BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The O’s beat the Rays, 5-3, yesterday to take three of four games at Tropicana Field and move 2.0 games clear for first place in the AL East…Ryan O’Hearn hit a go-ahead home run off the left-field foul pole in the sixth inning and Gunnar Henderson also homered in the win, a 446-foot blast off a catwalk in center field…Mike Baumann improved to 7-0 by throwing 2.2 hitless and scoreless innings and Félix Bautista earned his second save in as many days and his fourth win or save in the last five days while locking down his 28th save.
The Birds moved to 31-8 (.795) when scoring first, the best record in MLB; the 39 such games are the fewest in MLB. The Orioles won four of the six regular season games at Tropicana Field this season after winning three of the 21 games played in St. Petersburg from 2020-22. Marked the second four-game series win for the O’s at The Trop since the Rays joined MLB in 1998, along with April 10-13, 2006 (3-1), per the Elias Sports Bureau. O’Hearn’s homer came off lefty Colin Poche, his fourth career long ball against a left-handed pitcher and first since June 11, 2019 vs. Detroit with Kansas City. Baumann is the only pitcher in MLB this season with at least five wins and no losses.
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 four of their last five games, 12 of their last 15, and 13 of their last 18…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 61-38 (.616), 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 123-87 (.586) 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 Birds currently lead the AL East by multiple games after the All-Star Break for the first time since July 27, 2016 (+2.0). 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. 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.
ON THE ROAD AGAIN: The Orioles began a seven-game road trip on Thursday by taking three of four games at Tampa Bay…The Birds open a three-game set in Philadelphia tonight through Wednesday…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 eight of their last nine 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 31-18 (.633), trailing only the Braves at 32-15 (.681); 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 PHILLIES: The Orioles and Phillies meet for the only time during the regular season this week…The teams last met with Philadelphia taking two of three games at Citizens Bank Park from September 20-22, 2021…Baltimore is 18-13 all-time in Philly since the teams first met in the regular season in 1997…The O’s beat the Phils for their third and most recent World Series title in 1983, winning four straight games, including the last three in Philadelphia, after dropping game one at Oriole Park.
YOUNG GUNN: Gunnar Henderson is slashing .293/.352/.587 (44-for-150) with five doubles, three triples, 11 homers, 25 runs scored, 29 RBI, 13 walks, one hit-by-pitch, and three stolen bases in 39 games since June 1…He’s among AL leaders during that time in triples (T-3rd), home runs (T-3rd), slugging (5th), total bases (8th, 88), and OPS (9th).
He ranks among qualified AL rookies this season in triples (1st, 5), bWAR (1st, 2.8), home runs (2nd, 16), OPS (2nd, .818), runs scored (3rd, 51), RBI (3rd, 43), walks (3rd, 42), slugging (3rd, .477), and fWAR (3rd, 2.4).
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.
AY, TONE: Anthony Santander has reached base safely in 19 of the last 20 games while batting .268/.388/.465 (19-for-71) 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/.360/.522 (76-for-268) with 17 doubles, one triple, 15 homers, 43 runs scored, 44 RBI, 28 walks, four hit-by-pitches, and three stolen bases in 70 games…During that time, he ranks among AL leaders in home runs (5th), total bases (5th, 140), extra-base hits (6th, 33), OPS (9th, .882), runs scored (10th), and slugging (10th).
For the season, he is tied for seventh among AL leaders with 25 doubles and 43 extra-base hits.
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.
BROHEARN: Ryan O’Hearn has hit safely in six straight games while slashing .389/.400/.611 (7-for-18) with one double, one homer, two runs scored, four RBI, and one walk since July 17…That is tied for the second-longest hitting streak of his career behind a nine-gamer from June 10-21 earlier this year…He has now hit in at least six straight games three times this season after entering 2023 with one such streak…O’Hearn is batting .331/.371/.576 (46-for-139) with 10 doubles, eight homers, 22 runs scored, 26 RBI, eight walks, two hit-by-pitches, and one stolen base in 44 games (38 GS) since May 16…He ranks among AL leaders during that period (min. 150 PA) in slugging (5th) and OPS (7th, .946).
MOUNTAIN TIME: Félix Bautista leads the AL and is third in MLB with 28 saves this season… He has secured a win or save in 33 of his 45 appearances (73.3%) this year…That would be the fourth-highest such percentage in O’s history (since 1954) behind Jim Johnson (74.6%, 53-of-71) in 2012, Randy Myers (77.0%, 47-of-61) in 1997, and Lee Smith (82.9%, 34-of-41) in 1994, per the Elias Sports Bureau…Bautista is looking to become the eighth Oriole in team history to lead the league in saves and the first since Zack Britton locked down 47 games in 2016…Johnson has the team record of 51 saves set in 2012.
His 96 strikeouts are more than 18 qualified pitchers,
STARTING PITCHER – #64 DEAN KREMER RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 21th start of the season, 10th on the road, and first career start against the Phillies tonight…Made a career-high 22 appearances (21 GS) in 2022, 11 appearances at home (10 GS), and 11 on the road…Owned an 8-7 record with a 3.23 ERA (45 ER/125.1 IP) and 87 strikeouts…Made six starts of 5.0-or-more scoreless innings, tied for seventh-most in the AL…Acquired by the Orioles along with INF Breyvic Valera, OF Yusniel Diaz, RHP Zach Pop, and INF Rylan Bannon in exchange for INF Manny Machado on July 18, 2018…Originally selected by the Dodgers in the 14th round of the 2016 First-Year Player Draft out of UNLV.
LAST TIME OUT: Did not factor into the decision in his last outing on July 19 vs. Los Angeles-NL…Allowed five runs on four hits (2 HR) with a season-high four walks and one strikeout in 4.2 innings…Left with one runner on, who was stranded…Failed to complete 5.0-or-more innings for the fourth time this season and for the second time in his last four starts…Threw 91 pitches, 53 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE PHILLIES/NL EAST: Making his first career start against the Phillies and fifth against the NL East…Owns a 4-0 record with a 1.90 ERA (5 ER/23.2
IP) and three quality starts in his four career outings against the division…Earned the win in his last assignment against the NL East on July 14 vs. Miami, allowing one run on a season-low two hits with two walks, a hit batter, and eight strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Marked his ninth quality start of the campaign…Also marked his ninth victory in night games, the most in MLB this season…Threw 97 pitches, 60 strikes.
INTERLEAGUE WARRIOR: Making his 11th career Interleague start; has gone 7-2 with a 4.09 ERA (25 ER/55.0 IP) and five quality starts in his 10 career outings against the National League…Won five straight Interleague starts from August 5, 2022 to June 2, 2023.
ENJOYING THE NIGHT LIFE: Owns a 9-2 record with a 4.14 ERA (31 ER/67.1 IP) and seven quality starts in 12 night assignments this season…His nine victories after dark are the most in MLB entering tonight’s game…The Orioles own a 9-3 edge in his night starts, including wins in six straight from April 18 to June 2.
LIFE ON THE ROAD: Making his 10th road start of the 2023 campaign tonight…Has pitched to a 5-2 record with a 4.04 ERA (22 ER/49.0 IP) in nine assignments away from Oriole Park this season…Earned the win in his last road outing on July 5 at New York-AL…Allowed two runs (1 ER) on four hits (1 HR) with one walk and a career-high 10 strikeouts in a season-high-tying 7.0 innings (also: 6/24 vs. SEA)…Threw 103 pitches, 67 strikes.
SWEET VICTORY: Kremer’s 10 wins this season lead the O’s and are a career high, surpassing his eight victories in 2022…Entering play today, his 10 wins are tied for fourth in the AL and tied for seventh in MLB…The Orioles own a 14-6 edge in his 20 assignments this season, including victories in six of his last seven starts since June 13.
‘KREM’ OF THE CROP: Kremer has pitched to an 8-3 record with a 4.10 ERA (36 ER/79.0 IP) and eight quality starts in his last 14 assignments since May 5…Has completed at least 5.0 innings in 12 of those games and has allowed three earned runs-or-fewer in 11 of his last 14 outings…Tied a career high with three straight wins from May 5-21 (also: 6/12-7/9/22)…Completed 7.0 innings on June 24 vs. Seattle and July 5 at New York-AL…Tossed a career-high 10 strikeouts on July 5 at New York-AL.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #99 RECAP: The Phillies defeated the Guardians, 8-5, in extra innings in Cleveland … Starter Aaron Nola (ND) went 7.0 innings and allowed 3 runs on 6 hits with 0 walks and 7 strikeouts … Bryson Stott had four walks and three stolen bases and Bryce Harper and Alec Bohm each had 2 RBI … Craig Kimbrel blew his first save of the season (had been 16-for-16) – in the 10th, the Phillies scored four runs on 2 hits and Yunior Marte picked up his 2nd save after being summoned to escape a bases loaded jam.
THE COMPANY YOU KEEP: Second baseman Bryson Stott leads the Phillies in bWAR this season at 3.2 … Over the last 50 years (since 1973), four Phillies infielders have put up a 3.2 WAR season at age 25 or younger, with the last being shortstop Jimmy Rollins (4.7 WAR) in 2004 at the age of 25 … Prior to Rollins, Hall of Famer Scott Rolen did so four times from 1997-2000 (4.5 at age 25, 4.7 at age 24, 6.7 at age 23 and 4.5 at age 22) and Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt did so twice from 1974-75 (7.7 at age 25 and 9.8 at age 24) … Among all infielders this season aged 25 or younger, Stott’s 3.2 bWAR leads the National League and ranks 3rd in MLB behind only TB’s Wander Franco (4.2) and TOR’s Bo Bichette (3.5).
GREAT STOTT!: In yesterday’s 8-5 win, Bryson Stott had four walks and three stolen bases … Stott joined Hall of Famer Richie Ashburn as the only Phillies players since at least 1900 with four or more walks and three or more steals in a single game – Ashburn also had four walks and three steals on Aug. 16, 1955 against the Pirates in Pittsburgh at Forbes Field … Stott, who leads the Phillies with 5 defensive runs saved this season (DRS), ranks T-4th among MLB second baseman (tied with Mookie Betts and Nico Hoerner) and trails only Ha-seong Kim (12 DRS), Brice Turang (8 DRS) and Ozzie Albies (7 DRS).
BEDLAM AT THE BANK: Through 45 games at CBP, the Phillies are averaging 39,327 in attendance per game which ranks 6th among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (48,201), Cardinals (42,065), Yankees (41,253), Padres (40,379) and Braves (39,345) … Of Philadelphia’s first 45 games at home, 22 have been sellouts (49%) and 34 have been over 35,000 (76%) … Among all clubs in MLB, the Phillies have the largest year-to-year increase in attendance per game this season at +11,066 (up from 28,261 per game through 45 home games in 2022) – CLE ranks 2nd at +7,011 per game … Per Baseball Reference, the last time a team saw a +10,000 spike in attendance from one year to the next was in 2010 when the Twins moved to Target Field from the Metrodome and saw a +10,332 spike from 2009 … For reference, the Phillies saw a +12,224 spike in attendance in 2004 when CBP was opened (40,125 per game) after averaging 27,901 per game during the final year at Veterans Stadium in 2003.
REMEMBER THE FIGHTINS: The Phillies have won each of their last seven games in which they have blown a save (5/12-current) – it is tied for the third-longest such streak by any major league club since the save became official in 1969 (also: CIN earlier this year, 5/12-7/23/23) … The only clubs with longer streaks turning a blown save into a win were the 2017 Dodgers who won eight straight games in which they blew a save from May 9-July 24, 2017 and the California Angels who won 10 straight from June 5- Aug. 5, 1988.
RISP AND REWARD: Since June 3, the Phillies are 99-for-359 with runners in scoring position with a .276 AVG that ranks 7th in MLB (5th in the NL) and a .358 OBP that ranks 8th in MLB (6th in the NL) … League average since June 3 with RISP is a .260 AVG and .339 OBP … The Phils have four players with at least 30 plate appearances with RISP who are hitting over .300 since June 3: Trea Turner (.350 AVG/.435 OBP), Bryson Stott (.343 AVG/.390 OBP), Alec Bohm (.341 AVG, .391 OBP) and Bryce Harper (.300 AVG/.370 OBP).
ARMS RACE: Over the last 42 games (since 6/3), the Phillies’ starting rotation has gone 17-10 with a 3.10 ERA (86 ER, 249.1 IP) with 249 strikeouts to 61 walks (4.08 SO/BB ratio) – they have faced 1,005 batters and held them to a .645 OPS – it’s the lowest OPS among all clubs in that span (next: SD, .673 OPS) … Philadelphia’s 249.1 innings from their starters leads MLB since June 3 (next: MIN, 246.1 IP) … The staff has gone at least 6.0 innings in 28 of those 42 games (21-7 team record) … Philadelphia’s starters and relievers have combined for 14.7 fWAR which leads MLB (next: MIN, 14.2) and is more than three full wins clear of the next closest NL club (ATL, 11.6 fWAR).
