Walks and woozy bullpen team to topple Orioles 12-1 (updated)

Walks and woozy bullpen team to topple Orioles 12-1 (updated)
Manager Brandon Hyde can laugh now about the play Wednesday night that began as a blown call on a missed catch by left fielder Ryan McKenna and resulted in a run scoring and no outs recorded rather than the triple play that the Orioles thought might be possible. Catch a break? The Orioles are overdue, as Hyde noted. Anthony Santander slid into second base with an apparent double tonight leading off the fourth inning and removed his shin guard, an umpire signaled home run after the ball bounced...

Hyde on rotation and Elias on upcoming draft

Hyde on rotation and Elias on upcoming draft
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde explained the handling of some young pitchers earlier today by breaking it down to its simplest form. Nothing complicated about the formula. "I think if you're pitching well, it's pretty easy to stay here right now," he said. "If you come in and you show you can pitch well and can compete here, you're going to have the opportunity to go back out. Just like (Spenser) Watkins did his last start. "We're looking for pitching. There's no doubt about it. And...

Orioles and White Sox lineups (plus notes and injury updates)

Orioles and White Sox lineups (plus notes and injury updates)
Austin Hays is in left field tonight to open the final series before the break, Anthony Santander is in right and Kelvin Gutierrez is making his first start for the Orioles at third base. Pedro Severino is catching for tonight's game against the White Sox. Austin Wynns is taking ground balls at first during batting practice. Jorge López is making his fifth career appearance and fourth start against the White Sox. He's allowed 13 earned runs (14 total) and 27 hits with 25 strikeouts in 21...

Watkins was ready to walk before pitching for Orioles

Watkins was ready to walk before pitching for Orioles
Agent Matthew Gaeta contacted every team in baseball last winter, trying to find a job for pitcher Spenser Watkins before the right-hander changed professions. Before baseball became a teaching position. Twenty-nine showed no interest at first, Gaeta said, and only the Orioles stayed in contact with Gaeta. Mike Snyder, the director of pro scouting, checked video of Watkins and moved the process forward. Where it took Watkins has become one of the more enjoyable stories of the 2021 season. His...

Taking the rotation for another spin

Taking the rotation for another spin
The Orioles confirmed again yesterday how their starters will line up heading into the All-Star break. The rainout didn't force an adjustment beyond denying Dillon Tate his first major league assignment as an opener. Jorge López, Thomas Eshelman and Spenser Watkins are going to oppose the White Sox in the weekend series that begins tonight at Camden Yards, followed by four days without games. Four days to pretty much make anything possible. There are only a few certainties to begin the...

Orioles recall Anderson from Triple-A Norfolk (game postponed)

Orioles recall Anderson from Triple-A Norfolk (game postponed)
The Orioles have optioned left-hander Zac Lowther to Triple-A Norfolk this afternoon and recalled pitcher Shaun Anderson from the Tides. Anderson can become the 47th player used by the Orioles this season. He was on the field earlier today to do some throwing while a light rain fell at Camden Yards. Lowther worked two innings last night, escaped a bases-loaded jam in the seventh and surrendered a run in the eighth. He can return to Norfolk's rotation. The Orioles claimed Anderson, 26, off...

Tate replaces Akin as tonight's starter

Tate replaces Akin as tonight's starter
In another unexpected twist to the Orioles' season, Dillon Tate is making a start tonight against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Rookie left-hander Keegan Akin has been scratched, with the Orioles providing more information later this afternoon. Akin could be working in a bulk role behind Tate, who's making his first major league start. Or Akin could be dealing with a physical issue. Manager Brandon Hyde will explain it during his media scrum, with the weather dictating if it's done on the...

Harvey still can't locate win, Orioles lose to Jays 10-2 (updated)

Harvey still can't locate win, Orioles lose to Jays 10-2 (updated)
Matt Harvey has pitched in some tough luck this season, as Orioles manager Brandon Hyde mentions with great frequency. Tonight, he pitched in confusion. Mark it on the Matt Harvey bingo card. Umpires ruled that left fielder Ryan McKenna made a diving catch of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s sinking liner after the first two batters reached. Marcus Semien was tagged after rounding third base, the call requiring him to go back to second, and two runners stood on first. A double play? A triple play? The...

Home Run Derby another feather in eighth-rounder's cap

Home Run Derby another feather in eighth-rounder's cap
The emergence of Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini as a quality major league hitter and run producer and a player deserving again of consideration for the All-Star Game is especially impressive when factoring how the Orioles waited until the eighth round to draft him in 2013. And how he wasn't even the first or second player from his school to be selected that year. Third baseman Eric Jagielo and right-hander Dan Slania were plucked from Notre Dame before Mancini's name was called. Jagielo...

Gutierrez among Orioles reserves for tonight's game

Gutierrez among Orioles reserves for tonight's game
The latest roster move made by the Orioles this afternoon occurred after they decided that Maikel Franco's day-to-day status was leaving them vulnerable. Franco hasn't played in a week due to a sprained right ankle and today went on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sunday. Kelvin Gutierrez replaces him on the active roster and is on the bench for tonight's game against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. "Without an extra infielder ... he wasn't available in Anaheim, wasn't available...

