BALTIMORE ORIOLE NOTES:
BACK IN THE WIN COLUMN: The O’s defeated the Dodgers, 8-5, in yesterday’s series finale to avoid being swept…Improved to 14-12 in Interleague play this season…picked up their MLB-leading 34th comeback win of the season; their 70 come-from-behind victories since the start of 2022 are tied with the Dodgers for the most in MLB.
Félix Bautista secured his 26th save of the season, tied for the most in the AL.
Danny Coulombe earned his third win after working a season-high 2.1 scoreless innings on one hit with three strikeouts.
Gunnar Henderson launched his 15th home run of the season and extended his career-long on-base streak to 15 games, tied for the second-longest active streak in the AL (see box at right).
Anthony Santander extended his on-base streak to an AL-leading 16 games with a walk in the first inning (see box at right).
SWEEPLESS IN BALTIMORE: With yesterday’s win, the Orioles have now gone 70 consecutive series without being swept…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the most consecutive series of at least two decisions (no ties) without getting swept in Orioles history (since 1954), ahead of 46 consecutive sweep-less series from 1971-72…It is the ninth-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), 1922-24 New York Yankees (83), 1904- 1906 Philadelphia Athletics (74), and 1921-23 St. Louis Browns, 1997-99 San Diego Padres, and 2003-05 Atlanta Braves (72).
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won nine of their last 11 games and 10 of their last 14… Had a season-best eight-game winning streak from July 5-16, Baltimore’s longest since a 10-gamer from July 3-13, 2022…They outscored their opponents, 60-20, during the streak for a +40 run differential; according to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Orioles won eight straight games with a run differential of at least +40 within one season was from August 24-31, 1983 (+45)…At 58-37 (.611), the Orioles have the best record in the AL and second-best in MLB and are one of only three teams with a .600 winning percentage and four teams with fewer than 40 losses (see box at right)…The Birds are 120-86 (.583) since the beginning of June 2022, the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in MLB during that time.
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.
Last Friday, the O’s moved to 20 games over .500 for the first time since the end of the 2014 season (96-66) and for the first time before August since 1997.
Entering play today, the O’s are tied with Tampa Bay for first place in the AL East; the O’s have not been in the top spot in the division after the All-Star Break since August 15, 2016 (66-51).
WRAPPING UP THE HOMESTAND: The O’s went 4-2 during their last homestand…Completed a three-game sweep of the Marlins over the weekend before going 1-2 against the Dodgers.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Orioles begin a seven-game road trip tonight with the first of four games in Tampa Bay through Sunday…The Birds will then travel to Philadelphia for three games from July 24-27…Baltimore has a scheduled off day on Thursday, July 27, before hosting the Yankees for three games from July 28-30.
The Orioles have a season-long five-game road winning streak, the first time they’ve won five straight games away from Oriole Park since July 25 to August 13, 2020.
Baltimore has the second-best road record in MLB at 28-17 (.622).
AGAINST THE RAYS: The Orioles and Rays are meeting for the third series this season and second at Tropicana Field…Baltimore took two out of three games against Tampa Bay at Oriole Park from May 8-10 and split a two-game series at the Trop from June 20-21…The Orioles will host the Rays for four games in Baltimore from September 14-17 to conclude the season series…The O’s went 9-10 against Tampa Bay last year, 7-3 at Oriole Park and 2-7 at Tropicana Field…The season series was not decided until the 19th and final game on August 14 in Tampa Bay.
Baltimore has gone seven straight sets against AL East opponents without losing a series for the first time since April 14 to June 22, 2014 (8 series).
AY, TONE: Anthony Santander went 0-for-2 with two walks (1 IBB) and a run scored to extend his on-base streak to 16 games, the longest active stretch in the AL (see box at right) and tied for the second-longest active streak in MLB…It is the second-longest on-base streak by an O’s batter this season, behind an 18-game streak by Adam Frazier from May 6-25, and tied for the third-longest of Santander’s career; his career-long on-base streak is 19 games from September 26, 2021 to April 27, 2022, and his single-season career-long is 18 games, done twice: August 5 (G2)-23, 2020 and April 8-27, 2022…During his current streak, Santander is slashing .309/.441/.564 (17-for-55) with five doubles, three home runs, 10 runs scored, seven RBI, and 11 walks.
