Latest / Birdland Territory / O's offense cold as the Rockies. Road trip ends on a sour note

Transcript

O's offense cold as the Rockies. Road trip ends on a sour note · Birdland Territory

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: For the Orioles, a brutal, brutal loss in Colorado that
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: ends their series and their road trip. They had a
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: chance for a 7-2 road trip, Birdland. They were one
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: out of the way twice. They let the lead get
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: away in the 9th. They let it get away in
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: the 11th. And they lost the game to the lowly Rockies,
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: who seem to be anything but lowly in this series,
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: giving the Orioles all they wanted and more. Welcome into
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: our latest edition of Birdland Territory. Not as exciting one
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: as we thought. about an hour ago, as the Orioles
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: come home at 69-71. They lose an 11 to the Rockies, 6-5.
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Guys, how to process this one.
• 0:46
  Speaker 1: You've got to regroup quick, man. Flight home, and they're
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: going to get home 3 in the morning and then
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: play the Red Sox. So no time to wallow in it. But, man,
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: was that a brutal loss.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that was a tough one, especially just, I think,
• 1:00
  Speaker 3: They've had a few brutal losses, I feel like, but
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: just in the circumstances of the season and where they're
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: at and would have gotten back to 500 if they
• 1:07
  Speaker 3: won that game. It's just, it's really tough. I feel
• 1:10
  Speaker 3: like to get, to get over that one, one strike
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: away twice during that game could have been a winner
• 1:15
  Speaker 3: and said, it turns into a loss. And it's just,
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: it's against a team with the worst record in baseball.
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: And it's just, for some reason, these, the, these teams
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: have really been given the Orioles trouble. And I was
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: talking with Steve right before this episode, that if they
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: end up not making the playoffs and, You could look
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: back at the series losses to the Angels, to the Rockies,
• 1:31
  Speaker 3: teams like that, and that could really be your season.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: And that just is so disappointing when you look back
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: at a season and you just kind of see a
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: series get away. If you went into that series saying
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: we're only going to give up the amount of runs
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: that they did, you'd be thrilled. You'd figure that's a
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: sweep when you look at the amount of runs they
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: gave up this series. But instead, they lose two out
• 1:49
  Speaker 3: of three, and it's just a tough pill to swallow
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: for sure.
• 1:53
  Speaker 4: There's been so many gut punch losses, guys, but this
• 1:56
  Speaker 4: is at or near the top. And there's layers to this, right?
• 2:00
  Speaker 4: Because you have ramifications of this game that exist beyond
• 2:07
  Speaker 4: just today. Because, look, Trevor Rodgers delivered a fantastic start.
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: That was one of the best starts that he's had
• 2:14
  Speaker 4: this season. Had a career-high 11 strikeouts, going six and
• 2:18
  Speaker 4: two-thirds innings. This bullpen's been running on red, and you
• 2:22
  Speaker 4: play a game that goes 11 innings, and there's no
• 2:26
  Speaker 4: off day until next Thursday, and there's going to be
• 2:30
  Speaker 4: roster moves ahead of tomorrow's game against the Red Sox,
• 2:33
  Speaker 4: you would imagine. So it's just really disappointing, and it's
• 2:38
  Speaker 4: one of those things where, again, expectations change. Two things
• 2:41
  Speaker 4: can be true. You go 6-3 in this nine-game road trip,
• 2:46
  Speaker 4: and on the surface, you think, okay, good, good, but
• 2:49
  Speaker 4: When you're six and one heading into these last two
• 2:52
  Speaker 4: games and you drop both of them and this Rockies
• 2:55
  Speaker 4: team heading into last night, it dropped 10 straight home games.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: That's a tough pill to swallow, dropping two straight games
• 3:03
  Speaker 4: in the series against the Rockies.
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: So I'm going to second guess a couple of bullpen
• 3:08
  Speaker 1: moves here. But before I do that, I'm going to
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: say this. I think they lost these games on offense.
• 3:14
  Speaker 1: And I think we're going to touch on that, too.
• 3:17
  Speaker 1: The Orioles scored four runs in the first two games,
• 3:19
  Speaker 1: winning one of them thanks to Couser's incredible catch. Nine
• 3:22
  Speaker 1: runs in Colorado, guys, against, as Tim mentioned, the worst
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: pitching staff in Major League Baseball. And in the first
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: six games of the road trip, 43 runs. It just
• 3:32
  Speaker 1: goes to show how inconsistent it has been for this offense.
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: So we're going to get into Luis De Leon later
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: in the show. You can kind of question his usage
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: in the spot yesterday. We can touch on that. Today,
• 3:45
  Speaker 1: my second guest comes with Alex Hoppe. He threw so
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: well to get out of that jam. He had 12 pitches.
• 3:51
  Speaker 1: The Orioles took a two-run lead to the last of
• 3:53
  Speaker 1: the 11th. He went Wolfram. And I'd stay Hoppe there
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: because maybe he needs 18 more pitches and you can't
• 4:00
  Speaker 1: use him for a day or two. But you had
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: to lock it down. He hasn't given up an earned
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: run as an Oriole. Why not keep him in the game?
