NEW YORK METS NOTES:
No team release available.
BALTIMORE ORIOLES NOTES:
HANG 10: The O’s defeated the Mets yesterday, 10-3, in the opener of the three-game series in Baltimore…Improved to 25-11 in series openers and 11-7 in series openers at Oriole Park…Scored double-digit runs for the 11th time this season and first since plating 13 on August 1 at Toronto…Drew seven free passes, their most since drawing eight walks on July 6 at New York-AL.
Mike Baumann picked up his ninth win of the season after tossing 1.2 perfect innings; became the first reliever in O’s history (since 1954) to win each of his first nine relief decisions to begin a season, as well as the fourth O’s pitcher to start a season at least 9-0 and first since Arthur Rhodes (9-0) in 1996.
Jordan Westburg launched a three-run homer in the seventh inning, his second of the season and first at Oriole Park; reached base a career-high four times (2 H, 2 BB).
James McCann tallied a career-high-tying five RBI for the second time, joining August 12, 2017 vs. Minnesota with Detroit; is the first O’s batter with at least five RBI in a game since Gunnar Henderson also drove in five on July 6 at New York-AL, and the first O’s catcher to do so since Pedro Severino had six RBI on August 26, 2021 vs. Los Angeles-AL…According to STATS, McCann is the only MLB catcher to go 3-for-3 (or better) with a walk, a stolen base, and at least five RBI in a game since RBI became an official stat in 1920.
MOUNT UP: Ryan Mountcastle is slashing .436/.476/.673 (24-for-55) with seven doubles, two homers, 12 runs scored, 10 RBI, six walks, and one stolen base in 19 games while tallying a hit in 14 of his 15 starts since returning from the Injured List on July 9…He has a seven-game hitting streak since July 28, his second-longest of the season behind an eight-gamer from April 29 (G1) to May 6…He went 11-for-13 with four doubles, five runs scored, six RBI, three walks, and one stolen base during the four-game set in Toronto from July 31 to August 3…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the 11 hits are tied with Merv Rettenmund (September 24-26, 1971 at Cleveland) for the most in a four-game series since the Orioles moved to Baltimore in 1954.
SWEEPLESS IN BALTIMORE: With tonight’s game, the Orioles will have gone 75 consecutive series of at least two decisions (no ties) without being swept…According to the Elias Sports Bureau, that is the most consecutive series without getting swept in Orioles history (since 1954), ahead of 46 consecutive sweepless series from 1971-72…It is the fifth-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), and 1922-24 New York Yankees (83).
WHAT’S TRENDING: The O’s have won six of their last eight games, 11 of 16, 19 of 26, and 20 of 29…At 68-42 (.618), the Orioles have the best record in the AL and second-best in MLB and are one of two teams with a .600 winning percentage (see box at right)…The Birds are 130-91 (.588) since June 2022, the second-best record in the AL and fourth-best in MLB during that time…The team had a season-best eight-game winning streak from July 5-16, Baltimore’s longest since a 10-gamer from July 3-13, 2022.
The O’s hold a 2.0-game lead over the Rays in the AL East.
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.
FEELS GOOD TO BE HOME: Baltimore is 33-21 (.611) at Oriole Park this season, the third-best home record in the AL and fifth-best in MLB…The Birds are 78-57 (.578) at home since the beginning of 2022, the fourth-best home record in the AL and seventh-best in MLB during that time.
MEET THE METS: The Orioles and Mets are meeting for the first and only series between the two teams this season…The O’s have gone 17-28 against the Mets in the regular season since the teams first met in 1997…The O’s last played the Metropolitans in 2021, splitting a two-game series at Oriole Park from June 8-9 after being swept in two games at Citi Field from May 11-12…The Orioles dropped the 1969 World Series to the Mets in five games.
