Home runs are up across baseball. The woeful Baltimore Orioles will not be the only team whose pitchers give up what in previous eras would’ve been considered nauseating dinger totals. Still, statistics like this, courtesy of Eddie Matz of ESPN, continue to be appalling, at least in part for how successfully they describe the hopelessness of the 2019 Orioles, who Tuesday night surrendered their 100th homer of the year:
Baltimore’s pitching staff, which was working its 48th game this season, reached triple digits nine games faster than the 2000 Kansas City Royals, who allowed their 100th home run in their 57th contest. The O’s are on pace to surrender 338 homers this year, which would shatter the current record of 258, held by the 2016 Cincinnati Reds.
So the 2019 Orioles have surrendered 100 dingers in record time. That 100th home run came courtesy of Clint Frazier, in the fifth inning of Tuesday night’s 11–4 Yankees win. It was Frazier’s second jack of the game, and one of three hit by the Yankees in the win. Here’s the dinger:
The Yankees have now slugged an upsetting 29 dingers in just 10 games against the Orioles this season. The Orioles have used 26 pitchers so far, and 22 of them have served up at least one tater. One of the four “pitchers” who has not been rocked for a dinger is Jesús Sucre, who is a catcher. Yes, Chris Davis gave up a dinger. The O’s currently have the worst team ERA in baseball, and the worst run differential. This has been your update on the condition of the 2019 Baltimore Orioles.