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I thought he looked really good, Steve. I thought
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: Hoppe's fastball was playing extra today, even consistently. 98 to
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: 100 at Coors Field, that's kind of what you want
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: to be doing at Coors Field.
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: It's difficult.
• 4:19
  Speaker 3: He doesn't really have the big-time movement stuff, but he
• 4:21
  Speaker 3: was riding at the top of the zone really well
• 4:23
  Speaker 3: and almost like he didn't even need to use a slider.
• 4:25
  Speaker 3: It was more of a show-me pitch than anything else.
• 4:27
  Speaker 3: And it just– 12 pitches just doesn't seem enough when
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: they've had so many guys used so often that if
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: you brought them back out and things didn't work out,
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: I don't feel like you question that because of how
• 4:39
  Speaker 3: he looked to get out of that jam in the 11th.
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: So for me, I agree with you, Steve. I just
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: think you've got to ride the hot hands right now,
• 4:45
  Speaker 3: and it's kind of hard to just pass the ball
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: around when the appearances for these guys have gotten up
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: there really fast, especially in these last six games. These
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: relievers are running on red, and if you get somebody
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: that's hot, you know they're not going to pitch tomorrow anyway.
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: Maybe just bring them back out for that next thing.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: I know they haven't done a ton of that this year,
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: but it's a different time of year. It's a different
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: type of season right now.
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and Brad, to that point, we saw it with
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: Junior Cano the other day. He was the first Orioles
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: reliever to pitch three straight games. So it tells you
• 5:14
  Speaker 4: they've acknowledged that this is, you know, you're coming down
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: the home stretch. And in these extra inning games with
• 5:20
  Speaker 4: the ghost runner at second base, you need swing and miss.
• 5:24
  Speaker 4: And Alex Hoppe, because he has that flamethrower of an arm,
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: he can give you swing and miss. And that at-bat
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: that Connor Norby had, that was an absolute battle that
• 5:34
  Speaker 4: ended in a strikeout. And Hoppy deserves a ton of
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: credit for that. I'm with you guys. I would have
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: absolutely have sent him back out there, but Steve kind
• 5:44
  Speaker 4: of to your beginning point though, and I do want
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: to harp on it a bit. This is about the offense.
• 5:50
  Speaker 4: You know, I know the bullpen and we'll get to
• 5:52
  Speaker 4: daily on later. It gave up one earned run at
• 5:55
  Speaker 4: the two runs that he gave up the home run.
• 5:57
  Speaker 4: And then obviously extra innings, but you got to do
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: much better than scoring seven runs in regulation against this
• 6:04
  Speaker 4: Rockies team. that gives up 6.3 runs per game at home.
• 6:09
  Speaker 4: They scored seven runs in this three-game series. It's just,
• 6:13
  Speaker 4: it's not good enough.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: And if you look at the top two guns in
• 6:19
  Speaker 1: the lineup, Gunner had the incredible game the other day
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: to Hummers, one for 12 cents. It's been the story
• 6:25
  Speaker 1: of his season. Every time he had a game or
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: a couple swings that looked like the old Gunner, it
• 6:30
  Speaker 1: didn't last. Pete Alonzo, as great as he's been, Three
• 6:34
  Speaker 1: for 25. He had no RBIs in six games. He
• 6:37
  Speaker 1: drove one in today.
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: So again, he can't do it every night.
• 6:41
  Speaker 1: There's going to be a three for 25. It's not
• 6:43
  Speaker 1: a great time for it when others aren't hitting. If
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: others were hitting in Colorado, we wouldn't have noticed Pete's
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: fall off. So I'm not throwing either one of them
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: under the bus. But when you look at the Oriole offense,
• 6:54
  Speaker 1: you hope one or both will be rolling.
• 6:58
  Speaker 2: Over some time here.
• 7:00
  Speaker 3: Yeah, definitely. And I just think it's just it's the
• 7:02
  Speaker 3: story of the season to me. It's just the inconsistencies
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: that we've seen from the pitching side at the beginning
• 7:07
  Speaker 3: of the year. Really just kind of the offense in
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: the second half. It's like they score seven or eight
• 7:12
  Speaker 3: runs or they score one or two. It just seems
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: to be nowhere in between there. And that's all they
• 7:17
  Speaker 3: need to do. This series will score four or five runs.
• 7:19
  Speaker 3: They go out of this series with a sweep. And
• 7:21
  Speaker 3: you think going into Colorado, like you said, Tim, with
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: the six and a half runs, a game that the
• 7:24
  Speaker 3: Rockies give up at home, you're thinking that's going to
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: be no problem. They hit one home run this entire series.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: It's hard to believe at Coors Field with the way
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: the offense was rolling going into the series that you
• 7:37
  Speaker 3: can fathom scoring seven runs in regulation, like you said, Tim,
• 7:40
  Speaker 3: the first three games. I can't wrap my head around it,
• 7:43
  Speaker 3: and I don't know why the offense has just ebbed
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: and flowed so bad all year.
