Breaking out the brooms

Breaking out the brooms
Forget what I said about the All-Star break coming at the perfect time. It's coming at the worst-possible time. That's five quality starts in seven games for Jake Arrieta, who held the Rangers to one run over 6 1/3 innings today and exited after 90 pitches. Jake Arrieta talks to Mark Viviano about his performance in the Orioles' 4-1 win Interim manager Juan Samuel left himself open to the usual second-guessing when he removed Arrieta in favor of left-hander Will Ohman, who walked a batter...
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The decision

The decision
Do I save the leftover chicken piccata for dinner or eat it for lunch? Does it have to be one or the other? OK, here's the actual decision that I'm referencing: The Rangers put a runner on second base with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Nelson Cruz represented the tying run. Jake Arrieta fell behind, 2-0, on two sliders. He got a strike on a 91 mph fastball, and missed with the same pitch to leave the count at 3-1. Cruz had to be looking fastball, but Arrieta went back to the...
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Craig's list can't include an injury

Craig's list can't include an injury
Backup catcher Craig Tatum fouled a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning and collapsed to the ground. He limped out of the batters box, a grimace on his face. He'll have to play through the pain. The Orioles are short on reserves with Matt Wieters unavailable and Felix Pie recovering from a strained quad. Pie says he's ready. Interim manager Juan Samuel says he'd rather wait until after the break. Jake Fox is the backup catcher again today, except he's also the starting first...
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Can't stop this offense

Can't stop this offense
You can only hope to contain it. The Orioles haven't swept a four-game series on the road since June 1995 in Chicago. They've already taken a 3-1 lead today in the top of the second inning. Who are these guys? They failed to score after Miguel Tejada reached third base with one out in the first inning, but Julio Lugo doubled in the second to tie the game, and Corey Patterson looped a double to left field with two outs to bring home two more runs. That's three doubles in the second...
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Orioles lineup: If it ain't broke...

Orioles lineup: If it ain't broke...
Look familiar? Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton DH Adam Jones CF Jake Fox 1B Craig Tatum C Julio Lugo 2B Cesar Izturis SS Jake Arrieta RHP Bengie Molina is the only Ranger who has faced Arrieta, going 1-for-3 with a strikeout. For the Rangers: Julio Borbon CF Michael Young 3B Ian Kinsler 2B Vladimir Guerrero DH David Murphy LF Nelson Cruz RF Bengie Molina C Chris Davis 1B Andres Blanco SS C.J. Wilson LHP
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Road raves

Road raves
It feels like I just got to Ocean Pines and I'm already prepared to make the return trip to Sykesville. I'll post the lineups and check the comments once I'm home. The usual drill. Before hitting the road, I wanted to point out the following: * The Orioles are hitting on the road. They're batting .301 in this series, with seven home runs and 14 extra-base hits. * The last time Cesar Izturis homered before last night, Brian Matusz was making his major league debut on Aug. 4 in Detroit....
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Fun while it lasted (updated 3 times)

Fun while it lasted (updated 3 times)
Chris Tillman lost his no-hitter with one out in the seventh inning when Ian Kinsler grounded a single into left field. Now we can talk about it. Tillman had allowed one baserunner, walking Elvis Andrus, before Kinsler broke up the no-no. Tillman deserves credit for maintaining his focus and retiring Vladimir Guerrero and Josh Hamilton, protecting a 5-0 lead that was built in part on home runs by Nick Markakis, Cesar Izturis and Adam Jones. With his pitch count at 101, a complete-game...
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Three up, Rangers down

Three up, Rangers down
Once again, here are three things from tonight's game that jumped out at me, got me in a headlock and gave me a noogie. 1. The Orioles swung at the first two pitches from Cliff Lee and took a 1-0 lead. Corey Patterson doubled and Miguel Tejada singled. That's it. If you blinked, you missed it. The crowd erupted when Lee's third pitch didn't produce a hit. Talk about a short honeymoon. 2. Cesar Izturis hit a home run, which is about as rare as Mark Hendrickson not meeting the height...
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Gonzalez goes back-to-back

Gonzalez goes back-to-back
Left-hander Michael Gonzalez took an important step in his eventual return to the Orioles, pitching at Double-A Bowie for the second consecutive night. Gonzalez retired the side in order, striking out one. He also tossed a scoreless inning last night, but he allowed a hit and walked a batter. Gonzalez, replacing starter Rick Zagone in the seventh inning tonight, recorded two outs on fly balls. I'm told that he relied mostly on his breaking ball against the first two hitters, and his fastball...
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Luke Scott: "I'm doing great"

Luke Scott: "I'm doing great"
I exchanged text messages with Luke Scott earlier tonight, and it sounds like his injured hamstring is improving by the day. Scott has been rehabbing at the minor league complex in Sarasota. He took a "light jog" and hit today without experiencing any discomfort in his left leg. "I'm doing great," he wrote. "No pain. A little fatigue with all the repetition, but that's normal. Feeling good." Scott went on the disabled list retroactive to July 1 after straining his hamstring on a home...
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Fox at first (w/Rangers lineup)

