MASNsports.com is your online home for the latest Orioles and Nationals news, features, and commentary. And now, you can connect with MASN on every digital level. From web and social media to our new mobile alert service, MASN has got all the bases covered.
Get the latest breaking news direct to your phone with our mobile texting service.
For the second night in a row, the Orioles posted an impressive win in New York. Last night, they held on late to win. Tonight, they came back early on to win. After falling behind 5-0 after the bottom of the first, the Orioles erupted for seven runs in the top of the second to quickly regain the lead on their way to a 11-5
Some pregame notes to ponder as the Orioles meet the Yankees tonight in New York: * The Orioles went 5-13 vs. the Yankees last year. They are 4-5 in 2012 and a win tonight would match their win total of all of last year. The Orioles have won four of their last five games against the Yankees after starting the season 0-4. * The Orioles
The trade deadline is now just over four hours away. Will it be an active few hours for the Orioles? As the deadline draws near I go back to an interview I had with Dan Duquette on July 6. I sat across from him in his office that day as he spoke about the possibility of the Orioles making moves. "The future is always now,
Nick Markakis had yet another productive game in the leadoff spot Monday as the Orioles beat New York 5-4. He went 3-for-4 with a double, a run scored and two RBIs. Since he returned from the disabled list and was moved to the leadoff spot, Markakis is batting .364 over 18 games with six doubles, one homer, five RBIs and an OPS of .885. He
Even though half the hits he gave up tonight were home runs, Miguel Gonzalez still was on his game for most the evening, keeping the Yankees off balance with some offspeed pitches which produced eight strikeouts as the Orioles beat New York 5-4 in the opener of a three-game series. With the win the Orioles improved to 4-1 in their last five games against New
It has been a long time since the Orioles played at Yankee Stadium. Three months, in fact. But the last trip there, unlike many others over the years, went quite well for the Orioles. On April 30 Baltimore lost the series opener in the Bronx 2-1, but they then beat New York 7-1 and 5-0 on back-to-back nights to improve to 16-9 on the year.
Omar Quintanilla has started the last seven games for the Orioles. He has provided a bit of a spark for the team since his trade from the Mets. After a three-hit game that included a solo homer Sunday, Quintanilla is 7-for-13 over his past three games and 10-for-20 over his last five after going 1-for-6 to start his O's tenure. After the Mets designated him
A lot of the talk Sunday was about Wei-Yin Chen picking up 12 strikeouts in the win over Oakland. But the bigger accomplishment for me was simply that Chen pitched the Orioles to a big win, strikeouts or no strikeouts. The Orioles needed to avoid getting swept and Chen gave up just one run (unearned) over 5 2/3 innings against an Oakland team that had
Orioles manager Buck Showalter has talked often about how competitive Wei-Yin Chen is on the mound. It may be hard at times for fans or reporters to notice that side of him, but Matt Wieters said his teammates do. "He has that competitive spirit out there," Wieters said. "Anytime we've needed a big win or big game, he's stepped up for us and given us
It was not just another Sunday at Camden Yards. Wei-Yin Chen set a major league record for strikeouts by a Taiwenese-born pitcher, Matt Wieters returned to the lineup and hit a key homer, Omar Quintanilla had a big day at the plate and Adam Jones continued his recent run production increase. All that happened as the Orioles beat Oakland 6-1 in front of 19,698 to
Don't look now but Adam Jones' run production is on the rise. Again. Jones got the Orioles started today with an RBI double to left-center in the third for a 1-0 lead and then he scored moments later when Matt Wieters homered in the same general area to end a 1-for-31 drought. Jones now has nine extra-base hits with four doubles, a triple and four
A few moments ago, Brian Roberts told reporters at Camden Yards that he is opting to have surgery on the labral tear in his right hip. He played last night in Aberdeen, going 0-for-4 with a walk, but decided this was the best course of action. Here is Roberts' opening statement to reporters along with the questions and answers that followed: "After playing last night
You could have tried to wipe the big smile off Lew Ford's face this morning, but you would not have been able to do it. The 35-year-old Ford has not played in the majors since 2007 with the Twins. Since then, he's played in Mexico, Japan and in the Atlantic League. But after being called up by the Orioles, he is back in the American
