BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
YESTERDAY’S NEWS: The O’s beat the Phillies last night, 3-2, in the first game of the three-game set at Citizens Bank Park…Jordan Westburg hit his first career home run, a solo shot in the second inning, and Ryan Mountcastle also homered in the win, a 451-foot solo blast in the sixth…Colton Cowser drove in the winning run with an RBI double in the ninth, his first career extra-base hit; he also threw out Bryce Harper at home in the eighth inning with a relay from Jorge Mateo for his first career outfield assist…Dean Kremer logged his 10th quality start of the year after tossing a season-high-tying 7.0 innings, allowing one run on three hits with two walks, three strikeouts, and a wild pitch…Cionel Pérez earned his first save of the season and second of his career after working a scoreless ninth inning with one hit and one walk.
The Birds moved to 32-8 (.800) when scoring first, the best record in MLB; the 40 such games are the fewest in MLB.
SWEEPLESS IN BALTIMORE: With last night’s win, the Orioles have now gone 72 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 sweepless series from 1971-72…It is tied with the 1921-23 St. Louis Browns, 1997-99 San Diego Padres, and 2003-05 Atlanta Braves for the sixth-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).
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won five of their last six games, 13 of their last 16, and 14 of their last 19…At 62-38 (.620), 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 62-38 record is tied with the 1970, 1971, and 1997 teams for the fourth-best start through 100 games in team history (since 1954), trailing the 1969 (69-31), 1979 (67-33), and 1966 (66-34) squads…The Birds are 124-87 (.588) since the beginning of June 2022, the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in MLB during that time…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).
The Birds currently have a 2.5-game lead over the Rays in the AL East, the first time they’ve led the division by multiple games after the All-Star Break since July
27, 2016 (+2.0).
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 are in the middle of a seven-game road trip…Baltimore opened the trip by taking three of four games at Tampa Bay over the weekend…The Birds opened a three-game set in Philadelphia with a win last night…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 nine of their last 10 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 32-18 (.640), 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 19-13 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 .288/.349/.575 (44-for-153) with five doubles, three triples, 11 homers, 26 runs scored, 29 RBI, 14 walks, one hit-by-pitch, and three stolen bases in 40 games since June 1…He ranks among AL leaders during that time in triples (T-3rd), home runs (T-3rd), slugging (6th), total bases (8th, 88), and OPS (9th, .924).
He ranks among qualified AL rookies this season in triples (1st, 5), bWAR (1st, 2.8), home runs (2nd, 16), runs scored (2nd, 54), RBI (3rd, 43), walks (3rd, 43), slugging (3rd, .472), fWAR (3rd, 2.4), and OPS (4th, .812),
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 21 games while batting .253/.371/.440 (19-for-75) 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 .279/.355/.515 (76-for-272) with 17 doubles, one triple, 15 homers, 43 runs scored, 44 RBI, 28 walks, four hit-by-pitches, and three stolen bases in 71 games…During that time, he ranks among AL leaders in home runs (5th), total bases (T-5th, 140), extra-base hits (6th, 33), OPS (10th, .870), and slugging (10th).
Ranks tied for seventh in the AL with 25 doubles and 43 extra-base hits this season.
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.
MOUNTAIN TIME: Félix Bautista is tied for the AL lead and tied for 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 17 qualified pitchers, per STATS.
ROSTER MOVES: The Orioles today recalled outfielder Ryan McKenna from Triple-A Norfolk and placed outfielder Aaron Hicks on the 10-day Injured List with a left hamstring strain.
STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE GIBSON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 22nd start of the season, 13th on the road, and second career start against the Phillies 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 in his last outing on June 20 at Tampa Bay, allowing three runs on seven hits with two walks, a wild pitch, a hit batter, and eight strikeouts in 6.0+ innings…Marked his 10th quality start of the season…Left with two runners on, who both later scored…Threw 91 pitches, 63 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE PHILLIES: Making his second career start against the Phillies tonight…Did not factor into the decision in his lone assignment against Philadelphia with Minnesota on June 22, 2016 at Target Field…Surrendered five runs (4 ER) on eight hits (2 HR) with two walks (1 IBB) and five strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Threw 98 pitches, 64 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE NL EAST: Making his 27th career start against the NL East tonight…Did not factor into the decision in his last outing against the division on July 15 vs. Miami…Allowed five runs on nine hits with two walks and one strikeout in 5.1 innings…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… Owns a 7-10 record with a 5.25 ERA (84 ER/144.0 IP) and 10 quality starts in 26 career starts against the NL East.
INTERSTELLAR: In 34 career Interleague starts, Gibson has pitched to a 6-16 record with a 5.61 ERA (117 ER/187.2 IP), one complete game, and 11 quality starts…Has not allowed a home run in five starts (26.0 IP) against the National League this season.
