We don't need an interpreter for this one.
Coming off his second blown save against the Yankees, which left him unable to stand, Koji Uehara struck out the side in the top of the 10th inning.
It wasn't a save situation, but he had to feel some pressure in a tie game, and following the steady diet of fastballs he fed Alex Rodriguez that ended with a three-run homer.
Uehara kept feeding the Yankees splitters today, and he struck out Nick Swisher, Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson. A much...
The Orioles were down by two runs entering the bottom of the eighth inning.
It felt like 20 for some reason.
Corey Patterson reaches on a bunt single, Matt Wieters singles to right field and pinch-hitter Felix Pie scores Patterson with a single into left-center field.
Down by one. Feels like one.
Brian Roberts laid down a great sacrifice bunt to advance pinch-runner Josh Bell to third and Pie to second. Yes, Bell was used as a pinch-runner. He beats Wieters in a footrace.
That brought up...
Today's attendance: 39,537.
Robert Andino finally got to field his first ground ball at third base.
Andino handled two pop ups and a line drive in his first two major league starts at the hot corner. He finally had a chance today on Ramiro Pena's bouncer in the hole with one out in the sixth inning, but he pulled back his glove at the last instant, figuring that Cesar Izturis was behind him to make the play. Izturis was shaded toward second and had no chance at the ball as it skipped into...
When we spoke to Jake Arrieta yesterday, he talked about the importance of refining his mechanics if he wants to become an established major league pitcher. I later suggested in this blog that he also needed to throw more strikes and improve his tempo.
Here's my unsolicited advice for Chris Tillman: Throw more strikes.
You don't need an extensive background in pitching to figure out that one.
Tillman has been removed from today's game after 3 2/3 innings. He walked six batters, matching...
Infielder Julio Lugo still hasn't been cleared to play, increasing the possibility that he'll be shut down for the last few weeks. The Orioles aren't ready to make that concession, but Lugo told me that he'll probably visit another specialist tomorrow.
Lugo, who's been diagnosed with sinusitis, added that he feels "a lot better" today and was smiling as he passed me in the hallway outside the clubhouse. He also joked that doctors keep checking his head and they can't find anything...
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Robert Andino 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Jake Fox DH
Ty Wigginton 1B
Corey Patterson LF
Matt Wieters C
Cesar Izturis SS
Chris Tillman RHP
For the Yankees:
Gardner LF
Jeter SS
Berkman 1B
Cano 2B
Swisher DH
Posada C
Granderson CF
Kearns RF
Pena 3B
Pettitte LHP
The clubhouse is pretty much empty except for a few players who are grabbing an early breakfast - and it counts as early when you're playing a 1:35 p.m. game. The door to manager Buck Showalter's office is closed. He'll meet with the media at noon.
In other words, I'm early again.
A few stats to consider while we wait:
The Orioles are 11-3 in the opening game of a series since Showalter took over, but only 5-8 in the closing game.
The 11 runs surrendered last night were the most under...
Joe Girardi doesn't like Jeremy Guthrie.
It's not a reach to suggest that the Orioles' right-hander is Girardi's least favorite pitcher in baseball, though I'm not privy to his list and we're not Facebook friends.
Guthrie's first pitch of tonight's game nailed Derek Jeter on the left elbow, further irritating Girardi, who hasn't forgotten the two hit batters in a spring training contest in Tampa - including Mark Teixeira, who exited with a bruised right elbow - and a few other...
The Orioles gave up 11 runs tonight. They had allowed 11 runs combined in their last four games.
Robert Andino is the first Oriole to homer in consecutive games since Luke Scott on July 23-24 against Minnesota.
Andino is batting .364 in his last five games, with three doubles and two homers.
Manager Buck Showalter didn't talk about any of that, but I wanted to mention it anyway.
So why wasn't Jeremy Guthrie as effective tonight?
"A lot of deep counts," Showalter said. "That's...
Tonight's attendance: 48,775, the second sellout of the year.
Robert Andino has homered again, connecting off CC Sabathia in the bottom of the fifth inning and reducing the Yankees' lead to 6-3. He also extended his hitting streak to five games.
He's only appeared in six with the Orioles.