ABERDEEN, Md. - He didn't get any hits Saturday in his first game since July 1, but Brian Roberts played all nine innings for the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds at Ripken Stadium in their 7-2 loss to Vermont. Roberts hopes to return for another game here tomorrow. "Got through nine innings, so we'll wait and see how everything goes tonight and in the morning," Roberts
ABERDEEN, Md - Wearing a blue No. 17 Aberdeen IronBirds jersey, but using his specially-designed Orioles batting helmet, Brian Roberts moved to the plate here a few moments ago for his first-ever at-bat in a New York-Penn League game. Starting what he hopes will be just a two-game rehab assignment before he can rejoin the Orioles, Roberts led off the last of the first drawing
ABERDEEN, Md. - After taking his cuts during batting practice in front of short-season Single-A Aberdeen manager Gary Allenson, Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is going to bat leadoff and play second tonight for the IronBirds. His goal is to play nine innings the next two days here with the IronBirds and come through the games healthy enough to rejoin the Orioles for a road
Brian Roberts, who has been on the Orioles' disabled list since July 3 with a labral tear in his right hip, has progressed to the point where he will test the injury in game action. MASNsports.com has learned that Roberts will play for Aberdeen tonight at Ripken Stadium, beginning an injury-rehab assignment. It's uncertain how long this assignment will last, but Roberts is expected to
With the great season he has had, what Orioles fan wouldn't have taken Jim Johnson on the mound last night with a one-run lead in the ninth? The Orioles had come back from 5-0 and 8-6 deficits, and after a stirring three-run last of the eighth, their All-Star closer needed three outs to end an uplifting comeback win to start a big weekend series. Instead,
Chris Davis hit a solo homer tonight in the last of the second. His liner to right got out of here in a hurry and was his 17th homer of the year and second in two games. Davis leads the Orioles in home runs at home. That was No. 12 for him. He began today batting .277 with 11 homers and 32 RBIs in 41
Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy is back in the lineup tonight, set to make his 97th start of the year, despite getting hit in the ribcage yesterday in the fifth inning by Tampa Bay's James Shields. Hardy had X-rays taken, which were negative. "I'm not anticipating any problems," he said today. "It is sore to the touch, but I'm not worried about swinging or throwing. I
Orioles lefty Dana Eveland is packing his bags. Again. For the third time this year, he has been designated for assignment. It happened again today so the Orioles could add Miguel Socolovich back to the active roster. Eveland was added to the O's roster just yesterday and was here this time for just one game that he never pitched in. "I didn't know what was
Mired in a 1-for-30 slump, some might say Matt Wieters has a sore bat. Now, he has a tight right bicep to match. He is not in tonight's lineup because of that. He felt some discomfort during yesterday's game. "I took a few swings yesterday where I got a little tight with the right bicep, and we just want to make sure we can get
For the Orioles, the next nine games may well determine if they can truly be in or out of the wild-card race for the rest of this season. They are currently 1.5 games out of the second AL wild-card spot. Breaking a three-game losing streak Thursday was big and the Orioles are 6-3 over the last nine games. But now their next nine will be
WILMINGTON, Del. - Throwing a fastball that was overpowering at times in the 95-96 mph range, with a sharp curveball to go with it, Dylan Bundy dominated the Wilmington Blue Rocks for 2 2/3 innings tonight before the game was halted by rain at Frawley Stadium. Bundy did not give up a run or hit and had one walk and three strikeouts. He threw 32
WILMINGTON, Del. - Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson said tonight he wants pitching prospect Dylan Bundy to have "a handful" of starts going beyond five innings with Single-A Frederick and then the Orioles are likely to move Bundy to Double-A Bowie for his final few starts of the 2012 season. Tonight was the first time this year that Bundy was slated to pitch
WILMINGTON, Del. - Dylan Bundy's 10th start for the Single-A Frederick Keys is off to a good start. But it has been halted, at least for a while, by a rain delay at Frawley Stadium. Bundy has pitched scoreless and no-hit ball through 2 2/3 innings and play was halted at 7:50 p.m. with the score tied 0-0. Wilmington had a man on first, two
WILMINGTON, Del. - There is some good news to report on Frederick pitcher Brandon Erbe. He said he hopes to come off the disabled list soon after experiencing a setback early this month. Erbe had labrum surgery in August 2010 and has been working his way back since. He said earlier this year his shoulder felt great and his velocity had returned to pre-surgery levels.