PHAMILIAR PHACES: Gibson spent parts of the previous two seasons with the Phillies, pitching to a 14-14 record with a 5.06 ERA (133 ER/236.2 IP) and 21 quality starts in 43 appearances (42 starts) with the club…Appeared on his fifth career postseason roster in 2022 with the Phillies and made his World Series debut in Game 3 at Citizens Bank Park (1.0 IP, H, K)…In two relief appearances during the 2022 Postseason, Gibson worked 2.1 scoreless innings on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts.
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 sixth in the AL and tied for 13th 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 .159/.174/.227 (14-for-88) with two home runs against Gibson’s sweeper this season…Has recorded 36 strikeouts via the offspeed pitch, tied for the fourth-most in MLB entering play today…Last season, hitters slashed .214/.214/.357 (6-for-28) with two extra-base hits (2B, HR) against his sweeper.
HOMER (UN)HAPPY: Gibson has allowed just 10 home runs in 121.0 innings across his 21 starts; entering play today, he ranks among qualified pitchers in HR/9 (6th, 0.74)…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.
PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES NOTES:
GAME #100 RECAP: The Phillies fell to the Baltimore Orioles, 3-2, at Citizens Bank Park … Starter Cristopher Sanchez (ND) tossed 7.0 innings and allowed 2 runs on 4 hits with 0 walks and 8 strikeouts … The Phillies had more walks (4) than strikeouts (3) and out-hit the Orioles 7-5, however, all seven of their hits were singles.
ARMS RACE: Over the last 43 games (since 6/3), the Phillies’ starting rotation has gone 17-10 with a 3.09 ERA (88 ER, 256.1 IP) with 257 strikeouts to 61 walks (4.21 SO/BB ratio) – during this stretch, they have the lowest OPS among all starting staffs in MLB at .642 (next: MIL, .689), the lowest ERA at 3.09 (next: SD, 3.19), the lowest opponents AVG at .222 (next: MIL, .223), the lowest WHIP at 1.07 (next: MIA, 1.11) and the most innings pitched at 256.1 (next: MIN, 252.2) … The staff has gone at least 6.0 innings in 29 of those 43 games (67%) and at least 7.0 innings in 14 of those 43 games (33%), including each of the last three (since 7/22) … Since June 3, the Phillies bullpen has tossed the fewest innings of any relief corps in MLB at 136.2 (29th is MIN at 140.1 and most is SF at 210.0) but have the fourth-lowest ERA in MLB at 3.42, trailing only ATL (2.82), TB (3.01) and SF (3.26) … Philadelphia’s starters and relievers have combined for 14.9 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).
HATS OFF TO YOU THOMS: Since Rob Thomson was named manager of the Phillies on June 3, 2022, the Phils are 25 games over .500 at 118-93 with a .559 winning percentage that is tied for 5th in MLB (with SEA), trailing only ATL (.673), LAD (.638), HOU (.613) and BAL (.589) … On June 15 at ARI, Thomson reached 100 career wins in 180 games at the helm which was tied for the 6th fastest of the 56 managers in Phillies history and the fastest since Pat Corrales in 1983 (also 180 games) … On July 9, Thomson managed his 200th game for the Phillies and had more wins (113) through his first 200 games than all but four of the 55 other managers in Phillies franchise history: Steve O’Neill (1952-54, 118 wins), Pat Moran (1915-18, 117 wins), Dallas Green (1979-81, 116 wins) and Bill Shettsline (1898-1902, 116 wins).
OH MAI TAI: Taijuan Walker has made 20 starts this season for the Phillies and they are 14-6 in those 20 games … Philadelphia’s .700 winning percentage in his 20 starts ranks T-4th among all pitchers in MLB (with ATL’s Bryce Elder), behind only ATL’s Spencer Strider (17-3, .850), BAL’s Dean Kremer (15-6, .714) and NYY’s Gerrit Cole (15-6, .714) … The last Phillies pitcher to make his first 20 starts of the season and have the Phillies win 14 or more of those games was Ranger Suarez last year (also 14-6) … Walker won seven straight decisions from June 6-July 15 over which he posted a 1.84 ERA in 44.0 innings pitched (9 ER) – he became only the 9th Phillies pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to win seven straight starts and the first since Cliff Lee, July 30-Sept. 5, 2011.
BEDLAM AT THE BANK: Through 46 games at CBP, the Phillies are averaging 39,430 in attendance per game which ranks 5th among all clubs in MLB behind only the Dodgers (48,191), Cardinals (42,065), Yankees (41,253) and Padres (40,441) … Of Philadelphia’s first 46 games at home, 23 have been sellouts (50%) and 35 have been over 35,000 (76%) … Among all clubs in MLB, the Phillies have the largest yearto-year increase in attendance per game this season at +11,180 (up from 28,250 per game through 46 home games in 2022) – CLE ranks 2nd at +6,757 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 this year, 5/12-current) … 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 101-for-364 with runners in scoring position with a .277 AVG that ranks 6th in MLB and a .359 OBP that also ranks 6th … 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: Bryson Stott (.343 AVG/.390 OBP), Alec Bohm (.341 AVG/.391 OBP), Trea Turner (.341 AVG/.426 OBP) and Bryce Harper (.300 AVG/.370 OBP) … OPS leaders for the Phillies with RISP since June 3: Kyle Schwarber (1.028 OPS), Bohm (.903 OPS) and Nick Castellanos (.873 OPS).
