It’s Opening Day, hooray! Yes, baseball season began on Thursday for all 30 major league clubs, including the highly promising Baltimore Orioles.
Despite an 83-win season a year ago and top prospects on the horizon for this young club, the Orioles’ projections range from the mid-’70s to 80 wins. The best remedy for off-season chatter is to play the game.
The Orioles were in Boston to kick off their season. Despite the weather being in the low 40s, the bats were hot for both clubs. Adley Rutschman homered in his first at-bat to give the Orioles the 1-0 lead. Boston would tie the game up in the bottom of the first. In the top of the 4th, Baltimore batted around and tallied four runs to take the 5-1 lead. After Boston answered with a run of their own in the 4th inning, the Orioles added three more runs in the 5th inning with singles from Mateo and Rutschman. The Red Sox added two runs in the 6th inning to cut Baltimore’s lead to 8-4. Mullins and Rutschman answered with RBI singles of their own in the top of the 7th to push Baltimore’s lead to 10-4. The lead seemed insurmountable given what the Orioles’ bullpen is expected to be, however, Boston refused to quit. Bryan Baker would surrender three runs in the 8th as Boston drew within three. Bautista struggled for Baltimore in the 9th giving up two runs and allowing two more baserunners. With two outs and the tying run in scoring position, Felix Bautista struck out Adam Duvall to secure the save and the victory for the Orioles.
Adley Rutschman became the first catcher in MLB history to go 5-5 on Opening Day and the 8th player since 1900 to go 5-5 on Opening Day.
Other news and notes out of Orioles Opening Day: Gibson looked solid in his first appearance as an Oriole. O’s bullpen was surprisingly shaky. Adam Frazier a welcome addition to the lineup. Baserunning is a key piece to the 2023 Orioles offense. 
