BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The Orioles fell to the Giants, 4-0, last night at Oracle Park… Adam Frazier and Ryan O’Hearn both doubled, accounting for two of Baltimore’s five hits…Bruce Zimmermann tossed 2.0 scoreless innings in relief in his 2023 O’s debut. The O’s were shut out for the second time in the last five games; all five of the shutouts against the Orioles this season have come since May 3.
BURNING RUBBER: The O’s and Giants square off in a rubber game in today’s series finale…The Birds have gone 5-4 in rubber matches this season after going 11-11 in such games in 2022.
SERIES-LY: A win today would be Baltimore’s 13th series victory this year…The Orioles didn’t secure their 13th series last season until the 28th series on July 13, which completed a two-game sweep of the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and was the final victory during a 10-game winning streak…The O’s didn’t win more than 12 series in any of the three full seasons from 2018-21 (12-32-8 in 2021, 10-34-8 in 2019, and 9-39-5 in 2018).
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS: Of Baltimore’s 58 games this season, 52 have been decided by four or fewer runs, tied with Los Angeles-AL for the most in MLB…The O’s have gone 33-19 in those games, the most wins and best winning percentage (.635) in MLB…The O’s are 24-13 in games decided by three or fewer runs, the most wins and best winning percentage (.649) in MLB.
Batimore is now 11-6 (.647) in one-run games after Friday night’s victory, tied with five other teams for the second-most wins in games decided by one run this season; only the Miami Marlins (16-4) have more one-run victories.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The O’s began a six-game road trip with three games in San Francisco on Friday night…After an off day tomorrow, the Orioles play three games in Milwaukee from June 6-8…Baltimore is 19-10 (.655) away from Oriole Park, tied with Atlanta for the best road winning percentage and tied with Texas (19-12) for the most road victories in MLB this season…The Birds went 38-43 (.469) on the road last year, 14th-best in MLB, after going a combined 114-237 (.325) away from Camden Yards from 2017-21.
This season is tied for the second-best road start through 29 games by the Orioles in team history (since 1954), trailing only the 22-7 start in 1969 (see box at right); a win today would mark the fourth time in O’s history that the team has won 20 of the first 30 road games, joining 1969 (23-7), 1997 (20-10), and 1966 (20-10).
AGAINST THE GIANTS: The Orioles and Giants met Friday night for the first time since 2019 and for the first time in San Francisco since 2016…The O’s went 1-2 at Oriole Park from May 31 to June 2, 2019 and took three of four games at Oracle Park (then AT&T Park) from August 12-14, 2016…The Birds are 10-10 against the Giants since the teams first met in 2002 with only six of those games coming at Camden Yards, fewest among active teams.
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won 27 of their last 42 games, 30 of 46, and 32 of 49…The 36-21 overall record is the third-best in MLB to start the season (see box at right)…Entering today, the Orioles are one of six teams with at least 35 wins, along with the Rays (40-18), Rangers (36-20), Astros (35-23), Diamondbacks (35-23), and Dodgers (35-23).
Last season, the Birds did not collect their 36th win until their 80th game on July 3 (36-44), which was the start of their 10-game winning streak through July 13.
THE ROCK AND THE MOUNTAIN: Félix Bautista and Yennier Cano both threw a scoreless inning on Friday night to lock down the victory…The duo have combined to go 4-1 with 19 saves, a 1.08 ERA (7 ER/58.0 IP), 31 hits, 11 total runs allowed, two home runs, 19 walks, two hit batters, and 87 strikeouts while opponents have hit .156 (31-for-199)…The pair have pitched in the same game 16 times this season with the O’s going 14-2.
BIG TIME RUTSCH: Adley Rutschman leads the AL with 43 walks and with 102 times on base (59 H, 43 BB) this season…He’s also fourth in the AL with a .402 on-base percentage…He ranks among MLB switch hitters in OBP (1st), batting average (3rd, .282), and OPS (2nd, .832) and among primary catchers in OBP (1st) and OPS (3rd).
