Orioles Stat of the Day: April 2021
MLB.com is keeping track of a Stat of the Day for the Orioles this season, highlighting a unique, interesting or fun nugget from each game.
April 30: Orioles 3, A's 2
Although the Orioles won the first game of a six-game road trip with a 3-2 win in Oakland, Baltimore went 0-for-5 with runners in scoring position against the Athletics on Friday night. Two of the three runs were scored on solo homers, while the third run came home on a groundout.
April 29: Orioles 4, Yankees 3 (10 innings) -- Bullpen keeps dealing
One month into the season, the Orioles' bullpen isn't just the main strength of their team, it's one of the most elite units in the Majors. With six more strong innings against the Yankees, Baltimore's 'pen ranks among the MLB leaders in ERA (2.86, fifth), WHIP (1.07, sixth) and opponents' batting average (.201, fifth). O's relievers have compiled 101 strikeouts (ninth) in 100 2/3 innings (fourth).
April 28: Yankees 7, Orioles 0 -- 500 for Trey
Trey Mancini is off to a slow start in his return to the field after beating Stage 3 colon cancer, hitting .225 with four homers and a .709 OPS through 24 games. But he reached a milestone in the Orioles' shutout loss to the Yankees on Wednesday, notching career hit No. 500 by singling off Michael King in the ninth. Mancini also singled off Domingo Germ¨¢n earlier; he seems to be heating up, now 7-for-his-last 22 (.318).
April 27: Yankees 5, Orioles 1 -- Flaa reps North Dakota in debut
Recording the final four outs of the Orioles' loss to the Yankees, right-hander Jay Flaa worked around two walks and struck out Aaron Judge to cap his memorable Major League debut. Flaa became the fifth player to debut for the O's this season. He is also just the 20th player in MLB history to hail from North Dakota. Three others are active: Padres lefty Matt Strahm, Mariners righty Erik Swanson and D-backs infielder Andrew Young. Flaa was born in Bismarck, N.D., and drafted out of North Dakota State in 2015.
April 26: Orioles 4, Yankees 2 -- Mullins leads MLB in hits
Some early-season stats can be deceiving, but not Cedric Mullins'. The Orioles' leadoff man is simply scorching hot. By homering twice as part of a three-hit effort, Mullins leapfrogged back into the MLB lead in hits, with 31. He homered and doubled off left-handers; Mullins leads MLB hitters with 15 hits against southpaws this season. He also ranks fifth among AL hitters in average (.365), seventh in on-base percentage (.419) and ninth in slugging (.576).
April 25: Orioles 8, Athletics 1 -- Means dominates red-hot A's
John Means is enjoying an April as good as any starter in the American League. Holding the A's to one run over 6 1/3 innings in Sunday's 8-1 win, Means shaved his ERA to 1.50 through five starts. With that, he leads the AL among qualified starters and ranks fourth in baseball, behind only Jacob deGrom (0.31), Corbin Burnes (0.37) and Joe Musgrove (1.04). Over his last nine starts dating back to 2020, Means sports a 1.51 ERA with 59 strikeouts against 12 walks in 53 2/3 innings. He's has allowed one run or fewer in eight of those outings.
April 24: Athletics 7, Orioles 2 -- Bullpen remains a lock
Opting to push John Means back a day and go with a bullpen game Saturday, the Orioles knew they were going to ask their relievers for more outs than usual. Why not? It is a strength of the team in the early going, ranking among the AL's most effective in April. That held true despite Saturday's loss, when the 'pen combined to log 5 1/3 hitless innings after Tyler Wells allowed a three-run homer to Jed Lowrie in the fourth. Even including those runs, O's relievers own a 1.38 ERA over the past eight games, holding opponents to five earned runs across 32 2/3 innings.
April 23: Athletics 3, Orioles 1 -- Cedric Mullins continues to mash lefties
By going 2-for-5 with a double in Friday's loss, Cedric Mullins snapped his first cold spell of the season, having entered the game hitless in his last 10 at-bats. He also added to his MLB-leading hit total against left-handed pitching, recording his ninth and 10th hits of 2021 against southpaws. Even more impressive is that it comes right as Mullins abandoned switch hitting. These recent at-bats mark his first as a left-handed hitter against left-handed pitching since high school.
April 21: Marlins 3, Orioles 0 -- Rare loss on the road
Despite their 3-0 loss to the Marlins on Wednesday, the O's will return home Friday with one of the best road records in the Majors. It's their 1-6 home record at Oriole Park that they need to improve. But away from Camden Yards, the Orioles' seven road wins are tied with the Rays for the most in the American League, and one behind the Dodgers for the MLB lead. They've allowed 3.1 runs per game on the road, compared to 5.4 runs per game at home.
April 20: Orioles 7, Marlins 5 -- Harvey's first win since 2019
Matt Harvey wasn't dominant in the O's series-opening win in Miami on Tuesday; he was just good enough to win. And it's been a while since he could say that. By holding the Marlins to three runs in five innings, Harvey claimed his first victory since July 13, 2019, when he was pitching for the Angels. He had been 0-5 with an 8.16 ERA in 11 games (eight starts) between that start and Tuesday. The right-hander is 1-1 with a 5.12 ERA in four starts this season for the Orioles, his first in Baltimore.
April 18: Rangers 1, Orioles 0 (10) -- He's a mean man
By pitching seven shutout innings against the Rangers on Sunday, Orioles left-hander John Means showed once again that he is the ace of the staff. He lowered his ERA from 2.16 to 1.52.
