: stolen bases already, three home runs, playing a solid second base.
25:18
Speaker 4: You know, I think Jackson, you really couldn't ask for
25:22
Speaker 4: a much better start, considering the circumstances of missing all
25:26
Speaker 4: of spring training and coming in in the middle of
25:28
Speaker 4: the season.
25:30
Speaker 1: So we talked about Pisaiah and all the pregame coverage
25:33
Speaker 1: of that yesterday with Craig albert As. But after that drama,
25:37
Speaker 1: if you will, I asked the skipper a couple questions
25:39
Speaker 1: about Gunner Henderson and his struggles, and I wanted to
25:43
Speaker 1: tell what he said next.
25:47
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26:03
Speaker 4: Fan.
26:05
Speaker 1: So Gunner won for four with a walk last night,
26:08
Speaker 1: but struggling again. He's striking out less, but the production
26:11
Speaker 1: is still not there. It's like twelve games now without
26:14
Speaker 1: a homer. His next will be his one hundredth career,
26:16
Speaker 1: by the way, So Alberta is still expressing confidence in
26:21
Speaker 1: the slugger, feeling like he's close. Enjoyed a three walk
26:25
Speaker 1: game a couple of games ago. He thinks when Gunner
26:28
Speaker 1: makes him throw strikes, that's when it's gonna work for him.
26:32
Speaker 1: And so I asked again, second time I've asked this
26:35
Speaker 1: about a month apart, would you consider dropping him in
26:38
Speaker 1: the order, And he's not inclined to do that. Right now.
26:41
Speaker 1: And I think it's tied to this. He feels like
26:43
Speaker 1: Gunner is always going to see that tough lefty late,
26:46
Speaker 1: so why not have righty's around him who can benefit
26:49
Speaker 1: from that, whether it's Word before Alonzo and ADLEI after
26:53
Speaker 1: Adley's switch of course, And it seems he seems alike
26:57
Speaker 1: that fact that that lefty, if you bring it in
27:00
Speaker 1: your big gun for Gunner, he's gonna see some power
27:02
Speaker 1: right handed bats too. So is he making a good
27:06
Speaker 1: move here sticking with Gunner to two spot? Yeah?
27:11
Speaker 2: I think so.
27:11
Speaker 3: I think I really think it has a lot to do,
27:13
Speaker 3: like you said, with the lineup construction, I think that
27:15
Speaker 3: is a good way to kind of look at it.
27:17
Speaker 2: If you're gonna bring in the lefty, you're gonna.
27:19
Speaker 3: Have to face two right y's, and then Pete's right
27:21
Speaker 3: there behind them too, So it's I think it is
27:23
Speaker 3: a good strategy there.
27:24
Speaker 2: And it's also we just he has so much talent
27:27
Speaker 2: and we know the kind of player he can be.
27:29
Speaker 3: It's it's like, I don't see the benefit of moving
27:31
Speaker 3: him to five or six or something like that. It's
27:33
Speaker 3: just when he gets hot, you don't want him down
27:37
Speaker 3: the lineup and I feel like he can get hot
27:38
Speaker 3: at any game, any point and then just kind of
27:41
Speaker 3: roll for a couple of weeks. So to me, it
27:43
Speaker 3: still just kind of seems he's a little bit late
27:46
Speaker 3: on the inside fastball. I've been seeing a lot of
27:48
Speaker 3: righties just kind of pound him in. And I saw
27:51
Speaker 3: yesterday they showed a video of him early in BP
27:54
Speaker 3: and the hitting coach is talking about getting his hands
27:56
Speaker 3: down towards the ball and just kind of really focusing
27:59
Speaker 3: on throwing the hands down trying to hit that inside pitch.
28:02
Speaker 3: And I think that's really kind of where the I guess,
28:05
Speaker 3: if you want to call it struggles are coming from.
28:06
Speaker 3: I just think he's not getting to the fastball as
28:08
Speaker 3: consistently as what we've seen from him. But I just
28:11
Speaker 3: think he's got too much talent and he's too much
28:13
Speaker 3: of a leader to shift him anywhere else in the
28:16
Speaker 3: lineup based on lineup construction and the kind of player
28:19
Speaker 3: I feel like we all know he can be at
28:20
Speaker 3: any given point.
28:23
Speaker 4: It's really almost unfathomable the fact that he has a
28:28
Speaker 4: sub seven hundred OPS and it's June eleventh, you know,
28:31
Speaker 4: prior to tonight's game. It's really crazy. I just really thought.
28:36
Speaker 4: Everyone thought, you know, especially coming off the WBC, this
28:40
Speaker 4: would be the Gunner Henderson revenge tour after last year.
28:43
Speaker 4: But he just hasn't been able to sustain it, right, guys,
28:48
Speaker 4: Because there was that stretch early on in April where
28:51
Speaker 4: I think he hit five home runs in a week
28:53
Speaker 4: or something like that, and you thought, Okay, he's going
28:56
Speaker 4: to take off, and then you know, a downturn and
28:59
Speaker 4: then he has a little bit of a hot stretch.
29:01
Speaker 4: All right, this is it, and you know it hits
29:03
Speaker 4: June and this is always his best month.
29:05
Speaker 5: But he hasn't really been able to figure it out
29:07
Speaker 5: in June yet.
29:08
Speaker 4: It's just you see glimpses of it, but it's just
29:13
Speaker 4: not sustaining it. And we know the Gunners an emotional player,
29:18
Speaker 4: and heck, especially Tuesday when he was zero for five,
29:21
Speaker 4: there were you know a couple of instances where he
29:24
Speaker 4: was getting really upset that this team needs him.
29:28
Speaker 5: I mean, there's no way around it.
29:29
Speaker 4: Just because you know what Gunner Henderson can be and
29:32
Speaker 4: the fact that we're having this discussion about him, it
29:35
Speaker 4: just tells you how good of a player Gunner Henderson
29:38
Speaker 4: is because he has set that bar that high. Because
29:42
Speaker 4: he's performed at that level and beyond.
29:45
Speaker 1: Right, and we know what he can do. Two years
29:47
Speaker 1: ago he was fourth for the MVP. His OPS is
29:51
Speaker 1: two hundred points higher than it currently is. There's a
29:53
Speaker 1: two hundred point difference between what we've seen him at
29:56
Speaker 1: his very best and now, so I think, fan no,
30:00
Speaker 1: it's coming now. Albert has also feels the emotion and
30:03
Speaker 1: passion he plays with is not getting in the way
30:06
Speaker 1: right now. I asked him that you know you, but
30:10
Speaker 1: what is he gonna say? Gun he his shunners to
30:13
Speaker 1: emotional or something. I think that wouldn't look good either,
30:16
Speaker 1: But he's defending his player who has that passion and energy,
30:19
Speaker 1: and so we'll see how it gets it going. But
30:22
Speaker 1: we're reaching a halfway point here, and so you're right,
30:25
Speaker 1: two hundred ops points okay? Are we expecting an eight
30:29
Speaker 1: to eighty OPS? I don't know. That's what he's capable of,
30:32
Speaker 1: and so maybe some pictures have some damage coming their
30:35
Speaker 1: way in the next few weeks. We shall see cover
30:39
Speaker 1: a lot of ground guys in our thirty minutes, as
30:42
Speaker 1: we often do, and we got a lot done today.
30:44
Speaker 1: So thanks to Brad and Tim. I'm Steve Maleski and we'll.
30:47
Speaker 9: Catch you next time on Birdland Territory
31:04
Speaker 2: Int