HAYS OF OUR LIVES: Austin Hays was named the Fielding Bible Award Co-Defensive Player of the Month for May with Toronto’s Kevin Kiermaier by Sports Info Solutions after he led MLB with 10 Defensive Runs Saved last month…Hays has four outfield assists this season, tied for fourth in the AL, and his 21 outfield assists since the start of 2021 are tied for the second-most in MLB during that time.
He ranks seventh in the AL with a .303 batting average.
His .413 batting average in the seventh inning or later leads MLB and he’s the only qualified player currently over .400 in those spots this season; he also leads MLB with a .411 average with two outs.
TODAY’S STARTING PITCHER – #68 TYLER WELLS – RHP
3-2, 3.29 ERA
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 12th appearance (11th start) of the season, sixth appearance (fifth start) on the road, and first career start against the Giants this afternoon…Went 7-7 with a 4.25 ERA (49 ER/103.2 IP) in 23 starts for the O’s in 2022…Made his first career start on April 10, 2022 at Tampa Bay; dealt the loss after allowing four runs on three hits (1 HR) with two walks and two strikeouts in 1.2 innings…Did not walk a batter in five consecutive starts from April 21 to May 15, 2022, becoming the only Oriole starting pitcher in franchise history (since 1954) to not walk a batter in five consecutive games…Allowed three earned runs-or-fewer in 17 straight starts from April 16 to July 15, 2022…Ended the 2022 season on the 15-day Injured List with right shoulder inflammation…Also spent time on the Injured List with lower left side discomfort in 2022…Originally selected by Minnesota in the 15th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of Cal State, San Bernardino before being taken by the Orioles in the Rule 5 Draft on December 10, 2020.
LAST TIME OUT: Dealt his second loss of the season during an outing on May 29 vs. Cleveland…Allowed one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and a balk in 6.0 innings of work…Issued no walks in a start for the third time this season (last: 4/9 vs. NYY)…Has tossed at least 5.0 innings in each of his 11 appearances (10 starts) this season; entered 2023 with 12 such games (all in 2022)…Marked his third quality start of the season…Threw 101 pitches, 65 strikes.
WATCH ME WHIP: Wells enters play today leading MLB with a 0.83 WHIP… Also ranks among qualified pitchers in opponent on-base percentage (1st, .220), batting average (2nd, .176), and H/9 (2nd, 5.71), BB/9 (T-8th, 1.71), and OPS (10th, .603)…He posted a 0.72 WHIP in April, tied for the seventh-lowest mark by an O’s pitcher in a calendar month in club history (since 1954) and lowest since Scott McGregor recorded a franchise-record 0.61 WHIP in May 1978… Wells issued just three walks and allowed 18 hits in 29.0 innings through his first five appearances (four starts) in April.
CAREER AGAINST THE GIANTS/NL WEST: Making his first career start against the Giants and the NL West.
ROAD TRIPPIN’: In 36 career road appearances (16 starts), Wells has gone 6-5 with a 3.38 ERA (40 ER/106.2 IP) and two saves…Has made five road appearances (four starts) this season, going 1-0 with a 4.44 ERA (13 ER/26.1 IP)…Made 12 starts away from home in 2022, sporting a 5-5 record with a 3.81 ERA (24 ER/56.2 IP) and 41 strikeouts.
INTERLEAGUE HERO: Making his 11th career Interleague appearance (fifth start) today…Owns a 2-0 record with a 1.21 ERA (4 ER/29.2 IP) and one save through his first 10 outings against the National League…Earned the win in his last Interleague start on May 13 vs. Pittsburgh, working a season-high-tying 7.0 scoreless innings (4/21 vs. DET) on one hit with two walks and a then-career-high eight strikeouts…Threw 96 pitches, 59 strikes… Has allowed two earned runs-or-fewer in each of his 10 outings against the National League.
LOVING LEFTIES: Opposing left-handed batters are slashing .189/.228/.335 (66-for-349) against Wells through his first 78 career games (33 starts)…He has recorded more career strikeouts against lefties (97) than hits allowed (66)…Owns the third-lowest on-base percentage, sixth-lowest batting average, and seventh-lowest OPS to lefties in MLB since he debuted in 2021 (min. 300 BFP).
SAN FRANCISCO GIANTS NOTES:
No team release available.