• 7:48
  Speaker 4: And guys, look, Monday was phenomenal and Colton Couser's catch
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: was unbelievable. But that catch kind of overshadowed the fact
• 7:57
  Speaker 4: the Orioles had four hits in that game. And you
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: think of the second run that they scored in that game,
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: the Rockies had four walks in that inning. They scored
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: a run without a hit. It was a fielder's choice
• 8:10
  Speaker 4: that Colton Couser ended up beating out. It could have
• 8:14
  Speaker 4: been a double play. So it's just It's frustrating because
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: you know the potential of this offense, and I joke
• 8:22
  Speaker 4: calling it a schizophrenic offense. It's just hot and cold.
• 8:27
  Speaker 4: They're either mashing or it's ice cold against the Rockies.
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: It's frustrating because you know the potential of so many
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: of these guys in this lineup.
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: So 69-71 is the Oriole record coming home for Boston
• 8:43
  Speaker 1: and Cleveland now, and a vital, vital homestand if Cleveland–
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: wins tonight, Edward, they're playing as we tape this, the
• 8:50
  Speaker 1: Orioles would be back to two and a half. They
• 8:52
  Speaker 1: got three out, leaving St. Louis, pulled to within a
• 8:55
  Speaker 1: half of the wild card after the miracle catch, and
• 8:59
  Speaker 1: now could be, pending the Garden's result tonight, two and
• 9:02
  Speaker 1: a half back. So it's just the rollercoaster ride for
• 9:05
  Speaker 1: the Orioles in 2026. What we're hoping is this was
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: not a dagger loss. I guess we'll know a lot
• 9:12
  Speaker 1: more when we see how it plays out Over the
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: next few days. Lots to do on this show tonight.
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: We're going to get into Trevor Rogers. He was great.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: The bullpen's been mostly great. How about using Luis De
• 9:24
  Speaker 1: Leon where they did and the addition of Luis Robert Jr.
• 9:27
  Speaker 1: He did drive in two runs today. And so we'll
• 9:29
  Speaker 1: talk about all that on this show, Birdland Territory.
• 9:33
  Speaker 5: I think what people are seeing on the screen and
• 9:34
  Speaker 5: what we'll explain to the podcast audio crowd right now
• 9:38
  Speaker 5: is how I'm a little summer action with Fabletics. And
• 9:40
  Speaker 5: then you take us into fall and a little more layering.
• 9:44
  Speaker 6: And here in the East, I'm still going to go
• 9:46
  Speaker 6: to the shore in the fall. I love the shore
• 9:48
  Speaker 6: in September. You come in from the beach, you throw
• 9:51
  Speaker 6: on a sweatshirt like this. It's light, it's breathable, but
• 9:54
  Speaker 6: you know what? is so comfortable.
• 9:56
  Speaker 5: Yeah and for me i love working out but also
• 9:59
  Speaker 5: i'm getting more into tennis paddle a little bit of
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: pickleball all that i want lightweight breathable comfortable and affordable
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: let's talk about that the discounts for fabletics are massive
• 10:11
  Speaker 5: when you sign up as a vip Shop now at
• 10:14
  Speaker 5: Fabletics.com slash foul to get 70% to 80% off everything.
• 10:18
  Speaker 5: When you sign up as a new VIP, take a
• 10:20
  Speaker 5: quick style quiz. Be sure to select foul when prompted
• 10:23
  Speaker 5: to unlock this offer. This is a limited time offer,
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: so don't wait. Again, that's Fabletics.com slash foul for 70%
• 10:30
  Speaker 5: to 80% off everything as a new VIP.
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: Well, it was a few weeks ago that it was
• 10:38
  Speaker 1: learned that the Orioles had moved Luis De Leon, one
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: of their top young pitching prospects, to the bullpen.
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: At AAA.
• 10:43
  Speaker 1: He had three pretty good pen outings. He then, in
• 10:47
  Speaker 1: his fourth for Norfolk, gave up two home runs. A
• 10:50
  Speaker 1: couple days later, he got the call to come to
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: the Orioles, and then he's in a tight tie game
• 10:57
  Speaker 1: in Colorado where he gave up a home run, two-run
• 10:59
  Speaker 1: home run, after Jackson Holiday dropped a pop-up. What did
• 11:02
  Speaker 1: you guys think of a wild sequence here for this
• 11:06
  Speaker 1: young kid who I'm going to say, I'm going to
• 11:08
  Speaker 1: tip my hat to him because, and I confirmed this today,
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: he's the first international pitcher signed under Elias Kobe Perez
• 11:16
  Speaker 1: to make the majors. Moises Chassé beat him on a
• 11:20
  Speaker 1: 40-man roster. The Orioles traded him to the Phillies. He's
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: on the Phillies 40-man, but he's never gotten the call.