He has two multi-homer games this year and his 12 career multi-homer games are tied for ninth-most in O’s history (since 1954).
He heads MLB switch hitters with 50 home runs since the start of last season.
SIGNED, SEALED, AND DELIVERED: The Orioles have signed the following players from the 2023 First-Year Player Draft: center fielder Enrique Bradfield Jr. (Round 1, No. 17 overall), outfielder Mac Horvath (Round 2, No. 53 overall), right-handed pitcher Kiefer Lord (Rd. 3, No. 86 overall), outfielder Tavian Josenberger (Rd. 3, No. 100 overall), right-handed pitcher Levi Wells (Rd. 4, No. 118 overall), outfielder Jake Cunningham (Rd. 5, No. 154 overall), righthanded pitcher Jacob Cravey Rd. 6, 181 overall), right-handed pitcher Teddy Sharkey (Rd. 7, No. 211 overall), right-handed pitcher Braxton Bragg (Rd. 8, No. 241 overall), right-handed pitcher Zach Fruit (Rd. 9, No. 271 overall), outfielder Matthew Etzel (Rd. 10, No. 301 overall), right-handed pitcher Nestor German (Rd. 11, No. 331 overall), right-handed pitcher Blake Money (Rd. 12, No. 361 overall), left-handed pitcher Riley Cooper (Rd. 13, No. 391 overall), catcher Cole Urman (Rd. 16, No. 481 overall), right-handed pitcher Zane Barnhart (Rd. 17, No. 511 overall), and infielder Jalen Vasquez (Rd. 20, No. 601 overall)…Overall, the Orioles have signed 17 selections from the 2023 Draft…The deadline for teams to sign their draft picks is Tuesday, July 25, at 5 p.m. ET.
TRADE WINDS: The Orioles yesterday announced that they have acquired right-handed pitcher Shintaro Fujinami (shin-TAR-oh foo-jee-NAH-mee) from the Oakland Athletics in exchange for minor league left-handed pitcher Easton Lucas…In a corresponding move, infielder/outfielder Josh Lester was designated for assignment
STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE BIGSON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 21st start of the season, 12th on the road, and 15th career appearance (14th start) against the Rays 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: Did not factor into the decision after allowing five runs on nine hits with two walks and one strikeout in 5.1 innings on June 15 vs. Miami…Left with one runner on, who was stranded…Surrendered four of the five runs and five of the nine hits in the second inning…Threw 84 pitches, 52 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE RAYS: Making his 15th career appearance (14th start) against the Rays tonight…Dealt the loss in his last start against the AL East foe on May
8 at Oriole Park…Surrendered two runs on six hits (1 HR) with two walks and four strikeouts in 6.0+ innings…One of the runs scored after he left the game…Threw 93
pitches, 59 strikes…Sports a 6-6 record with a 4.24 ERA (36 ER/76.1 IP) through his first 14 career outings against the Rays.
CAREER AGAINST THE AL EAST: Making his 60th career appearance (59th start) against the AL East tonight…Dealt the loss in his last start against the division on July 4 at Yankee Stadium…Allowed four runs on three hits (1 HR) with a season-high tying four walks, one hit batter, and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Threw a season-high 104 pitches, 61 strikes…Has pitched to a 24-21 record with a 4.43 ERA (166 ER/337.0 IP) and 10 quality starts in 59 career appearances against the AL East.
LIFE ON THE ROAD: Making his 12th road start of the 2023 campaign today…Has pitched to a 5-3 record with a 4.21 ERA (31 ER/66.1 IP) through his first 11 starts away from Oriole Park this season…Earned the win in his last road start on July 9 at Minnesota after allowing two runs on three hits (1 HR) with one walk and a career-high-tying 11 strikeouts (4x, last: 4/22/23 vs. DET) in a season-high-tying 7.0 innings…Threw 94 pitches, 64 strikes…Has completed 7.0 innings in three of his last six assignments away from Oriole Park.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN: Gibson earned his ninth win on July 9 at Minnesota, his 19th start of the season…Entering play today, his nine victories are tied for fifth in the AL and tied for 11th in MLB…Did not win his ninth decision in 2022 until his 25th start on August 27 vs. Pittsburgh with Philadelphia…Is two victories shy of 100 for his career.
