BALTIMORE–The Orioles lost their 16th consecutive game on Friday night, but this one at least felt different. Oriole starter Keegan Akin gave up two home runs that accounted for all the scoring but pitched five solid innings. His counterpart, Atlanta’s Max Fried, was just better, pitching a complete-game shutout as the Braves beat the Orioles, 3-0, before an announced crowd of 13,583 at Camden Yards.
Fried (11-7) gave up just four hits and threw only 90 pitches. The Orioles were shut out for the eighth time this season.
According to STATS, the Orioles became the first team since the 1876 Cincinnati Red Stockings to lose 16 consecutive games by two runs or more. Their 16 straight losses are the second most in club history behind the 21 consecutive losses to begin the 1988 season.
“We thought we had a chance to win that game the whole way through,” said Austin Hays, who made two outstanding plays in left field on liners by Jorge Soler. “We end the game every night, and everybody’s upset. There’s no music in the clubhouse. Everybody’s just mad because we’re losing games.
“It’s a very tough atmosphere. I think we’re doing as good a job as you can do. We come in the next day with a positive mindset and getting our work in and making sure we’re continuing to be professionals and doing everything that we can control and having a positive mindset for the game the next day.”
Akin (0-8) gave up three runs on two homers–Travis d’Arnaud’s two-run homer in the second, and Soler’s in the third.
He loaded the bases after Soler’s home run, but Adam Duvall’s long fly ball to left ended the inning and kept the score at 3-0.
“I made a couple of bad pitches, and paid for those,” Akin said. “I definitely feel a little bit better about it, but I have to keep going.”
After 101 pitches, Akin was removed with runners on first and second in the sixth. Dillon Tate, who had allowed each of his previous 11 runners to score, stopped that streak.
Ryan Mountcastle extended his hitting streak to 12 games with a first-inning single. Trey Mancini ended the inning with a double play.
“We didn’t have enough offense against a good pitcher tonight,” manager Brandon Hyde said. “Even though we didn’t put a whole lot of pressure on them offensively, I thought we pitched. We’ve been struggling on the mound.”
Paul Fry pitched a scoreless 1 1/3 innings, and Tanner Scott worked a scoreless ninth.
Mancini doubled in the fourth and singled in the seventh, and Jorge Mateo ran his hitting streak to 11 with a fifth-inning single.
“He was pitching ahead, and forced us to have to move the bat,” Hays said. “He had some really good defense behind him. There were probably five or six balls that they hit right on the screws, and they had guys there, a couple of really good defensive plays. He didn’t walk anybody, he didn’t give us any free 90-feets, and they didn’t make any errors. Just really a combination from their starting pitching and their defense.”
Notes: Hyde said that 36-year-old changeup pitcher Cesar Valdez, who was designated for assignment on Friday when the Orioles acquired right-hander Chris Ellis on waivers from Tampa Bay, would be missed. “Really enjoyed having him here. He’s a total pro,” Hyde said. “Very well liked in our clubhouse. He was a good story.” … Matt Harvey (6-12, 6.25 ERA) will face Drew Smyly (8-3, 4.50) on Saturday night. It’s John Means’ Bobblehead night. The first 15,000 fans 15 and over get a bobblehead. … Akin is the sixth pitcher in franchise history to fail to record a win in his first 11 starts of a season.
Elias on Davis: In his first comments on the retirement of Chris Davis, which was announced on August 12, Orioles general manager Mike Elias said:
“Having a resolution of the situation is good. It’s good for him. It’s good for us. He had a significant injury on top of the struggles that he’s had since being on this most recent contract. It hasn’t gone well. It’s been something that has weighed on everybody and hung over the roster. I’m glad that we came to a conclusion that made sense for everybody and allows us to move forward in the future, and allows him to not have to address a rehab, a very difficult rehab in the situation that he was in and kind of retire on his terms, so I think it’s a very positive thing for this organization that it was resolved.”
Elias on Diaz: During his meeting with the media on Friday, Elias was also asked about Yusniel Diaz, the outfielder obtained by the Orioles in the Manny Machado trade in July 2018. Diaz has had a disappointing year and missed time with leg and toe injuries.
“The injuries certainly haven’t helped,” Elias said. “But it hasn’t really gotten off the ground, going back to spring training and the alt-site. It hasn’t been characteristic of what we’ve seen from him in the past. It’s been really hard to work with them to get him going offensively because of the injuries. I think that’s compounded it. You just can’t get really he momentum going in the work that we’re trying to do with him on the hitting side.
“It hasn’t been on the success side of the ledger in 2021 so far. He still has a ton of talent. I’ve always been a fan of his talent, as I’ve said, and we’ve got to keep pushing with him.”
