Josh Land

Zach Wilt: O's need to finish strong for shot at postseason

September 01, 2016, 4:59am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: O's need to finish strong for shot at postseason

This morning we turn the page on our calendars, or simply swipe up on our smartphones, as September begins and we near the finish line of the 2016 MLB season. With 29 games remaining, the Baltimore Orioles sit four back of the first place Toronto Blue Jays in the American League East and tied with the Tigers for the second wild card spot. August marked the O's second losing month of the year, as they finished 13-15. They went 12-14 in July. FanGraphs.com projects that the Birds will go 15-14...

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David Huzzard: Nats almost assured of NL East crown, but need postseason success

September 01, 2016, 4:45am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Nats almost assured of NL East crown, but need postseason success

When the Nats are good, they are good in the same way. And as September begins, the Nats all but have the National League East locked up, just like they did in 2014. And while 2012 was much closer, the Nats had the division lead for more than half the season. It has been since May that the Nationals haven't had sole possession of first place. They can't be called wire-to-wire winners, though it is close, but is it too early to say the Nats have the division won? Yes and no. It is close to...

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Orioles acquire OF Michael Bourn from the Arizona Diamondbacks

August 31, 2016, 6:10pm

Orioles

The Orioles tonight announced that they have acquired OF Michael Bourn from the Arizona Diamondbacks in exchange for minor league OF Jason Heinrich. To make room on the 40-man roster, OF Joey Rickard was transferred to the 60-day disabled list. Bourn, 33, has batted .261/.307/.362 (86-for-329) with 12 doubles, six triples, three home runs, 43 runs scored, 30 RBI, and 13 stolen bases in 89 games with Arizona this season. Over 1,337 career Major League games, he has hit .266/.329/.356 with 190...

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Orioles acquire LHP Kyle Lobstein from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for LHP Zach Phillips

August 31, 2016, 1:41pm

Orioles

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired LHP Kyle Lobstein from the Pittsburgh Pirates in exchange for LHP Zach Phillips. To make room on the 40-man roster, LHP Ashur Tolliver has been designated for assignment. Lobstein, 27, has gone 2-0 with a 3.96 ERA (11 ER/25.0 IP) over 14 games with the Pirates this season, holding left-handed hitters to a .083/.241/.083 (2-for-24) slash line. He went 1-3 with a 4.11 ERA (23 ER/50.1 IP) and 42 strikeouts over 19 games (six starts) with Triple-A...

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Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Battle Cry of Freedom"

August 31, 2016, 6:34am

Orioles

Hitting the Books with Gary Thorne: "The Battle Cry of Freedom"

I took "Battle Cry of Freedom" by James McPherson on a recent road trip to again browse chapters that most intrigue me in this highly regarded history of the Civil War. I read the full book years ago and may never undertake that reading again, but it is a book always ripe for chapter reads. This is not a book detailing the specific battles, movement by movement. There are volumes of such books available. Neither is the work an overview of the Civil War. That would be unfair to the details so...

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Dillon Atkinson: Believe it or not, O's need to ride Jimenez's hot hand

August 31, 2016, 6:25am

Orioles

Dillon Atkinson: Believe it or not, O's need to ride Jimenez's hot hand

Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez got the call in D.C. to start in place of Orioles ace Chris Tillman - who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder bursitis - because of limited options and his past success against the Nationals. While fans griped at the fact that he is on the O's roster, much less starting, Jimenez went up against Nats ace Max Scherzer and tossed six innings of one-run ball, allowing five hits, no walks and striking out four batters. The non-promising...

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Charlie Fliegel: Time for Nats to start thinking ahead

August 31, 2016, 6:07am

Nationals

Charlie Fliegel: Time for Nats to start thinking ahead

As September arrives, the National League East race is looking more like a stroll. The Nationals still want to win enough games to keep home field advantage in the National League Division Series. But they are afforded the ability to rest some players, keeping them fresh for October. And that gives them ample opportunity to try and address some roster questions before the postseason begins. So here are a few. What is the bridge to the closer? Getting to Mark Melancon hasn't been challenging,...

