ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles posted their first shutout victory of the season tonight and returned to .500 with a 4-0 win over the Rays before 12,789 at Tropicana Field.
The game took 2 hours, 33 minutes to complete and included a four-out save for Brad Brach and the rotation's fifth consecutive quality start.
Miguel Gonzalez has allowed one earned run or fewer in three of his five starts, and left the ballpark tonight with a 2.59 ERA.
"Command of the fastball and it goes from there,"...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - In their latest effort to make the Baltimore media feel at home, the Rays served "Maryland style crab cakes" in the press dining room.
It's the thought that counts, and another classy gesture by the Rays, who have been gracious visitors in their own ballpark.
Third baseman Manny Machado is leading off tonight for only the third time in his career and the first since September 22, 2013. He lined out to right field on the first pitch from Rays starter Chris...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles remain hopeful that shortstop J.J. Hardy and infielder Ryan Flaherty will begin an injury rehab assignment Monday night at Double-A Bowie.
The Baysox begin a four-game series against Akron, and manager Buck Showalter joked that he'd need to break the news to Hardy and Flaherty that Thursday's first pitch is slated for 11 a.m.
Hardy did some early hitting and took batting practice with Flaherty in Group 4. Hardy also took ground balls and made throws from...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Steve Pearce worked out again today at second base and gets the start tonight against the Rays in the second game of their relocated series.
Pearce made his professional debut at second base last night.
Manny Machado is leading off for the third time in his career. He's 2-for-10 atop the order.
Center fielder Adam Jones led the American League in batting average (.400) last month, and finished second in slugging percentage (.707) and third in on-base percentage (.440)...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles' last two games have been completed in 2 hours, 3 minutes and 2 hours, 19 minutes. The crowds have been under 10,000, including Wednesday's no-fan zone.
The explanation probably has more to do with pitching changes made between innings instead of the middle. No interruptions in the action. And the Orioles rotation has produced four consecutive quality starts, which tends to quicken the pace.
Miguel Gonzalez will try to make it five in a row tonight at...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles and Rays played their 300th game against each other last night and the all-time series is tied 150-150.
There's a lot on the line tonight. Tension hangs heavy beneath the dome.
The season series is knotted at 2-2. The Orioles are batting .171 and the Rays are batting .185.
The Orioles have been shut out twice this season - both times by 2-0 scores in the last two games at Tropicana Field. But the Orioles are 0-1 when they're the home team.
Since the start of...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles got the final at-bats tonight in the bottom of the ninth inning, a reminder that they were the home team at Tropicana Field. They just couldn't give their cluster of fans a walk-off win.
The Orioles struck out 13 times and lost to the Rays 2-0 before 9,945, an attendance figure they will carry back to Baltimore. Caleb Joseph was the only Orioles who didn't strike out.
Both teams had four hits in a game that lasted only 2 hours, 19 minutes. The no-fan game at...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Oriole Bird led fans in the familiar chant of "O-R-I-O-L-E-S" before players jogged onto the field for the anthem. The "home" team wore black jerseys, making it a typical Friday night in only one sense.
And we said it wouldn't get weird.
I've heard that the expected crowd is around 10,000 for tonight's game. They're averaging 17,545 in 12 home dates.
The Rays' public address announcer introduced the starting lineups in the same subdued voice. He's usually...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Rays are going out of their way to make the Orioles and media feel right at home, including the shipment of Bergers cookies from Baltimore to Tropicana Field. Boxes are stacked in the press dining room for dessert.
That's the icing on the cookie.
The Orioles took batting practice first at Tropicana Field, the usual order for the home team. The Rays came out of the dugout to stretch in their road gray pants, many of the players greeting the Orioles with hugs.
"I...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter noted that this is a big day for shortstop J.J. Hardy, who worked out at Tropicana Field this afternoon and joined Group 4 for batting practice.
Showalter is hoping that Hardy (shoulder) and infielder Ryan Flaherty (groin) will begin injury rehab assignments Monday at Double-A Bowie.
Hardy took about 15 swings in early batting practice, fielded ground balls and threw to the bases. He also worked with Steve Pearce on turning the double play....
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - According to STATS Inc, tonight's game between the Orioles and Rays marks the fifth time since 2007 that the host team has batted first.