WILMINGTON, Del. - As Dylan Bundy gets ready to take the mound tonight here at Frawley Stadium for his 18th start of the season and 10th with Single-A Frederick, he could experience both a first and a last this evening. While he will pitch beyond five innings for the first time as a pro, there are also some indications that tonight could be his last
It is one of those topics that might come up on a sports talk show and make for interesting conversation, even though the odds of it happening are very, very low. One of those topics came up on my radio show last night on 105.7 FM The Fan in Baltimore. A caller thought the Orioles should be sellers at the trade deadline and one big
The Orioles entered tonight having allowed three runs or less for seven consecutive games and their starters had recorded seven straight quality starts. They didn't come close to extending either streak to eight. Tampa Bay scored five runs in the first inning on its way to a 10-1 romp over the Orioles as the Rays take the first two games of this series and they
The last two nights the Orioles have a total of two runs on 11 hits and have gone 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. With their team average down to .239, its lowest mark since Opening Day, all the Orioles have to do tonight is beat Tampa Bay's David Price, who is first in the American League in wins and fourth in ERA. Matt Wieters
Orioles catcher Matt Wieters has just one hit in 23 at-bats over his last six games. That has dropped his average from .258 to .243, its lowest point since early June. A reporter asked Wieters if he thought his bat has been streakier this year. "I don't know," Wieters said. "I'm sure the numbers come and go. But it's something you can't worry about. When
Orioles minor league pitcher Bobby Bundy is expected to have surgery Thursday to remove bone spurs from his right elbow. The procedure will keep him out for the rest of the season. The procedure will be performed by a doctor based near Little Rock, Ark., who has dealt with the Bundy brothers before and has the approval of Orioles doctors. The older brother of Dylan
For the second night in a row, the Orioles got a solid starting pitching performance and quality start, but not a win. Jeremy Hellickson outdueled Wei-Yin Chen as Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 3-1 in Game 1 of a three-game series and an O's six-game homestand. Chen gave up just four hits and three runs over 6 2/3 innings, throwing 109 pitches. He falls to
Orioles manager Buck Showalter is quite aware of his team's struggles to get clutch hits with runners in scoring position. But don't look for him to bring it up unless he is asked about it, as he was today. "Just do it. We've done it and will again," Showalter said. "It's like what comes first, creating all these opportunities and putting people out there. There
Orioles reliever Matt Lindstrom felt he was throwing the ball really well on Friday night in Cleveland. Then, he took a Johnny Damon liner off his left leg on his knee, his plant leg, and he hasn't pitched since then. But Lindstrom reports that his knee is feeling much better today and that he is available to pitch tonight if needed. "I'm available," Lindstrom said
If you have a player on your team with 611 homers and with the resume of Jim Thome, it is probably worthwhile to spend some time talking to him and learning from him. It seems the Orioles have been doing that since Thome was acquired on July 1 from Philadelphia. Every time the camera catches Thome in the dugout, he seems to be talking with
Last night was a real rarity for the Orioles. Not only did they lose for just the sixth time this year when their starting pitcher produced a quality start, but they lost for just the second time when their starter went seven innings or more. Tommy Hunter gave up just three runs over seven innings, but took the 3-1 loss at Cleveland. It was the
Well, that was one frustrating loss. The Orioles got a sixth straight quality start but not a sixth straight win, losing 3-1 to Cleveland as they missed a chance to record their first four-game sweep there since September of 1971. Justin Masterson gave up one run and seven hits over 7 1/3 innings to get his seventh win. The Orioles had eight hits overall but
The Orioles' five-game win streak has certainly been fueled by excellent starting pitching, and the Orioles have given up just ten runs over those five games. As for the offense, the Orioles are certainly not putting up big numbers there. They currently rank third in the AL in homers and ninth in slugging, but only 11th in runs and batting average and 12th in OBP.
After spending all of the last two seasons at Single-A Delmarva, Ty Kelly was considered a decent player but was not listed among the Orioles' top minor league prospects. But his play this year should be getting him some attention. He recently moved up to Double-A Bowie from Single-A Frederick, and is 9-for-23 with four RBIs in his first six Baysox games. But Kelly, a
It sure makes it easier to win when your pitching staff gives up 10 runs over a five-game stretch. And it was seven before the ninth inning Sunday. Before this win streak, the Orioles had lost six of seven games and they gave up 45 runs during those six losses. Pretty easy to note the difference. By the way, seldom will you see a player
Aaron Baker, who leads all Orioles minor leaguers this season with 22 homers and 76 RBIs, suffered an oblique injury today during batting practice with Double-A Bowie and the injury could keep him out for the rest of the season. Sometimes, these types of injuries can take four to six weeks to heal and there are only about six weeks remaining in the minor league
