Roch Kubatko

Lough keeping spirits high

July 03, 2014, 2:17pm

Orioles

The tarp remains on the field as a light rain falls at Camden Yards. The ceremonial first pitch was thrown in front of the Orioles dugout. Another lineup card was posted today that didn't include outfielder David Lough. Lough checks it to make certain, knowing that he's more likely to be used as a pinch-runner or defensive replacement in the late innings. Lough has made one start since June 16 and two since June 10. He's appeared in 59 games, batting .191/.268/.287 with three doubles, a...

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Updates on Norris, Wieters, Johnson and Urrutia

July 03, 2014, 12:58pm

Orioles

Updates on Norris, Wieters, Johnson and Urrutia

The storm is approaching Camden Yards and the grounds crew has just placed the tarp on the infield. The Orioles and Rangers have one common off-day if tonight's game is rained out - Aug. 21 during a break in the Orioles' series against the White Sox and Cubs in Chicago. How convenient. The Orioles would have to play 27 consecutive days without a break, which I'm pretty sure would be an issue with the union. The forecast in Boston on Friday isn't promising. Lots of rain. If tonight's game...

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Orioles and Rangers lineups

July 03, 2014, 11:17am

Orioles

No surprises in the Orioles' lineup tonight as they try to complete a four-games sweep of the Rangers at Camden Yards. Ryan Flaherty is starting at third base. Jonathan Schoop is at second base. You've seen it a few times since Manny Macahdo's suspension. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Steve Pearce LF Adam Jones CF Nelson Cruz DH Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Jonathan Schoop 2B Ryan Flaherty 3B Nick Hundley C Wei-Yin Chen LHP For the Rangers Shin-Soo Choo DH Elvis Andrus SS Alex Rios...

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Revisiting the rotation and tonight's game

July 02, 2014, 8:59pm

Orioles

Revisiting the rotation and tonight's game

While wondering if I'm the only person who imagines Tropical Storm Arthur as a short drunken millionaire in a top hat or a cartoon aardvark ... Each day seems to bring another review of the Orioles' rotation, and this morning is no exception. I'm still expecting Kevin Gausman to start Sunday afternoon in Boston after he worked two innings last night for short-season Single-A Aberdeen. His fastball touched 98 mph in the first inning, according to the IronBirds. T.J. McFarland can back him...

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Showalter speaks after 6-4 win

July 02, 2014, 8:48pm

Orioles

The Orioles have won all three games while playing with a 24-man roster following third baseman Manny Machado's suspension. A win Thursday would give the Orioles their first four-game sweep of the Rangers at Camden Yards since 2004. Manager Buck Showalter knew he'd need contributions from everyone this season, and not only with Machado off the roster. Ryan Flaherty stepped up tonight with a tie-breaking home run in the seventh and several good plays at third base. "We talked about how we...

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Patience pays off for Orioles, Flaherty homer gives them lead (O's win 6-4)

July 02, 2014, 5:52pm

Orioles

Ryan Flaherty led off the bottom of the seventh inning tonight by homering to right field off Rangers left-hander Neal Cotts and giving the Orioles a 5-4 lead at Camden Yards. Flaherty has four home runs this season, including one on Sunday. They've all come at home. The Orioles finally got rid of Rangers starter Miles Mikolas in the sixth inning, and they did it by keeping the bat on their shoulder while plate umpire Toby Basner tried to figure out the strike zone. Mikolas, in his first...

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Game update and notes on Norris and Yoon (Jones homers, Tillman done)

July 02, 2014, 3:40pm

Orioles

Game update and notes on Norris and Yoon (Jones homers, Tillman done)

Chris Tillman gave up three singles in the top of the first inning tonight, the last by Alex Rios that scored Shin-Soo Choo and gave Texas a 1-0 lead at steamy Camden Yards. It's 87 degrees here, but it's a wet heat. None of the balls were hit particularly hard, but they counted just the same. Tillman has allowed 16 runs in the first inning this season. He retired the Rangers in order in the second to leave his pitch count at 25. Making his first major league start, Miles Mikolas retired...

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More notes and Showalter on Norris and Davis (not the radio tandem)

July 02, 2014, 3:03pm

Orioles

More notes and Showalter on Norris and Davis (not the radio tandem)

With a win tonight, the Orioles would move six games over .500 to match their season-high from May 10, when they were 20-14. They also would move above .500 at home for the first time since being 9-8 on May 12. Steve Pearce has hit three home runs in his last two games. He's never homered in three consecutive games. Pearce has collected 10 homers in 46 games and 150 at-bats. He needed 192 games and 488 at-bats to hit his first 10 in the majors. The Orioles have hit multiple home runs in...

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Davis on his slump and the nightly shifts

July 02, 2014, 1:12pm

Orioles

Davis on his slump and the nightly shifts

Bud Norris threw his bullpen session today at Camden Yards and manager Buck Showalter said he should have an update later today. Norris is eligible to come off the disabled list on Monday. Showalter indicated that the right-hander would need to pitch in a rehab or simulated game before the club activated him. Norris won't go directly from a side session to the Orioles rotation. First baseman Chris Davis took some swings off a tee while Showalter and hitting coach Jim Presley offered...

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Orioles lineup vs. Rangers

July 02, 2014, 10:56am

Orioles

Ryan Flaherty remains at third base tonight and Chris Davis stays at first, as the Orioles try to improve to 3-0 during Manny Machado's suspension and guarantee a series win against the Rangers at Camden Yards. Davis is batting .205/.324/.402 with nine doubles, 13 homers, 41 RBIs, 39 walks and 87 strikeouts in 68 games. He's hitless in his last 19 at-bats, 7-for-62 in 18 games and 10-for-80 in 23 games. In 27 games in June, Davis was 17-for-97 (.175) with two doubles, six homers, 16 RBIs, 16...

