Ryan McKenna raised his glove as he prepared to make a routine catch to secure the final out in the second game of the season against Boston.
A win would’ve meant a series victory against the Red Sox. McKenna, known for his defensive prowess, was expected to catch the hit off the bat of Masataka Yoshida to left field.
Instead, the ball bounced off the 5-foot-11 outfielder’s glove and into the outfield grass, keeping Boston’s hopes alive as Yoshida nabbed a single. The error proved to be fatal for the Orioles as Adam Duvall tapped the top of the green monster two pitches later with a walk-off two-run home run off Félix Bautista. The Orioles went on to lose their next game against the Red Sox and begin the season with a series loss to their division rival.
“That was something I really didn’t expect to happen,” McKenna said on Glenn Clark Radio June 6. “I take pride in my defensive play and the way I work in my craft. … Obviously at the time, I was not in a super great place with what I wanted to achieve on the baseball field.”
Backup catcher James McCann had a different outlook on the error by the trusted outfielder. Once the team got back to the clubhouse, the 32-year-old veteran turned on “Three Little Birds” by Bob Marley and The Wailers, a song that emphasizes that everything will be all right. The message sent to the clubhouse highlighted that the early-season blunder would not derail the rest of the season.
“That was a good moment in a not-so-great time for losing that game,” McKenna said. “It’s early in the season. It’s a long season. We’re going to be a great team. So we just let those things bounce off and continue on.”
McCann, second baseman Adam Frazier (31 years old) and starting pitcher Kyle Gibson (35) were brought this past offseason to contribute on the field and in the clubhouse. Baltimore needed to fill the voids left by the departures of Robinson Chirinos, Jordan Lyles and Rougned Odor.
“They shine on what things we can do as a team, just from experience,” McKenna said. “It’s been really, really impactful to a lot of the guys here and gives a lot of confidence going forward every day to know that there are guys like that and the information that they’re putting forward every day is going to help the team win.”
With help from veterans and young players alike, the Orioles have not looked back since the early-season losses to Boston. Baltimore is tied for the second-best record in the American League with Texas at 41-24 entering play on June 13, trailing only Tampa Bay (48-21).
Pitching and defense have been two main components of the surge from Baltimore. The pitching staff has a 4.14 ERA this season after being dead last in 2018, 2019 and 2021. This crew has the third-most saves in the big leagues (21), as Bautista ranks third individually with 17. Gibson is also third in the majors in wins with eight.
Baltimore scores 4.97 runs per game, the sixth-best mark in the league. Second-year catcher Adley Rutschman leads the way, hitting .274/.390/.410 with a team-high 46 walks. The Orioles have gone 103-73 since the 2019 No. 1 draft pick was called up May 21 last season, a stark difference from 115-loss season it took to be in position to take him.
McKenna is hitting .229/.276/.343 with eight RBIs and a home run this season in 76 plate appearances.
Baltimore last made it to the World Series in 1983, winning with the likes of Cal Ripken Jr. and Eddie Murray. The Orioles look to end a six-year playoff drought this season, after barely missing last season with 83 wins.
“Every day we’re going to try to win and we definitely want to be in the World Series this year and years to come,” McKenna said. “It’s not going to stop and we’re coming for every team.”
For more from McKenna, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox