masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgIn case you missed the update late last night, the Orioles will start Wade Miley in Thursday’s series finale against the Rangers. It’s more than just expected now. He’s taking the ball in his debut.
Yovani Gallardo figures to be pushed back to Friday night in Chicago, but it’s not official.
In the Orioles’ perfect baseball world, major league rosters would hold 26 players and allow for a 13-man pitching staff and four-man bench.
They take another look at the schedule and wish for an extra…

In case you missed the update late last night, the Orioles will start Wade Miley in Thursday’s series finale against the Rangers. It’s more than just expected now. He’s taking the ball in his debut.

Yovani Gallardo figures to be pushed back to Friday night in Chicago, but it’s not official.

In the Orioles’ perfect baseball world, major league rosters would hold 26 players and allow for a 13-man pitching staff and four-man bench.

They take another look at the schedule and wish for an extra arm. I’m not sure whether Ubaldo Jimenez’s counts if he isn’t going to be used beyond starts against the Padres and Twins.

Zach Britton is the only left-hander in the bullpen and he doesn’t really count since he’s the closer. Donnie Hart is eligible to return from Double-A Bowie after the Orioles optioned him on July 24 to make room for Darren O’Day. He could get the call sooner rather than later.

zach-britton-in-white-Sidebar.png

Logan Ondrusek has a minor league option, but he’s retired all six batters he’s faced with two strikeouts since the Orioles signed him.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette tried to trade for a left-handed specialist before Monday’s non-waiver deadline, but teams wanted too much in return or the more attainable guys weren’t deemed better than the in-house options.

If you’re calling the shots, do you go with 13 pitchers or four reserves?

Plenty of teams were asking for Dylan Bundy at the non-waiver trade deadline. Plenty of teams can forget about it.

Kevin Gausman also drew the usual amount of interest. Again, the Orioles kept saying “no.” The return wasn’t nearly worth it.

Gausman will try to rebound from his last outing in Toronto, when he allowed six runs and six hits in three innings. He also walked three batters and was removed after 79 pitches.

Gausman faced the Rangers on June 20 and surrendered four runs and nine hits in five innings in a 4-3 loss. He’s 0-2 with a 4.58 ERA in four career games (three starts) against the Rangers, with 10 runs and 24 hits over 19 2/3 innings.

Elvis Andrus is 4-for-9 versus Gausman and Carlos Beltran is 4-for-12 with two doubles.

Gausman is 2-1 with a 2.36 ERA in seven home starts this season and 0-7 with a 5.62 ERA in 11 road starts. Right-handers are batting .305 with 15 home runs and left-handers are batting .231 with four homers.

With left-hander Cole Hamels starting tonight, the Orioles figure to counter with Steve Pearce and Nolan Reimold in the outfield and Mark Trumbo as the designated hitter. Trumbo is 5-for-15 against him with two home runs and Reimold is 3-for-6 with two doubles.

J.J. Hardy is 5-for-18 with two doubles and a home run.

Hamels is 12-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 21 starts this season. He faced the Orioles on April 14 and allowed three runs and seven hits in 5 1/3 innings in a 6-3 win. He’s 1-2 with a 4.44 ERA in four career starts versus the Orioles and he allowed seven runs and nine hits over five innings in his lone start at Camden Yards.

Hamels is 8-1 with a 1.71 ERA in 11 road starts this season and 4-1 with a 4.22 ERA in 10 road starts. Left-handers are batting .176 against him and right-handers are batting .248.

Since the break, Hamels has gone 3-0 with a 0.84 ERA in three starts. He’s allowed only two earned runs (four total) in 21 1/3 innings.

Rule 5 pick Joey Rickard, on the disabled list with a thumb injury, will head to Sarasota while the Orioles are on their next road trip.

Take it as a good sign.

Brad Brach has allowed four runs (three earned) and eight hits in his last five appearances over 4 1/3 innings. He’s walked two and struck out four.

Brach’s ERA climbed from 0.86 to 1.27 after he permitted a run last night in the eighth and left with two outs and the bases loaded.

“The end game a little bit (different), but he was a pitch away from getting out of it,” said manager Buck Showalter. “The ground ball that went through and a tough play by Chris (Davis). Trying to pass around the load. Everybody’s got a little bit of wear and tear on the team. Everybody.”

Adam Jones has homered in consecutive games on four occasions this season. He bumped up his total last night after also connecting Sunday afternoon in Toronto.

Jones is 11-for-32 (.344) in his last eight games and his batting .312/.355/.497 (49-for-157) with five doubles, eight home runs, 23 RBIs and 29 runs scored in his last 37 games.

Matt Wieters has thrown out 12 of 33 runners (36.4 percent) attempting to steal.

Wieters became the eighth Oriole last night to reach double digits in home runs. I’m counting Pearce, who hit 10 with the Rays.

Jimenez spent part of his off day on Monday cheering for Team Dominican Republic at the 2016 Cal Ripken World Series in Aberdeen. He hung out with the kids and took a bunch of photos.

Jimenez-ripkenworldseries.JPG

Triple-A Norfolk’s Dariel Alvarez extended his hitting streak to 18 games last night with an infield single. Joe Gunkel posted his team-leading ninth quality start by holding Durham to one run over 6 1/3 innings.

Left-hander Ariel Miranda, traded to the Mariners for Miley, will be recalled from Triple-A Tacoma and start Thursday.

Miranda has made one appearance in the majors and it came in relief on July 3 in Seattle. He allowed three runs and four hits and struck out four batters in two innings.

The Mariners must have been impressed.

The Orioles are hosting another Social Media Night before Thursday’s 7:05 p.m. game against the Rangers. The “Birdland Social” event will include an exclusive pregame party on the centerfield Roof Deck featuring O’Day and the author of this blog, who will take part in exclusive question-and-answer sessions with those in attendance.

Tickets for the Birdland Social pregame party range from $35 to $60 and include access to the private event, a catered menu, two drink coupons per person, a ticket to the game (Roof Deck, first few rows of Eutaw Street Bleachers, or Upper Reserve with varied pricing), and an exclusive Darren O’Day Omoji T-shirt.

The party will begin at 5 p.m. and continue until 6:30 p.m. Participants will have early access to the ballpark at 4:45 p.m. through the 323 West Camden St. lobby in the warehouse. A limited number of tickets are available for purchase at www.orioles.com/birdlandsocial.

The Orioles and OriolesREACH will host a private fundraising event for Shannon’s Fund on Friday, Aug. 19, from 5 p.m.- 6:30 p.m. at Camden Yards before the 7:05 p.m. game against the Astros.

There are two ticket options available for the game: $50 for seating in the Eutaw St. Reserve or $65 for seating in the Roof Deck in center field. They both include the private event and a pregame barbeque, an opportunity to watch batting practice from the Roof Deck bar, a visit from an Orioles player, photos with the Oriole Bird, an Orioles gift, two complementary drink tickets and fireworks following the conclusion of the game. Additionally, a silent auction will be held near Gate E to benefit Shannon’s Fund.

An endowment at the University of Maryland Medical Center, Shannon’s Fund was established by the Orioles and OriolesREACH in 2008 to provide financial support to hospital patients and their families to assist with many expenses associated with the treatment process. The endowment was created in memory of my friend Shannon Obaker, the club’s former Director of Community Outreach who bravely fought cancer for a year before she passed away in 2007 at the age of 29.

Fans interested in attending should visit www.orioles.com/shannonsfund to purchase tickets. The deadline is Aug. 10.