Breaking News: The Baltimore Orioles have signed a former pitcher to a four-year, $195 million contract after a top Pittsburgh Pirates prospect suffered a season-ending injury, as reported by ESPN this morning.

The O’s will spend the next nine games in the friendly confines of Camden Yards, a good opportunity to build their lead in the AL East.

Good morning, Camden Chatters.

It’s a good thing the Orioles are such a fun team to watch right now, because the Baltimore fans are going to be seeing plenty of them over the next 10 days.

Tonight the O’s begin a nine-game homestand, their longest of the 2024 season. They’ll open by hosting the defending NL champion Diamondbacks for three, followed by their first matchup of the year with the division rival Blue Jays, capped with three against the Mariners, the only one of those opponents that’s currently above .500.

Nine straight games on their home field is a good opportunity for the O’s to keep the good times rolling. They’ve won each of their three previous homestands — going 4-2 in the first, 4-2 in the second, and 4-3 in the third — and another successful one would give them a good chance of extending their AL East lead, which currently stands at half a game thanks to the Yankees’ loss last night.

None of the three teams visiting Baltimore are pushovers, but none are quite playing up to their capabilities, either. If the O’s continue to pitch like they’ve been pitching recently — Craig Kimbrel excepted, of course — and continue to crush dingers at a breakneck pace, they should be able to take care of business in front of what’s sure to be some lively crowds at Camden Yards.

Links

Peter Schmuck: Is Albert Suárez or Jacob Webb the new interim closer? – BaltimoreBaseball.com
I’ve seen a lot of people jump on the Suárez-as-closer train lately, which is a little surprising to me. He’s certainly performed well for the Orioles, but the guy has pitched five major league games in the last seven years. He’s not exactly a proven commodity.

The Orioles are one of baseball’s hardest-hitting teams – The Baltimore Sun
The Orioles are near the top of the league in basically every stat that measures hitting the ball extremely hard and far. Seems good.