Rutschmas, St. Adlentine’s Day, call it whatever you want. Tonight, the Orioles offense was flatter than a three-day-old Natty Boh, but nothing was taking away from the most awaited Orioles debut in recent memory. Jogging onto the field for the first time, Adley Rutschman took a deep breath, looked up into the stands, did a slow 360° turn, and put on his catcher’s mask.
It started like a dream—well, kind of. Two straight batters, two straight K’s for Kyle Bradish and his battery mate. It would have been three straight K’s, but home plate umpire Andy Fletcher legitimately stole a called strike 3, and Ji-Man Choi walked.