AMERICA’S TEAM: The Phillies enter tonight’s game with a 20-12 record against the American League and a .625 winning percentage that ranks 4th in MLB behind only TOR (.690), MIA (.667) and CIN (.630) … The Phils won 12 straight games against the American League from May 7-July 6: 1 G vs BOS, 2 G vs TOR, 3 G vs DET, 3 G at OAK and 3 G at TB … Philadelphia’s 12-game Interleague winning streak was tied for the second-longest in major league history (13 G is the record) and is the longest since 2017 when the Dodgers won 13 straight against the AL …The Phillies were only the eighth team with a 12+ game Interleague winning streak in MLB history: NYY, 13 G (6/12/03-6/10/04); TB, 13 G (6/9-26/04); MIA, 13 G (8/13/13-6/10/14); LAD, 13 G (6/29-8/19/17), MIN, 12 G (6/22/06-5/19/07); BOS, 12 G (6/16-
29/06); STL, 12 G (6/13/04-5/21/05) … It was also the longest Interleague winning streak in franchise history (previous was 5 G, 2x: 6/21-29/03 and 9/1/97-6/6/98) … At the All-Star Game on July 11 in Seattle, Rob Thomson was joined by his coaching staff, Nick Castellanos and Craig Kimbrel as they helped the National League defeat the American League for the first time since 2012 … In fact, the NL had been just 4-21-1 against the American League since 1996.
FOURMULA FOR SUCCESS: When scoring at least four runs, the Phillies have won seven of eight (since 7/5), 16 of 18 (since 6/13) and 21 of 24 (since 6/3) … Overall this year, the Phillies are 40-13 when they score at least four (.755 win %) and 13-33 when held to three or fewer (.283 win %).
PHILLY SPECIAL: The Phillies opened this season on the road and went 1-5 in six games through TEX (0-3) and NYY (1-2) … Since then (4/7-current), they are 52-41 with a .559 winning percentage that ranks 7th in MLB and trails only ATL (.637), BAL (.624), TEX (.585), LAD (.571), HOU (.570) and TB (.567) … Since June 3, they have gone 28-14 and their .667 winning percentage in that span ranks 2nd in MLB behind only ATL (31-10, .756).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – CRISTOPHER SÁNCHEZ • LHP #61
2023: 0-3, 3.06 ERA Career: 3-5, 4.50 ERA
LAST START: 7/19 vs MIL: ND, 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, ER, BB, 3 SO … Sánchez vs Rea … The Phillies fell to the Milwuakee Brewers, 5-3, at CBP in South Philly … Nick Castellanos homered for the Phils and Kyle Schwarber had 2 RBI … The Phillies mounted another rally in the 9th but fell short as the series was evened at 1-1.
TONIGHT’S START:
- Watch Me Whip: Since being recalled on 6/17, Sánchez’s 0.97 WHIP is the best in the ranks 5th in the National League and 9th in all of baseball (min. 30.0 IP)
- American Dream: Sánchez is making his 6th career appearance and 3rd start against an American League team tonight … He has a career 2.35 ERA against the AL and in his last 2 starts he allowed 1 ER over 10 IP
- Nobody Rides for Free: Sánchez ranks in the 97th percentile in walk % and his 1.53 BB/9.0 IP ranks 6th in the NL (min. 25.0 IP) … Sanchez has only issued 6 walks in 7 starts this season … He joins Zack Wheeler as the only other Phillies starter this year to walk 6 or fewer batters in a 7 game span
- Change It Up: Per Statcast, Sánchez has struck out 11 batters with his changeup this season and has recorded a 36.8% whiff % with it, up from a 29.8% whiff % in 2022. His downward movement of 43.7 inches (with gravity) on his changeup is the best in baseball (min. 100 changeups thrown)
- Reach for the Stars: Per Statcast, Sánchez’s average release extension (where the ball is released relative to the rubber) of 6.9 feet puts him in the 90th percentile among all ML pitchers … As a result, his sinker velocity, which averages at 91.8 mph, has a perceived velocity of 92.8 mph
- Multidimensional: Sánchez has thrown more than 2.0 IP in 21 of his 29 career ML appearances, with all but 8 of the multi-inning appearances in relief … He has a 3.62 ERA (32 ER, 79.2 IP) in appearances of 2.0 IP or more
- Comeback: Was recalled from Lehigh Valley (AAA) prior to his start on 6/17 at OAK. Sánchez is in his 2nd stint with the Phillies this season. He was reinstated from the 15-day IL (left triceps strain) prior to his start on 4/22 and was optioned postgame
- Games: Made 2 rehab starts for Lehigh Valley (AAA) in Durham from 4/11-16 and combined to allow 1 run on 3 hits with 11 strikeouts against 3 walks in 8.2 IP
- Pitch Usage: Sinker (51.5%), Changeup (28.7%), Slider (19.8%)
- vs AL East: 1-0, 3.60 ERA (4 ER, 10.0 IP) in 3 games (1 start)
HOME:
- 2023: 0-3, 3.91 ERA (11 ER, 25.1 IP) in 5 starts
- Career: 2-4, 4.20 ERA (26 ER, 55.2 IP) in 18 games (9 starts)