Minor League update: In his Triple-A debut, Cody Sedlock, the Orioles’ top pick in 2016, pitched five scoreless innings as Norfolk beat Charlotte, 4-1. Sedlock (1-0) allowed three hits, struck out six and didn’t walk a batter.
Ryan McKenna hit two home runs, and first baseman Adley Rutschman had two hits.
Blaine Knight allowed a run on three hits in four innings for his first save.
In his first start for Double-A Bowie, knuckleballer Mickey Jannis pitched six innings, giving up one run as the Baysox defeated Reading, 5-3, in 10 innings. Jannis gave up a run on five hits, walking two and striking out two.
First baseman Andrew Daschbach hit two home runs and drove in three runs. Designated hitter Patrick Dorrian had three hits.
Leftfielder Lamar Sparks’ game-winning RBI single gave High-A Aberdeen a 6-5 win in 11 innings over Wilmington. Sparks also homered and tripled.
Catcher Ryne Ogren hit a three-run home run, designated hitter Billy Cook drove in four runs and centerfielder Mason Janvrin and first baseman Jacob Teter each drove in two runs as Low-A Delmarva beat Fredericksburg, 17-1
The Shorebirds scored six runs in the first, five in the second and six in the eighth.
Jake Lyons (3-3) gave up a run on three hits in six innings. He struck out eight and walked one.
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Good for Sedlock, I’m assuming fiev is Russian for five innings pitched, would like to see someone in orange & black go longer than five innings, funny how 3 runs given up in 5 innings equates to a good start, only for the O’s in 2021...go O’s...
Thank you for the catch. I always thought you were a great college wrestling coach. I didn't realize you taught English, too!
Not a problem...go O’s...
CPs ...it was funny ...the Russian thing, though that might somehow be teetering on racism in today's world.
Russian isn't a race. They're caucasian.
Forgive me, for I am but a rube.
But for the record, there are millions of Russians of Asian descent.
LOL...;)....go O’s...
It’s all right jimmy, it was an inside joke...go O’s...
I guess you could call that competitive(3-0). Not thrilled to hear Elias' comment about Diaz--" we gotta keep pushing him". Hmmm reeks of a lack of self motivation. Yes good to hear about Knight and especially Sedlock. I think we're all rooting Sedlock. Wish Palmer would cut back referring to his younger days AND "My Yankees". Yeah,yeah Jim we knew you were a Yankee fan. Bad enough hearing Ken Singleton call Yankee games for NY tv(YES Network) when they came to Baltimore. Mckenna 2 Hrs for Norfolk--big difference in AAA pitching for sure. Well keep plugging along. Playing an unfamiliar NL foe may keep these games close and competitive BUT there is a sadistic side of me that is curious to see how many games in a row this "Circus" can lose. Really ashamed I said that but it is what it is. Kinda like a full body"cleanse"--get it all out of your system now(I hope).
90 pitches in a game? Big deal Orioles' pitchers can do that in three innings any day.
I couldn't resist :)
Ouch! Good one.
Now that the Orioles have fallen below the Diamondbacks, they can set their sights on eclipsing the futility of Buck's last bunch. You know things are bad when your failures are equal to teams with "Stockings" as part of their name.
This team is so bad I am at a loss for words. 50 games below 500 with over a month left in the season.
The Bathyspheres….
Dillon Tate performed well in relief of Keegan Akin. As far as I'm concerned, the O's could have kept Tate in longer. Really don't understand Hyde's pitching strategy.
Was “encouraged” by Hyde letting Akin burn to 100 pitches - wow - these guys need that. I guess the early “hook”is because of the frequent bullpen meltdowns.
Bottom line is this club is weak on all fronts, and it obviously shows.
Can’t wait to see the next wave. At least it will be exciting to watch our own fresh faced youngsters finally give it a shot.
Hyde brought Tate in to face righty, righty, lefty batters in sixth (has to face at least three batters). 7th inning Braves had switch hitter who hits lefties better than righties leading off, then righty, then lefty Freeman who has OPS 0.962 vs righties. The move did not work out as planned as Freeman doubled off of Fry, but it seems Hyde's strategy in this particular instance was to get a left hand pitcher to face Freeman due to Freeman's batting splits vs RHP/LHP. It did seems Tate was on a roll though retiring 5 straight while throwing on 17 pitches.
Akin finally had a decent outing. We’ll see if he can continue it in his next outing. This offense is putrid. At what point do you fire Don Long? As the hitting coach you gotta get your guys to simplify there approach and he’s not doing that. With the exception of three or four guys this offense sucks.
