"We are seeing Orioles downfall"; "Why is this clown playing" - Yankees fans mock catcher James McCann after horrific home plate error against Giants
The Baltimore Orioles lost their fourth consecutive series as they suffered a 5-3 defeat on Wednesday against the San Francisco Giants. In a crucial play, catcher James McCann made a rookie mistake at home plate in the fourth inning which resulted in him getting trolled by Yankees fans on social media.
The Orioles have now dropped eight of their last 10 games and are now five games behind New York in the AL East. Their series losses were against the lower-ranked Tampa Bay Rays, Boston Red Sox, Detroit Tigers and the Giants. The manner they have lost and fallen out of contention for the division lead is concerning.
McCann made a glaring error that summed up their drawbacks of late. With the bases loaded, Grant McCray tapped the ball near the foul line and McCann gathered it and seemed to have gotten the out. But to his dismay, the umpire called Heliot Ramos safe because his foot wasn't on the home plate.
Yankees fans took to X (formerly Twitter) to troll the Os.
"We are witnessing the Orioles downfall in realtime the division is ours," one fan wrote.
"Where is Adley why is this clown playing," another fan spoke about Adley Rutschmann who was given a day off.
"That’s brutal lol," a fan trolled the Os.
"Little things count in September," voiced his concern for Baltimore.
"Orioles collapsing is the last thing I would’ve thought," one person wrote.
"They’re just folding under pressure, aren’t they. Yikes," a fan said.
Brandon Hyde says James McCann error 'hurt'
During his postgame interview, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde accepted the umpire's call that Heliot was safe. The Giants ended up scoring two more runs and took the lead. He explained that McCann's spikes made it difficult for him to "feel" the plate.
“That hurt,” Hyde said. “The catcher is wearing spikes and he's not really feeling the plate. He came out a half-inch too far.”
The Orioles' slump is concerning for Hyde and the rest of the management. They have been outscored by 30 runs in their last 10 games and with a strong lineup underperforming. With the regular season ending on September 29 and with only 10 games left on their schedule, the Orioles need to get their act together quickly.