HOW SWEEP IT IS: Opposing batters are slashing .169/.174/.201 (14-for-83) with two home runs against Gibson’s sweeper this season…Has recorded 33 strikeouts via the off-speed pitch, sixth-most in MLB entering play today…Last season, hitters slashed .250/.294/.450 (5-for-20) with two extra-base hits (2B, HR) against his sweeper.
HOMER (UN)HAPPY: Gibson has allowed just 10 home runs in 115.0 innings across his 20 starts; entering play today, he ranks among qualified pitchers in HR/9 (10th, 0.78)… 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…Also marked the longest homerless streak by an O’s starter since Spenser Watkins also allowed zero home runs in five straight starts from May 22 to July 13, 2022.
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
SWEPT AWAY IN TEXAS — The Rays mustered only one run in their fourth straight loss on Wednesday afternoon, a 5-1 setback at Texas to conclude a three-game sweep at the hands of the Rangers…RHP Zack Littell (3.1IP, 5H, ER, 4SO, HR) made his third start of the season, turning in his longest appearance since 5/30/19 at Tropicana Field as a member of Minnesota (4.1IP)…LHP Jake Diekman (0.2IP, BB) and RHP Shawn Armstrong (2.0IP, SO) both chipped in scoreless appearances out of the bullpen, but Texas pushed across four runs over the seventh and eighth frames to take a commanding 5-0 lead…CF Jose Siri (2-for-4, HR, RBI) spoiled the shutout bid with a solo homer in the ninth frame, his team-leading 19th of the season.
The Rays went just 1-for-15 (.067) with RISP during the three-game series…they out-hit the Rangers 10-9 on Wednesday, but went 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position…it marked Tampa Bay’s most hits in a game in which it scored one or zero runs since 8/31/12 at Toronto (1R, 10H).
It marked the second time this season the Rays have been swept (also 7/4-6 vs. PHI) and their first time being swept on the road since 10/3-5, 2022 at Boston to end the 2022 regular season.
BATTLE FOR THE EAST—The Rays and Orioles enter the current four-game series tied atop the AL East, with Baltimore holding a slight edge in winning pct., .611 to .606… entering play yesterday, Tampa Bay had gone wire-to-wire as the outright leader of the division, but the Rays have posted a 13-20 (.394) record since 6/10 while the Orioles are 19-13 (.594) in that span…Tampa Bay is 2-5-3 in series play over that stretch, with just one series victory over a team currently above .500 (6/27-29 at AZ).
The Rays have the AL’s best winning pct. against the AL East at .630 (17-10), outpacing Baltimore’s .593 (16-11)…they have won 10 of 13 games against divisional opponents at Tropicana Field, scoring 6+ runs in nine of those contests.
Tampa Bay is 2-3 against Baltimore this season, with the two clubs splitting their most recent matchup, a two-game set at Tropicana Field from 6/20-21…since
winning 27 of 29 meetings with the Orioles from 8/25/20-4/10/22, including a club-record 15-game winning streak from 7/10/21-4/10/22, the Rays are 9-12 (.429) against the Orioles over their last 21 matchups (5-3 at home).
Tampa Bay has won the season series in each of the previous six seasons, going 70-40 (.571) against Baltimore since the beginning of 2017.
Luke Raley is 7-for-14 (.500) with a solo homer in four games against the Orioles this season and is a .378 (14-for-37) career hitter vs. Baltimore…Wander Franco has 5 RBI in five games against Baltimore in 2023, batting .333 (6-for-18).
Manuel Margot has strung together a 20-game on-base streak against the Orioles, batting .343 (24-for-70) with three doubles, 12 RBI and a .410 OBP in that span.
Randy Arozarena is slashing .364/.422/.710 (59-for-162) with eight doubles, 16 homers and 40 RBI across 42 games vs. the Orioles; among active players (min.
