BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The O’s beat the Rays, 6-5, yesterday to take a 2-1 series lead… Led 5-0 in the fourth inning before Tampa Bay rallied to tie the game in the eighth…Ryan O’Hearn drove in the winning run with a pinch-hit RBI single while Félix Bautista struck out two batters in a perfect ninth inning to secure his 27th save…Grayson Rodriguez allowed two runs in 5.2 innings and faced the minimum through five innings…He induced a careerhigh 17 swings and misses.
Marked O’Hearn’s fourth career go-ahead RBI in the ninth inning or later and first since an RBI single in the ninth inning on June 23, 2021 at New York-AL with Kansas City; he’s the first Oriole with a go-ahead pinch-hit RBI in the ninth inning or later since Ramón Urías’ walk-off fielder’s choice in the ninth inning on July 25, 2021 vs. Washington.
The Birds moved to 30-8 (.789) when scoring first, the best record in MLB; the 38such games are the fewest in MLB.
Baltimore improved to 18-9 (.667) in one-run games, the best record in the AL and third-best in MLB.
SWEEPLESS IN BALTIMORE: With Thursday’s win, the Orioles have now gone 71 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 three of their last four games, 11 of their last 14, and 12 of their last 17…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 60-38 (.612), the Orioles have the best record in the AL and second-best in MLB; they are one of only two teams with a .600 winning percentage and one of two teams with fewer than 40 losses (see box at right)…The Birds are 122-87 (.584) since the beginning of June 2022, the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in MLB during that time.
Baltimore moved into sole possession of first place in the AL East following Thursday’s win for the first time after the All-Star Break since August 15, 2016.
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.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Orioles began a seven-game road trip on Thursday with four games in Tampa Bay through today…The Birds will 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 O’s have won seven of their last eight road games; their six-game road winning streak from July 5-20 was the longest by the team since an eight-gamer from July
25 to August 13, 2020.
Baltimore has the second-best road record in MLB at 30-18 (.625) trailing only the Braves at 31-15 (.674); the Orioles went 38-43 (.469) on the road in 2022 after going a combined 114-237 (.325) away from Oriole Park from 2017-21.
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.
The Orioles have won three of the first five games at The Trop this season after winning three of the 21 games played in St. Petersburg from 2020-22.
Yesterday’s win guaranteed at least a series split; Baltimore has now gone eight straight sets against AL East opponents without losing a series for the first time
since April 14 to June 22, 2014 (8), per the Elias Sports Bureau; the last longer such streak was from August 1 to September 30, 2012 (11).
OPENING STATEMENTS: O’s starting pitching has a 3.57 ERA (41 ER/103.1 IP) with 87 hits, 42 total runs, 10 home runs, 34 walks, and 93 strikeouts in 18 games this month…That ERA is the third-best in the AL and fifth-best in MLB in July (see box at right) and the 103.1 innings are the second-most in MLB this month behind the Mariners (105.2 IP)…They’ve allowed two runs or fewer in a game in 12 of the last 18 starts…Orioles starters posted a 4.68 ERA (66 ER/127.0 IP) in 24 games in June, 12th in the AL and 22nd in MLB.
AY, TONE: Anthony Santander has reached base safely in 18 of the last 19 games since June 30…He had his season-long 17-game on-base streak snapped on Friday night…It was the second-longest on-base streak by an O’s batter this season behind Adam Frazier, who reached safely in 18 straight games from May 6-25…Since the beginning of May, Santander is slashing .284/.361/.527 (75-for-264) with 17 doubles, one triple, 15 homers, 43 runs scored, 43 RBI, 28 walks, four hit-by-pitches, and three stolen bases in 69 games…During that time, he ranks among AL leaders in home runs (5th), total bases (T-5th, 139), extra-base hits (6th, 33), slugging (8th), OPS (8th, .888), and runs scored (10th).
For the season, he sits among AL leaders with 43 extra-base hits (T-6th) and 25 doubles (T-7th).
Santander 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).
His 17 home runs are tied for third among MLB switch hitters this season; his 50 home runs since the start of last season are the most among MLB switch hitters.
YOUNG GUNN: Gunnar Henderson is slashing .288/.344/.568 (42-for-146) with five doubles, three triples, 10 homers, 23 runs scored, 27 RBI, 12 walks, one hit-by-pitch, and three stolen bases in 38 games…He’s among AL leaders during that time in triples (T-3rd), home runs (T-3rd), and slugging (7th).
He ranks among qualified AL rookies this season in triples (1st, 5), home runs (2nd, 15), runs scored (3rd, 51), RBI (3rd, 41), walks (3rd, 41), slugging (3rd, .467), and fWAR (3rd, 2.2).
