Roch Kubatko

Tonight's lineups

July 28, 2010, 12:40pm

Orioles

For the Orioles: 2B Brian Roberts 3B Miguel Tejada RF Nick Markakis DH Luke Scott 1B Ty Wigginton CF Adam Jones C Jake Fox LF Corey Patterson SS Cesar Izturis RHP Jeremy Guthrie For the Blue Jays: LF Fred Lewis SS Yunel Escobar RF Jose Bautista CF Vernon Wells DH Adam Lind 2B Aaron Hill 1B Lyle Overbay C John Buck 3B Edwin Encarnacion LHP Brad Mills Minor league transactions: Catcher Craig Tatum has been added to Triple-A Norfolk's roster. Catcher Adam Donachie was transferred to...

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Orioles

What's at stake

July 28, 2010, 6:35am

Orioles

The Orioles will try to avoid their 70th loss tonight. They're currently 31-69 through 100 games. The historically bad 1988 team was 32-68 at this point. Putting this fine season in perspective, the Orioles need to finish 32-30 to avoid losing 100 games. They need to go 25-37 to avoid losing more games than the '88 team that finished 54-107. The '88 Orioles played their next 3 games against the Royals - this year's team will play the next four in Kansas City - and lost all three. They...

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A must-win tonight

July 28, 2010, 4:13am

Orioles

It has to happen tonight. The Orioles are 0-11 against the Blue Jays this season. They can't go 0-12. Tonight presents their best opportunity to salvage a victory over Toronto, a team that treats the Orioles the same way Sidney Ponson treats a slice of cheesecake. Rookie Brad Mills is making his third major league start for the Jays, and his first in 2010. The lefty has allowed 12 runs and 14 hits in 7 2/3 innings, and has surrendered four home runs. The Orioles will counter with...

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Same old story

July 27, 2010, 7:33pm

Orioles

Same old song and dance. The Orioles can't beat the Blue Jays. Doesn't matter who's pitching, who's hitting, where the game's being played. It's a mismatch and I've seen too much of it. Maybe I'll wake up tomorrow and realize this entire season has been a bad dream. Jose Bautista doesn't really have 30 home runs, and the Orioles' No. 1 starter acquired during the winter meetings, right-hander Kevin Millwood, isn't really 2-10 with a 5.96 ERA. I have no idea who's taking a shower,...

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Orioles

The missing O's

July 27, 2010, 1:59pm

Orioles

The Orioles' lineup is missing Brian Roberts, who's taking a break from the artificial surface at Rogers Centre, and Ty Wigginton, who's serving the final game of his suspension. Roberts is 5-for-10 lifetime against Blue Jays starter Ricky Romero. Wigginton is 5-for-14 with two doubles. Not the best timing. Matt Wieters homered twice last night and Luke Scott also went deep. They're a combined 2-for-19 against Romero, though Scott has homered once off him. In Romero's last start...

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Tonight's lineups

July 27, 2010, 12:16pm

Orioles

For the Orioles: 2B Julio Lugo 3B Miguel Tejada RF Nick Markakis DH Luke Scott CF Adam Jones C Matt Wieters LF Felix Pie 1B Jake Fox SS Cesar Izturis RHP Kevin Millwood For the Blue Jays: LF Fred Lewis SS Yunel Escobar RF Jose Bautista CF Vernon Wells DH Adam Lind 2B Aaron Hill 1B Lyle Overbay C John Buck 3B Edwin Encarnacion LHP Ricky Romero Brian Roberts is receiving a scheduled night off.

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Orioles

Britton still rolling with the Tides

July 27, 2010, 10:29am

Orioles

Left-hander Zach Britton is still listed as Triple-A Norfolk's starter for tonight's game at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Speculation has been building that Britton could replace Brad Bergesen in the Orioles' rotation this weekend, though he'd be working on short rest by taking the mound tonight. Bergesen is scheduled to start Saturday in Kansas City. For Britton to take Bergesen's turn, he'd have to treat tonight's start like a side session and leave the game after an inning or two. In his...

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What's next for Bergy? (w/additional thought)

July 27, 2010, 3:44am

Orioles

What's next for Bergy? (w/additional thought)

I wouldn't dare take credit for Matt Wieters' two homers last night, but I'm going to drop Buster Posey's name on him before every game. It's too bad that Madison Bumgarner didn't have the same effect on Brad Bergesen. The All-Star break didn't last long enough for Bergesen, who has allowed 17 earned runs and 28 hits in 16 1/3 innings since play resumed. He's lost five consecutive starts and hasn't won since May 12. Zach Britton is scheduled to start tonight for Triple-A Norfolk....

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Something to see here

July 26, 2010, 5:25pm

Orioles

Matt Wieters has homered twice tonight, and Luke Scott homered again because I'm pretty sure a law has been passed requiring it. The Orioles have cut Toronto's lead to 8-5 in the eighth. They could have rolled over, like I did, but they're trying to fight back. Not to pick on Jake Fox, who struck out with the bases loaded to kill that fourth-inning rally, but why is he trying to stretch a single into a double in the eighth with the Orioles down by three runs? Fox was thrown out at...

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Orioles

It never fails (updated)

July 26, 2010, 4:18pm

Orioles

The Orioles loaded the bases in the top of the fourth inning and didn't score. The Blue Jays scored three runs in the bottom of the fourth. Going back to the title of this entry: It...never...fails. Jake Fox struck out to kill the Orioles' rally, flailing at another pitch out of the strike zone and leaving them behind, 1-0. Jose Bautista led off the bottom half with a double and scored on Adam Lind's one-out double. Aaron Hill launched a two-run homer to center field on Brad Bergesen's...

