BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
O’s AVOID THE SWEEP: The Orioles beat the Astros yesterday, 5-4, to avoid a three-game sweep…Adley Rutschman hit his first career leadoff home run and Ryan Mountcastle homered for the second time in three games…Dean Kremer worked his 11th quality start of the year after allowing two runs in 7.0 innings to earn his 11th win, tied for second in the AL and fifth in MLB along with teammate Kyle Gibson.
Baltimore joins Tampa Bay (Eflin & McClanahan) and Texas (Eovaldi & Scherzer) as the only teams to have multiple players with at least 11 wins this season, though nine of Scherzer’s wins came with the Mets.
The Birds are 41-11 (.788) when scoring first, the best record in MLB.
The O’s improved to 21-11 (.656) in one-run games, the best record in the AL and third-best in MLB; they are 35-18 (.660) in games decided by two runs or less and 45-25 (.648) in games decided by three or fewer runs, the best such records in MLB.
Rutschman, though coming as the designated hitter, became the first primary catcher in team history (since 1954) to hit a leadoff home run; no player had ever done so for the O’s in a season where they appeared in any game at catcher.
SWEEPLESS IN BALTIMORE: With yesterday’s win, the Orioles have now gone 76 consecutive series of at least two decisions (no ties) without being swept…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the most consecutive series without getting swept in Orioles history (since 1954), ahead of 46 consecutive sweepless series from 1971-72…It is the fifth-longest such streak in MLB history, trailing the 1942-44 St. Louis Cardinals (124), 1906-09 Chicago Cubs (115), 1903-05 New York Giants (105), and 1922-24 New York Yankees (83)…The Birds have not been swept in a series of at least two games since May 13-15, 2022 at Detroit (0-3), and have not been swept at home in a series of at least two games since August 27-29, 2021 vs. Tampa Bay (0-3).
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won eight of their last 11 games, nine of 13, 22 of 31, and 23 of 34…At 71-44 (.617), the Orioles have the best record in the AL and second-best in MLB (see box at right)…The Braves (72-41, .637) are the only other team with at least 70 wins and a .600 winning percentage this season…The Birds are 133-93 (.588) since June 2022, the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in MLB during that time…The team had a season-best eight-game winning streak from July 5-16, Baltimore’s longest since a 10-gamer from July 3-13, 2022.
The O’s hold a 3.0-game lead over the Rays in the AL East and a 3.0-game lead over the Rangers for the best record in the AL.
The Orioles have two winning streaks of at least seven games this year; Atlanta (4x), San Francisco (2x), and Tampa Bay (2x) are the only other teams with multiple win streaks of at least seven games this season.
MOUNT UP: Ryan Mountcastle owns a season-long 12-game hitting streak since July 28, the longest by an O’s batter this season…Entering today’s games, it is tied for the second-longest active streak in the AL and tied for the third-longest active streak in MLB…His last longer streak was his career-long 13-gamer from July 28 to August 21, 2021…Mountcastle also owns a career-high-tying 17-game on-base streak since July 21, also done from July 28 to August 26, 2021…It is tied for the second-longest active on-base streak in the AL and tied for the fifth-longest in MLB…He is slashing .408/.463/.676 (29-for-71) with seven doubles, four homers, 15 runs scored, 14 RBI, nine walks, and one stolen base in 24 games while reaching base safely in all 20 of his starts and tallying a hit in 19 of those 20 starts since returning from the Injured List on July 9.
He slugged a 472-foot, two-run blast in the first inning Tuesday night, marking the longest home run hit by an Orioles player at Oriole Park in the Statcast era since 2015) and the second-longest Statcast-era home run at Camden Yards overall, trailing only a 474-foot homer by Houston’s Carlos Correa on August 10, 2019; with an exit velocity of 113.1 mph, it was also tied for the hardest-hit homer of his career.
Mountcastle went 11-for-13 with four doubles, five runs scored, six RBI, three walks, and one stolen base during the four-game set in Toronto from July 31 to August … The 11 hits are tied with Merv Rettenmund (September 24-26, 1971 at Cleveland) for the most in a four-game series since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954.
TOP GUNN: Gunnar Henderson paces AL rookies in bWAR and triples and ranks among the top in a variety of statistical categories (see box at right).
AGAINST SEATTLE: The Orioles and Mariners are meeting for the second time this season… The Birds took two of three games at Camden Yards from June 23-25…Baltimore dropped two of three games at T-Mobile Park last year from June 27-29 and at Oriole Park from May 31 to June 2.
