BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
OPENING ACT: The Orioles began their 70th season with a 10-9 win on Thursday afternoon against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
The Orioles improved to 45-25 overall and 13-12 on the road on Opening Day in the franchise’s history (since 1954); Baltimore has won 10 of their last 13 Opening Days, including wins in eight straight season openers from 2011-18.
The temperature at first pitch was 38 degrees Fahrenheit; according to STATS, that is the second-coldest game-time temperature in an O’s season opener since 1987, behind the 37-degree opener on April 2, 2021 at Boston.
Marked the third time in the last four seasons that the O’s opened the season against the Sox, along with 2021 (W, 3-0) and 2020 (L, 13-2); both of those games took place in Boston.
It was the fifth time that the O’s opened their season at Fenway Park (2021, 2020, 1966, and 1956).
Baltimore and Boston have squared off on Opening Day 11 times since 1954, with the Orioles holding an 8-3 advantage (5-1 in Baltimore and 3-2 at Boston).
STARTING WITH A BANG: The Orioles scored 10+ runs on Opening Day for the first time since April 6, 2009 vs. New York-AL (10)…Their 15 hits in the season opener are tied for the second-most in team history (16, 4/5/82 vs. KC) and are the most since they also had 15 on March 31, 2003 vs. Cleveland.
WHAT A RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman went 5-for-5 with a home run, a run scored, four RBI, and a walk in his first Opening Day action…The five hits, four RBI, and six times reaching base safely all marked career highs.
Became the first player in O’s history to reach base safely six times on Opening Day, and the eighth MLB player to do so since at least 1901, per Stathead (see chart at right); became the first catcher to reach base safely six times in a game since New York-NL’s Kevin Plawecki on August 16, 2018 (G1) at Philadelphia.
Became the first O’s catcher to homer on Opening Day since Matt Wieters on April 2, 2013 at Tampa Bay, as well as the first O’s catcher to record five hits in a game since Wieters on August 14, 2016 at San Francisco.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, he is the first player to go 5-for-5 (or better) with at least four RBI on Opening Day in MLB history; he’s just the third player to go 5-for-5 and record multiple RBI on Opening Day, along with Hall of Famers Billy Herman and Babe Ruth.
RUNNIN’ WILD: Jorge Mateo (2 SB), Cedric Mullins (2 SB), and Adam Frazier (1 SB) combined to swipe five bases in Baltimore’s season opener…Marked the first time since June 24, 2022 at Chicago-AL (also 5) that the O’s stole five bags in a game…The five stolen bases are the most in a season opener in Orioles history, surpassing the previous record of three steals (3x, last: 4/2/01 vs. BOS)…Baltimore’s five stolen bases are tied for the fourth-most in MLB on Opening Day since at least 1901, per Stathead, and are the most since the Cincinnati Reds also had five on April 1, 1997 vs. Colorado.
ROSTER BREAKDOWN: The Orioles opened the 2023 season with 13 pitchers and 13 position players on the active roster…Six players made their first career Opening Day roster: Kyle Bradish, Logan Gillaspie, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, Kyle Stowers, and Terrin Vavra…Fifteen of the 26 players were on Baltimore’s Opening Day roster in 2022…James McCann begins the season on the 10-day Injured List, Mychal Givens and Dillon Tate begin the year on the 15-day Injured List, and John Means begins the year on the 60-day Injured List.
THE SKIPPER: Manager Brandon Hyde returns for his fifth season…In 2022, he led the O’s to an 83-79 record, his first winning season as manager and the club’s first winning campaign since 2016…He was named the Baseball America MLB Manager of the Year and was voted the Sporting News American League Manager of the Year by fellow AL managers…He finished second in voting for the Baseball Writers’ Association of America (BBWAA) American League Manager of the Year award…Hyde was named the 20th manager in Orioles history on December 14, 2018.
NEW NUMBER, WHO DIS?: Several members of the 2022 Orioles team will have new jersey numbers for the 2023 season: Kyle Bradish (No. 56 in 2022) is now No. 39…Kyle Stowers switches from No. 83 to No. 28…Terrin Vavra switches from No. 77 to No. 23…Additionally, Offensive Strategy Coach Cody Asche will wear No. 61 after wearing No. 63 in Spring Training.
RISING TIDE: The Orioles are ranked as the No. 1 farm system by MLB Pipeline…Marks the fourth consecutive time between the preseason and midseason lists that the O’s are in the top spot… Since Pipeline began ranking systems in 2015, only one other organization has claimed the top spot four times in a row, and that was the Padres (2018 pre/mid, 2019 pre/mid)…Baltimore is also ranked as the No. 1 farm system by ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel, as well as in Baseball America’s preseason rankings for the first time since the publication began their Organizational Talent Rankings in 1984…The Orioles have nine prospects in ESPN’s Top 100 (see chart at right), eight in the Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, and MLB Pipeline rankings, and six according to FanGraphs…Gunnar Henderson enters the season as the No. 1 overall prospect by Baseball America, Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, FanGraphs, and MLB Pipeline.