It's been a stunning five days of pitching by the Orioles. Since giving up 25 runs in losses Monday and Tuesday at Minnesota, the Orioles now have a five-game win streak during which they have given up ten total runs. Zach Britton pitched six shutout innings today as the Orioles beat Cleveland 4-3. Britton gave up four hits with two walks and five strikeouts, throwing
Some mid-game notes as the Orioles lead the Tribe 2-0 after four innings: * Zach Britton has allowed just two hits so far and has gotten seven groundball outs among his nine outs. It is always a good sign for Britton to get groundballs with his sinker. Britton pitched to an ERA of 2.81 over his last five Triple-A starts before giving up four runs
Don't look now, but not only has Ryan Flaherty homered in back-to-back games, but he has hit three homers over his last 19 at-bats. That came after he had hit just one homer in his first 91 Orioles at-bats. This also comes at a time when some fans were becoming vocal about Flaherty and wondering why the Orioles were keeping the Rule 5 pick on
For a road trip that began with the Orioles allowing 25 runs in two games as their starters gave up 11 runs over a combined 4 2/3 innings, things have improved. And in a hurry. The Orioles four-game win streak has energized the team and probably encouraged a fan base that was sensing some doom and gloom. Now the Orioles are tied with Chicago and
The Orioles used two big swings and several big pitches to pick up another big win. Jim Thome hit a two-run homer in the seventh to back the strong pitching of Chris Tillman as the Orioles beat Cleveland 3-1 at Progressive Field to take the first two games of this series. The Orioles went into the seventh down 1-0 to the Tribe as Shin-Soo Choo
You know what Orioles fans were thinking on Monday night. Only an O's pitching prospect can dominate a team one game like Chris Tillman did in 8 1/3 innings against Seattle and not make it through the first inning the next start. Tillman gave up seven runs, with just one earned, in two-thirds of an inning Monday at Minnesota. I'll give him a mulligan for
Double-A Bowie right-handed pitcher Bobby Bundy is expected to miss the rest of the season and is very likely headed for surgery. An MRI discovered that Bundy has bone spurs in his right elbow. The older brother of Dylan Bundy, the Orioles' top pitching prospect, Bobby Bundy had given up 15 runs in just 3 2/3 innings in his last two starts for Bowie, on
The Triple-A Norfolk Tides are 21-11 over their last 32 games and are now 51-50 on the season. The 32-game run has moved the Tides within six games of first place in their division and within 4 1/2 games of an International League wild card playoff spot. Norfolk's 51 wins are just five shy of matching the entire season total from 2011, when Norfolk finished
It was exactly a week ago that I wrote about Jim Thome and asked fans what they thought about Thome after his first seven games with the club. He was just 5-for-25 as an Oriole at that point with 11 strikeouts and not one extra-base hit. A week later, Thome's bat is now percolating. Over the last five games he is 8-for-22 (.364) with four
For a team struggling to get big hits with runners in scoring postion, it was a welcome sight. Not just scoring 10 runs tonight in a 10-2 win at Cleveland, but the two big hits the Orioles got came seconds apart in the top of the third. With the Orioles leading 2-1, one inning removed from stranding the bases loaded, Mark Reynolds came up with
For the Orioles, it has been nearly two months since their pitchers recorded three straight quality starts. Yes, it has been that long. They can make it three in a row tonight when Miguel Gonzalez pitches at Cleveland. From May 25 to May 27 against Kansas City, the Orioles posted three in a row. Jason Hammel pitched six scoreless innings, then Wei-Yin Chen gave up
Two players on the Orioles Gulf Coast League team, third baseman Hector Veloz and right-handed pitcher Jhondaniel Medina have been suspended by the team. The suspensions began a few days ago and could end sometime next week. They were suspended for disciplinary reasons, a team official confirmed, but would not say what exactly had happened. Veloz was signed out of the Dominican to a $300,000
The question has been asked often: How can a team that leads the majors in errors, struggles to score runs and get clutch hits and has an ever-changing rotation that ranks 12th in the league in ERA, still be in the playoff hunt after 92 games? I have another question as an addendum to that: How can a team with a minus-55 run differential still
Frustrated most of the afternoon by their inability to get a key hit with runners in scoring position, Mark Reynolds ended nearly eight innings of frustration for the Orioles this afternoon. His two-run single to center put the Orioles ahead and they beat the Twins 4-3 to split this four-game series by winning the last two. Down 3-2 entering the eighth, Matt Wieters and Wilson
It wasn't exactly a homer drought, but when Chris Davis hit a long homer to right today in the second inning off Cole De Vries, it ended a stretch of nine homerless games for him. It was Davis' 15th homer of the year. Davis entered today 0-for-11 over his past three games and 3-for-26 over his last seven contests. That brought the Orioles to within
After noticing last night that the Orioles are a surprising 9-5 this year in games started by Tommy Hunter, I wondered what the team's record was in games started by others. Here is a ranking of the starters by the team's winning percentage when they start: .643 - Hunter (9-5) .611 - Jason Hammel (11-7), Wei-Yin Chen (11-7) .500 - Miguel Gonzalez (1-1), Dana Eveland