O THE PLACES YOU’LL GO: The Orioles begin a nine-game, 10-day road trip tonight with three games each in Seattle (August 11-13), San Diego (August 14-16), and Oakland (August 18-20)…The O’s have scheduled off days on Thursday, August 17 and Monday, August 21 before beginning a nine-game homestand from August 22-30…The trip is tied for Baltimore’s second-longest of the season with another nine-game, 10-day tour from September 1-10, which features three games each in Arizona (September 1-3), Los Angeles-AL (September 4-6), and Boston (September 8-10)…Baltimore’s only longer trip this season was a 10-game, 11-day expedition from April 27 to May 7, during which the O’s went 6-4 in Detroit (3-1), Kansas City (2-1), and Atlanta (1-2).
Baltimore is 35-21 (.625) on the road this season, tied with Atlanta for the best road record in MLB while the 35 road wins are tied for the most in MLB with the Astros, Blue Jays, and Braves.
ROSTER MOVES: The Orioles today reinstated outfielder Cedric Mullins (right adductor groin strain) from the 10-day Injured List and recalled left-handed pitcher Nick Vespi from Triple-A Norfolk…In corresponding moves, outfielder Ryan McKenna and right-handed pitcher Joey Krehbiel were optioned to the Tides with McKenna’s move coming after yesterday’s game.
SCORING CHANGES: MLB has made the following scoring change affecting the Orioles:
In the seventh inning on August 1 at Toronto, Jorge Mateo reached base on what was originally ruled a single…The ruling has been changed to an error on Matt Chapman and all three runs scored by the O’s that inning are now unearned.
RISING TIDE: MLB Pipeline and Baseball America both released updated Top 100 prospects lists in the last few days following the additions of the 2023 First-Year Player Draft selections… Jackson Holliday, the No. 1 overall pick by the Orioles in 2022, is the top prospect by both oulets…Colton Cowser (MLB No. 14, BA No. 12), Heston Kjerstad (MLB No. 25, BA No. 50), Coby Mayo (MLB No. 28, BA No. No. 27), Samuel Basallo (MLB No. 50, BA No. 49), and Joey Ortiz (MLB No. 55, BA No. 72) are all ranked in the Top 100 by both publications while Jordan Westburg appears at No. 33 on Baseball America’s list after graduating from Pipeline’s list…
Enrique Bradfield Jr., who the Orioles picked 17th overall in the First-Year Player Draft this year, debuts on Pipeline’s O’s Top 30 at No. 8.
STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE GIBSON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 25th start of the season, 15th on the road, and 15th career start against the Mariners tonight…Became the first O’s pitcher in club history (since 1954) to start and win each of his three first appearances with the team…Started a season 4-0 for the second time in his career, joining a 6-0 start with Texas in 2021; became the fifth Oriole starting pitcher since 2004 to begin a year 4-0, joining John Means (4-0 in 2021), Bud Norris (4-0 in 2013), Wei-Yin Chen (4-0 in 2012), and Erik Bedard (4-0 in 2006)…The O’s signed Gibson to a one-year contract on December 5, 2022…He has also spent time with the Twins, Phillies, and Rangers across 10 Major League seasons.
LAST TIME OUT: Secured his 100th career victory and 11th of the season on August 5 vs. New York-NL after allowing three runs on four hits (1 HR) and one walk with nine strikeouts in a season-high-tying 7.0 innings pitched…Marked his fourth straight quality start, his longest such streak since another four-gamer from July 27 to August 16, 2022 with Philadelphia; his 13 quality starts this season lead the Orioles…Punched out at least eight hitters for the fourth time this season and for the third time in his last six starts (last: 8, 7/20 at TB)…Threw 98 pitches, 60 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE MARINERS: Making his 15th career start against the Mariners tonight…Dealt the loss in his last start against Seattle on June 23 at Oriole Park… Allowed five runs on seven hits (1 HR) with three walks and four strikeouts in 3.0 innings, his shortest start of the season…Threw 86 pitches, 46 strikes…Owns a 4-5 record with a 4.21 ERA (36 ER/77.0 IP) and five quality starts in his 14 career outings against the Mariners.
CAREER AGAINST THE AL WEST: Is slated to make his 62nd career start against the AL West…His last start against the AL West came against Seattle on June 23 at Oriole Park…Sports a 20-18 record with a 3.96 ERA (155 ER/352.2 IP) and 33 quality starts in 61 career outings.
