Baltimore Orioles Manager On Thin Ice After Disastrous Performance

Brandon Hyde enraged Baltimore Orioles fans with his baffling decisions.

Jul 26, 2024; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Orioles manager Brandon Hyde stands in the dugout. / Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

The Baltimore Orioles lost Tuesday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays, but perhaps they would have won it with better managing from Brandon Hyde. He struggled with both his pitching staff and lineup, making several controversial decisions that led to his team's 5-2 demise.

Hyde's first questionable maneuver was pulling starting pitcher Albert Suarez after five scoreless innings. Suarez had been outstanding to that point, yielding just two hits (both singles) and two walks while striking out six. He'd only thrown 73 pitches and seemed to have at least one more inning in him, especially after throwing just 45 pitches in his previous outing on Aug. 1.

But Hyde went to his bullpen with the Orioles nursing a 1-0 lead, inserting Burch Smith. Smith got two outs before yielding a single to Vladimir Guerrero Jr. Rather than let Smith try to finish the inning, Hyde yanked him for Gregory Soto.

Gregory Soto stinks, but this is squarely on Brandon Hyde. No feel for the game.

— D B Cooper (@JL4486) August 7, 2024

Any Philadelphia Phillies fan can tell you what happened next. Soto promptly imploded, surrendering a single, a three-run homer, a double, an intentional walk, a two-run double and a passed ball. Incredibly, Hyde did nothing as Soto essentially gave the game away, turning a 1-0 advantage into a 5-1 deficit.

When Baltimore rallied in the eighth inning, Hyde did everything he could to stifle it. He lifted the red-hot Jackson Holliday, who homered earlier in the game, for mediocre pinch-hitter Austin Slater (.576 OPS) with the bases loaded and nobody out. Slater walked, but perhaps Holliday could have done more damage there. To make matters worse, Hyde's post-game explanation for the switch didn't hold an ounce of water.

Brandon Hyde: "...went with Austin [Slater] who's been really good against lefties this year."

Austin Slater this year against lefties:

.193/.300/.205 (.505 OPS in 100 PAs) pic.twitter.com/l78RrBmyct

— Avi Miller 🟦 (@AviMiIIer) August 7, 2024

With the bases still loaded and nobody out, Hyde then let No. 9 hitter Ramon Urias hit for himself rather than sub him out for a pinch-hitter. Urias, who did not have a hit in his previous seven at-bats, struck out, failing to put the ball in play when almost any type of contact would have produced a run.

With one out now and the bases juiced, Hyde continued to stun observers by removing Colton Cowser for pinch-hitter Coby Mayo. Cowser had hit safely in 17 straight games prior to Tuesday, but apparently that didn't matter to his manager. Hyde sent up Mayo instead, who just made his MLB debut and still doesn't have a hit in the majors. Not surprisingly, Mayo also struck out swinging.

When Anthony Santander grounded out to end the threat, that was pretty much the ballgame. Orioles fans were beside themselves, blasting Hyde on social media and calling for his dismissal.

Wins and losses usually fall on players, but Hyde's fingerprints are all over this one. He overmanaged during the game's most important moments and did not put his players in position to win with his multiple head-scratching decisions. Worse, he showed no feel for the game and blindly followed lefty/righty matchups at pivotal moments, disregarding recent performance.

Brandon Hyde is the problem and it is becoming more and more obvious as the season goes on.

— Dan Clark (@DanClarkSports) August 7, 2024

Hyde clearly isn't fit for the job and can't be trusted to navigate the high stakes of October. If Baltimore falls short in the playoffs again, Hyde should be fired ASAP and replaced with someone who can actually manage.