There’s a running joke in Birdland about the Orioles’ “Sunday Forfeit” lineups, based on the club’s perceived tendency to start their backups on the closing day of the weekend and guarantee a loss. That belief, of course, isn’t particularly grounded in reality; there’s no evidence that the Orioles play any worse on Sundays than all other days (just two years ago, for instance, the O’s won 14 consecutive Sunday games).
But maaaaan, today’s lineup — in an eventual 4-1 loss in the rubber game to the Royals — was a Sunday Forfeit if I’ve ever seen one. Against southpaw Kris Bubic, manager Brandon Hyde benched youngsters Heston Kjerstad and Jackson Holliday, who have both been hitting well of late, and Cedric Mullins, who has been on fire all season.