With the Orioles dropping their home opener in a 9-3 loss to the New York Yankees, I’ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:
1. There was no orange carpet, decorative bunting, or buzz at an empty Camden Yards against an opponent Baltimore wasn’t even supposed to play before the Miami Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak prompted changes. Yes, baseball is back in a world it hardly recognizes.
2. One thing that hadn’t changed was the result against the Yankees as the Orioles suffered an astonishing 17th straight loss overall and 16th consecutive home defeat to New York. Long-term rebuild or not, that’s as embarrassing as it gets.
3. Incredibly, the three home runs allowed was a slight mathematical improvement from the 61 given up in 19 contests (3.21 per contest) and 43 surrendered in 10 Camden Yards games (4.3) against the Yankees in 2019. Baby steps?
4. After giving up an RBI double in the first inning, new Yankees ace Gerrit Cole retired 14 straight and 19 of 20 hitters before the Orioles finally chased him from the game in the seventh inning. Too little, too late.
5. Sloppy play gives you no chance against someone like Cole as Pedro Severino was called for catcher’s interference twice in the first inning. Rarely do you see that twice in the same game, let alone in the same inning. It was a forgettable night behind the plate for Severino.
6. Asher Wojciechowski couldn’t overcome giving up three homers on elevated fastballs, but his seven strikeouts and 18 swinging strikes — the latter matching his second-highest total from 2019 — reflected the good breaking stuff he had. The margin for error against a lineup like that is razor thin.
7. Brandon Hyde revealing Chris Davis was unavailable and not at the ballpark naturally led to speculation that his absence was coronavirus-related. Speaking to media on Wednesday, Davis expressed a heightened level of concern watching the Marlins’ situation play out. We’ll see what happens.
8. Jose Iglesias left the game in the seventh inning due to some soreness in his quad. You hate to see that with the way the veteran shortstop has been swinging the bat to begin the season.
9. Walk, walk, single, walk, strikeout, single, hit by pitch, wild pitch, walk, single. An ERA of 162.00. That’s how 27-year-old reliever Cody Carroll has fared in two outings thus far.
10. On the bright side, New York shortstop Gleyber Torres went 0-for-4, which qualifies as a minor miracle after the way he annihilated Orioles pitching last season to the tune of 13 home runs and a 1.512 OPS in 18 games. More baby steps?
11. Wednesday marked five years and three months to the day since Camden Yards hosted the first crowdless game in major league history. I never thought I’d cover another one, but here we are. Weird baseball is better than none at all, but fans are sorely missed.
12. Heartfelt compliments to the Orioles, Ravens, and local media for all they did for Mo Gaba, the Baltimore sports superfan who passed away on Tuesday. I didn’t know Mo personally, but his courageous spirit lives on in the countless individuals he inspired. What a special young man.
Our forever 10th Man. pic.twitter.com/0WjYHBKrVa
— Baltimore Orioles ? (@Orioles) July 30, 2020