Franco going on injured list with ankle sprain

Franco going on injured list with ankle sprain
Maikel Franco took ground balls at third base earlier today, experienced the same discomfort that's hounded him since the final out in Houston and is headed to the 10-day injured list. Franco was scratched from last night's lineup with recurring soreness. He's batting .221/.265/.376 with 18 doubles, nine home runs and 42 RBIs in 77 games. The bat finally began to heat up, with Franco going 7-for-13 with two doubles and four RBIs in his last three games. The injury occurred last Wednesday...

Watkins gets first major league win in Orioles' 7-5 victory (updated)

Watkins gets first major league win in Orioles' 7-5 victory (updated)
Retiring all three batters faced in his major league debut left Orioles right-hander Spenser Watkins ripe for a bunch of firsts tonight beyond how he was making his initial start. Get the walk out of the way with a free pass to Blue Jays leadoff hitter Marcus Semien. Get ahead of Bo Bichette 0-2 and surrender the first hit, a groundball single into right field. Followed by the first run on Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s line drive to deep left that went into the box score as a sacrifice fly. Manager...

This, that and the other

This, that and the other
As Spenser Watkins jogged from the Orioles dugout to the mound last night to begin warming for his first major league start, each step sent vibrations all the way down to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles needed a starter to fill out their rotation before the break, maybe a one-and-done but with the possibility of a longer stay. Anyone who can get into and through the middle innings has a shot to take the ball every fifth day. Maybe have a sandwich named after him. The easy move would have been to...

Franco scratched from Orioles lineup (and other notes)

Franco scratched from Orioles lineup (and other notes)
Third baseman Maikel Franco has been scratched from the Orioles lineup and replaced by Domingo Leyba, a failed attempt to play for the first time since Wednesday night in Houston. Franco sprained his right ankle while chasing the last out and slipping on the track in foul territory. He sat out the series in Anaheim. Blue Jays starter Steven Matz catches a break. Franco is 7-for-13 with two home runs and six RBIs lifetime against him. For the Orioles Cedric Mullins CF Austin Hays LF Trey Mancini...

Lakins undergoes surgery (plus lineups)

Lakins undergoes surgery (plus lineups)
Orioles pitcher Travis Lakins Sr. underwent successful surgery this morning to repair a "recurrent olecranon stress fracture" in his right elbow, per a team announcement. Dr. Steve Shin performed the surgery in Los Angeles. Lakins was transferred to the 60-day injured list on Saturday. The olecranon is the part of the ulna that cups the lower end of the humerus, creating a hinge for elbow movement. It's the pointy area, if that makes more sense. John Means threw a bullpen session this...

Watkins making first major league start tonight

Watkins making first major league start tonight
Spenser Watkins got his major league debut out of the way last week. Now comes his first start. Watkins will be handed the ball tonight against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards, the final homestand for the Orioles before the All-Star break. He retired all three batters he faced Friday night in Anaheim and needed only eight pitches to do it. Manager Brandon Hyde needed a starter with Travis Lakins Sr. on the 60-day injured list. The team confirmed only that Lakins has right elbow pain and it's...

Because You Asked - The Recycler

Because You Asked - The Recycler
The questions are piling up again. They'd thin out a little if my original answers stuck, but you know how this works. You know why the sequels exist. How many times must we go over this? You ask, I answer, someone else asks the same thing, I tweak or completely change my response to see if anyone notices or cares. It's probably a desperate cry for attention. My therapist thinks so. The only time there's crying in baseball. Here's what I won't do, and you have my word: Edit for length,...

Mancini and Ristano paired again in Home Run Derby

Mancini and Ristano paired again in Home Run Derby
Chuck Ristano reached for his cell phone in an Atlanta airport, saw Trey Mancini's name on his screen and heard something that twisted his emotions into a jumble. A cancer survivor and close friend probably needs to choose his words more carefully when starting a conversation. "He called me and told me, 'Hey, this isn't public.' I had a moment of exhilaration, a moment of panic," said Ristano, who was on a recruiting trip after finishing his 11th season as Notre Dame's pitching...

Mullins chosen as Orioles representative in All-Star Game (updated)

Mullins chosen as Orioles representative in All-Star Game (updated)
Cedric Mullins will find out later if he's going to be in the American League's starting lineup for the July 13 All-Star Game at Coors Field in Denver. Most important is the first piece of news. He's on the team. Mullins has been chosen as a reserve, with the announcement made this afternoon on ESPN. He's the lone Orioles representative, though first baseman Trey Mancini is participating in the Home Run Derby. The inclusion of Mullins, 26, was a formality. There's no way he could be...

Notes on Valdez, rotation, Means and more

Notes on Valdez, rotation, Means and more
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is hoping that César Valdez's extended stay on the injured list with a lower back strain did more than improve the reliever's health. Perhaps it also provided a much-needed refresh and restart. Valdez lost the closer's job while posting an 11.57 ERA and 2.429 WHIP in seven innings in May and a 7.71 ERA and 1.857 WHIP in seven innings last month. "Took some time off, threw a really nice side a couple days ago," Hyde said today on his media Zoom call. "He...