• 11:26
  Speaker 1: Luis De Leon matches Basayo. First hitter to make it
• 11:30
  Speaker 1: from international, De Leon first pitcher, even with a loss
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: on his record. I'm still going to tip my hat
• 11:36
  Speaker 1: to this young man.
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: Yeah, there's so many things that I can– I'm thinking
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: back to my first outing, and there's so many emotions
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: going on. Not only does he have that, it's now
• 11:49
  Speaker 3: a tied game. Then it's Coors Field, and he hasn't
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: been in the bullpen role long enough to even think
• 11:55
  Speaker 3: about throwing him anywhere in a game that you feel
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: like could be in the balance. That's just my opinion.
• 12:00
  Speaker 3: That's being down in the bullpen. That's seeing guys make
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: their debuts all the time. To me, it was just
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: if you wanted to throw him in that game, as
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: soon as holiday hit the home run, I just feel
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: like you have to get somebody else in there. That
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: was just not the right spot. I felt bad for him.
• 12:14
  Speaker 3: They had to be in such a big spot in
• 12:16
  Speaker 3: the pennant race like this, uh, just kind of thrown
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: out there. And then of course the first batter, he
• 12:21
  Speaker 3: gets an error on top of everything. So it was just,
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: it was just a plethora of things thrown his way.
• 12:26
  Speaker 3: And I thought he looked really good. He just, he
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: hung one pitch and, uh, it's going to happen. And
• 12:31
  Speaker 3: it just, unfortunately it was in a big spot there
• 12:34
  Speaker 3: in that game. And There's just so many things you
• 12:38
  Speaker 3: could discuss with this particular outing and the reasoning why
• 12:42
  Speaker 3: he was used there for the lefty matchups or this
• 12:44
  Speaker 3: or that. But in my opinion, he doesn't even know
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: what he's doing in the bullpen. So putting him in
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: a spot like that, it's just tough. And it's no
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: disrespect to him at all. It's tough. It's tough to
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: learn what you're doing in the big leagues, let alone
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: a role you just picked up a couple weeks ago
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: in AAA. So there's just all these things thrown his way,
• 13:02
  Speaker 3: and it's just a tough spot to put that young kid.
• 13:05
  Speaker 4: It just keeps adding up. And you guys said it,
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: four relief appearances at Norfolk, Coors Field, one of the
• 13:12
  Speaker 4: more hitter-friendly ballparks in all of baseball. You're trying to
• 13:16
  Speaker 4: get to above 500 for the first time in four months.
• 13:19
  Speaker 4: It's a high leverage spot. And this Rockies offense is
• 13:22
  Speaker 4: no slouch. They're top 10 in a lot of categories.
• 13:26
  Speaker 4: And then you throw the error on top of it
• 13:29
  Speaker 4: and Look, a lot of people keep pointing out Craig
• 13:32
  Speaker 4: Albernaz's quote from prior to the game saying we're not
• 13:36
  Speaker 4: going to ambush him and throw him in the fire
• 13:38
  Speaker 4: right away. I've done that enough this year with guys.
• 13:42
  Speaker 4: And look, not everything goes according to plan. I understand that.
• 13:46
  Speaker 4: But you do have the extra arm in the bullpen
• 13:50
  Speaker 4: because of September call-ups. I understand DeLeon is a lefty
• 13:54
  Speaker 4: and you wanted the lefty in that spot, but Canoes, Sanders,
• 13:57
  Speaker 4: and Suarez all didn't throw the prior night before. It's
• 14:02
  Speaker 4: just a tough, tough spot to make your debut, man.
• 14:06
  Speaker 4: It really is. I feel for him because I was impressed.
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: He filled up the strike zone. I felt like he
• 14:12
  Speaker 4: was pretty fearless in that outing, throwing 11 strikes and
• 14:16
  Speaker 4: 15 pitches. That strikeout of Goodman was nasty. It's just, unfortunately,
• 14:22
  Speaker 4: he gave up the two-run shot and he took a
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: loss in his debut.
• 14:27
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I hope this kid gets more chances. But, man,
• 14:30
  Speaker 1: they had the team and the organization put him in
• 14:32
  Speaker 1: a tough spot. There's 20-some games to go.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: You can't ease him in. If this was June 1st,
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: that'd be different.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: You could wait until the score is 7-1 and give
• 14:41
  Speaker 1: him two innings, and it eventually would be. But with
• 14:44
  Speaker 1: 20 games to go, they might be 18 going down
• 14:46
  Speaker 1: to the last pitch.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: I don't know how you could ease him in. So
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: they did it.
• 14:49
  Speaker 1: They made the move. And, guys, once you make the move,
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: what I just said, you've got to use him. You
• 14:55
  Speaker 1: can't baby him out there with three weeks to go.
• 14:58
  Speaker 3: Yeah, and the other thing, too, I think about, like,
• 15:01
  Speaker 3: when I was playing, there was always, like, if guy.