Adam Jones is certainly hitting better against left-handed pitchers this season. That came in handy last night when he hit a two-run homer in the first inning against Francisco Liriano. It was all the offense the Orioles would get in a 2-1 win over the Twins. Jones hit four homers all of last season in 153 at-bats against lefties. This year, he has six in
Tommy Hunter, at least for one night, rejoins the Orioles rotation tonight in Minnesota. Steve Johnson will also be starting for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides at home against Rochester. You have to wonder if Johnson could soon get a crack at the Orioles rotation. While Johnson has been used mostly in relief in recent appearances with Norfolk, he was a starting earlier this year and
The Orioles added a draft pick for next June today in the first Competitive Balance Lottery. The Orioles will get the fourth pick in Round A, which will follow the first-round picks in the 2013 First-Year Player Draft. A projection on the MLB Network, where the results were announced this afternoon, was that the pick would fall between the 32nd and 37th overall selections and
The Orioles say their seventh-round draft pick, pitcher Matt Price from the University of South Carolina, is dealing with a tight right shoulder capsule and may not pitch in a game this year. "His physical wasn't completely clean and they are being overly cautious," Orioles scouting director Gary Rajsich said. "I'm not saying that is anything out of the ordinary, it is just a pitcher
The Orioles and 12 other major league teams have a chance to add a pick in next June's First-Year Player draft today when baseball holds its first Competitive Balance Lottery this afternoon. The lottery, scheduled to take place at 1:30 p.m. in New York, is a mechanism designed to help teams perceived to need the most assistance by awarding extra draft picks to some of
At this point, beyond just getting wins to turn around a long run of losing, Orioles fans could use a few good outings from some of the Orioles' young starting pitchers for their collective psyche. By now, maybe long before now, some fans have begun to doubt these young hurlers. They have seen them go back and forth between Triple-A and the majors too much
If there was ever a player that didn't let his slump on offense carry over to his defense, it's Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy. He continues to give the club superior defense at a premium position and that is important on a team that makes so many errors at other spots on the diamond. But at the same time, the duration of Hardy's slump has to
For a while, the Orioles bullpen had the best ERA in the majors and/or the American League. Yesterday, before the game, the Orioles' bullpen ERA of 2.87 ranked second-best in the AL, but after giving up 12 runs in the 19-7 loss at Minnesota, the Orioles' bullpen ERA is up to 3.16 and they have fallen all the way to fifth in AL. 2.75 -
As the Orioles try to get some wins after a stretch where they have gone just 7-15 over their past 22 games, tonight they begin a four-game series with the team with the worst record in the American League. The Twins are 36-52 and have lost five in a row. They are just 5-12 this year against the AL East, 17-28 at home and 4-7
Here are some of the recent numbers on the Orioles' offense: * They have been shut out three times in the last five games and five times in the past 22 games. * They have scored just 34 runs in the last 11 games, and 73 over the last 25 games, an average of 2.9 per game. * The Orioles are 3-for-31 with runners in
With each Orioles loss these days, is it possible that a reality is setting in and that reality is that this year, which started out with such promise, will not end up with the Birds in the playoffs? It hasn't been just a tough series, or week, or homestand the team has endured. But since starting the year with a record of 27-14 on May
Chris Davis has seen Justin Verlander on top of his game before. He went 0-for-4 today, as did several of his teammates, as Verlander pitched the Tigers to a 4-0 win over the Orioles at Camden Yards. "I thought after the All-Star Game, we were going to have a real good shot at lighting him up, but he was just setting us up," Davis said.
For Baltimore native Steve Johnson, it's been quite an afternoon. He got to play for his hometown team on the field at Camden Yards for the first time. He pitched two innings against the Tigers and gave up a Miguel Cabrera homer in his major league debut. But Johnson left to the cheers of the crowd after the top of the eighth. He walked the
There is a saying in baseball that momentum is only as good as that day's starting pitcher. If the Orioles had any momentum after Saturday's 13-inning win, Justin Verlander squashed it. He gave up just three hits over eight innings today as Detroit beat the Orioles 4-0 to take the series finale in front of 30,439 at Camden Yards. Verlander retired 16 of the last
Here is an interesting stat: Eight of the players in the Orioles' starting lineup today have combined for just one career homer off Justin Verlander in 85 at-bats. But the other player in the lineup today has seven career homers in 49 at-bats against the Detroit right-hander. Jim Thome is the guy with all the homers. He is 12-for-49 in his career vs. Verlander for
Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel told reporters a few minutes ago that he has decided he will have surgery on his right knee. The arthroscopic procedure will take place at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Monday. "Obviously, it's not what I want to do, but it's what needs to be done," Hammel said. "I can't keep pitching on a bad leg and start doing things
