Orioles Do Nothing For Starter Shane Baz In 1-0 Loss To Boston, Drop Their 4th Straight Game

Of all the things you could count on in this warped Orioles season – the rookie manager embarrassing himself nearly every series, the head of baseball operations failing to improve the roster in-season, a bizarre trade deadline – the team simply not showing up when Shane Baz is on the mound is perhaps the most consistent.

They really do save their worst in the field and at the plate when he pitches, and Friday night was quintessential stuff. Baz went deep enough again, gave up just an early solo homer, Jackson Holliday booted a routine ball at second base and Leody Taveras turned a single into a double to help run up his pitch count. Oh, and no one hit the damn baseball.

That sums it up, and that led to a 1-0 defeat to the Red Sox at Camden Yards that has essentially sapped whatever scant momentum this outfit gained early on their recent road trip. That’s now four straight losses and that’s 14 runs produced in the last 47 innings. The Orioles had six hits in this game, all singles. They have lost three straight one-run games and are 16-22 in those situations.

“It’s always disappointing to lose four in a row,” novice skipper Craig Albernaz said after another meek defeat, “especially at the point of the season we're at … We’ve done it to ourselves all year.”

Baz has a FIP under 3.30 for the season, yet is 5-15. Baltimore (69-73) is 7-21 in his starts. Baz has been in the top five in the AL in unearned runs allowed and most starts of six innings or more getting less than three runs of support, so in the heat of the chase for the final Wild Card sport, why would anything be different here?

Elias jacked up the left-field dimensions twice in this beauty of a ballpark, and it still plays better for the opposition. Baltimore, despite a brutal first half away from home, now is just as bad at home (34-36) as on the road (35-37).

Baz Shoved, But Gets No Runs

Baz went 6 ½ IP, gave up four hits, he did issue two walks, but neither hurt him, and the only run off him came when Mickey Gasper – the journeyman backup catcher who is on a ridiculous power jag – sent Baz’s second pitch of the night over the fence. Baz lowered his ERA to 3.91, which could be of little solace to him now with the season producing the worst kind of Groundhog Day every fifth day for him.

Baz wasn't overpowering - picking up just five swing and miss - but did get 21 called strikes, including eight with his four-seamer, which has gotten him into some trouble in the past. He's done a great job of holding his emotions in, but the pathetic outings behind him are tough enough to watch.

“Shane was outstanding tonight … we just couldn’t get anything going off Suarez,” said Albernaz, who has been gushing over opposing starters since April, because his lineup stinks.

Ex-Oriole Adley Rutschman didn’t do any damage Friday (he flew out with the bases loaded in the seventh) – he hasn’t done much since May 1 outside of Thursday’s two-homer anomaly – but his former teammates were even less impactful. It was another sleepy night against a starting pitcher and lefty Ranger Suarez completed seven innings for the first time since April … Because starting pitchers routinely accomplish things they rarely do against the Orioles.

Baltimore did have a chance to get to him in the third, with Blaze Alexander, back in form and getting on base a ton in his return from the Injured List last week and Coby Mayo hitting singles. Luis Robert Jr. smoked a ball 113 mph off the bat but right at centerfielder Eli White.

That's how it goes quite often this season, and especially when Baz is the starter. Things got a little testy heading to the ninth when the Red Sox took issue with Alexander's slide into second on a double-play ball. but that was about as much life as the Orioles showed.

"Outside of that it was just tough to get anything going," Albernaz suggested about Robert's line-out, a not-so-subtle nod to it being a hard-hit ball (though not actually a hit). That's the con job the feckless number crunchers in The Warehouse - who should have been fired years ago - pull on their clueless, and profit-driven, billionaire bosses to try to keep their jobs. Craigy-poo, let me help you out bro - You have to score a run to "get anything going."

Today would be a great day to fire him. Elias too.

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