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Tillman vs. Mikolas tonight at Camden Yards

July 02, 2014, 8:45am

Orioles

Tillman vs. Mikolas tonight at Camden Yards

The Orioles have won the first two games of their series against the Rangers, and they're scheduled to face a pitcher tonight who's making his first major league start. Heck, T.J. McFarland already had one before last night. He's a seasoned pro by comparison. Miles Mikolas, brought up yesterday after left-hander Joe Saunders was designated for assignment, is the 11th different Texas pitcher to start this season - the most in the American League and one behind the Rockies. Mikolas, 25, is 3-1...

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More on McFarland, monthly stats, All-Star guesses and a few notes

July 01, 2014, 8:24pm

Orioles

More on McFarland, monthly stats, All-Star guesses and a few notes

To the fans who kept asking why Orioles manager Buck Showalter chose the "awful" T.J. McFarland to start last night, I'll challenge them to look up his June stats - since the ones I posted apparently went ignored - and to come up with a better solution at Triple-A Norfolk. McFarland was fortunate to surrender only two runs, but the bottom line is he gave Showalter five much-needed innings and left with an 8-2 lead. He induced ground balls, as Showalter anticipated when he put Ryan Flaherty...

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Showalter on McFarland and an 8-3 victory

July 01, 2014, 7:08pm

Orioles

Showalter on McFarland and an 8-3 victory

Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't ready to name a starter for Sunday. He's only willing to include T.J. McFarland in the mix. It's a small mix. McFarland or Kevin Gausman. McFarland stated his case tonight by allowing two runs over five innings in the Orioles' 8-3 win over the Rangers at Camden Yards. "He pitched as well as we thought he could," Showalter said. "One of the reasons why we wanted to be as good as we could in the infield was because we felt like if he's doing well,...

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McFarland gives Orioles five innings (O's win 8-3)

July 01, 2014, 5:01pm

Orioles

Orioles manager Buck Showalter would have signed up for it in blood. Left-hander T.J. McFarland, pulled from the bullpen tonight to make his second major league start, lasted five innings and gave up two runs. Showalter didn't call upon his first reliever until Ryan Webb headed to the mound in the top of the sixth. McFarland had one clean inning, retiring the Rangers in order in the fourth on two strikeouts and a ground ball. Texas was 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and failed to...

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Pearce, Cruz turn on power again in first (Joseph homers, O's lead 8-2)

July 01, 2014, 3:46pm

Orioles

Pearce, Cruz turn on power again in first (Joseph homers, O's lead 8-2)

For the second night in a row, the Orioles have hit two home runs in the bottom of the first inning. They led the majors with 46 homers in June and they've already got two on the first night in July. Steve Pearce homered twice last night and he hit No. 10 tonight in his first career at-bat against Texas right-hander Nick Martinez. Nelson Cruz launched a ball into the Orioles' bullpen with two outs to increase the lead to 2-0 and tie him with White Sox rookie Jose Abreu for the major league...

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Orioles DFA Reimold

July 01, 2014, 1:52pm

Orioles

The Orioles made the expected move this afternoon, reinstating outfielder Nolan Reimold from the 60-day disabled list and designating him for assignment. The Orioles now have 10 days to trade, release or waive Reimold. Should Reimold pass through waivers, which isn't expected to happen, he would have to accept an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. Reimold, 30, was placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 26, following corrective surgery to fuse to vertebrae in his neck....

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Gausman starting Wednesday at Aberdeen

July 01, 2014, 12:44pm

Orioles

Right-hander Kevin Gausman is scheduled to start Wednesday night at short-season Single-A Aberdeen, where he threw in the bullpen yesterday. Gausman will face Staton Island, with first pitch slated for 7:05 p.m. The Orioles wanted to keep Gausman on a normal turn and will limit his innings and pitches to make him a candidate for Sunday's start in Boston. T.J. McFarland, who starts tonight, also is a candidate. For now, the rotation lines up as Chris Tillman Wednesday, Wei-Yin Chen Thursday,...

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Flaherty at third base tonight

July 01, 2014, 11:09am

Orioles

Ryan Flaherty gets the start at third base tonight for the Orioles, with Chris Davis returning to first. Steve Pearce is in left field and batting second. That's the norm these days. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Steve Pearce LF Adam Jones CF Nelson Cruz DH Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Jonathan Schoop 2B Ryan Flaherty 3B Caleb Joseph C T.J. McFarland LHP For the Rangers Shin-Soo Choo LF Elvis Andrus SS Alex Rios RF Adrian Beltre 3B Robinson Chirinos C Chris Gimenez 1B Adam Rosales...

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Almanzar returned to Red Sox

July 01, 2014, 10:19am

Orioles

It took almost seven months before the Orioles surrendered their pick from the 2013 Rule 5 draft. The Orioles returned infielder Michael Almanzar to the Red Sox today. Both teams confirmed the transaction on Twitter. Almanzar, 23, joined the organization during the Winter Meetings on Dec. 12. The Orioles placed him on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to March 23, with left patellar tendinitis and transferred him to the 60-day DL on June 6. Yesterday, the Orioles announced that they...

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McFarland making second major league start tonight

June 30, 2014, 7:05pm

Orioles

McFarland making second major league start tonight

One day after Orioles manager Buck Showalter gave Chris Davis the start at third base, he's turning reliever T.J. McFarland into a starter against the Rangers. How far does Showalter want to carry this theme? He could give a player a different assignment every game. Who wouldn't want to see Adam Jones at shortstop, where he played 275 games in the minors? Or Nick Markakis take the mound, since he used to pitch? Showalter won't go to those extremes. The Orioles needed a starter tonight...