You could hardly blame Jim Johnson for his blown save Saturday. Not that giving up four hits and three runs in one inning is ever a good thing, but Johnson also was hurt by a key error on third baseman Ryan Flaherty in that inning. Also, Johnson has been near-perfect in closing games for the Orioles this year and that was just his second blown
Taylor Teagarden was the last hero of the day for the Orioles in his first game for the club. But it also had to be a nice sight for O's fans to see J.J. Hardy tie the game with a homer in the bottom of the 13th, setting the stage for Teagarden's game-winner. Hardy had just one homer in his last 28 games and was
Well, that was not just another game. In his first game and just his second at-bat with the Orioles, Taylor Teagarden hit his first career walk-off homer. His two-run shot to right was two batters after J.J. Hardy's game-tying shot to left and gave the Orioles a remarkable and exhausting 8-6 win in 13 innings over the Tigers. The Orioles earlier had blown a 4-1
The Orioles today outrighted catcher Ronny Paulino to Triple-A to make roster room for the addition of catcher Taylor Teagarden. Paulino could refuse the assignment and become a free agent. "I have a couple of days to decide what I'm going to do," he said this afternoon in the O's clubhouse. "It's tough because you want to be here in the big leagues. But I'm
Well, that is 3-for-3. The Orioles have now had three statue ceremonies, and they have all been fantastic and a great reunion of Baltimore Orioles royalty. Jim Palmer was honored today and there was a real buzz in the crowd when the fans got a glimpse of Brooks Robinson, who attended today along with Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and Earl Weaver. Also present were many
In seven games as an Oriole, Jim Thome is batting just .200 with no extra-base hits and one RBI. He is 5-for-25 with 11 strikeouts and just one multi-hit game. In interleague games with Philadelphia, Thome went 12-for-36 with four homers, 14 RBIs and an OPS of 1.137. But so far with the Orioles, his slugging percentage is just .200 and his OPS is only
This was not exactly the start to the second half the Orioles had in mind. Get blown out at home and lose their No. 1 starting pitcher to an injury. Jason Hammel left the game in the top of the fourth as Detroit routed the Orioles 7-2 at Camden Yards. For the Tigers, this is their sixth win in a row. For the Orioles, they
At the press conference to announce his signing, O's first-round pick Kevin Gausman was asked what today was like for him as he waited to see if he would get signed by the Orioles. "Kind of stressful," Gausman said after agreeing to a reported $4.32 million bonus with the club. "Didn't sleep very much last night and wasn't allowed to eat until about 1:30 today
The Orioles have come to terms with pitcher Kevin Gausman, their first-round draft pick, taken fourth overall, out of LSU. Moments ago, Gausman said this on his Twitter account: Happy to be the newest member of the Baltimore Orioles organization!!! Living my dream!! #GoBirds!— Kevin Gausman (@KevinGausman) July 13, 2012 The Orioles did not sign fifth-round pick, Texas high school pitcher Colin Poche, who is
Not only will Nick Markakis play for the Orioles tonight for the first time since May 29, but he'll be the first to bat tonight. Markakis is in the leadoff spot in the order for the first time in his career. "I had a little heads up about it," Markakis said a few moments ago in the O's clubhouse. "I'm up for whatever. I think
As of 11 a.m., the Orioles had not come to terms with top draft pick Kevin Gausman, the right-handed pitcher from LSU. But Orioles officials remain hopeful that they will have an agreement by today's 5 p.m. deadline. "I'd be stunned if the O's didn't get a deal done with Gausman," Baseball America's Jim Callis said. Callis expects an agreement to come at around the
There is no doubt the Orioles have some problems on defense. There is no doubt the Orioles are inconsistent on offense. But to me, the club could overcome much of that and still win a wild card playoff berth if it can get consistently solid starting pitching. Sometimes, the stats don't tell us what we need to know, but sometimes they do. The Orioles are
With less than 24 hours now until Friday's 5 p.m. deadline to sign 2012 draft picks, the Orioles remain optimistic that they will come to terms with their top pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman. The Orioles and Gausman's representatives at Legacy Sports have had ongoing talks throughout today, and it appears that they have closed the gap somewhat in terms of a signing bonus. The
Fresh off playing in the All-Star Futures Game, the Orioles' top two prospects, pitcher Dylan Bundy and shortstop Manny Machado returned to their respective teams to continue on a path that just about everyone suspects will one day take them to Baltimore. Bundy is 5-2 with an ERA of 1.87 in 15 starts this year between Single-A Delmarva and Single-A Frederick. Over 62 2/3 innings,
The Orioles have until Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern time to sign their top draft pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman. An Orioles source tells MASNsports.com that the club made a new offer yesterday and that the Orioles "still feel pretty confident" that they will get this deal done. The club source would not reveal any details of the new offer, but the slot amount listed
With over 30 percent of major league clubhouses made up of players born outside of the United States, any team that wants lasting success must sign some promising international talent. Orioles vice president Dan Duquette has said he wants to improve the Orioles international efforts. Signing a player that is making a key contribution like Wei-Yin Chen was a nice first step for him. But
