With the Orioles dropping two out of three to the Los Angeles Angels to bring the West Coast trip to a disappointing finish, I\u2019ve offered a dozen thoughts, each in 50 words or less:<\/p>\n
1. Losing a series to the Angels after winning two of three at Dodger Stadium might be the most Oriole of Orioles things, especially in the embarrassing manner they lost Wednesday. This club\u2019s inability to sustain any momentum is uncanny, which is why it\u2019s been below .500 since April 30.<\/p>\n
2. While you don\u2019t need elite defense to be a winning club, you\u2019re going nowhere when your defense crumbles as often as this one does in the big moments. On this road trip alone, poor defense cost Baltimore two games and nearly a third.\u00a0We are all Jim Palmer watching this.<\/p>\n
3. Even with a rested group, Craig Albernaz asking this bullpen to get 15 outs in Wednesday\u2019s game was too ambitious, especially when Trey Gibson had thrown 66 pitches and turned in a dominant fourth that included hitting 97 mph. There isn\u2019t enough trustworthy high-leverage relief for that long a chain.<\/p>\n
4. Though Andrew Kittredge deserves his share of blame, Rico Garcia has now allowed at least one run in five of his last eight appearances. His season ERA has climbed from 0.68 to 2.70 in just over three weeks. The Orioles need to get him back on track quickly.\u00a0<\/p>\n
5. That said, the lineup mostly sleepwalking after Wednesday\u2019s third inning didn\u2019t help. Thanks to two Samuel Basallo home runs, the Orioles chased Angels ace Jose Soriano early before managing a total of three baserunners over the next six innings. Not exactly much of a killer instinct on display.\u00a0<\/p>\n
6. Not only did Tuesday mark the sixth time this season the Orioles failed to extend a three-game winning streak, but it came against an opposing starter who took a no-hitter into the sixth inning despite entering the night with a 12.83 ERA. This offense disappears far too often.<\/p>\n
7. A deflating series loss overshadowed how outstanding Kyle Bradish was for the second straight start as he tossed eight shutout innings in Monday\u2019s victory. Even counting his back-to-back clunkers to open June, Bradish has pitched to an impressive 2.78 ERA with 59 strikeouts over his last 55 innings.<\/p>\n
8. Though Jackson Holliday served as a pinch hitter Wednesday, I\u2019ll never understand this club\u2019s insistence on playing shorthanded multiple games to try to avoid 10-day injured list stints \u2014 often unsuccessfully. Leody Taveras playing third base Monday was amusing but avoidable, especially considering Baltimore activated a third catcher hours earlier.<\/p>\n
9. Taylor Ward hit his fifth homer of the season against his former club Monday, but I hadn\u2019t realized he\u2019s yet to hit a long ball at Camden Yards in 2026. It\u2019s been good to see some power return in June, but Baltimore needs more of that in the second half.\u00a0<\/p>\n
10. Coby Mayo singled against Soriano in the second, but he entered Wednesday with a .141\/.212\/.225 slash line against right-handers and a .304\/.361\/.750 line against lefties. You won\u2019t find many hitters with more extreme splits than that.\u00a0<\/p>\n
11. Interviewed during Tuesday\u2019s game, Jordan Westburg said he underwent a hybrid Tommy John surgery similar to Corey Seager\u2019s in May 2018. For what it\u2019s worth, the expected recovery timetable for a position player is eight months, and Seager was back and playing the infield on Opening Day the following season.\u00a0<\/p>\n