STARTING PITCHER – #64 DEAN KREMER RHP
QUICK HITS: Made a career-high 22 appearances (21 GS) in 2022, 11 appearances at home (10 GS), and 11 on the road…Made six starts of 5.0-ormore scoreless innings, tied for seventh-most in the AL.
AGAINST BOSTON: Went 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA (8 ER/16.0 IP) in three starts against the Red Sox last season…Made two starts at Fenway Park in which he went 0-2 with a 5.91 ERA (7 ER/10.2 IP)…In five career starts against Boston, Kremer is 0-4 with a 6.85 ERA (18 ER/23.2 IP).
AGAINST THE AL EAST: Made 10 appearances (9 GS) against AL East opponents last season; went 1-5 with a 3.90 ERA (24 ER/55.1 IP) against AL East foes, including 1-2 with a 4.61 ERA (14 ER/27.1 IP) in five road starts… His lone win against the AL East last year came on August 16 at Toronto, his first win against an AL East opponent since his MLB debut on September 6, 2020 vs. New York-AL.
NIGHT OWL: Went 6-5 with a 2.66 ERA (27 ER/91.1 IP) in 15 night appearances (14 GS) in 2022, compared to 2-2 with a 4.76 ERA (18 ER/34.0 IP) in seven day tarts.
ON THE ROAD: Went 5-3 with a 3.63 ERA (25 ER/62.0 IP) and a .285 (68-for239) opponent average in 11 starts on the road in 2022…In 19 career road starts, has gone 5-8 with a 5.03 ERA (52 ER/93.0 IP) and a .285 (103-for-361) opponent average.
2022 HIGHLIGHTS: Kremer made 22 appearances (21 GS) last season, finishing the year with an 8-7 record…Pitched to a 3.23 ERA (45 ER/125.1 IP) with 87 strikeouts…Made the start for the O’s in their 5-3 win at the Little League Classic on August 21 vs. Boston; did not factor in the decision after allowing one run on five hits with two walks and four strikeouts over 5.1 innings…Tossed his first career shutout and complete game on September 23 vs. Houston, allowing four hits and two walks with six strikeouts over a career-high 9.0 innings; marked the first shutout by an O’s pitcher since LHP John Means threw a no-hitter on May 5, 2021 at Seattle; was one of 16 players in MLB to throw a shutout in 2022 and joined RHP Jordan Lyles (9/21 vs. DET) as the only O’s pitchers with a complete game during the season… Allowed 11 home runs in 125.1 innings for a 0.79 HR/9, the ninth-lowest in the AL (min. 125.0 IP), compared to 17 home runs in 53.2 innings in 2021 for a 2.85 HR/9, the highest in the majors (min. 50.0 IP)
LEAN, DEAN, FIGHTING MACHINE: Had his career-high scoreless streak snapped at 22.2 innings on July 4 vs. Texas; according to Elias Sports Bureau and STATS, he does not get credit for the two outs he recorded in the fifth inning…Marks the longest scoreless streak by an Orioles starter since Mike Mussina pitched 27.0 scoreless innings from September 21, 1995 to April 2, 1996…The last Orioles pitcher with a scoreless streak of at least 22.2 innings was Steve Johnson, who tossed 25.1 scoreless frames across eight games (three starts) from August 25 to September 29, 2012.
2023 SPRING TRAINGING: Kremer went 1-2 with a 4.82 ERA (10 ER/18.2 IP) in five Grapefruit League appearances (4 GS) in 2023, his fourth Major League Spring Training.
BOSTON RED SOX:
AND WE’RE OFF: Boston began its 123rd AL season with a 10-9 loss to the Orioles on Thursday…The Red Sox fell to 59-63-1 all-time on Opening Day (excluding G2 of doubleheaders in 1903, 1948, and 1982). The Sox have lost on Opening Day in each of the last 3 seasons, including 1-run losses in each of the last 2 (6-5 walk-off loss in 11 innings on 4/8/22 at NYY). Thursday marked the 1st ever regular season home game at Fenway Park during the month of March. Thursday marked the 45th time that the Red Sox have opened the regular season at home (25-20), including the 42nd at Fenway Park (22-20).
OPENING ACT: The Red Sox scored 9 runs in Thursday’s loss to the Orioles, tied for 4th-most by any team on 2023 Opening Day (TEX-11, BAL-10, STL-9)…It matches their 2nd-highest run total on Opening Day since 2003 (13 runs in 2020, 9 runs in 2010). Alex Verdugo tripled in the Sox’ 1st plate appearance of 2023, becoming the 3rd player ever to triple in the Sox’ 1st plate appearance of a season…He joined Rabbit Warstler (1931 at NYY) and Ossie Vitt (1921 at WSH).
FIRST IMPRESSIONS: In the last 22 seasons (2001-22), teams that go on to win the World Series are 11-11 on Opening Day…In 3 of their last 4 World Series seasons, the Red Sox lost on Opening Day (2004, ‘07, ‘18). In 2021, the Sox became the 31st team to reach the Postseason despite losing its first 3 games of the regular season (started 0-3 vs. BAL).