The Orioles are 45-40 at the All-Star break. They are in second place in the American League East and are in second in the AL wild card race right now. Time to take a look back at the first half and ahead to what we may see over the second half of the season. What went right: The Orioles' tremendous bullpen performance coupled with their
When Chris Tillman pitched that great game in Seattle, we later learned that Orioles director of pitching development Rick Peterson had worked with Tillman in Norfolk in mid-May, which helped lead to some of Tillman's improvements this year. Peterson brought biomechanical analysis to the Orioles when he was hired in January and many of the organization's pitchers took part in that during spring training. After
If the Orioles were hoping to head into the All-Star break on a high note, this wasn't it. They have now been shut out in back-to-back games and have gone 22 innings without scoring a run. A pitcher with a terrible career ERA shut them out over five innings this afternoon, as the Orioles lost 6-0 to Los Angeles to head into the break with
At a time when they are struggling to score runs, the Orioles have fallen behind Los Angeles 5-0 today after four innings in the final game before the All-Star break. For what it is worth, the Orioles are now guaranteed to be holding the American League's second wild card playoff berth at the break. Cleveland could have tied the Orioles today, but gave up three
As the first half comes to a close today, maybe fans may have some hope to see an improved O's pitching rotation after the All-Star break that, at least initially, will include Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez. Who could have predicted that even as recently as a few weeks ago? But the Orioles' offense also needs to step it up a notch pretty soon. The
The first time Nick Markakis played with the Double-A Bowie Baysox, in 2005 on his way through the Orioles' farm system, he hit .339 with three homers and 30 RBIs to go with a .993 OPS in 33 games. He hit those three homers then in 124 at-bats and last night, on an injury-rehab assignment with Bowie, he hit two in three at-bats, driving in
BOWIE, Md. - After playing with the Double-A Bowie Baysox tonight, both Nick Markakis and Taylor Teagarden said they hope they can rejoin the Orioles next Friday when the second half begins. Markakis went 2-for-3 with two homers and four RBIs in Bowie's 7-1 win over Akron. He hit two-run homers in the third and seventh innings. He had surgery on his right wrist about
BOWIE, Md. - Nick Markakis seems to be enjoying his return tonight to the Eastern League, even if it will be temporary. He has hit a pair of two-run homers this evening against Akron as Bowie leads 7-1 in the seventh. In his second at-bat at Prince George's Stadium, Markakis hit a two-run homer off knuckleballer Steven Wright's 3-0 pitch to give the Bowie Baysox
BOWIE, Md. - Fans coming here to Prince George's Stadium tonight will not see Manny Machado play, as he has left to play in the Futures Game Sunday in Kansas City. But they will see two players that have been in the major leagues and who have hopes of joining the Orioles when play resumes after the All-Star break. Nick Markakis and Taylor Teagarden are
Orioles vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said the club has spent time this week working on trying to get its first-round draft pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman, to agree to a contract. The deadline to sign this year's draft picks comes up Friday. The Orioles have agreed to terms with eight of their top 10 picks with only Gausman and their fifth-round pick,
When the All-Star Futures Game, featuring some of baseball's best prospects, is played tomorrow, there will be seven players on the U.S. roster that were teenagers when the calender turned to July. Three of those seven are ranked as top ten prospects and two of that trio are from the Orioles. Pitcher Dylan Bundy, the 19-year-old O's 2011 first-round pick and shortstop Manny Machado, the
With a big eighth inning assist from Troy Patton, Miguel Gonzalez pitched the Orioles to a big win on Friday night, as they beat the Angels 3-2 to even the four-game series after the first two games. Gonzalez gave up just three hits and one run over seven innings. It was his first major league start. Now, he may get a second. Gonzalez improved to
Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette said that the Orioles have been involved in some recent trade discussions, but that any talks are in the very early stages right now. "We've talked to a number of teams, probably over half the teams," Duquette said. "Some teams are still trying to decide what they are going to do. I think it's still early
It seemed like fans and reporters alike were saying the same thing Wednesday - "Where did this come from?" - as they watched Chris Tillman take a one-hit shutout into the ninth inning at Seattle. Tillman's average fastball velocity in his major league starts in 2011 was 89.3 mph and he averaged 95 mph in Seattle and topped that late in the game as his
There are brutal losses. There are ugly losses. Then there are losses like Thursday's defeat for the Orioles. The Angels starter, Garrett Richards, gave up three homers and seven runs in just 4 1/3 innings and his team won. The Angels improved to 28-12 since May 21 with a 9-7 victory over the Orioles in Game 1 of a four-game series. Orioles starter Jake Arrieta's
If has not been often that we can say an Orioles prospect is ranked as the best in baseball. But today, Dylan Bundy is No. 1. He has been ranked as baseball's best prospect at midseason by Baseball America. Matt Wieters was ranked the game's No. 1 prospect by Baseball America before the 2009 season. In this current listing, Manny Machado is ranked No. 9.