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Jays lineup and pre-game notes

July 26, 2010, 2:35pm

Orioles

Bad news for MASN's Amber Theoharis. Due to the Canadian exchange rate, she's only in her first trimester. Here's the Blue Jays lineup: LF FRED LEWIS SS YUNEL ESCOBAR RF JOSE BAUTISTA CF VERNON WELLS DH ADAM LIND 2B AARON HILL 1B LYLE OVERABY 3B EDWIN ENCARNACION C JOSE MOLINA P BRANDON MORROW Hope you enjoyed the caps. I wasn't yelling at you. That's just how I received it in an e-mail and I did a cut-and-paste. The Blue Jays lead the season series 9-0 and have outscored the...

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Wiggy's suspension reduced

July 26, 2010, 1:08pm

Orioles

Ty Wigginton's three-game suspension has been reduced to two games, and he'll begin serving it tonight. Here's the Orioles lineup, minus its usual first baseman: Brian Roberts 2B Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Felix Pie LF Matt Wieters C Jake Fox 1B Cesar Izturis SS Brad Bergesen RHP The Orioles are down to a two-man bench with Corey Patterson and Julio Lugo.

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Luke Scott honored as AL Player of the Week

July 26, 2010, 11:15am

Orioles

Luke Scott honored as AL Player of the Week

Luke Scott was named the American League's Player of the Week. Scott, who was activated from the disabled list at the start of the week, led the league with four home runs and batted .481 (13-for-27). He finished second in the league with a 1.037 slugging percentage and added three doubles, eight RBIs and six runs scored. Scott hit safely in each of his seven games during the week and recorded five multi-hit games. Scott has raised his average to .296 with 16 homers and 38 RBIs. He's...

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The kids aren't all right (updated)

July 26, 2010, 5:53am

Orioles

The Orioles boarded their charter last night for Toronto without backup catcher Craig Tatum, who was optioned yesterday morning. His removal from the 25-man roster drew the ire of many fans who didn't think he deserved it. I totally understand Tatum's frustration, but I do find it interesting that he's got so many supporters now after fans were livid that the Orioles kept him over Chad Moeller. The same young pitchers who rushed to Tatum's defense yesterday were bummed that he beat out...

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Another homestand ends

July 25, 2010, 2:01pm

Orioles

So does the good vibe from that four-game sweep in Texas. The Orioles went 2-8 on this homestand and were outscored 64-30. As I wrote earlier, the starter's ERA rises to 10.10 when you remove Jeremy Guthrie's two outings. "The bottom line for me is we've just got to make pitches when we need to," interim manager Juan Samuel said. "You're not going to get by pitching up in the zone. As a result, we have games like we just saw, balls flying out of the ballpark. We just need to get better...

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Arrieta's done (updated)

July 25, 2010, 10:58am

Orioles

Remove Jeremy Guthrie's two outings on this homestand, and Oriole starters have allowed 41 earned runs and 54 hits in 36 1/3 innings for a 10.10 ERA. Jake Arrieta contributed to the ugliness today by allowing five runs and seven hits in four innings, with four walks and no strikeouts. He hit a batter and served up Jason Kubel's grand slam. Interim manager Juan Samuel removed Arrieta after 87 pitches (51 for strikes). Arrieta faced 23 batters, and 13 reached - including Delmon Young on...

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Orioles

Jake's high wire act (update)

July 25, 2010, 10:11am

Orioles

The Twins haven't scored a run off Jake Arrieta over the first two innings. It's not from a lack of effort. Arrita gave up a single to Alexi Casilla and walked Jim Thome in the first, but Michael Cuddyer grounded out to end the inning. Jason Kubel singled to lead off the second, but Danny Valencia grounded into a double play. Nick Punto walked with two outs, but Drew Butera flied to left. Arrieta has thrown 33 pitches. The shutout is still alive. It might have gone unnoticed, but...

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Orioles

Samuel talks about roster move

July 25, 2010, 8:25am

Orioles

Interim manager Juan Samuel admitted that today's roster move wasn't an easy one. He didn't want to lose Craig Tatum, but the club knew that Jake Fox would get claimed on waivers and it couldn't go with a seven-man bullpen. "Tatum has done a good job for us handling the pitching staff, and he's been great in that clubhouse," Samuel said. "He's probably done a lot better than what we anticipated coming out of spring training. He's come up with some big, big hits, and handling the...

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Tatum optioned

July 25, 2010, 7:23am

Orioles

The good news for Craig Tatum is he avoided the disabled list. The bad news is he couldn't avoid the minors. The Orioles optioned Tatum to Triple-A Norfolk this morning to make room for Matt Wieters. Tatum, who's batting .271 in 32 games, met with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and interim manager Juan Samuel. "They just said, 'Go down to Norfolk and we'll see when we can get you back,'" Tatum said. "Andy told me it wasn't from a lack of production or anything like...

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Today's lineups (w/roster update)

July 25, 2010, 6:58am

Orioles

For the Orioles: Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Luke Scott 1B Ty Wigginton DH Felix Pie CF Matt Wieters C Julio Lugo 2B Cesar Izturis SS Jake Arrieta RHP For the Twins: Repko CF Casilla 2B Young LF Thome DH Cuddyer 1B Kubel RF Valencia 3B Punto SS Butera C Slowey RHP Interim manager Juan Samuel just called Craig Tatum into his office after he spoke with head athletic trainer Richie Bancells.