Don’t get your hopes up with Akin’s performance! As I’ve posted here, many times, the ONE thing you can count on from Akin is inconsistency. I followed him at Bowie (any number of games in person) and, initially, was impressed. He would look good to great for a couple of games and then not be able to get out of the first inning. That same scenario followed at Norfolk but without as many good to great games… but, in spite of that he got pushed on up to the O’s where he’s seldom, if ever, had even a “good” game. At best he’s a marginal triple A pitcher. I shudder when I see his name penciled in and, even worse, scream “WHY? “ when Hyde uses him in relief. He may be a nice guy but he’s not a Major Leaguer…. Just saying…
BTW… on your comment on the batting coach, the same should go for the pitching coach! Be gone with all of them !
,
Someone posted a comment recently speaking to plate discipline, or the O’s lack thereof.
I get so frustrated watching guys swinging at first pitch or seemingly not taking situational hitting into consideration. The swing at first pitch thing puts you in the hole immediately, most of the time. Taking borderline pitches late in the count. Never batting behind a runner or trying to go opposite field. Simply swinging for the fences and flying out to the warning track.
Cedric Mullins - no surprise, based on his batting average- is disciplined at taking a first pitch, and his success shows it. Plays Rose style and makes the pitcher work. Doubles machine type guy.
Fire the pitching coach? Fire the hitting coach? At this point, why? To send a message, right? No. We only have to look at them for another couple of weeks. Window dressing, as they say…….
Funny how this season it’s deemed acceptable to only give up 3 runs in only 5 innings, the O’s of 2021...go O’s...
Imagine there is a family restaurant that has been fixture in your neighborhood for almost 70 years. It's part of the fabric of the community - birthdays, rehearsal parties and weddings have been celebrated there. Historically, most of the ingredients used at the restaurant were sourced locally and farm fresh. They outgrew the original location and a beautiful new restaurant was built that drew many diners from outside the community as well.
The restaurant was a source of pride in the community and everyone used to know everyone. It was not uncommon for waiters and other staff to work there for 15-20 years. One guy even worked 16+ years without missing a shift! The general manager would change every decade or so but the culture and tradition remained. The quality of the food was consistent.
The restaurant struggled to keep up with the big chains and has seen some challenges the last few years; however, the staff still did their best to listen to - and please - their customers. The patrons knew of the challenges and supported change but hoped old traditions somehow would remain.
A new general manager from outside the community was brought in and radically changed the culture and jettisoned most of the long-term staff (even busboys and dishwashers!) and totally ignored traditions. The menu was copied from one of their out-of-state locations and instead of local, farm fresh products everything is sourced from Costco and Sam's Club. Most of the ingredients are bought at a discount just before (and sometimes after) the expiration date. But "don't worry" says the new GM, we're bringing back the local, farm fresh food you've been missing - it will take just a few more years. Meanwhile, the neighborhood must put up with inedible, overpriced food. But fearing they might one day lose this beloved restaurant, some continue to say nothing and put up with the bad quality and service.
The number of customers visiting the restaurant has plunged and the restaurant, while still beautiful, has plenty of empty seats. Unlike the old days, It's not hard to get a table at all. Instead of talking to people who worked at the restaurant for many years - or better yet the customers - the new GM has an assistant who does nothing but take menus and reviews for other restaurants and feeds them into a computer model to tell the customers what they really want.
Despite the memories and traditions, many of the old customers become disenchanted (or would disenfranchised be more appropriate?) and begin ordering online from other restaurants or just cooking at home. The new GM isn't concerned at all over the lack of customers or revenue. He continues to insist that once they bring back the local, farm fresh ingredients they'll get that Michelin 5 Star rating once again. In the meantime, keep eating those GMO laden dishes - it will make you appreciate the return of the old menu even more!
Seriously, how long would you continue to support your neighborhood restaurant if this was their business model?
Change is tough RoenStein. You analogy falls short IMO because the O's restaurant was putting poor food on the table and providing poor customer service, again IMO (see 47-115 in 2018), prior to the new GM being hired. Plus the new GM is working with local 4H clubs, high schools, and community colleges to bring some excellent new products and service personnel to the restaurant very soon...You can patronize other restaurants!
“My objective and kind of North Star through this whole thing is maximizing playoff odds for the Orioles over like a longtime horizon,” Elias said.
My analogy addresses 2018 in paragraph 3. Did Duquette and Showalter need to go? I think so. Were they as flippant about losing as Elias and Hyde? No way.
You can have a rebuild and still put forth a solid effort at the same time. Can you really say that is what's happening?