Today provides a unique opportunity. Since the Orioles have played exactly 81 games with exactly 81 more to go, it is that one day that we can simply double some player and team statistics to project what totals they could finish with. Of course they probably won't exactly duplicate their first-half performance over the next 81 games but we have enough of a sample size
Well, that was impressive. As the Orioles search for some consistent starting pitching, Chris Tillman, at least for one afternoon, presented a very strong case for himself. In his first major league start of the season and his first since last Aug. 11, Tillman pitched the Orioles to a 4-2 win this afternoon at SafeCo Field. Tillman threw a career-high 8 1/3 innings allowing two
Chris Davis is getting hot again at the plate. He recently went through a 10-game stretch where he went just 1-for-35 which dropped his average to .267. But he began today at .275 and his RBI single in the third inning gave the O's a 3-0 lead this afternoon at Seattle. Davis is 1-for-2 so far today and that makes him 8-for-21 over his last
Unlike some fans and analysts, I am not a huge believer that a high strikeout rate is generally a predictor that a pitcher will do well. But I do put some importance on it and it stands to reason that a pitcher with a lot of strikeouts must have something going for him. If you look at Chris Tillman's strikeout rates at Triple-A Norfolk this
Don't look now, but after last night's games, the Orioles no longer lead the major leagues in bullpen ERA. Cincinnati and Pittsburgh have 'pen ERAs of 2.70 and the Orioles' mark went up to 2.71. That still ranks first in the American League. The Orioles bullpen has now given up runs in eight straight games; before this, five in a row was the longest stretch
A pitcher on a roll takes a perfect game into the seventh inning but doesn't even get a win. A struggling hitter delivers a huge home run. Just another night with the Baltimore Orioles. Wei-Yin Chen lost a perfect game bid when Casper Wells hit a solo homer off him after he had retired the first 19 batters tonight. The O's took a 4-1 lead
It appears that the comeback of right-handed pitcher Brandon Erbe, the Orioles third-round pick in 2005, has hit another roadblock. Erbe had been pitching well and was pain-free for Single-A Frederick, but after two straight poor outings, has been placed on the Keys' disabled list today. For now, Erbe is being shut down due to more shoulder issues. It's possible he won't be able to
Wasn't it just a few weeks ago that we were talking about Manny Machado being in a slump. Actually, it was. Remember this story. Yeah, that didn't last long. Machado was not picked for the Eastern League All-Star Game and maybe league officials are regretting that now. He will play on the big stage of the Futures Game Sunday for the second year in a
The Orioles' current slide is nothing that a four-game winning streak couldn't fix. It's just that right now, the Orioles don't look capable of winning four in a row. The O's have lost six of their last seven games and have been outscored 58-25 during that stretch. They have looked every bit as bad as that run differential would indicate. Here is something pretty amazing:
The Orioles had just three hits tonight, but for a while it looked like they had enough runs to get a win in Seattle. Then the Mariners took advantage of a late O's miscue on defense to score five runs over their last two innings and beat the Orioles 6-3. Chris Davis hit his second homer in the last three games, a three-run shot in
A couple of pregame notes as the Orioles begin a seven-game road trip with a three-game series tonight in Seattle. The road trip will take them to the All-Star break. * Steve Johnson was officially added to the roster this afternoon. He is 3-5 with an ERA of 2.73 in 14 games in nine starts at Triple-A Norfolk. His last four appearances came out of
There has been a lot of focus recently on the Orioles' pitching and the starting rotation and for good reason. Since giving up just five runs in a three-game series against the Nationals, the Orioles have allowed 52 runs in losing five of six games. They have allowed 13 homers with a team ERA of 8.17 in that stretch and yes, that is terrible. But
So, did anything happen the last two days at Camden Yards? Well, first Earl Weaver was honored and it was amazing, emotional and special. Just as we were finishing writing our stories on that came word of a trade and that Jim Thome would be headed to Baltimore. Then we interviewed the other players talking about Thome's addition. Then we found out the Orioles had
After a lengthy postgame stop in the manager's office, Brian Matusz emerged today to talk about being sent back to the minor leagues. Was he surprised that he is being sent back to Triple-A? "No, not at all. My last five or six outings or so just haven't been getting the job done. Today was just really inconsistent. There were signs of good pitches, but
After getting hammered in two mid-week games against the Angels, the Orioles were hoping to get back on track with a four-game series against Cleveland. The Tribe came to Camden Yards riding a five-game losing streak and a record of 11-19 over its previous 30 games. But another poor outing by another starter led to another loss today as the Tribe beat the Orioles 6-2.
J.J. Hardy is the one Orioles player who has been on the same team with Jim Thome. They played together with Minnesota in 2010 and Hardy said Thome will bring a lot to the Orioles on the field and in the clubhouse. "You guys will all see. He's probably one of the best guys to ever play the game personality-wise. A leader, just a great
Three Orioles - and maybe a fourth - will be heading to the All-Star game. Adam Jones, Jim Johnson and Matt Wieters have made the American League squad and Jason Hammel will be in the Final Vote, with one player selected from a group of five. The Orioles have not sent more than one player since Brian Roberts, Miguel Tejada, Melvin Mora and B.J Ryan
Jim Thome will make his Orioles debut today, batting fifth as the designated hitter. Not long after arriving at the ballpark, he talked about joining the Orioles. "I'm excited to be here," Thome said. "These guys have had a great year and done some special things. Hopefully, we can continue to do that." Thome is batting .242 with five homers and 15 RBIs in 62