Fox at first (w/Rangers lineup)
Bring on Cliff Lee: Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton DH Adam Jones CF Jake Fox 1B Craig Tatum C Julio Lugo 2B Cesar Izturis SS Chris Tillman RHP Here's the Rangers lineup: Elvis Andrus SS Michael Young 3B Ian Kinsler 2B Vladimir Guerrero DH Josh Hamilton LF David Murphy RF Matt Treanor C Chris Davis 1B Julio Borbon CF Cliff Lee LHP
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Tillman time

Tillman time
Let's hear it for hour naps! Actually, they leave me groggy and feeling like the day is being wasted, but it's raining here in Ocean Pines, I ate lunch and the game hasn't started. A nap seemed like a good plan, even if the original intention was to close my eyes for a few minutes and listen to Wall to Wall Baseball on MASN. A few minutes. Yeah, right. An hour later, Tom Davis and Dave Johnson were signing off and my mother was flipping through her Sopranos cookbook for that piccata...
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Grand east station

Grand east station
You people are impressive. I posted an entry at 1:45 a.m. that attracted more than 40 comments before I finally shut off the laptop around 2:30 a.m. and stumbled upstairs to bed. I wondered if I was the only person still awake and interested in the outcome of a game involving the team with the worst record in baseball. Silly me. The Orioles will face newly acquired Cliff Lee tonight, and they'll be packing a short bench. Catcher Matt Wieters isn't available after straining his right...
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Having a grand time (updated)

Having a grand time (updated)
Not the fans who have sat through a steady rain. Not the sportswriters who just want to file their stories and go back to their hotels or homes. I'm talking about Corey Patterson, who hit his first career grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning to tie the game, 6-6. Rangers closer Neftali Feliz kept pumping fastballs at Patterson, who launched a 2-2 pitch into the second deck. Patterson immediately pointed his right index finger in the air, the smile never leaving his face as he...
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Pie hurt again (updated)

Pie hurt again (updated)
That didn't take long. Felix Pie left tonight's game in the sixth inning with an injury to his left leg that he sustained while swinging at a pitch. Pie appeared to reach for his hip before crumpling to the ground. Jake Fox replaced him in left field. Update: Pie has been diagnosed with a strained quad. Pie lasted four games before coming down with another injury. If it's serious, he could go on the disabled list to make room for Chris Tillman and Josh Bell could avoid a return trip to...
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Three-peating a theme (updated)

Three-peating a theme (updated)
Once again, I give you the three moments from tonight's game that jumped out at me, wrestled me to the ground and stole my wallet. 1. Vladimir Guerrero will swing at anything. If you roll the ball toward the visiting dugout, he'll get a piece of it to stay alive. He kept hacking away at Brian Matusz's pitches in the third inning, finally laid off a high fastball, then reached down and golfed a slider over the left field wall for a three-run homer. I kept waiting for him to check the tee...
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Gonzo's going tonight

Gonzo's going tonight
Left-hander Michael Gonzalez pitched a scoreless eighth inning tonight at Double-A Bowie, relieving starter Chorye Spoone and allowing one hit, walking a batter and striking out one. Gonzalez came within a foul tip of a 1-2-3 inning. Trenton mounted a two-out rally, but Gonzalez escaped the jam. He's now the pitcher of record after the Baysox took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. Gonzalez has made eight appearances on his injury rehab assignment, including three with the Baysox. He's...
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Cliff notes (updated)

Cliff notes (updated)
Rain has delayed the start of the Orioles-Rangers game on the same night that Texas acquired left-hander Cliff Lee from the Mariners. It appears that the Orioles will face Lee tomorrow night. Good for them. The Mariners received a package from the Rangers that included first baseman Justin Smoak, part of the same draft class that brought Brian Matusz to the Orioles. Smoak traded. Matusz delayed. It means nothing, but I still felt compelled to write it. They're actually good friends, by...
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Roster moves coming

Roster moves coming
It won't surprise you to learn that the Orioles intend to call up Chris Tillman to make tomorrow night's start against the Rangers and option third baseman Josh Bell to Triple-A Norfolk. The moves will be made official tomorrow. Interim manager Juan Samuel will wait to make sure the Orioles don't sustain an injury that could change their plans for Bell. Samuel told reporters in Texas that Bell needs to get at-bats, and they'll come in the International League. Catcher Matt Wieters told...
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Tonight's lineups

Tonight's lineups
For the Orioles: Corey Patterson DH Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Adam Jones CF Felix Pie LF Matt Wieters C Scott Moore 2B Cesar Izturis SS Brian Matusz LHP For the Rangers: Elvis Andrus SS Michael Young 3B Ian Kinsler 2B Vladimir Guerrero DH Josh Hamilton CF Bengie Molina C Nelson Cruz RF David Murphy LF Joaquin Arias 1B Scott Feldman RHP
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