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 52-42 with a .553 winning percentage that ranks 3rd in the National League behind only ATL (.637) and LAD (.565) and T-7th in MLB (with TOR) … Since June 3, they have gone 28-15 and their .651 winning percentage in that span ranks 2nd in MLB behind only ATL (31-10, .756).
TONIGHT’S STARTER – TAIJUAN WALKER • RHP #99
2023: 11-4, 4.11 ERA Career: 65-54, 3.91 ERA
LAST START: 7/20 vs MIL: L, 6.0 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 6 SO … Walker vs Burnes … The Phillies fell to the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-0, at CBP in South Philly … Walker pitched into the 7th inning and made 1 mistake to Chrisitan Yellich who hit a 3-run homer in the 3rd inning … Offensively, the Phillies had 2 hits and 2 walks as Brewers starter Corbin Burnes tossed 8.0 scoreless innings.
TONIGHT’S START:
- Pitch Usage: Splitter (34.9%), Sinker (24.7%), 4-Seam (17.0%), Cutter (15.8%), Sweeper (4.0%), Curveball (3.5%).
- Remember This: Walker surpassed 1,000.0 career innings pitched in his last outing. In that start, he punched out Andruw Monasterio in the fourth inning for his 900th career strikeout. The Phillies are 14-6 (.700 win %) through Walker’s first 20 starts this year, the 4th-best winning percentage in a pitcher’s starts (min. 20 GS) this season.
- Americana: In 28 career interleague starts, Walker is 15-7 with a 3.67 ERA (66 ER, 162.0 IP), 1.15 WHIP and 154 strikeouts to 53 walks. In 2023, is 5-1 and has posted a 3.59 ERA (17 ER, 42.2 IP) in 7 interleague starts with a 1.08 WHIP and 44 strikeouts to 15 walks.
- Little Bird: Walker has won 4 straight decisions over his last 5 starts against Baltimore since 6/30/16. He has posted a 0.92 ERA (3 ER, 29.1 IP) with 7 walks and 26 strikeouts in that stretch.
- That’s Just the Way We Roll: Walker was the 1st Phillies starter to reach 11 wins this season, a mark tied with 5 others for 1st in MLB. He has recorded double-digit victories in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. Walker went 5-0 at CBP to start the year (8 games) and was the 1st starter since Zack Wheeler (2020-21) to begin ones Phillies career without a loss in their first 8+ starts at home; Wheeler was 7-0 through his first 13 starts at home for the Phillies.
- Hold On: Walker’s 4 pickoffs in 2023 are tied with 6 others for the ML-lead. His 22 successful pickoff attempts since the start of the 2015 season are the 6th-most among active major league pitchers in that span and 3rd-most among active righties.
- Much Better: Walker has used his splitter 34.9% of the time in 2023, the highest rate of his career (previous: 27.6% in 2022) … 48 of his 94 strikeouts have come via the splitter and his 26.4 strikeout percentage and 27.0 whiff percentage with the pitch are the 10th- and 12th-best marks in the NL, respectively (min. 25 PA).
- vs AL East: 8-10, 4.21 ERA (72 ER, 154.0 IP) in 29 starts.
HOME:
- 2023: 5-1, 2.76 ERA (15 ER, 49.0 IP) in 9 starts.
- Career: 29-22, 3.71 ERA (202 ER, 490.1 IP) in 89 games (87 starts).
- CBP: 6-2, 3.58 ERA (29 ER, 73.0 IP) in 14 starts.
2023 SEASON:
- Registered a career-high 7-game winning streak from 6/6-7/15 and became the 9th Phillie in the modern era (since 1901) to win at least 7 straight starts in a single season (last, Cliff Lee, 7/30-9/5/11).
- His 1.50 ERA in June was 6th-lowest among starters for the month, while he was the only ML pitcher to tally 5 wins. He is the 1st Phillies pitcher since Zach Eflin (5 in 2018) with 5 wins in the month of June.
- Allowed 1 run or less in a career-high 5 straight starts from 6/6-29. Tossed consecutive scoreless starts of at least 5.0 IP on 6/6 and 6/11 for the 1st time in his career.
- Threw a career-high 14.0 scoreless innings from 6/6-16, surpassing 2 scoreless 13.0-inning stretches from 7/4-16/22 and 6/26-7/7/15 … Completed 8.0 innings on 6/16 for the 1st time since 4/27/17 vs SD while with ARI.
- On 5/21 vs CHI, Walker made his 1st career start on 3 days rest.
- Made his Phillies debut on 4/3 at NYY after signing a 4-year contract with the club in December.
- Pitched for Team Mexico in the 2023 WBC, making 1 start in Pool Play against Great Britain … He threw 4.0 scoreless IP with 2 baserunners allowed and recorded 8 of his 12 outs via strikeout.