* July 23, 2013: The Giants batted first at Pack Bell Park against the Reds in Game 2 of a doubleheader that was a makeup game rained out on July 4 in Cincinnati. The Giants won 5-3.
* June 24-26, 2011: A three-game series was relocated from Sun Life Stadium to Safeco Field due to a conflict with a U2 concert. The Mariners took two of...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - To avoid any confusion, the Orioles are playing on the road this weekend, but they're considered the home team. The statistics will count as road games. However, in real time through Sunday, the stats may appear as home for the Orioles until updated on Monday on all platforms.
All three games will reflect home attendance for the Orioles despite the games being played at Tropicana Field.
Got all that?
Major League Baseball and the Elias Sports Bureau are driving this bus....
Chris Tillman didn't expect to be back at Tropicana Field this quickly after making the opening day start for the Orioles.
He also didn't imagine that he would be working on seven days rest.
Perhaps a shift in the norm will get Tillman back in the proper direction.
Tillman comes into tonight's game against the Rays with a 7.58 ERA in 19 innings. He's made it through the sixth in only one of his four starts, in the season opener beneath the dome.
The rotation's ERA, which ranked last in the...
The box score says Double-A Bowie pitcher Dylan Bundy turned in his finest start in 2015 yesterday afternoon in Erie, Pa. His manager says it wasn't the first time that Bundy impressed. The results just happened to match his stuff.
Bundy, still ranked as the Orioles' top pitching prospect, struck out five batters in three perfect innings.
Before yesterday, Bundy had allowed four runs and eight hits in nine innings, with two walks and nine strikeouts. He gave up two runs and four hits over...
The Orioles finally start playing again and now they're off.
This break in the schedule was planned. The Orioles will fly to Tampa later tonight, which wasn't supposed to happen until the three-game series moved south.
Manager Buck Showalter considered holding a workout today at Camden Yards, but he wanted to check whether his team was rusty after back-to-back postponements. The Orioles batted around in the first inning, scoring six runs, and defeated the White Sox 8-2.
Didn't look rusty to...
A game was played inside an empty ballpark today with the world watching.
If it blinked, it missed everything.
The Orioles completed their 8-2 victory over the White Sox in 2 hours and 3 minutes. We learned that fans must be the problem with the pace of game.
Ubaldo Jimenez allowed two unearned runs and lowered his ERA to 1.59 in 22 2/3 innings. Manny Machado committed an error, but he also went 3-for-4 with a double, home run and three runs scored. Chris Davis homered onto Eutaw St.
Adam Jones...
I wonder if it's out of habit today that first basemen Chris Davis and Jose Abreu have tossed the ball into the stands after the final out.
I'm guessing it's a joke.
Earlier today, catcher Caleb Joseph pretended to sign an autograph next to the dugout, then tipped his cap as he jogged onto the field.
It's so quiet inside an empty Camden Yards that Adam Jones heard one member of the media's booming voice from the on-deck circle, looked up, pointed and nodded his head. Careful what you say...
A group of fans have gathered at Gate H beyond left-center field today and are offering their support for the Orioles, who batted around in the bottom of the first inning and scored six runs.
The fans yelled "O" during the anthem, spelled out O-R-I-O-L-E-S and began a chant of "Let's Go Orioles." We can hear every letter and word from the press box.
Chris Davis hit a three-run homer to right, the ball landing on Eutaw St., as part of the offensive onslaught against White Sox starter Jeff...
Center fielder Adam Jones had something he needed to say this morning and the Orioles were happy to accomodate him.
Jones has been deeply moved by the rioting and protests in the city. He's watched the footage on television, he's tried to reach out to people.
Today, he spoke up.
"The last 72 hours I think in this city have been tumultuous, to say the least," Jones said. "We've seen good, we've seen bad, we've seen ugly. We've seen our games canceled, postponed, relocated, a lot of...
I have tons of transcription to pass along today after center fielder Adam Jones and manager Buck Showalter spoke to the media in the auxiliary clubhouse at Camden Yards. Watch for it in my next few blog entries.
In the meantime, I'll just pass along some quick hits here while the White Sox take batting practice in an empty ballpark.
The press box is full. Media requests were turned down due to a lack of space.
Only scouts are allowed to sit in the stands. The media must remain in the press...