• 15:04
  Speaker 3: So if we tie the score, you have it. If not,
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: you're in the game. And I just feel like with
• 15:08
  Speaker 3: him especially being a starter, getting the up-downs, I wouldn't
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: be that worried, you know, dry-humping him, as they say,
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: in the bullpen. To me, that would be nothing. It
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: almost would, I feel like, be beneficial to him to
• 15:19
  Speaker 3: get to warm up, get to sit down, kind of, like,
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: catch your breath. Like, you have so many emotions going
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: through your head for your major league debut that I
• 15:26
  Speaker 3: feel like that would have been beneficial for him And
• 15:28
  Speaker 3: you have Sanders, you have Hoppe, you have somebody ready
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: to go if they hit a home run. And that
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: guy goes in the game. And that would be my
• 15:35
  Speaker 3: only critique of that whole thing is that in that
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: spot there, I don't mind putting him in a one run.
• 15:41
  Speaker 3: If they're losing by one, I don't mind him going there.
• 15:43
  Speaker 3: I just feel like the tie game there is just
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: really tough. And as soon as Holliday hits a home run,
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: the other guy goes in and DeLeon sits down. And
• 15:50
  Speaker 3: then you're ready to put him in next time he's
• 15:52
  Speaker 3: available for if you want him to face lefties later
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: in the game. if that makes any sense.
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: No, no, I'm a hundred percent on it. It's just,
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: there's so much emotion that, and look, Steve and I
• 16:09
  Speaker 4: obviously never made an MLB debut. I'm just imagining like,
• 16:12
  Speaker 4: there's so much emotion going into that where you accomplished
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: a lifetime dream. And I'm sure you're dealing with that,
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: with the situation, the pennant race, it, you're a converted
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: starter to reliever that just like, that is just a
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: lot to go into. But Steve, I do get your
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: point in, in saying like, Hey, all of these games matter,
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: you know, that there's, it's going to be tough to
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: find that spot for him where they're up 10, they're
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: down 10, but could he go in, in the sixth inning,
• 16:47
  Speaker 4: you know, following like, I, I don't know. It's, it's,
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: it's tough. I get, I get both. Both sides.
• 16:54
  Speaker 3: Absolutely.
• 16:55
  Speaker 1: Managers are on the spot here with everything they say.
• 16:58
  Speaker 1: They have to talk twice a day. There's going to
• 17:00
  Speaker 1: be comments they make. We can second guess when you
• 17:04
  Speaker 1: do 10 minutes every day for 162 games.
• 17:07
  Speaker 4: Sure.
• 17:07
  Speaker 1: Albert has could have it back. I think he might've said,
• 17:11
  Speaker 1: I will try to get a situation where I can
• 17:14
  Speaker 1: ease this kid in, but we got 22 games to go.
• 17:17
  Speaker 1: Every game is vital. I might not be able to.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 17:23
  Speaker 1: And then everybody would have gotten off his back, Tim,
• 17:25
  Speaker 1: if he worded it that way.
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: Sure, I definitely agree. Even if that quote wasn't like that,
• 17:32
  Speaker 4: I still think we're having a discussion about it. Just like, man,
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: that's a tough spot for a guy making his debut. But,
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: I mean, heck, Steve, we can go back to... Trey
• 17:43
  Speaker 4: Gibson debuting at Yankee State. Like, you know, there are
• 17:47
  Speaker 4: different points of this year. And granted, that was much earlier. And,
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: you know, maybe the gravity of the game, you know,
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: with games remaining, it's not anywhere near. But I get it. It's,
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: you know, it's a tough spot. It's a tough spot.
• 18:03
  Speaker 1: My point is, if you're not ready to pitch him
• 18:05
  Speaker 1: the seventh inning of a tie game, leave him at AAA.
• 18:08
  Speaker 2: Get somebody else.
• 18:09
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I get what you're saying.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: There's no easing.
• 18:14
  Speaker 1: When's the last time they played a 9-2 game or something?
• 18:18
  Speaker 1: So anyway, tough spot for the kid. Glad he made
• 18:21
  Speaker 1: his major league debut. On top of everything you guys said,
• 18:24
  Speaker 1: he's from the Dominican. His family's back home. He's still
• 18:27
  Speaker 1: learning the language. Holy cow. There's just a lot thrown
• 18:31
  Speaker 1: at him. And so I feel for him, and I
• 18:34
  Speaker 1: hope the next time goes better. And I saw that
• 18:38
  Speaker 1: kid pitch at AA in June. He threw a great game.
• 18:42
  Speaker 1: He's got a great slider. We got to see a
• 18:43
  Speaker 1: glimpse of it, and can't wait to see more. Let's
• 18:48
  Speaker 1: move on, on Birdland Territory. Time for On Deck, presented
• 19:09
  Speaker 1: by the Fox One app. And what's on deck? Red
• 19:12
  Speaker 1: Sox at Orioles Thursday night. It will be televised live
• 19:15
  Speaker 1: on Fox. So when you watch the game Thursday night,
• 19:18
  Speaker 1: Fox Network has Red Sox Orioles at Oriole Park at
• 19:21
  Speaker 1: Camden Yards. And, gentlemen, this is a vital series, obviously,
• 19:25
  Speaker 1: made more important probably by what happened in Colorado.
