Baltimore Orioles: Keon Broxton’s Leg Day and Dan Straily Is A Disaster

Somehow, the Baltimore Orioles continue to find new lows.

I stayed up last night until almost 1 am before finally calling it a night. As each minute passed, I regretted my decision more and more. Once the Oakland A’s took a 16-2 lead over the Baltimore Orioles, I called it a night and went to bed, unable to take any more of this cruel and unusual punishment.

The A’s went on to win by that 16-2 score, extending the O’s losing streak to seven-straight games. Losing is one thing and is an acceptable result in the minds of every conscious fan of the Baltimore Orioles, but last night’s game was another instance of this team finding a new low. Early in the contest, the MASN broadcast pointed out Hanser Alberto‘s struggles in finding a way to stay busy while DH’ing for the first time all season. By the end of the night, I’m sure he was more than happy to hide out in the dugout.

The Orioles added six more home runs to their season total, bringing their soon-to-be record-breaking total to 147 home runs allowed. RHP Gabriel Ynoa surrendered three of those home runs, allowing six earned runs on seven total hits across 5.1 innings. Ynoa fell to 0-4 and increased his ERA to 5.65 on the season.

Keon Broxton might be a little sore today after getting one of the bigger leg workouts I’ve ever seen during a baseball game.

But he wasn’t the story of the night. The story wasn’t Ynoa’s three home runs allowed, it wasn’t the four total hits the O’s offense was able to produce, and it wasn’t the extended losing streak. The story was Dan Straily.

I was fully on board the sign Dan Straily train. I remember when the rumors came out of three American League teams being the final three in the bidding for Straily’s services that my gut told me it was going to be the Baltimore Orioles. Minutes later, I penned a piece here on Birds Watcher explaining why I thought it was a great idea. I was wrong, so wrong.

Admit it, you were on board as well! Don’t leave me all alone here!

Regardless, Dan Straily isn’t just bad, he’s possibly the worst pitcher in all of major league baseball, literally. Straily worked the final 2.1 innings of last night’s game, giving up six earned runs on five hits, including three home runs.

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On the season, Straily is 2-4 with a 9.82 ERA and 1.99 WHIP. He’s surrendered 22 home runs in just 47.2 innings, has walked 22 batters, and allowed opponents to hit .349 against him. A quick look at his Baseball Savant page shows even more disastrous numbers. Straily ranks among the bottom 3% of league pitchers in: average exit velocity off his pitches, xWOBA, xSLG, strikeout rate, hard-hit percentage, and xBA. Just take a look for yourself and admire just how bad a major league pitcher can be. 

You can’t blame the juiced baseballs in this case. Dan Straily is just terrible. I watch the Norfolk Tides every single night and have written about their pitching staff many times here, so I know that there is no one in the organization to come save the day and replace Straily on the roster, but how much longer can the Orioles run him out to the mound? Hopefully, not for long.

In four June appearances, Straily has given up 16 earned runs on 18 hits, with eight of those hits leaving the ballpark.