Amazing how the current regime is getting no professional criticism whatsoever from the local media.
Amen bra!
Your last sentence .... I believe that local media is fearful of being cut off from the source in this cancel culture society. Newspapers and other smaller outlets are not the big dogs they once were.
I love how the Elias supporters repeatedly bring 2018 back up as if it were the norm under the previous GM's tenure.
I think RStien's analogy is very clever and not far off at all! But you're right PajamaBoy ... you CAN patronize other restaurants. And by the looks of the box scores attendance numbers, the O's fans are doing just that.
Thanks for the quote, OM. I love the Mike Elias Fog Machine. Can you explain the meaning of "my objective and kind of North Star"? And what about "maximizing playoff odds" as opposed to, say, winning a championship? And finally, "over like a longtime horizon"? I can understand players and managers over Zoom after a game not speaking perfectly with prepared remarks, but when a guy has weeks or even months to prepare a statement, and it makes no sense, it has to be deliberate.
I think I figured it out. Elias is calling on his "North Star" when Cadillac's are equipped with OnStar:
OnStar Agent:
Sir! WTF! It doesn't take GPS to see you just intentionally drove the Cadillac belonging to the Angelos family straight into the Chesapeake Bay! Do you even have a license?
Elias:
It's okay. I know what I'm doing. I got my learner's permit in Houston.
OnStar Agent:
Sir! You are sinking fast! We'll send help right away.
Elias:
Really, it's okay. Sig printed off the directions on Google Maps. I'll sit here on the bottom for a few years and then magically, rise to the top.
OnStar Agent:
Strange - we called the local EMS (media) and they don't seem concerned at all. We'll call the Angelos family to see if they'll comment. After all, it is their car.
Northstar engine idea was a dud!
Can you spy Elias lies?
The North Star is within sight
Playoff odds are maximized
There aint no way to hide Elias lies
Brother Lo .... Not sure if this is what you were going for, but Haikus are normally 5-7-5 ...
Speaks with forked tongue
It is of course a process
Full Autonomy
Boog,
This was a partial parody to the Eagles hit, "Lyin' Eyes."
I posted a full song parody in honor of our GM last evening under Rich's story.
I can see that now. Pardon me, as I'm a bit slow on the uptake now and then. :)
The restaurant would have failed years ago. The Orioles are fortunate that a surprisingly large group of fans are willing to accept ANY product--regardless of quality. This is evidenced by the 13,000+ at last night's game. Tampa--on the other hand--offers a great entertainment option that fans largely ignore.
More likely the TV revenue than the fans in the stands that keeps the boat afloat. That and a minimum wage payroll.
They could’ve called the guy from Restaurant Impossible, he would’ve fixed everything...lmao...go O’s...
After suckering me into buying more-than-a-little of what Elias said in yesterday's BB.com article, we get this spin on the Chris Davis retirement today ...
"It’s good for him. It’s good for us." ....Really? NO SPIT SHERLOCK. But considering Chris is getting every penny owed to him, don't you think there'd be considerably less egg on your and the ownership's collective faces had you acted like a bona-fide big league team and eaten that contract 3 years ago?
Yeah Mikey...sure...you had full autonomy to run the club as you saw fit from day one. You're quite the straight shooter.
Drink Ovaltine
I know its a process....but I'm pretty sure if we got new uniforms we would win the World Series next year!
If 13,000 fans showed up
Friday my guess is that getting out because of being cooped up for over a year and no other venue in town. Or maybe the hotdogs are good. Is there another reason to go to see them.
I always like a good bobblehead.
And if they would put out a 3 or 4X Hawaiian Shirt ... that would work too.
Agree totally, it was the give away, when my wife & I went to the Hawaiian shirt (which is also now I’m told not of) giveaway the dL shirts, which usually run small anyways we’re actually labeled dL but mediums, if we wanted it corrected we were given a voucher to contact the office & we could pick them up on OCTOBER, maybe not bad, but we came for a week, 3 games for vacation & based in Ohio, 3x or 4x would be awesome, as it is my older xl fit snugly, wth, I’m retired, they gotta be mislabeled as well...lmao....go O’s...
Not PC...go O’s...
Hays looks like Rasmus without the hair, I would NOT consider that a good thing!
I'd completely forgotten the one Brooks! Nice!
Go back to last off season after the shortened season…which free agent saviors would you have brought in to make the club so competitive…or after less than half a regular season would you evaluate what you have first…We’ve brought up minor leaguers that were here before the present management and they haven’t done the job we thought they were going to do…this club right now is terrible, but it’s not the time to panic and stray off the plan…that’s what a fan would do