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Anderson, Henneman announced as inductees into Maryland Sports Athletic Hall of Fame

August 30, 2016, 11:53am

Orioles

Anderson, Henneman announced as inductees into Maryland Sports Athletic Hall of Fame

The United States finished the 2016 Summer Olympic Games with an astounding 46 gold medals. Nearly 40 percent of those came from athletes who call Maryland home. It was a remarkable few weeks for those U.S. athletes who, along with representing their country, competed for the Old Line State. But it was also a representation of the state's exceptional athletic history. Each athlete began their journey at a young age and worked tirelessly to achieve success. And for six all-time Maryland...

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Steve Mears: The annual September roster shakeup draws near

August 30, 2016, 7:08am

Nationals

Steve Mears: The annual September roster shakeup draws near

It is August 30th and many teams will be doing the roster shuffle in a few days to make room for their September call-ups, which also means that any player not on the 40-man roster is not eligible for a call-up. There are strong indications that Mat Latos and Sean Burnett could both be called up if Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo can make room for them on the 40-man roster. Both Latos and Burnett signed minor league contracts, and could both prove to be valuable in September and...

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Ryan Romano: If Hart fares better vs. righties, he'll have a shot in O's bullpen

August 30, 2016, 3:00am

Orioles

Ryan Romano: If Hart fares better vs. righties, he'll have a shot in O's bullpen

While the Orioles have one of the best left-handed relievers in baseball -- and one of the best southpaws, period -- in Zach Britton, their bullpen skews to the right overall. Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, and Darren O'Day each throw right-handed, and they've all had some problems with lefties, albeit to vastly different extents. With Brian Matusz melting down and hitting waivers, Baltimore has tried out a host of left-handed bullpen arms to see if any of them can stick, and most (Ashur...

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Marty Niland: Murphy shooting for spot among D.C.'s all-time greats

August 29, 2016, 5:18am

Nationals

Marty Niland: Murphy shooting for spot among D.C.'s all-time greats

Nationals fans are having fun watching their team move closer to its third division title in the past five seasons, but an even more exciting race is in full swing between the Nats' Daniel Murphy and Colorado's DJ LeMahieu for the National League batting title. The two second basemen came into last weekend's series as the league's top two hitters, with Murphy at .345 and LeMahieu at .344. Even though LeMahieu didn't play in Friday's series opener, he moved into the top spot by going...

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Andrew Stetka: A moment to appreciate Adam Jones

August 28, 2016, 4:42pm

Orioles

Andrew Stetka: A moment to appreciate Adam Jones

It's not all that uncommon these days to hear that a baseball player is dealing with an injury. That's never been truer when it comes to Adam Jones. This isn't a knock on the Orioles center fielder. Major league players get dinged up throughout a long 162-game season. This is a regular occurrence. The difference with Jones is that he rarely misses a game because of it. When he's out of the lineup, it's noticeable. You know it must be something more than just a bump or a bruise. Jones has...

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Orioles make four roster moves

August 28, 2016, 7:35am

Orioles

The Orioles today announced that they have signed RHP Tommy Hunter to a major league contract, recalled RHP Oliver Drake from Triple-A Norfolk, and designated LHP T.J. McFarland and OF Julio Borbon for assignment. Hunter, 30, went 2-2 with a 3.74 ERA (9 ER/21.2 IP) over 21 games with the Cleveland Indians this season. In parts of five seasons with the Orioles from 2011-15, Hunter went 21-20 with a 4.22 ERA (185 ER/394.2 IP) and 257 strikeouts. Over 305 career major league games, he has gone...