• 19:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, without a doubt. I mean, they– They're at the
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: point now where I think they pretty much need to
• 19:36
  Speaker 3: win every series the rest of the way. It's just
• 19:39
  Speaker 3: gotten themselves in that point, and it's big. Every time
• 19:43
  Speaker 3: you're facing an in-division rival, it's always a big game,
• 19:45
  Speaker 3: and Adley coming back to came yards on top of it.
• 19:48
  Speaker 3: There's going to be a lot of motions there from
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: both sides, and it's a big series, and they've got
• 19:53
  Speaker 3: to go out there. You've just got to think at
• 19:55
  Speaker 3: the minimum split, but you're hoping three out of four
• 19:57
  Speaker 3: in this series, and then here come the Guardians on Monday.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: So this is going to be a good start to
• 20:01
  Speaker 3: the weekend, holiday weekend in Baltimore, and hopefully fans come
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: out and really just get behind these guys because they
• 20:07
  Speaker 3: definitely need it the rest of the way.
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: This isn't hyperbole and we can say prisoner of moment.
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: This is the biggest homestand of the year. And I
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: don't even think it's close when you consider just the
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: magnitude of both of these series. Obviously, starting with the
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: Red Sox and their game is official. They lost to
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: the Mariners eight to three. They're coming in reeling, guys.
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: They've lost six of eight games coming into this. So
• 20:33
  Speaker 4: the Red Sox need to get back on track. Obviously,
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: the Orioles need to get the sour taste out of
• 20:38
  Speaker 4: their mouth. having just lost a series to the Rockies.
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: But I'm looking at this offense, guys, because we know
• 20:46
  Speaker 4: the Red Sox can pitch. And you got Jake Bennett
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: going tomorrow, Ranger Suarez Friday, Sonny Gray Saturday, Peyton Tolley
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: on Sunday. That is a really, really tough four games
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: that this Orioles offense is going to go up against.
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: And we don't know the Orioles starting pitchers yet. They
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: have not listed them. And Do they throw someone in?
• 21:10
  Speaker 4: Is Michael Ferret possibly going to start one of these games?
• 21:13
  Speaker 4: A lot of people are pointing to Sunday. The O's
• 21:16
  Speaker 4: have an open spot, but it's going to be an
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: exciting series, exciting homestand for this team, even with the
• 21:25
  Speaker 4: past two losses, because worst case scenario, guys, they head
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: into tomorrow night and they're two and a half games out.
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: That's still within reach.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: So they couldn't hit the Rocky pitching staff.
• 21:37
  Speaker 1: Now they've got to hit the Red Sox pitching staff, which,
• 21:40
  Speaker 1: by the way, you mentioned the pitchers. So Jake Bennett, ERA,. 327.
• 21:46
  Speaker 1: Whip is.
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: 1036.
• 21:49
  Speaker 1: Left-hander's been tough. Ranger Suarez,. 364. Sonny Graben begging the
• 21:54
  Speaker 1: Orioles to get him for years,. 282. He never listened
• 21:57
  Speaker 1: to me. Hayden Trolley,. 323. That's three lefties out of four.
• 22:01
  Speaker 1: The Orioles are hitting lefties better. And now with Lewis
• 22:04
  Speaker 1: Robert and Mayo and Encarnacion Strand and Alonzo, maybe they're
• 22:10
  Speaker 1: up for the challenge.
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I hope so. I mean, you hope, you know,
• 22:14
  Speaker 3: Jacqueline Hyde offense, you just kind of hope that the good,
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: the good one shows up, I guess. It's just, you
• 22:19
  Speaker 3: just got to hope that they, they, the bats show
• 22:21
  Speaker 3: up at candy yards there. It's obviously a place they're
• 22:23
  Speaker 3: comfortable playing out when they play so many games there
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: and they faced this team before and, If I'm not wrong,
• 22:28
  Speaker 3: I think the last time the Red Sox came in,
• 22:30
  Speaker 3: it's amazing looking back at the series when Alex Corey
• 22:35
  Speaker 3: gets fired. It's just all the mayhem. The Red Sox
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: are done, and it's amazing the flip coin of when
• 22:41
  Speaker 3: they're coming to Camden Yards now. Both teams are in
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: the playoff hunt, and it's an exciting time. It's as
• 22:47
  Speaker 3: close to October baseball in September as you can possibly
• 22:50
  Speaker 3: get this weekend at Camden Yards.
• 22:53
  Speaker 4: I was going to say, this is what you relish.