HIGH QUALITY: Gibson has logged four straight quality starts, his longest such streak of the season and longest since a four-gamer from July 27 to August 16, 2022 with Philadelphia…Entering play today, his 13 quality starts lead the Orioles and are tied for seventh-most in the American League.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN: Gibson earned his 11th win in his last outing on August 5 vs. the Mets, his 24th start of the season…Entering tonight’s game, his 11 victories are tied for second in the AL and tied for fifth in MLB…Did not win his 10th decision in 2022 until his 28th start on September 14 at Miami with Philadelphia.
CLUB 100: Gibson recorded his 100th career win on August 5 against the Mets and his 100th strikeout of the season in the second inning on July 25 at Philadelphia…He is one of four MLB pitchers to record 100+ punchouts in nine of the last 10 seasons, along with Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, and Max Scherzer.
HOW SWEEP IT IS: Opposing batters are slashing .146/.160/.208 (14-for-96) with two home runs against Gibson’s sweeper this season…Has recorded 40 strikeouts via
the offspeed pitch, tied for the fourth-most in MLB…Last season, hitters slashed .214/.214/.357 (6-for-28) with two extra-base hits (2B, HR) against his sweeper.
HOMER (UN)HAPPY: Gibson has allowed just 12 home runs in 140.0 innings across his 234starts; entering play today, he ranks among qualified pitchers in HR/9 (5th, 0.77)…Did not allow a homer in five straight starts from May 14 to June 6, his longest such streak since keeping opponents in the yard in seven straight outings from September 26, 2020 to April 29, 2021 with Texas.
SEATTLE MARINERS NOTES:
TONIGHT’S TILT…the Mariners continue a 5-game homestand (2-0) with the first of 3 games against the Baltimore Orioles…Seattle opened the homestand with a 2-game series sweep of the San Diego Padres (2-0)…following Sunday’s series finale against Baltimore, the Mariners will embark on a 10-game road trip against the Kansas City Royals (4 G, Aug. 14-17), Houston Astros (3 G, Aug. 18-20) and Chicago White Sox (3 G, Aug. 21-23)…tonight’s game will be televised live on ROOT SPORTS and broadcast live on Seattle Sports (710 AM).
ODDS AND ENDS…the Mariners beat the Padres by a 6-1 score on Wednesday to secure the 2-game series sweep…the Mariners have won a season-high 7 consecutive games and are 9-1 over their last 10, 12-2 over their last 14, 15-4 over their last 19 and 24-10 over their last 34 games, all season-best stretches…the Mariners are 47-18 when scoring at least 4 runs and 15-34 when scoring 3-or-fewer…the Mariners are 33-26 at T-Mobile Park and 29-26 on the road this season…they are 21-19 in day games and 41-33 at night.
- Climbing The Ladder – Seattle is a season-high 10 games above the .500 mark.
- Where We Left It – Following the last meeting between Seattle and Baltimore on June 25, the Mariners held a record 37-39 (.478), trailing 4 teams for the third AL Wild Card Spot (4.5 games behind)…since then (6/26-c), the Mariners have gone 25-13 (best in the American League) to improve to 62-52 (.544) on the season…Seattle enters today’s action trailing only Toronto for the final American League Wild Card spot (1.5 games behind).
- Big Moments for Big Dumper – Cal Raleigh hit a 2-run home run to give the Mariners the lead in the 8th inning of Wednesday’s game, marking his 3rd-career go-ahead home run in the 8th inning-or-later…31 of Cal’s 48 career home runs have come in situations where the game is tied or either team leads by 1 run.
- Playing ‘Catch’-Up – Mariners catchers rank tied for 3rd in MLB in fWAR (3.9)…Cal Raleigh has 19 home runs and 49 RBI…Tom Murphy is batting .298 with an .893 OPS in 154 plate appearances.
CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP…the Mariners have won a season-high 7 consecutive games (8/2-c) for the first time since they won 7 consecutive games from Aug. 28-Sept. 4, 2022…during Seattle’s 7-game winning streak, Mariners batters are hitting .274 (65×237) with 12 doubles, 1 triple, 10 home runs, 28 walks and 6 stolen bases, while reaching base at a .357 clip and slugging .460 with a .817 OPS…Mariners pitchers hold a 2.53 ERA (18 ER, 64.0 IP) with 15 walks and 73 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .183 (42×229) batting average against…Seattle is averaging 4.86 runs/game during the winning streak, while holding opponents to 2.57 runs/game…with a win tonight, Seattle’s 8-game winning streak would be its longest since winning 14 consecutive games from July 2-17, 2022.