Henderson is one of seven O’s rookies with at least five triples in one season and the first since Orioles Legend and Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. also hit five in 1982.
STARTING PITCHER – #68 TYLER WELLS RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 20th appearance (19th start) of the season, 10th appearance (ninth start) on the road, and 10th career appearance (sixth start) against the Rays today…Wells became the third O’s pitcher since 2008 with 100+ strikeouts before the All-Star Break, joining Dylan Bundy (113 K in 2018) and Jason Hammel (101 K in 2012)…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…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: Was dealt the loss in his last outing on July 18 vs. Los Angeles-NL… Allowed five runs on six hits (1 HR) with two walks, a wild pitch, and two strikeouts in 2.0 innings…Tied his season highs in runs (also: 5/24 at NYY) and hits allowed (4x, last: 7/8 at MIN)…Marked his shortest start of the season…Did not complete 5.0 innings for the first time this season and for the first time since September 19, 2022 vs. Detroit (3.0 IP)…Threw 59 pitches, 37 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE RAYS: Making his 10th career appearance (sixth start) against the Rays today…Dealt the loss in his last outing against Tampa Bay on June 21 at Tropicana Field…Allowed four runs (2 ER) on four hits (2 HR) with a season-high-tying three walks (also: 5/2 at KC) and six strikeouts in 5.0 innings…Threw 95 pitches, 58 strikes…Owns an 0-3 record with a 5.93 ERA (18 ER/ 27.1 IP) in nine career outings (five starts) against the Rays.
CAREER AGAINST THE AL EAST: Slated to make his 39th career appearance (18th start) against the AL East today…Sports a 5-8 record with a 4.82 ERA (60 ER/112.0 IP) in 38 career appearances against the division…Did not factor in the decision in his last outing against the AL East on July 3 at New York-AL…Allowed two runs on five hits (2 HR) with two walks and four strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Threw 86 pitches, 56 strikes.
WATCH ME WHIP: Wells enters play leading MLB in WHIP (0.98) and opponent on- base percentage (.252), and ranks third in batting average (.202)…Has allowed 106 baserunners (79 H, 26 BB, 1 HBP) across 19 appearances (106.2 IP) this season, the second-fewest in MLB (min. 90.0 IP) behind Clayton Kershaw (102)…His 79 hits surrendered this season are the tied for the seventh-fewest among pitchers who have thrown at least 90.0 innings…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.
WELLS, WELLS, WELLS: Has pitched to a 4-3 record with a 3.92 ERA (19 ER/43.2 IP) and five quality starts in his last eight outings since June 4…Won a season-high
three straight starts from June 4-15…Tossed a career-high nine strikeouts on June 4 at San Francisco.
MR. CONSISTENT: Wells tossed 5.0-or-more innings in 18 straight appearances (17 starts) to begin the season, becoming the first O’s pitcher to accomplish the feat in his first 18 games of the season since Mike Mussina did so in each of his 24 starts in 1994…Wells entered 2023 with 12 such performances, all in 2022.
LOVING LEFTIES: Opposing left-handed batters are slashing .195/.235/.340 (81-for- 415) against Wells through his first 86 career games (41 starts)…He has recorded
more career strikeouts against lefties (123) than hits allowed…Among pitchers with at least 400 left-handed batters faced in that span, Wells ranks second in opponent on-base percentage, fourth in opponent OPS (.574), and eighth in opponent batting average.
RACKING UP STRIKEOUTS: Wells has recorded 105 strikeouts this season, the most by an O’s pitcher through his first 19 games of the season since Dylan Bundy tallied
116 punchouts in his first 19 outings in 2018…His 105 strikeouts are a career high, surpassing his season total from last season (76)…Wells struck out at least even batters in five straight starts from May 13 to June 4, tied with Erik Bedard (2007) for the second-longest streak by an Orioles pitcher since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954, trailing only an eight-game streak by Connie Johnson in 1957.
TAMPA BAY RAYS NOTES:
LATE-INNING LETDOWN — Despite recovering from a 5-0 sixth-inning deficit, the Rays endured a 6-5 defeat at Tropicana Field on Saturday afternoon to fall out of the top spot in the AL East…Baltimore tagged LHP Shane McClanahan (4.0IP 5H, 5ER, 3BB, 5SO) for a career-high-tying five runs, all of which came on three consecutive two-out doubles in the fourth inning…SS Wander Franco (1-for-4, 3RBI) got the Rays on the board with a two-run single in the sixth before 3B Isaac Paredes (1-for-4, RBI) cut the deficit to 5-3 with an RBI-single in the seventh…Franco tallied an RBI-groundout in the eighth to secure his career-high-tying third RBI of the contest (6x, last: 6/11/23 vs. TEX), followed by LF Randy Arozarena’s (2-for-4, RBI, R) clutch two-out RBI-single, completing the five-run rally and knotting the score at 5-5…after recording zero hits in the fifth through eighth frames, the Orioles tallied the game-winning run in the ninth, advancing a runner into scoring position with a sacrifice bunt to setup a run-scoring single by PH Ryan O’Hearn. Ê The Rays have not won back-to-back home games since a five-game winning streak from 5/28-6/9, dropping 11 of their last 17 games at Tropicana Field since 6/10 despite an even run differential in that span (76-76).