April 17: Orioles 6, Rangers 1 -- Freddy Gal-beast
In his last seven games, Orioles shortstop Freddy Galvis is 9-for-18 with seven runs scored. His batting average raised from .129 to .265 in that span.
April 16: Orioles 5, Rangers 2 -- Bullpen at its best
Four Orioles relievers pitched a combined four shutout innings and struck out seven hitters. Left-hander Paul Fry was the star of the 'pen, striking out three of the five hitters he faced.
April 15: Mariners 4, Orioles 2 (Game 1); Mariners 2, Orioles 1 (Game 2) -- O's bad DH luck continues
The Orioles have not fared well in doubleheaders since MLB changed the length of doubleheader games to seven innings. Thursday marked the fourth time Baltimore was swept in a doubleheader since the start of 2020. The O's are 2-10 in those contests.
April 13: Mariners 4, Orioles 3 (Game 1); Orioles 7, Mariners 6 (Game 2) -- Mullins' streak continues
By hitting safely in both ends of the Orioles' doubleheader against the Mariners, leadoff man Cedric Mullins extended his hitting streak to 15 games dating to last season. He also bumped his hit total through 11 games to 19 -- tops in the Majors. Mullins finished 2-for-6 with two walks on the day, and he is hitting .442.
April 11: Red Sox 14, Orioles 9 -- McKenna joins Machado with 1st MLB hit
Ryan McKenna joined some good company when he tripled off Nick Pivetta on Sunday for his first Major League hit. The outfielder became the first Oriole since Manny Machado in 2012 to record his first big league hit with a three-bagger. He is the fifth Oriole since 1974 to do it, joining Machado, Blake Davis, Matt Wieters and Cesar Devarez.
April 10: Red Sox 6, Orioles 4 -- Zimmermann's "debut 2.0"
Ellicot City native Bruce Zimmermann made his first home start in front of fans in Saturday's 6-4 extra-innings loss to the Red Sox. Zimmermann is the 28th Maryland-born player to appear for the Orioles in their history, and the 12th to start a game for them. The last Baltimore native to start on the mound for the O's before Zimmermann was Stevie Johnson in 2012.
April 8: Red Sox 7, Orioles 3 -- O's make swing-and-miss history
The Orioles are winning early in the year, but they are also whiffing. After striking out 14 times in their home-opening loss to the Red Sox, the O's punched out at least 13 times for the fifth consecutive game, becoming the first team in MLB history to do that. Baltimore's batters have been struck out 73 times during the streak.
April 7: Orioles 4, Yankees 3 (11) -- Means approaches Palmer record
By holding the Yankees to one run over 4 2/3 innings Wednesday, John Means became the first O¡¯s pitcher with six straight starts allowing one earned run or fewer since Jim Palmer strung eight straight together in 1978. Palmer owns the franchise record. Means owns a 1.27 ERA in 35 1/3 innings during his streak.
April 6: Yankees 7, Orioles 2 -- Mullins extends leadoff streak
Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins has hit safely in each of his first five games. With his leadoff single in the first inning off Yankees right-hander Gerrit Cole, Mullins has gone 4-for-5 in his first at-bat of the game to start the season. He is 11-for-21 (.524) with four runs and three doubles. Mullins is just the third Oriole to record at least 11 hits in their first five games to start a season, trailing only Adam Jones (12 in 2013) and Eddie Murray (12 in 1982).
April 5: Yankees 7, Orioles 0 -- Bumpy in the Bronx
The Yankees have been an especially difficult opponent for the Orioles during their rebuild. This was Baltimore's 11th straight loss at Yankee Stadium, matching the club's longest road losing streak vs. the Yanks. The O's also lost 11 straight in the Bronx across the 1955-56 seasons. They've scored one or zero runs in their past five games at Yankee Stadium, the longest such streak by any team at the venue.
April 4: Orioles 11, Red Sox 3 -- Mullins reaches 6 times
Cedric Mullins reached in all six plate appearances while recording the Orioles' first five-hit game since Trey Mancini on Sept. 24, 2019, notching three doubles, two singles and one walk. He is the first Oriole, and sixth player overall since 1952, to record five hits, three doubles and at least one walk in a game. The last was Indians catcher Kelly Shoppach against the Tigers on July 30, 2008.
Mullins is 9-for-13 to begin the season. His nine hits are the most by an Oriole through the first three games. The best was eight, by Billy Gardner (1957), Paul Blair ('75) and Brady Anderson ('97).
April 3: Orioles 4, Red Sox 2 -- Orioles come out of gate strong
The Orioles are off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2017, and are now eying their first series sweep at Fenway Park since August 25-27 of that same year. The last time they opened the season with a three-game series sweep was in '16, when they did so at home against the Twins. The O's opened that season on a seven-game win streak, en route to an 89-73 record.
April 2: Orioles 3, Red Sox 0 -- Means joins elite company
John Means was supposed to start Opening Day for the Orioles in 2020, but he missed the assignment with arm fatigue. He more than made up for it in Friday at Fenway Park, the same venue where Means made his MLB debut down the stretch in '18. He produced his finest start in the Majors, holding the Red Sox to one hit across seven shutout innings, striking out five and walking none.
Means became the first O¡¯s pitcher to go seven-plus and allow one hit or less on Opening Day, and just the third on record to do that for any team without walking a batter in his team¡¯s opener. The others? Jordan Zimmermann in 2019 and Irv Young in 1906.