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Orioles reinstate LHP T.J. McFarland from the disabled list; designate RHP Logan Ondrusek for assignment

August 26, 2016, 12:28pm

Orioles

The Orioles today announced that they have reinstated LHP T.J. McFarland from the 15-day disabled list and designated RHP Logan Ondrusek for assignment off the 25-man roster. McFarland, 27, was placed on the 15-day disabled list on June 30 (retroactive to June 29) with left knee inflammation. Over five rehabilitation games (four starts) between the GCL Orioles (one game), Class A-Advanced Frederick (two games), and Double-A Bowie (two games), he pitched to a 6.48 ERA (6 ER/8.1 IP) with eight...

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Matthew Taylor: An interesting conversation with my 2011 self

August 26, 2016, 5:52am

Orioles

Matthew Taylor: An interesting conversation with my 2011 self

Have you ever heard someone talk about the advice they would share with a younger version of themself if they had the chance? Here's what a conversation with the 2011 version of myself might look like if we got to talking Orioles baseball. 2011 Me: I don't know how much more of this I can take. Fourteen consecutive losing seasons! I thought this was the year, and we still lost 93 games with Buck Showalter in charge. We're hopeless. 2016 Me: I think you'll be happy with where things go from...

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Patrick Reddington: Baker feels Nats are on verge of breaking out offensively

August 25, 2016, 6:27pm

Nationals

Patrick Reddington: Baker feels Nats are on verge of breaking out offensively

Stephen Strasburg in on the disabled list with right shoulder soreness. Joe Ross is still working his way back from shoulder inflammation, though there were positive reports on the right-hander on Thursday. Sammy Solis is on the DL with a left shoulder issue and likely a couple of weeks away from a return. Oliver Perez is dealing with back tightness, but reportedly available. Before beating the Orioles on Thursday, the Nationals had lost four straight and six of 10 games. Nationals skipper...

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Zach Wilt: What Ubaldo Jimenez needs to do to be effective

August 25, 2016, 5:35am

Orioles

Zach Wilt: What Ubaldo Jimenez needs to do to be effective

For the first time since July 28, Ubaldo Jimenez will make a start for the Baltimore Orioles. With Chris Tillman on the disabled list, Jimenez will take the mound tonight in D.C. as the Birds look to take all four games of their interleague series against the Nationals. It's been a tough season for Jimenez, he's 5-10 with a 6.94 ERA. In his three seasons with the Orioles, he's pitched to a 4.99 ERA and surrendered 4.5 walks per nine innings. Jimenez signed a four-year deal with the Birds...

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David Huzzard: Nats will be ready come October

August 25, 2016, 5:23am

Nationals

David Huzzard: Nats will be ready come October

The Nationals' current four-game losing streak feels like the longest losing streak of the season. It isn't. That happened back in June when they lost seven in a row. This probably feels like a longer losing streak because the Nationals played so poorly against the Braves in order to test just how bad they were. The Nats found out that the Braves are very bad. The Orioles aren't a bad team, and so playing poorly against them has had much more disastrous results. Each loss by the Nationals...

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Orioles recall RHP Mike Wright from Triple-A Norfolk, place RHP Chris Tillman on the disabled list

August 24, 2016, 1:32pm

Orioles

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled RHP Mike Wright from Triple-A Norfolk and placed RHP Chris Tillman on the 15-day disabled list with right shoulder bursitis (retroactive to August 21). Wright, 26, went 3-3 with a 3.17 ERA (23 ER/65.1 IP) in 11 starts with the Tides this season. He is 3-4 with a 5.97 ERA (46 ER/69.1 IP) in 14 games (12 starts) with the Orioles this season. Over 26 career Major League games (21 starts), he has gone 6-9 with a 6.00 ERA (76 ER/114.0 IP). Tillman,...

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Dillon Atkinson: Five X-factors for the Orioles down the stretch

August 24, 2016, 6:08am

Orioles

After defeating the Nationals 8-1 on Tuesday night, the Orioles are still in third place in the American League East, just two games back of the Red Sox and Blue Jays, who are tied for the division lead. The Birds are 22-25 since the start of July, so they're going to have to turn it around sooner rather than later. Here are five X-factors that could very well be big influences on whether or not the O's turn it around and make the postseason. Manny Machado: Since the start of July, Machado is...