TEAM EFFORT…during Seattle’s current 7-game winning streak (8/2-c), Seattle has 7 players batting above .300: Dylan Moore (.400/6×15), Tom Murphy (.400/6×15), Cade Marlowe (.357/5×14), Julio Rodríguez (.357/10×28), Teoscar Hernández (.321/9×28) and J.P. Crawford (.308/8×26)…during that span (8/2-c), Moore leads the Mariners and ranks 2nd in MLB with a 1.337 OPS (min. 15 PA), trailing only Wander Franco-TB (1.357) and ranking ahead of Corey Seager-TEX (1.330).
PLAYING THEIR BEST BASEBALL…the Mariners have won 7-consecutive series, beginning with a 3-game set vs. Toronto from June 21-23…the Mariners have also won 9 of their last 11 series, owning an 9-1-1 series record since June 30…Seattle took 2 of 3 vs. Tampa Bay (6/30-7/2), 2 of 3 at San Francisco (7/3-7/5) and 3 of 4 at Houston (7/6-7/9) heading into the All-Star Break…the Mariners lost 2 of 3 vs. Detroit (7/14-7/16) and split a 4-game series vs. Minnesota (7/17-7/20)…in their last 6 series, they have won 2 of 3 vs. Toronto (7/21-7/23), 2 of 3 at Minnesota (7/24-7/26), 2 of 3 at Arizona (7/28-7/30), 2 of 3 vs. Boston (7/31-8/2), swept 4 games at Los Angeles-AL (8/3-8/6) and swept 2 games vs. San Diego (8/8-9).
BULLPEN BULLIES…the Mariners bullpen has not allowed more than 1 run in a game over 13 consecutive contests dating back to July 26…during the 13-game stretch, the Mariners ‘pen is 6-1 with a 1.31 ERA (6 ER, 41.1 IP) with 11 walks and 43 strikeouts, while holding opponents to a .182 (27×148) batting average against…the 1.31 ERA by the Mariners bullpen during that span (7/26-c) is best in the Majors by a wide margin, ranking ahead of the Blue Jays (2.57 ERA) and Nationals (2.75 ERA) bullpens…Matt Brash (1.08 ERA) leads Mariners relievers with 9 appearances since July 26, while 3 Mariners have yet to allow a run in that span: Justin Topa (5.1 IP), Gabe Speier (5.1 IP) and Tayler Saucedo (4.1 IP).
J-ROD’s NO FLY ZONE…Julio Rodríguez leads all Major League outfielders with 12 Outs Above Average this season, ranking ahead of Luis Robert Jr.-CWS (10) and Fernando Tatis Jr.-SD (10)…according to Baseball Savant, Julio also leads all outfielders with 11 runs prevented this season, ahead of Robert Jr. (9) and Tatis Jr. (9)…Julio has converted 2-of-15 chances on 5-star outs (0-25% catch probability), 6-of-9 chances on 4-star outs (26-50%) and 20-of-22 chances on 3-star outs (51-75%)…overall this season, Julio has made only 2 errors in 256 total chances for a .992 fielding percentage, an improvement from his 6 errors in 366 total chances during the 2022 season (.984 fielding percentage).
YOUNG ARMS…while the Mariners overall pitching staff has been stellar this season, ranking 2nd in fWAR (15.6), tied for 1st in strikeout-to-walk ratio (3.56) and 2nd in walks-per-9 innings (2.59), Seattle’s young pitchers have been impactful in particular…Mariners pitchers age 26-or-younger lead the Majors in fWAR (10.6) by a wide margin, ranking ahead of Cleveland (7.2) and Miami (7.1)…they also lead MLB in innings pitched (544.2), strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.61), WHIP (1.09) and walks-per-9 innings (2.03)…George Kirby (3.2 fWAR) and Logan Gilbert (3.0) are the 2 best pitchers age 26-or-younger in the American League.
HOMESTAND FIT FOR A ‘KING’…the Mariners continue their 5-game homestand tonight with the first day of Félix Hernández Hall of Fame Induction Weekend…the weekend’s festivities include tonight’s Félix Hernández Mariners Hall of Fame Fireworks Night, Félix Hernández Mariners Hall of Fame Induction Night on Saturday, Aug. 12 and Félix Hernández Mariners Hall of Fame Bobblehead Day on Sunday, Aug. 13.
AS YOU KNOW…Cal Raleigh hit his 19th home run of the season in the Mariners 6-1 win over the Padres on Wednesday, and…AS YOU MAY KNOW…with 27 HR in 2022 and 19 HR so far in 2023, Cal leads all catchers in MLB with 46 home runs since the beginning of the 2022 season, ranking ahead of Salvador Perez-KC (40) and Will Smith-LAD (38), but…DID YOU KNOW?…Cal’s 46 home runs since the beginning of 2022, are already the most in club history by a catcher over a 2-year span?…he surpasses Mike Zunino who hit 45 home runs between the 2017 & 2018 seasons…with his next home run, Cal will join Zunino as the only other catcher in Mariners history to record back-to-back 20 home run seasons.