CLOSE SHAVES — The Rays are just 14-19 (.424) in one-run games, the fifth-lowest winning pct. in such games in the majors, ahead of only Texas (7-12, .368) in the AL…they have lost each of their last five one-run contests since the beginning of July, their longest losing streak in such games since another five-game streak from 6/1-10, 2018 — all five of those losses came against Seattle…Tampa Bay has lost seven of eight, nine of 11, 11 of 15, 14 of 20 and 18 of its last 26 one-run games…the Rays opened the season with wins in seven of their first nine contests decided by one run from the beginning of the season through 5/7, the second-best such record in the majors in that span behind Miami (11-0), but have gone just 7-17 (.292) since.
Tampa Bay’s 33 one-run games are tied with Chicago-AL for fourth most in MLB, trailing Cincinnati (40G), Cleveland (39G) and Oakland (36G).
The Rays have been tied entering the ninth inning four times in the month of July, going 0-4 in those games (7/6 vs. PHI, 7/17 at TEX, 7/20 vs. BAL, 7/22 vs. BAL)…
including a 6/22 loss vs. Kansas City, Tampa Bay has lost each of its last five games when tied after eight frames after winning each of their first four such contests to begin the season (4/22 vs. CWS, 4/28 at CWS, 5/7 vs. NYY, 6/3-G2 at BOS).
BATTLE FOR THE EAST — The Rays and Orioles have traded wins over the last three days, with the result being a 1.0-game lead for Baltimore atop the AL East…Tampa Bay led the division by a season-high-tying 6.5 games on 7/1, but a 4-13 start to July has allowed Baltimore, which has gone 12-6 this month, to take sole possession of first place…the Rays need a victory today to avoid losing a home series to the Orioles for the first time since dropping two of three games from 6/23-24, 2017 — since that set, Tampa Bay is 15-0-1 in series play against Baltimore at Tropicana Field, with the lone tie coming earlier this season (6/20-21)…it would also mark the first time the Rays have lost a four-game series to the Orioles at home since dropping three of four from 4/10-13, 2006…last season, they dropped three of four to Baltimore in a four-game set at Oriole Park from 7/25-28, 2022.
Tampa Bay is 3-5 against Baltimore this season, going 2-3 at Tropicana Field and 1-2 at Oriole Park…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 10-14 (.417) over the last 24 matchups (6-5 at home).
Tampa Bay has won the season series in each of the previous six seasons, going 71-42 (.628) against Baltimore since the beginning of 2017…however, they are just two losses away from dropping the 13-game season series in 2023.
The Rays and Orioles are an identical 18-12 (.600) against the AL East, tying for the best record against the division among AL clubs…Tampa Bay is 11-4 against
divisional opponents at Tropicana Field, scoring 6+ runs in nine of those 15 contests.
Randy Arozarena is slashing .349/.404/.669 (61-for-175) with eight doubles, 16 homers and 41 RBI across 45 games vs. the Orioles…among active players (min. 150PA), he ranks fourth in career average and fifth in OPS (1.073) against Baltimore.
SUMMERTIME SADNESS — The Rays are 4-13 (.235) in July after entering the month with the league’s best record at 57-28 (.671)…it ties Pittsburgh (4-13) for the worst record in the majors this month…Tampa Bay has not been shut out in July, but it has scored three or fewer runs 10 times, including five games with just one run.
Rays pitching ranks fifth in the AL with a 4.12 ERA (150.2IP, 69ER) in July, but Tampa Bay has plated only 58 runs this month, averaging an MLB-worst 3.41 runs per game; the next closest team is Kansas City (3.61 R/G)…it ranks at the bottom of the AL in batting average (.214), OBP (.276) and OPS (.645) during July…the club record for lowest team batting average over a full calendar month is .222, done twice (Sept./Oct. 2020 & June 2012)…the 2020 Rays hit .215 in July, but played only seven games during the month.
Tampa Bay is slashing .132/.213/.176 in high-leverage situations since 7/1 compared to .225/.285/.395 in all other scenarios.
According to Elias, the lowest 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.