• 22:55
  Speaker 4: You want to play meaningful games in September and the
• 22:58
  Speaker 4: Orioles are going to play a heck of a lot
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: of meaningful games, especially over these next seven days against
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: teams that are vying for playoff spots. And the Orioles
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: are right there. And look, Stevie, I don't have the
• 23:10
  Speaker 4: numbers up in front of me. I did a segment
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: on the fan probably about a week ago. And I
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: want to say it was mid July. This has been
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: one of the better offenses against left-handed pitching. in all
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: of baseball. They've really turned it around of late. And
• 23:26
  Speaker 4: you think of some of the better hitters against left-handed
• 23:29
  Speaker 4: pitching in that stretch. Kobe, Kobe Mayo, obviously Christian Encarnacion strand, uh,
• 23:35
  Speaker 4: Tyler O'Neill, who unfortunately is on the, uh, injured list,
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: but they had four or five batters in the top
• 23:42
  Speaker 4: 15 and OPS over that month, month and a half stretch.
• 23:46
  Speaker 4: So you hope that that trend continues.
• 23:49
  Speaker 2: It's the Orioles.
• 23:50
  Speaker 1: It's the Red Sox Thursday night on Fox. MLB on
• 23:54
  Speaker 1: Fox is streaming on Fox 1. The race to October
• 23:58
  Speaker 1: starts now. We have your front row seat to the
• 24:00
  Speaker 1: wildest walk-offs. Lights out pitching and clutch plays all season long.
• 24:04
  Speaker 1: Follow every can't-miss matchup as teams battle for a spot
• 24:07
  Speaker 1: in the postseason. Then stream the 2026 World Series live
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: on Fox 1. At home or on the go, live
• 24:14
  Speaker 1: or on demand, never miss a moment.
• 24:16
  Speaker 2: Stream now.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: Start your Fox 1. three-day free trial today at fox1. com.
• 24:23
  Speaker 1: So that will be a fun series, fun homestand coming up.
• 24:27
  Speaker 1: Let's talk about Luis Robert Jr.
• 24:29
  Speaker 2: For a minute. What's your guys' take on that acquisition?
• 24:34
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it sounds like he's going to get
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: a majority of his at-bats against the lefties, and it
• 24:38
  Speaker 3: sounds like they're going to go with their platoon like
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: they've done a lot throughout the year. Playing left field today,
• 24:43
  Speaker 3: maybe that's to show that cows is going to get
• 24:45
  Speaker 3: more time in center field, even against lefties. And if
• 24:48
  Speaker 3: you have to move Robert to center, I feel like
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: you feel really comfortable there with a gold glove caliber outfielder.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: So I think it provides a little bit of pop.
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: And I think that's what they've been kind of lacking
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: here of late. I feel like having just an extra
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: guy in there, even if you put them towards the
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: end of the lineup, that can kind of pop one out,
• 25:04
  Speaker 3: just kind of give, some.
• 25:05
  Speaker 4: Fear of that.
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: The, the bottom of the lineup has done really well
• 25:08
  Speaker 3: at getting on base. And I feel like cows just
• 25:10
  Speaker 3: popped a few homers here or there, but the power
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: I feel like is a little bit lacking towards the
• 25:14
  Speaker 3: bottom of the lineup. So I think he adds some
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: of that too. So I think it's a, it's a
• 25:18
  Speaker 3: very interesting acquisition and I'm curious to see how they're
• 25:21
  Speaker 3: going to use him the rest of the way.
• 25:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I was definitely very surprised when they ended up
• 25:27
  Speaker 4: claiming him because this isn't someone on the minimum. He's
• 25:32
  Speaker 4: going to make $ 5 million, so I don't think they're
• 25:35
  Speaker 4: paying him that to ride the pine. I expect him
• 25:38
  Speaker 4: to play a lot down the stretch, and I see
• 25:42
  Speaker 4: it at low risk, if you want to say, in
• 25:44
  Speaker 4: terms of just money. Low risk, high reward, where Luis Robert,
• 25:49
  Speaker 4: we know a couple years ago, he was one of
• 25:51
  Speaker 4: the game's better players, and injuries, inconsistent play that is
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: plagued him of late, but I appreciate the move from
• 25:59
  Speaker 4: Mike Elias. And he gave a hat tip to David
• 26:03
  Speaker 4: Rubenstein and the ownership group for, for taking on the money.
• 26:06
  Speaker 4: And obviously they shed some salary at the trade deadline,
• 26:10
  Speaker 4: but that is a win now move. That is a
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: move that I hope sent a great message to that
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: clubhouse saying that there is belief that they got a
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: shot at this.
• 26:21
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 26:22
  Speaker 1: Put together some really good games at the end of
• 26:23
  Speaker 1: the Mets tenure. Obviously, this was just the Mets out
• 26:26
  Speaker 1: of contention, saying someone take some money off our hands.
• 26:29
  Speaker 2: Of all teams that do that, the Mets, but they did.
• 26:31
  Speaker 1: So the Orioles added him, 922 OPS and six homers
• 26:35
  Speaker 1: his last 21 games. Of course, 2023, the big year
• 26:39
  Speaker 1: he had, you guys noted, 38 home runs. He won
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: a silver slugger. A few more comments today on Birdland Territory.