Don't even pretend that you envisioned an Andino home run in September while this season played out. Now you've got two of them.
Heck, I didn't think we'd see Andino all year, but Julio Lugo's...
The Orioles just introduced first-round pick Manny Machado to the Camden Yards crowd after the top of the third inning. Joe Jordan, director of scouting, stood on the field with Machado, who acknowledged the fans' applause with a wave and a smile.
If the Orioles are going to have 10 quality starts in their last 11 games, Jeremy Guthrie will have to blank the Yankees over the next three innings. He's allowed three runs and four hits in three innings, with one walk and four strikeouts. He's...
Jeremy Guthrie's first pitch of the game drilled Derek Jeter on the left elbow.
Jeter tried to spin away from it. No such luck.
Jeter dropped his bat and trotted to first base. The benches and bullpens didn't empty. But the crowd certainly reacted.
At least this one was legit. No foul ball.
Keep in mind that Guthrie has hit 14 batters this year, second to A.J. Burnett (16). He might be a little amped up.
Update: Guthrie struck out the next two batters, walked Alex Rodriguez and gave up a...
Another Jake Arrieta update: The rookie is scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. Team physician Dr. Andrew Cosgarea will handle the surgery.
Arrieta wants to remain with the team, though he might not travel.
"I think it's going to be for the best," Arrieta said. "I've talked to the doctors and trainers and we decided I'm going to go ahead and get that bone spur taken out. Probably going to do it Wednesday, just get it over and done with...
Manager Buck Showalter said he was still 50-50 whether he would shut down Jake Arrieta until the club decided to schedule an MRI on the rookie's right elbow, which followed his admission that he felt "a little tightness" after his last start.
Arrieta was fine the next day, but the Orioles decided to be cautious.
"He's 20, 23 innings over where he's been. He's in a good spot and I think it's best to stop his innings right now," Showalter said. "We looked at all the variables involved...
The Orioles have decided to shut down Jake Arrieta, primarily because of a bone spur in his right elbow that might require surgery after the season.
Arrieta said he's been pitching with the spur since college and it only has a slight effect on his flexibility. Arrieta insisted that it doesn't influence the way he pitches.
The surgery isn't considered a serious procedure, but there's no reason to put it off if the spur could potentially cause him problems later in his career.
Arrieta...
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Robert Andino 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Jake Fox DH
Adam Jones CF
Nolan Reimold LF
Craig Tatum C
Cesar Izturis SS
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
Still hurts.
I thought I could sleep it off, as if that ever works, but just the idea of being down a game in this series with CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte taking the ball makes my body ache.
One more strike and we'd be discussing the possibility of a sixth consecutive series win. It could still happen, of course. I'm talking mathematically. But as long as we're dealing in numbers, Sabathia and Pettitte are a combined 40-8 lifetime against the Orioles.
We'll see what happens. This team...
One strike away from victory.
"We may have had it, too," manager Buck Showalter said.
Asked again about Koji Uehara's 1-2 pitch to Alex Rodriguez, Showalter replied, "It was close. It was obviously a better pitch than strike one to Matt Wieters. I'll tell you that."
Uehara was visibly upset that he didn't get the call from plate umpire Ted Barrett, and practically inconsolable after Rodriguez launched a three-run homer on the next pitch.
Buck Showalter talks with the media after the...
Koji Uehara just blew another save to the Yankees, and it almost brought him to his knees.
Actually, it caused him to squat in front of the mound, his back turned to home plate, as catcher Matt Wieters tried to console him.
Uehara served up a three-run homer to Alex Rodriguez on a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the top of the ninth, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
Rodriguez unloaded on a 90 mph fastball one pitch after Uehara thought he had a called third strike on another fastball. Plate umpire...
That 34-pitch second inning looked like it would force Kevin Millwood to make an early exit tonight. He wasn't sharp and the Yankees were poised for that one big inning that would knock him out.
Not so fast.
Millwood has cleared seven innings and holds a 2-1 lead.
Jim Johnson was warming in the seventh as Millwood escaped a two-on, two-out jam created by walks to pinch-hitter Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson. Manager Buck Showalter almost certainly will go to his bullpen in the eighth...
