The Orioles are giving tonight's start to right-hander Luis Ortiz, who's been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to face the Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series at Camden Yards.
Reliever Evan Phillips has been optioned to Norfolk in the corresponding roster move.
Phillips, who was recalled Saturday, worked two-thirds of an inning last night and surrendered one run and three hits in a 12-3 loss to the Blue Jays. He also allowed an inherited runner to score and has a 7.71 ERA.
Ortiz is...
Trey Mancini understands both sides of the issue and he resides directly in the center of it.
The Orioles should make a long-term commitment to their best player and build around him. Or they should consider any trade proposals because they'd be selling high and the return could aid a process that isn't happening overnight.
"They can take several courses of action," Mancini said yesterday while standing at his locker before batting practice.
"I know they're going to do whatever they...
The Orioles begin to feel better about their rotation and bullpen and inevitably are thrown a curve.
They're caught looking at another predicament.
They won't get Alex Cobb back in the mix because he's set to undergo season-ending hip surgery this week. Andrew Cashner has been scratched from Friday night's series opener against the Red Sox due to a blister on his right middle finger.
Five straight quality starts on the last road trip, as well as the good vibes attached to them, won't carry...
Mark Trumbo's latest attempt to come back from knee surgery hit another snag.
Trumbo reported soreness in the knee yesterday and received a platelet-rich plasma injection today in Baltimore. He left Triple-A Norfolk and has rejoined his teammates at Camden Yards.
Coming off the 60-day injured list no longer is an option this weekend. The injury rehab assignment ends Sunday, but Trumbo will be shut down for at least a week.
"Yesterday afternoon he had some soreness in his knee, so we got a PRP...
Chris Davis is in the Orioles lineup tonight for only the second time in the last five games, again batting eighth while the club tries to win its first series since April 22-24.
Stevie Wilkerson is in center field and Chance Sisco is catching and batting fourth, as he's done in two other games.
Sisco is batting .429 (9-for-21) in nine career games against the Blue Jays.
Trey Mancini is a career .316 (49-for-155) hitter against the Jays. He's in right field tonight.
Hanser Alberto is on the...
If you're willing to venture outside of the draft talk and who's a trade chip or candidate for an extension, one of the more interesting storylines that's developing with the Orioles involves their prospects and which ones are deemed ready for extended auditions with the club and which are viewed as needing more time in the minors.
In the case of Anthony Santander, the Orioles could shift their thinking and keep him around, though it's only the second week of June.
Santander was cut in...
David Hess tossed a nine-inning no-hitter against the Blue Jays.
He just did it over two starts separated by two months.
Hess attached 2 2/3 hitless innings tonight to 6 1/3 back on April 1 that sparked fan outrage over his removal, which was done based on pitch count and the early portion of the schedule. He served up Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s single with two outs in the third to block another flirtation with history.
Scoring against Hess remained an issue for the Jays until the fifth.
When...
The lineup for tonight's game against the Blue Jays was posted later than usual, with Orioles manager Brandon Hyde sifting through various stats and reports on Derek Law.
The Blue Jays switched from veteran Edwin Jackson to Law this afternoon and Hyde wanted to know whether changes were necessary.
The lineup stayed the same.
It still didn't include first baseman Chris Davis.
"We wanted to look at some things before we announced our lineup," Hyde said. "I wanted to look at Derek Law a...
David Hess finally gets another shot tonight at his favorite opponent.
Hess no-hit the Blue Jay for 6 1/3 innings on April 1 for his only win of the season. He's failed in his next 11 attempts, though he posted only his second quality start in his last outing.
Hess has made four career starts against the Blue Jays and allowed only two runs and 12 hits in 25 1/3 innings. Justin Smoak is 0-for-11 with eight strikeouts. Randal Grichuk is 3-for-10 with three doubles.
Renato Núñez is playing...
The improvements in the Orioles rotation during the last road trip and John Means' ability to gut out five innings last night after a laborious first could open some doors for manager Brandon Hyde. Maybe shuffle the hand that he's been dealt.
Hyde finds it much easier to rest certain relievers with fewer innings to cover. A burden finally is lifted from the bullpen, for however long it lasts.
Game management is simplified. Hyde will take it.