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: If the Orioles had won it today, we would have
• 26:53
  Speaker 4: spent a lot of time talking about Trevor Rodgers.
• 26:55
  Speaker 1: We've hardly mentioned him, but six and two thirds, two runs,
• 26:58
  Speaker 1: no walks, 11 strikeouts, a career high, 94 pitches. And
• 27:00
  Speaker 1: his last 13 games, by the way, the Orioles are
• 27:02
  Speaker 1: nine and four, And his ERA is, well, I'm not sure,
• 27:24
  Speaker 1: but I know I can't find.
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: It in my notes, but it's pretty good.
• 27:27
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 27:28
  Speaker 2: It's about three.
• 27:29
  Speaker 1: I remember that. So the guy's really been pitching good.
• 27:31
  Speaker 1: Remember he had an ERA over six in early June.
• 27:34
  Speaker 1: Now it's 430. So his year stats don't look great,
• 27:37
  Speaker 1: but we know better having watched his outings.
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 27:40
  Speaker 3: He's been tremendous for, I think three months now. I
• 27:43
  Speaker 3: think it's been a three month stretch here where you can,
• 27:45
  Speaker 3: he's an ace if at the very least pitching like
• 27:47
  Speaker 3: a number two and it's, Today was a perfect example
• 27:50
  Speaker 3: of that. I mean, the pitch like that at Coors
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: Field is really tough. When you go into an outing,
• 27:56
  Speaker 3: you have no idea what pitches are going to work,
• 27:58
  Speaker 3: what pitches are going to move the way you want
• 28:00
  Speaker 3: it to. But somehow he was able to get everything
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: kind of working. He had a strikeout on a cutter,
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: which he hasn't had many strikeouts on all year, but
• 28:07
  Speaker 3: his forcing was playing really well at the top of
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: the zone. And he was able to ride that for
• 28:11
  Speaker 3: a majority of his strikeouts today. But I mean, just
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: come into the strike zone, he had I think it
• 28:16
  Speaker 3: was over 70% first pitch strikes, I want to say.
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: And it was just, I mean, just getting ahead. And
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: that is the key. It's the key to pitching, but
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: it's the key to pitching well at Coors Field. When
• 28:25
  Speaker 3: you get behind, these hitters can just sit on anything.
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: Bloopers fall in, doubles in the gap. Homer's over, obviously,
• 28:30
  Speaker 3: because of the elevation. But he did a tremendous job
• 28:33
  Speaker 3: today just surrendering those two runs. And you take that
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: in an almost seven-inning outing from any pitcher anytime you
• 28:39
  Speaker 3: pitch at Coors Field.
• 28:41
  Speaker 4: He was great, and he delivered when they really, really
• 28:43
  Speaker 4: needed it because this bullpen has been really, really taxed
• 28:47
  Speaker 4: of late. He was able to give them length. Unfortunately,
• 28:50
  Speaker 4: they played a couple of extra innings to kind of
• 28:52
  Speaker 4: nullify that. But, yeah, Brad, 79% first pitch strikes, 19
• 28:58
  Speaker 4: of 24. And it was that four-seamer that he really
• 29:01
  Speaker 4: had working, and that pitch is what really turned his
• 29:04
  Speaker 4: season around. He got 10 swings and misses. on that four-seamer,
• 29:09
  Speaker 4: six strikeouts on that four-seamer. There was one point in
• 29:12
  Speaker 4: the game where he struck out six consecutive batters. The
• 29:16
  Speaker 4: 11 strikeouts were a career high for Trevor Rodgers. So
• 29:21
  Speaker 4: he was fantastic today, fantastic.
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah, 53% four-seamers.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: He leaned heavily on the fastball, even though Colorado's a
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: pretty good fastball-hitting team, as Kevin and Ben noted on
• 29:33
  Speaker 1: the telecast. And he gave the Orioles a great outing.
• 29:35
  Speaker 1: 11 strikeouts, no walks, no Oriole pitcher had done that
• 29:39
  Speaker 1: since Corbin. Burns opening day 2024, but it ends.
• 29:43
  Speaker 2: In a bitter, brutal defeat.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: And now the Orioles flying home have to regroup when
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: they get home in the middle of the night, sleep
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: a few hours and go play the Red Sox on Thursday.
• 29:55
  Speaker 1: So we'll be back and reconvene in a couple of
• 29:57
  Speaker 1: days with more This homestand, it won't be dull. It'll
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: be the opposite of that. Red Sox in town. Guardians
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: in town. It's going to be fun, those fans. So
• 30:07
  Speaker 1: stay with us. Keep subscribing and following our show. And
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: we'll see you next time with another edition of Birdland Territory.
• 30:15
  Speaker 3: If you made it this far, you'll love this next video.
• 30:18
  Speaker 3: Check it out right here. And make sure you subscribe
• 30:20
  Speaker 3: to Birdland Territory for more Orioles coverage like this multiple
• 30:23
  Speaker 3: times a week.