MARINERS STARTER – RHP LUIS CASTILLO
2023 MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 7-7 3.21 23/23 137.1 110 57 49 34 155 22
Home 5-3 2.79 13/13 77.1 56 27 24 18 96 11
Road 2-4 3.75 10/10 60.0 54 30 25 16 59 11
vs. BAL 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Career MLB Breakdown:
W-L ERA G/GS IP H R ER BB SO HR
Overall 55-62 3.49170/170989.0 822428 384 3371086 117
Home 32-29 3.05 88/88 533.1 410205 181 160 619 61
Road 23-33 4.01 82/82 455.2 412223 203 177 467 56
vs. BAL 0-0 0.00 0/0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0
ABOUT CASTILLO…
- The 30-year-old right-hander is set to make his 24th start of the season, 1st against the Orioles…he is also making his 172nd Major League start and 1st career start against Baltimore.
- Has been named an All-Star in 2019 and 2022.
- Originally signed as an international free agent by the San Francisco Giants on 12/23/11.
- Made MLB debut on 6/23/17 vs. Washington (w/ Cincinnati)
- Signed a 5-year contract extension with the Seattle Mariners on Sept. 24, 2022 after being acquired in a trade with Cincinnati on July 30, 2022.
LAST TIME OUT…ND in last start on 8/4 at LAA…tossed 6.0 scoreless innings and allowed 7 runs on 10 hits (3 HR) and 1 walk with 6 strikeouts.
AND THEN THERE WERE TWO…will be making his first career start against the Baltimore Orioles…after today there will be only two teams left that Castillo has yet to pitch against: Cincinnati and Seattle the two teams he has played for during his career.
HEY NOW, YOU’RE AN ALL-STAR…was named to his third All-Star team on July 2 (also: 2019, 2022)…he was joined by teammates George Kirby and Julio Rodríguez.
INNINGS EATER…has made 6 starts this season where he has pitched at least 7.0 innings…his 6 starts of 7.0+ innings pitched are the tied for the 3rd most in a season in his career (also: 2022)…his career high in games with 7.0+ IP is 9 which he achieved in 2019 as a member of the Cincinnati Reds.
SEASON-HIGH PUNCHIES…set a new season-high in strikeouts with 11 against the Twins on July 19….this marked the 3rd time this season and the 18th time in Castillo’s career that he has recorded 10+ strikeouts in a game (last: 6/6 vs. LAA)…his career-high in strikeouts in a single game is 13 which he achieved on 8/5/19 vs. LAA.
1,000 AND COUNTING…recorded his 1,000th career strikeout in his outing on 5/22
against Oakland after striking out Shea Langeliers to begin the 5th inning…Castillo finished the night with 8 strikeouts.
STILL ROLLING…has allowed 34 walks while striking out 155 batters in 23 starts this season…his 34 walks are tied for the 8th fewest in the majors…his 155 strikeouts on the season rank tied 7th in the majors…Castillo’s 4.56 strikeout-to-walk ratio ranks 7th in the majors among pitchers with at least 23 starts.
OFF TO A GOOD START…his 199 strikeouts through his first 30 Mariners starts are the 2nd most in Mariners history through a pitchers first 30 starts…he ranks
behind Robbie Ray (201).
MAKING THEM EARN IT…has allowed 49 earned runs through 23 starts this season which is the 5th fewest in the Major Leagues…his 3.21 ERA (49 ER, 137.1 IP) ranks tied 8th in the Major Leagues among qualified pitchers…he is tied with Dane Dunning-TEX.
KEEPING THE BASES CLEAN…has allowed 154 runners to reach base safely through 23 starts this season which is the 2nd fewest in the Major Leagues behind Logan Gilbert (146)…he also ranks among Major League leaders (min. 100.0 IP) in opponents average (8th, .214/110×514) and WHIP (9th, 1.049).
DOMINATE THE ZONE…recorded 41 strikeouts in July which matched his career-high for strikeouts for that month…he also struck out 41 batters in July 2021…his career-high in strikeouts in a single month is 50 which he achieved in March/April 2019…Castillo has now recorded at least 30 strikeouts in each month this season…this marks the second time in his career where he has recorded 30+ strikeouts in each month he has pitched in a season.
KEEPING THEM IN THE YARD…gave up his first home run of the season on 4/28, breaking a 5-game span of allowing no home runs…this was his longest span of games to start a season without giving up a home run in his career.