MOUNTAIN TIME: Major League Baseball on Wednesday announced that Félix Bautista was voted the American League Reliever of the Month for July…He’s now won the award in back-to-back months and for the third time this season, joining April…Prior to this year, Jim Johnson (May 2012) was the only O’s pitcher in team history to take home the honor… Bautista did not allow a run and registered a win or a save in all 11 appearances last month, going 3-0 with eight saves and 25 strikeouts in 14.0 innings…He ranks tied for the AL lead and third in MLB with 29 saves and has secured a win or save in 35 of his 47 appearances (74.5%) this season…That would be the fourth-highest such percentage in O’s history (since 1954)…Bautista is looking to become the first Oriole to lead the league in saves since Zack Britton locked down 47 games in 2016…Jim Johnson has the team record of 51 saves set in 2012.
His 101 strikeouts are more than 11 qualified pitchers; he has 21 more strikeouts than the next-closest reliever.
Bautista’s 17.59 K/9 (101 K/51.2 IP) would be the fourth-best by a qualified reliever in MLB history; Cincinnati’s Aroldis Chapman (2014), Cleveland’s James Karinchak (2020), and Milwaukee’s Devin Williams (2020) are tied for the record with a 17.67 mark.
He is the seventh O’s reliever to reach 100 strikeouts in a season and the first since B.J. Ryan fanned 100 in 2005; Ryan holds the Orioles record for strikeouts as a reliever in one season with 122 in 2004.
STARTING PITCHER – #48 KYLE GIBDON RHP
QUICK HITS: Scheduled to make his 24th start of the season, 10th at home, and ninth career start against the Mets 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: Earned his 99th career victory in his last outing on July 31 at Toronto… Allowed one run on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts in 6.0+ innings…Left with one runner on, who was stranded…Marked his third straight quality start, fourth in his last five outings, and 12th on the season…Threw 97 pitches, 60 strikes.
CAREER AGAINST THE METS: Making his ninth career start against the Mets tonight… Dealt the loss in his last start against New York-NL with Philadelphia on August 21, 2022 at Citizens Bank Park…Allowed four runs (2 ER) on eight hits with three walks and three punchouts in 4.1 innings…Left with one runner on, who was stranded…Has pitched to a 2-3 record with a 3.98 ERA (18 ER/40.2 IP) and three quality starts in eight career assignments against the Mets.
CAREER AGAINST THE NL EAST: Is slated to make his 28th career start against the NL East…Did not factor into the decision in his last outing against the division on July 25 at Philadelphia…Allowed two runs on four hits (1 HR) with no walks and five strikeouts in 6.0 innings…Marked his 11th quality start of the season…Allowed three of the four hits in the third inning…Retired 11 consecutive batters before surrendering a solo home run to Bryce Harper in the sixth inning…Threw 92 pitches, 56 strikes…Owns a 7-10 record with a 5.16 ERA (86 ER/150.0 IP) in 27 career assignments against the NL East.
HOME COOKING: Making his 10th home start of the campaign tonight…Sports a 4-3 record with a 5.55 ERA (30 ER/48.2 IP) in his nine starts at Oriole Park this season.
HIGH QUALITY: Gibson has logged three straight quality starts, his longest such streak of the season and longest since a four-gamer from July 27 to August 16, 2022 with Philadelphia…Entering play today, his 12 quality starts lead the Orioles and are tied for seventh-most in the American League.
ALL HE DOES IS WIN, WIN, WIN: Gibson earned his 10th win in his last outing on July 31 at Toronto, his 23rd start of the season…Entering tonight’s game, his 10 victories are tied for fourth in the AL and tied for eighth in MLB…Did not win his 10th decision in 2022 until his 28th start on September 14 at Miami with Philadelphia…Is one victory shy of 100 for his career.
CLUB 100: Gibson recorded his 100th strikeout of the season in the second inning on July 25 at Philadelphia…He is one of four MLB pitchers to record 100+ punchouts in nine of the last 10 seasons, along with Jacob deGrom, Clayton Kershaw, and Max Scherzer.
HOW SWEEP IT IS: Opposing batters are slashing .152/.167/.217 (14-for-92) with two home runs against Gibson’s sweeper this season…Has recorded 39 strikeouts via the offspeed pitch, tied for the fourth-most in MLB…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 11 home runs in 133.0 innings across his 23 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.