NO WAY, JOSE — Jose Siri’s 18 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), and are tied for 10th most in the majors…on the day of his 28th birthday yesterday, Siri collected a double and a single, becoming the first Ray to record a multi-hit game on his birthday since Christian Bethancourt last season (2-for-4, 9/2/22 vs. NYY).
Among players with 200 at-bats, only Ohtani (10.51) has a better AB/HR ratio than Siri’s 10.90…since 5/7, 18 of his 40 hits (45.0%) have been homers, the highest percentage in baseball over that stretch (min. 30H), ahead of PHI Kyle Schwarber (46H/19HR – 41.3%).
TODAY’S STARTER: RHP TAJ BRADLEY (5-6, 5.29)
TODAY’S START — The 22-year-old rookie makes his 15th start of the season and his seventh at Tropicana Field…since recording his first career quality start on 6/21 vs. Baltimore, he has gone 0-3 with a 9.35 ERA (17.1IP, 18ER) and a .346/.388/.692 (27-for-78) opponent slash line over his last four starts — the Rays are 0-4 in those games…ranks among MLB rookie leaders (min. 60.0IP) in SO rate (1st, 30.6%), SO/BB ratio (2nd, 4.24) and strikeouts (3rd, 89).
LAST TIME OUT — Suffered his third straight loss on 7/18 at Texas after working 5.0 innings, allowing two runs on five hits and two walks with nine strikeouts.
He became the first Rays rookie to have 7+ strikeouts in seven of his first 14 career starts…Jake Faria was the next closest with six such games in 2017.
Threw a career-high 95 pitches in the outing.
BLOCKING OUT THE BIRDS — Bradley faced Baltimore for the first time on 6/21 and earned the win…tossed 6.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits with no walks and eight strikeouts.
Earned his lone career quality start opposite Baltimore.
He is 3-1 with a 4.50 ERA (20.0IP, 10ER) in four starts against AL East opponents this season.
STRIKEOUT SAVANT — Bradley’s 89 punchouts are the second most through a pitcher’s first 14 starts with the Rays in franchise history, trailing only Charlie Morton (98SO: 3/29-6/10, 2019). Ê Since his MLB debut on 4/12, Bradley’s 30.6 pct. strikeout rate is fourth highest among AL starters (min. 10GS), behind teammate
Tyler Glasnow (34.9%), TOR Kevin Gausman (33.5%) and LAA Shohei Ohtani (32.3%).
He is one of only five pitchers since 2018 to record 7+ strikeouts in seven of his first 14 career starts, joining CLE Shane Bieber (2018), MIA Zac Gallen (2019), CIN Nick Lodolo (2022) and NYM Kodai Senga (2023).
On 6/15 at Oakland, Bradley recorded each of his first nine outs via the strikeout…his 11 punchouts on the day were tied with six other pitchers for the second most by a Rays rookie in club history, trailing only Dan Wheeler (12SO) on 9/12/99 vs. OAK …the last Tampa Bay rookie to record 11+ K’s was Jake Odorizzi (11SO) on 5/9/14.
TROUBLE WITH THE LONG BALL — Bradley permitted only four homers in his first nine career starts from 4/12-6/15 — his 0.84 HR/9.0 IP in that span was 12th lowest in the AL (min. 40.0IP)…over his last five starts since 6/21, he has yielded eight homers, good for 3.09 HR/9.0 IP, the second highest mark in the majors in that span (min. 20.0IP), trailing only KC Alec Marsh (3.54).
YOUNG BLOOD — Bradley, 22, is the fourth pitcher in Rays history (5th instance) to make 10+ starts in his age 22 or younger season, joining Luis Patiño (2021), Scott Kazmir (2005-06) and Joe Kennedy (2001)…there is only one pitcher in the majors younger than Bradley who has made 10+ starts in 2023: 20-year-old MIA Eury Pérez (11GS).
Bradley is the fourth-youngest pitcher to appear in a major league game this season, older than only Pérez, ATL AJ Smith-Shawver (20) and ARI Justin Martínez (21).
ABOVE THE CURVE — Bradley has held opponents to a .143 (6-for-42) average and a .238 slugging pct. on his curveball…he has allowed just two extra-base hits on the pitch (2B, HR)…marks the second-lowest opp. AVG on any AL starter’s curve (min. 40AB ending with curve) behind Tyler Glasnow (.117), and the fourth-lowest opp. SLG under the same parameters.
THIS AND THAT — Of his 89 strikeouts, 52 have come against left-handed hitters, compared to 37 against right-handed batters…opposing 6-9 hitters are batting .193 (19-for-98) with 3 HR against him compared to .311 (52- for-167) with 8 HR vs. the first five spots in the order…opponents are slashing .241/.310/.420 against him the first time through the order and .288/.327/.503 thereafter…opponents are slashing .328/.357/.642 when leading off an inning.