100PA), only NYY Aaron Judge (1.139) has a higher career OPS vs. Balitmore than Arozarena’s 1.132, and only PHI Trea Turner (.368) has a higher batting average.
SUMMERTIME SADNESS—The Rays are an AL-worst 3-11 (.214) in July after entering the month with the league’s best record at 57-28 (.671)…in all of MLB, only Pittsburgh (3-12, .200) has a lower winning pct. in July…Tampa Bay has not been shut out this month, but it has scored three or fewer runs eight times, including five games with just one run…the Rays have suffered five losses by 4+ runs in July — entering the month, they had just six such losses all season.
Tampa Bay has plated only 47 runs this month (3.36 R/G), tied with Colorado for the fewest in the majors…it ranks at the bottom of the AL in batting average (.210),
OBP (.269) and OPS (.643) during July…the Rays have hit just .191 (33-for-173) with runners on base since 7/1, the lowest mark in MLB in that span; the next closest
team is San Francisco (.214).
Per FanGraphs, the Rays own MLB’s worst batting average (.080), OBP (.164), SLG (.120) and OPS (.284) in high-leverage situations this month…they are slashing .225/.283/.404 in all other situations.
According to Elias, the worst winning percentage in July for a team that entered the month leading their respective league (AL or NL) belongs to the 1995 Philadelphia Philles, who posted a 9-20 (.310) July after entering the month at 38- 21 (.644) during the strike-shortened 1995 campaign.
THE YANDY MAN CAN—Yandy Díaz has hit safely in six of his last seven games, batting .429 (12-for-28) with one double, one homer, 4 RBI, three walks and four multi-hit games in that span…it matches LAA Mickey Moniak (15-for-35, .429) for the top batting average in the AL in that span (min. 25AB)…on the season, Díaz paces the Rays in multi-hit games (30G, T7th in AL) and 3+ hit games (12G, T1st in AL).
He currently leads AL qualifiers in both batting average (.320) and OBP (.404) while his .909 OPS trails only LAA Shohei Ohtani (1.075)…no Rays hitter has ever paced the AL in a single one of those three categories over the course of an entire season.
Díaz has hit safely in 17 of his last 18 games against AL East foes, batting .329 (23- for-70) with six doubles, two homers and 13 RBI in that span.
HEY SIRI, GO DEEP—Since 5/7, Jose Siri has recorded 17 home runs in 46 games, which equates to a 59-homer pace over a full 162-game season…the last Ray with 17+ long balls over any 46-game span was Mike Zunino from 4/11-6/30, 2021 (17HR); no Tampa Bay hitter has recorded more homers in a 46-game span within a single season since Carlos Peña slugged 20 from 8/12-9/30, 2007…Siri’s 17 homers since the beginning of May are third most in the AL in that stretch, behind LAA Shohei Ohtani (28HR) and CWS Luis Robert Jr. (23HR).
Among players with 200 at-bats, only Ohtani (10.37) has a better AB/HR ratio than Siri’s 10.89…since 5/7, 17 of his 36 hits (47.2%) have been homers, the highest percentage in baseball over that stretch (min. 30H), ahead of NYM Pete Alonso 34H/15HR – 44.1%).
IT TAKES A VILLAGE—Excluding position players, the Rays have used 31 different pitchers, tied with Cincinnati for the most in the majors…they have used 14 starters, tied with Boston, Detroit and Oakland for second most in MLB behind Kansas City (16)… Rays pitching has logged an MLB-leading 873.2 IP, ahead of Miami (868.1IP).
The Rays have placed 14 different pitchers on the injured list, tied for third most in the majors behind Los Angeles-NL (16) and Cincinnati (15), per Spotrac…however, only two Rays position players have spent time on the IL, tied with Arizona for the fewest in the majors.
Despite this, Tampa Bay’s pitching staff leads the majors in ERA (3.73) and remains among the best in baseball in several other categories, including opp. AVG (2nd, .228), opp. SLG (2nd, .380), opp. OBP (3rd, .300), opp. OPS (3rd, .679) and WHIP (3rd, 1.20).