SETTING SALE: Seven-time All-Star Chris Sale will make his first start of 2023 today…It will mark his first start at Fenway Park since 9/22/21 vs. NYM. From 2012-18, Sale finished no worse than 6th in AL Cy Young Award voting each season…He is the only pitcher ever to finish in the top 6 in AL Cy Young Award voting in as many as 7 consecutive years. Sale has averaged 11.07 SO/9.0 IP during his career, the highest rate in the Live Ball Era (min. 1,000 IP).
AT THE HELM: Alex Cora returns for his 5th season as manager of the Red Sox (2018-19, ‘21-23)…He has led the Sox to a 362-287 (.558) record, the 3rd-highest win percentage in franchise history (min. 500 games managed). Cora ranks 9th in Red Sox history in managerial wins (see table on right).
THE NEW GUYS: Eleven members of the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster or injured list were not in the organization during the 2022 season (see below). 6 players made their first career Opening Day roster: 1B Triston Casas, RHP Zack Kelly, RHP Kaleb Ort, RHP Josh Winckowski, C Connor Wong, and OF Masataka Yoshida.
RED SOX OFF-SEASON ACQUISITIONS ON OPENING DAY ROSTER OR INJURED LIST
Player Acquired Date
LHP Joely Rodriguez Free Agent 11/23
RHP Chris Martin Free Agent 12/8
RHP Kenley Jansen Free Agent 12/13
OF Masataka Yoshida Free Agent 12/15
RHP Wyatt Mills Trade with KC 12/16
INF Justin Turner Free Agent 1/6
RHP Corey Kluber Free Agent 1/12
OF Raimel Tapia Minor League Free Agent 1/21
OF Adam Duvall Free Agent 1/24
INF Adalberto Mondesi Trade with KC 1/24
LHP Richard Bleier Trade with MIA 1/30
BATTLE TESTED: Of the 26 players on the Red Sox’ Opening Day roster, 8 have won a World Series title: Ryan Brasier (BOS), Rafael Devers (BOS), Chris Sale (BOS), Kiké Hernández (LAD), Kenley Jansen (LAD), Justin Turner (LAD), Adam Duvall (ATL), and Chris Martin (ATL).
SOX & O’S: This is the 3rd time in the last 4 years the Red Sox have opened their regular season with a series against the Orioles (14th time overall)…This is the 5th time the Sox have opened vs. BAL at home (also 1956, ‘66, 2020, ‘21). The Red Sox have won 5 of their last 7 games vs. BAL, beginning 9/10/22…They are 65-41 (.613) against the O’s since the start of 2017.
MACHO MAN: Masataka Yoshida became the first position player born in Japan to play for the Red Sox on Opening Day…The only other Japanese-born position player in Red Sox history is Dave Roberts, who joined the team during the 2004 season. Yoshida batted 4th in his MLB debut on Thursday (2-for-4, R, RBI, HBP)…He became the 1st Red Sox player to hit from the 4th spot in the order in his MLB debut since Mauro Gómez on 5/13/12 vs. CLE. Each of Yoshida’s 4 at-bats on Thursday ended in a hard-hit ball (95+ MPH exit velocity)…The only other players to record 4 hard-hit balls on 2023 Opening Day were Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and C.J. Cron (4 each).
RED SOX PLAYERS BORN IN JAPAN
Player Year(s)
OF Dave Roberts…………..2004
RHP Tomo Ohka ….. 1999-2001
RHP Hideo Nomo ………….2001
RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka … 2007-12
LHP Hideki Okajima … 2007-11
Player Year(s)
RHP Takashi Saito………….2009
RHP Junichi Tazawa…. 2009, ‘11-16
RHP Koji Uehara……… 2013-16
RHP Hirokazu Sawamura…. 2021-22
OF Masataka Yoshida ….2023
FOREVER AND DEVERS: Rafael Devers made his 6th consecutive Opening Day start at 3B for the Red Sox… The only other players with 6 Opening Day starts at 3B for the Sox are Wade Boggs (10), Frank Malzone (9), Jimmy Collins (7), Larry Gardner (6), and Rico Petrocelli (6).
TODAY’S STARTER: 41 CHRIS SALE – LHP
Enters his 14th MLB season, his 7th with the Red Sox (also 2010-16 CWS). Is 10-3 with a 2.71 ERA (32 ER/106.1 IP) in 23 career games (17 starts) vs. BAL…Owns the 2nd-lowest ERA of any pitcher vs. BAL since 2000 (min. 15 starts; Jamie Moyer-2.26). Is 19-10 with a 3.15 ERA (274.0 IP/96 ER) in 49 career games (46 starts) at Fenway Park. Missed the majority of the 2022 season on the injured list, making 2 starts for BOS during July…Reinstated from the injured list on 7/12 and tossed 5.0 scoreless innings vs. TB that night (3 H, BB, 5 SO). Exited his start on 7/17/22 at NYY in the 1st inning after being hit in the hand by a batted ball (0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, HBP)…Placed on the 15-Day Injured List on 7/22 (retro to 7/19) due to a left fifth finger fracture.
