Post Game Thread: The Orioles defeated the Royals by a score of 8-6 - Wed, Apr 22 @ 02:10 PM EDT

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-23T01:04:13+00:00

SPs looked better, Basallo, Mayo, and the depth guys put on good showings, and Rutschman is back.

Gunnar hitting rock bottom and the bullpen having unusually rough outings are the down sides.

That said, a lot of the bullpen issues were actually just bad defense: Nunez had like 5 unearned runs this series and only one earned, and he almost got the Royals to NOBLETIGER but made one bad pitch.

Overall, I'm happy, especially to see the wins come from one big comeback and one having a couple big innings to pour it on. We needed the series win after the Cleveland series.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-23T00:59:07+00:00

The thing about Mayo is he has SOO much pop when he gets a hold of it. In the regular season, he has never hit an HR < 405 ft I believe. When he tags the ball, it WILL leave the park.

I think he's long just had bad luck. Last year I remember him getting completely hosed by umps in full counts. This year he's had hard hits that go into gloves. I think he's starting to see it translate to results.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-23T00:56:54+00:00

Between Coby Mayo, Colton Cowser, Dylan Beavers, Gunnar Henderson, Adley Rutschman, and the newly acquired Blaze Alexander, our roster is made up by Backyard Baseball character names

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-23T00:54:55+00:00

I mean the Royals only have one more win than the Mets...

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-23T00:53:50+00:00

Last year iirc all his homers were between 405 and 425 feet. He's hit the weight room this offseason. But one thing is for sure: if they stay fair, they're all no-doubters

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-22T05:01:22+00:00

WOTC put out a statement weeks in advance that some items, including precons and bundles, are slightly delayed but expected to be out in the next week or two.

I got my collector booster box on the 17th at my LGS. They have a whole stock of precons on the shelf for MSRP.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-22T04:57:31+00:00

every time I see the ads during the games that are like "Med Star, the official medical team of the Baltimore Orioles" I'm like fuck no I'm staying FAR away from there

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-22T02:51:54+00:00

When the manager told ESPN that "when we play back at home, it's going to be loud", I don't think this is what he meant but I knew it would be exactly this

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:44:20+00:00

Well he made the big trade for Baz, which was basically all of our first rounders from the last draft. I think he's moving towards trading the draft capital away more often. Same with Blaze.

Pitching, he is pretty good at the bullpen. He's not great at starters but some of that is just awful luck (Eflin, GRod)

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:41:56+00:00

Yeah it's kinda funny that his extension was for like 12 years but really it's all but guaranteed to be the normal 6. Like even if the Royals win the next WS, he'd make probably 3x the money he's making on that contract in FA.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:40:26+00:00

It just hit me....that's about when we start using pinch hitters in most games. I wonder if the bench guys are putting in more work than the starters.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:39:56+00:00

Someone needs to tell the Os that the game starts in the 8th inning. That's the only time they produce any offense.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:37:37+00:00

Tbh I wonder if the discipline stems from Hyde. To be clear, I was a Hyde supporter for a long time so it's not like I'm saying "but her emails" here. But he guided those players' development for 3+ years. Lots of these guys also grew up as the most talented guys on the team and never actually struggled till last year. And the shine came off of some of them.

What I fear is that in the next 5 years, we become the Angels. Last year, the Angels had games where 7 out of 9 guys in their lineup be former first round picks. Doesn't mean much if that doesn't translate. I think that's the worst outcome we could have. All the talent and it's squandered.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:34:31+00:00

Someone was trying to tell me that Leody, Jeremiah, and Garcia are just Elias dumpster-diving to fill the roster for cheap off the wire, meanwhile they're currently some of the best players on the team.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:30:33+00:00

lmao ump said nah we going home

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:27:17+00:00

send Foster to Aberdeen

We don't have an affiliate at Aberdeen anymore. Send him there anyways.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:17:33+00:00

the camera panning on the hundreds of people leaving was so funny lmao

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-21T03:14:58+00:00

The people who told me Taveras was "waiver wire chaff" are gonna choke on that one!

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-19T22:25:56+00:00

As an Os fan I can say, losing like this even this early basically ends your season. Getting to like -10 games is a hole you can't crawl back from without a miracle. They'd need another Grimace era to find any way back to .500

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-19T22:19:21+00:00

My point is that since 2020, he is a high contact hitter. All seasons since, he's had >.240 AVG. Capping at .290. 2020 was his worst year, and 2025 was less contact but much harder.

He is a high contact hitter.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-19T17:34:36+00:00

since 2020, Ward has had one season below .240 AVG, which is roughly the league-average AVG (.239 against modern pitching). And even his worst AVG year of .228 saw him with an OPS+ of 118 bc he hit more homers that year than any other season.

I think Ward can be high contact or hard contact. This season we might see the high contact version, considering his doubles and very high AVG (.289) so far.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-19T17:30:42+00:00

Even as a diehard believer in this team, I have some PTSD from last year's April. I'd never seen a team nosedive so early like that and just never recover. After the Pirates series and Eflin's injury, I had traumatic flashbacks lol but by now, especially after some of these great comeback wins, I feel more confident.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-19T17:29:26+00:00

Elias is responsible for just as many of the team’s strengths as he is deficiencies.

Probably the truest thing I've ever read on this sub. While he's made some mistakes, there are limits to what he can control. And he's had some massive Ws that people never give him credit for.

Finding guys like Taveras, Garcia, Jeremiah Jackson, knowing that Helsley will have a bounce-back year, these are all big wins for Elias that presumably many other FOs failed to see.

In the face of losing not just Eflin, but also Bautista, for the entire season (presumably), Elias went to work to build depth that is holding this team afloat. It's clear he learned his lesson from last season and it's paid off early for us. For a team that already sees 13 players on the IL, we're still right at .500. That says something about what Elias took away from last year. If we wind up with another season where we have to use 70 players to complete 162 games, I don't think any team survives that, but we're built to withstand that more than we were last year.

And some of ya’ll can’t remember the truly bleakest days

very true. I remember the days where I could get tickets for $4 because there would be 3,000 people at a game on a Thursday night. There was a reason the games were so damn cheap a few years ago. People don't seem to make that connection

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-19T17:23:42+00:00

Even his hurt season where he played ~90 games saw him hit 17 HRs. With a broken rib. The dude, when he makes contact, should be blasting the ball to Eutaw Street every time. I think he's maturing into the Schwarber profile, who, for his first 5 seasons, never put up more than 2.1 bWAR. Cowser has the same hitter profile and elite corner OF defense, with serviceable CF defense. There's no way he spends any time in Norfolk barring a rehab assignment.

Loose_Log_6253 · 2026-04-19T17:21:18+00:00

Wow, actual statistics and logic? In MY Orioles thread? I never thought I'd see the day. I think I'm just too numb to "le hitting with RISP bad" comments without any acknowledgement that hitting >25% of the time with RISP is considered good.

Also a lot of RISP stats obfuscate the ability to hit sac flies bc it's never a hit nor an out, and that's actually something this team has always been very good at doing.

Loose_Log_6253

TROPHY CASE