There's also the possibility that the club finally...
Extending the Orioles' streak of quality starts to six tonight became a tall order for left-hander John Means after a 33-pitch top of the first inning.
Making it through the fifth was now an issue.
Means managed to complete five innings while continuing to impress in his rookie campaign and the Orioles claimed their fourth series opener in the last five opportunities with a 4-2 victory over the Blue Jays before an announced crowd of 12,524 at Camden Yards.
The bullpen held the Jays to one run...
Orioles pitcher Alex Cobb will undergo surgery on his right hip later this week in Nashville that's going to close out his 2019 season after only three starts.
Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias provided a rare update on Cobb this afternoon in the home dugout during batting practice.
Cobb has been attempting to rehab his lower back and hip in Sarasota. The decision was made for Cobb to visit orthopedic surgeon Dr. J.W. Thomas Byrd in Nashville.
The surgery is intended to...
Chris Davis returns to the Orioles lineup tonight after sitting out the last two games in Houston. He's batting eighth again.
The Blue Jays are starting right-handers in all three games of the series, so Davis could stay in the lineup.
Richie Martin and Keon Broxton are on the bench. Jonathan Villar is playing shortstop with Hanser Alberto at second base and Stevie Wilkerson is in center field.
Anthony Santander is playing left field and batting second. Catcher Chance Sisco is in the cleanup...
Rather than take a deep dive into my "mailbag," and I realize that I'm getting loose with the language when I refer to it as such, I've chosen to tackle a few prevalent questions. No real heavy lifting this morning.
Why are the Orioles wasting their international signing bonus slots instead of using them on the top foreign-born players?
Executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias was very clear with this point while addressing the crowd at FanFest. He wasn't going to spend just...
Major League Baseball released the first update on All-Star Game balloting in the American League and only two Orioles register in the top 10.
Trey Mancini is 17th among outfielders and Chris Davis is 10th among first basemen.
Mancini has received 100,457 votes to put him at a significant distance from leader Mike Trout, who paces all AL players with 951,002. George Springer is second with 776,352 and Austin Meadows is third with 468,111.
Davis has accumulated 70,010 votes. Luke Voit ranks...
The Orioles need rotation help at the Triple-A level. Their options have been limited due to the ineffectiveness of starters who otherwise would have been under consideration for promotions.
A move was made this morning to address the issue.
The club announced that it's acquired right-hander Tom Eshelman from the Phillies in exchange for international signing bonus slots. He's been assigned to the Norfolk Tides.
Eshelman, 24, has ties to executive vice president and general manager Mike...
A few thoughts on the Orioles after they completed a 2-4 road trip, playing four consecutive one-run games, and reach another off-day today prior to division battles with the Blue Jays and Red Sox at Camden Yards:
The information on starter Alex Cobb is scarce, to say the least.
No one is talking much about him, the assumption being that there's nothing new to pass along.
Cobb is rehabbing in Sarasota after soreness in his lower back forced him onto the injured list - his third trip since...
HOUSTON - One question had been answered today before the Orioles took the field. They wouldn't use 162 different lineups.
But could they win a series for the first time since April 22-24? Could they win back-to-back games for the first time since May 4-6?
Not if they can't score.
Wade Miley carried a shutout into the seventh inning, the Orioles came up empty after loading the bases with no outs and top prospect Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer in his second major league at-bat in the...
HOUSTON - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn't know that he'd used a different lineup through the first 64 games until told about it last week. It wasn't done intentionally. It wasn't devised as some sort of a plan.
Hyde has been basing his decisions on personnel and how the club is approaching the 2019 season. Nothing more to it. But today marks the first repeat, with Hyde posting the exact same lineup as yesterday.
The Orioles were the last team to come up with a different combination for...
HOUSTON - The Orioles will try again today to win their first series since April 22-24, going 0-11-1 leading into today's finale against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
They're repeating a lineup for the first time this season, sticking with the group that produced a 4-1 win yesterday afternoon.
Hanser Alberto is leading off, Jonathan Villar is batting fifth and Anthony Santander is batting sixth. Stevie Wilkerson is playing left field again and Richie Martin is the shortstop.
Everyone is in...