Good morning Vogelland,

The baseball season will continue for at least one more day. The Dodgers’ bullpen game approach on Tuesday night did not go well as the Yankees scored against each of the four arms they faced, including a grand slam by Anthony Volpe in the third inning. The 11-4 win for the Bombers will force a Game 5 tonight.

It’s not all bad for the Dodgers, though. They didn’t use any of their best relievers in the loss, but hoped the B team could pull off a miracle. They couldn’t, but the strong part of the pen remains fully equipped. The Yankees, on the other hand, used Luke Weaver, Clay Holmes, Mark Leiter Jr. and Tim Hill in back-to-back games. This is the World Series. These guys aren’t off limits to Aaron Boone tonight. But it’s possible they won’t be in top form, especially at the end of October.

As you can imagine, the Boone and the Yankees fan base is more focused on the offense. After struggling through the first three games of this series, they came alive (and the Dodgers pitchers were particularly bad) in Game 4. They scored 11 runs on just nine hits as they also walked six times and were hit by a pitch. Aaron Judge even got a hit!

It’s back to reality for the Yankees tonight. They will be dealing with a real starter as we get the same matchup as Game 1: Jack Flaherty vs. Gerrit Cole. Both were good in Game 1, although Cole was better. First pitch is at 8:08 from the Bronx.

Links

The World Series is about massive stars. Do the Orioles have one? | The Baltimore flag
It really depends on your definition of a ‘star’. The Orioles don’t have guys with a lot of track record like the Dodgers and Yankees. But they have a ton of talent, and there’s reason to think they’re still on the rise.

Despite struggles, the Orioles offense has no obvious holes to fill this offseason | The Baltimore Sun
This is true, at least they don’t have holes in any position. But they do have a role to play when it comes to presence in the clubhouse. Anthony Santander could be a big loss in that regard, and even if the slugger returns to Baltimore, the Orioles need at least one more veteran voice who has “been there, done that” in the postseason.

Douglas Hodo III’s first Fall League home run | MLB.com
Hodo was an interesting player to follow this summer. He filled the stat sheet in Aberdeen, sweeping 42 bases and reaching base at a .397 clip. The Orioles might have something in the former sixth-round pick.

We look at three more ways the Orioles can improve in 2025: Roch Kubatko
Two of the reasons feel like they really NEED to happen: Adley Rutschman needs to be better, and Jackson Holliday needs to establish himself. The Orioles are talented enough to carry around one black hole in the lineup, but not two.

Orioles Birthdays

Is it your birthday? Congratulations!

• Luis Matos turns 46 today. From 2000 through 2006, Matos patrolled the Orioles outfield. Overall, through 494 games, he had a .688 OPS, swiped 72 bases and played scintillating defense at times.

This day in the history of O

1986 – The Orioles trade pitcher Storm Davis to the Padres for catcher Terry Kennedy and then-minor league pitcher Mark Williamson. It’s a trade that works out well for Baltimore. Kennedy makes the all-star team in ’87, and Williamson pitches out of the bullpen for the O’s for the next eight seasons, while Davis struggles to a 6.18 ERA in 21 total games with San Diego.