TONIGHT’S STARTER: RHP TYLER GLASNOW (3-3, 3.78)
TONIGHT’S START — The right-hander makes his 10th start of the season and his sixth at home…is searching for his first win at Tropicana Field since 6/9 vs. Texas…in three home starts from 6/20-7/7, Glasnow is 0-2 with a 4.80 ERA (15.0IP, 8ER) while striking out 27 batters against four walks and posting a .207 (12-for-58) opponent average.
LAST TIME OUT — Earned the win on 7/15 at Kansas City to open the second half of the season…tossed 6.0 innings, allowing one run on six hits and two walks with seven strikeouts…it marked his first win since 6/14 at Oakland…has struck out seven or more batters in five straight starts dating back to 6/20 vs. Baltimore…marks the second-longest such streak of his career and longest since an eight-game run from 4/6-5/14, 2021.
BATTLING THE BIRDS — In seven career starts against Baltimore, Glasnow is 4-1 with a 3.23 ERA (39.0IP, 14ER), a 0.97 WHIP and a .207 (30-for-145) opponent average…took the loss and yielded a season-high six runs vs. the Orioles on 6/20 (4.1IP, 6H, 6ER, 2BB, 7SO, 2HR).
In four starts opposite Baltimore at Tropicana Field, he has pitched to a 4.43 ERA (22.1IP, 11ER) with 32 strikeouts against three walks.
In 31 starts against AL opponents, Glasnow is 8-7 with a 4.18 ERA (157.0IP, 73ER)…his last victory in the division came on 4/17/21 at New York-AL.
STRIKEOUT ARTIST — Since making his season debut on 5/27, Glasnow has 71 strikeouts across 47.2 innings (13.41 SO/9.0IP)…his 71 strikeouts in that span are fourth most in the majors, trailing only ATL Spencer Strider (92), SD Blake Snell (78) and MIL Corbin Burnes (74).
Glasnow fanned 11+ batters in consecutive starts from 6/25-7/1, becoming the first Tampa Bay pitcher to accomplish the feat since Blake Snell from 4/2-8, 2019…the longest streak of consecutive 11+ strikeout starts in Rays history belongs to Chris Archer, who did so in in three straight starts (5/27-6/7, 2015).
LEFT, RIGHT, LEFT — He is holding right-handed batters to a .193 (16-for-83) average, allowing just six extra-base hits (4 2B, 2 HR) and a .313 SLG…lefties have seen greater success against Glasnow through his first nine starts, posting a .250 (25-for-100) average with 14 XBH (6HR) and a .520 SLG.
For his career, Glasnow has been effective facing batters on both sides of the plate, holding righties to a .222 average compared to a nearly identical .219 vs. lefties.
ADVANCED TALK — Glasnow utilizes his curveball 20.9 pct. of the time and is limiting opposing batters to a .120 (6-for-50) average and .260 slugging pct. on the offering…of his 71 strikeouts on the season, 36 have come via the curveball.
Glasnow’s 38.0 pct. whiff rate ranks third in the majors since his season debut on 5/27 (min. 200 pitches swung at), behind SD Blake Snell (41.8%) and ATL Spencer Strider (40.2%)…his 35.1 pct. strikeout rate in that span leads the AL, trailing only Snell (41.9%) and Strider (38.0%) in all of baseball (min. 125BF).
On 6/25 vs. Kansas City, he collected a season-high 26 whiffs, third most in any game of his career (most: 27, 2x, last: 6/8/21 vs. WSH)… it tied the second-most whiffs by any pitcher through the first five innings of a game in the Pitch Tracking Era (since 2008), trailing only Shane McClanahan earlier this season (28 on 4/22/23 vs. CWS).
ODDS AND ENDS — Opposing batters are 16-for-51 (.314) off Glasnow with none on and no outs compared to 14-for-75 (.187) with runners on base… hitters are 7-for-17 (.412) with two doubles and one home run on the first pitch of an at-bat…following a first-pitch strike, Glasnow is holding batters to a .160 (17-for-106) average…following a first-pitch ball, batters are 17-for60 (.283)…five-hole hitters have had the most success off Glasnow, batting .333 (7-for-21) with 2 HR and 5 RBI…he has held the lead-off man to a .148 (4-for-27) mark and the nine-hole hitter to a .063 (1-for-16) clip.
