7 October 2023
No bulletin-board material was handed out Friday.
The Orioles and Texas Rangers participated in a media day before Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Saturday, and both teams had only positive things to say about their opponent.
Baltimore manager Brandon Hyde praised the Rangers’ offense, which scored the most runs in the AL at 5.44 per game, while Texas manager Bruce Bochy highlighted the Orioles’ young core.
The Orioles, who earned the AL’s top seed after a 101-win campaign, spent all week resting and getting ready for the series, while the 90-win Rangers played in the wild-card series and swept the Tampa Bay Rays. Baltimore and Texas faced off for two series during the regular season, splitting the six games. But they haven’t played one another since late May, adding a level of intrigue heading into the series.
Ahead of Game 1 on Saturday, here’s what the Rangers said about the Orioles.
Starting pitcher Nathan Eovaldi
On the Orioles’ 101-win season: “It’s been great to see. It’s great for baseball. It’s great for the city of Baltimore, as well. With Adley [Rutschman] back there behind the plate, I think he’s done a tremendous job with the game-calling with the pitching staff. That was one of the biggest factors on my side of things. When you came over here and played them [with the New York Yankees in 2015-16, Rays in 2018 and Boston Red Sox from 2018 to 2022], the pitching staff’s completely different from what it was before. Even with [Félix] Bautista going down, you’ve got Cedric [Mullins] in center field, who’s been an All-Star, and it’s been nice to see him have his success over there. If he can stay healthy, he’s a difference-maker for the team. Obviously the other guys that are in the lineup, as well, [Austin] Hays has been playing outstanding out there in left field.”
On shortstop Gunnar Henderson: “I’m not watching all the games, but you see a little bit of the ups and downs. When you’re a younger guy and you’re making it into the league, there’s really not much scouting information on you. You have your approach, and I think you can relate it to [rookie outfielder] Evan Carter for us. He has his approach, and then it’s our job as pitchers to find their weakness. You want to expose that, and then it’s back on the hitter to see how fast can he recalibrate and get better at what you struggle at. I know he had his ups and downs, and then he went on that stretch where he was on a tear. He was hitting everything that was in the zone and quality at-bats and he’s got the speed.”
On the Orioles’ rebuild: “They’ve got younger guys, but it’s also a credit to the older guys over here and the organization. You don’t go from losing [110] games to winning 100 games without, you know, there’s a lot of success that has to go into it. It’s not just the front office or the players you have on the field. You have to have good chemistry. You see all the stuff with the water that they’re spitting. They have fun out there, and that’s what this game has to be about. When you’re on the field, you have to encourage everybody to want to win and see the atmosphere. With the fans coming in and bringing the energy, that’s what you want to see and participate in.”
Manager Bruce Bochy
On what stands out about the Orioles: “I say as much as anything, it’s just a young, aggressive team, very talented ballclub. Starts with the great starting pitching they have. You don’t win a hundred games without having really good pitching, which they have. They have a balanced lineup. They have speed. They’re aggressive on the bases, well-managed club. Brandon [Hyde] has done a great job with them. When you get to this point, you know you’re playing a really, really good team.”
On Games 1 and 2 starters Kyle Bradish and Grayson Rodriguez: “Good stuff, good command. Big fastballs. They have good spin, too. But they are good, young arms that really — I mean, you look at the two that we’re facing, one guy [Bradish] has kind of led the way all year. And here they brought up a young kid [Rodriguez] that really has stepped in and done a great job. We saw his debut and you could tell he had good stuff. Big fastball, good carry on it. And it looks like he got comfortable. And he’s done a great job for them.”
On Hyde: “I’ve talked to Brandon. He has done such a great job here. You look at where Baltimore was and where they are now. You have to look at him and how steady he is. He just looks like he does a tremendous job here. Great baseball guy that has turned his team around. And now you look at them, and they’re one of the best teams in baseball. It starts with him and the job he’s done.”
Second baseman Marcus Semien
On the Orioles’ combination of young talent and veterans: “It’s a team we haven’t seen since earlier in the year. I think last season they handled us pretty well. The young players are extremely talented. You talk about a young leader in Adley Rutschman, Gunnar Henderson stepping up this year. They already have guys like [Anthony] Santander and [Ryan] Mountcastle who have been here and [Austin] Hays, also. I played against those guys going back to 2021 with the Blue Jays and just seeing how far they’ve come, it’s definitely impressive. But I saw it coming. I knew their front office is really smart and getting the right players and coming up with the right pitchers. It’s going to be a battle.”
On Bradish and Rodriguez: “Those guys have really good stuff. They go about it two different ways. Bradish with the quick windup, a lot of movement. Rodriguez with the four-seam fastball, good change-up. So we’ll go back and look at everything they’ve done recently. Sure, the way they attacked us earlier in the year is maybe a little different from what they’re doing now, because over time pitchers improve and learn some things over the years. So obviously what they’ve been doing has been working, and we need to look at what they’ve been doing and seeing how we’re going to attack.”
On rest versus rust: “I think we just got two days off. Today still counts as a day off. We get to sharpen up a little bit. I played every single game this year. Any day off, yesterday, today, those are helpful for us. I think us playing good baseball in Tampa is better than not playing baseball. Tomorrow we’ll see where both teams are at. We both want to play our best baseball. Once Major League teams get going, it doesn’t matter.”
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