ST. PETERBURG, Fla. - Orioles outfielder Joey Rickard is on a hitting progression at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota. Cleared to perform all baseball activities, he's swinging a bat and hoping to be ready to play when eligible to come off the 60-day disabled list on Sept. 19.
Whether that's too ambitious is yet to be determined.
The minor league seasons are over, but simulated games can be arranged. And Rickard can get all the at-bats he needs without any rules. Lead off every...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis was removed from tonight's game against the Rays due to soreness in his left hand. Manager Buck Showalter did it as a precaution. Davis found the entire situation amusing as a few reporters lingered at his locker following an 11-2 win.
Must not be too serious.
"It feels the same, since about April. It is what it is," Davis said after contributing a home run.
"It's pretty much been bothering me all season, but you keep playing through...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles' rotation has been getting the bulk of the love lately, but the offense provided a reminder tonight that it still drives the bus.
Manny Machado hit his fourth career grand slam in a six-run fourth inning and the Orioles pummeled the Rays 11-2 before 12,207 at Tropicana Field for their second consecutive division series win.
The Orioles (76-62) go for the sweep on Wednesday afternoon.
Machado added an RBI bloop single with two outs in the ninth after Pedro...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Could the Orioles go with a six-man rotation after Chris Tillman is activated from the disabled list?
Manager Buck Showalter said he considers every option and hasn't dismissed the idea, but it's too early to make a firm decision.
There simply are too many factors in play.
Tillman is slated to come off the disabled list and start Sunday afternoon's game in Detroit. Ubaldo Jimenez has posted a 2.70 ERA in his last four starts, going back to the July 28 makeup game in...
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. - A light news day this afternoon on the visiting side at Tropicana Field.
Manager Buck Showalter is deciding on his rotation for the Tigers series at Comerica Park. He plans on starting Kevin Gausman in Friday's opener, but hasn't offered confirmation beyond the first game.
"I want to get through here and we'll see how we are tonight," Showalter said. "We know who we're pitching the first day and hopefully Sunday. I'm not sure yet about Saturday.
"I'm trying to...
ST. PETERBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter is starting Steve Pearce in left field and Mark Trumbo in right tonight against Rays right-hander Jake Odorizzi.
Pedro Alvarez is batting second again as the designated hitter.
The Rays fired hitting coach Derek Shelton and promoted minor league hitting coordinator Chad Mottola, who appeared in six games with the Orioles in 2004. Mottola will join the Rays on Friday.
For the Orioles Adam Jones CF Pedro Alvarez DH Manny Machado 3B Mark Trumbo...
ST. PETERBURG, Fla. - If you're trying to predict the Orioles lineup for tonight, you may want to look beyond how the opponent's right-handed starter traditionally is countered by left-handed hitters.
Break down the splits.
Left-handers are batting .189 against the Rays' Jake Odorizzi, and right-handers are batting .286. He's a reverse-splits guy and manager Buck Showalter probably will react accordingly.
Odorizzi has faced the Orioles in four games this season. Joey Rickard has started...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - With a Blue Jays' loss today, the Orioles again have moved within two games of first place in the American League East. The shuffling continues, the tiny increments growing larger in importance as the days disappear from the schedule.
Ubaldo Jimenez came up big for the Orioles today, the latest starter to do so in Chris Tillman's absence. Jimenez has three quality starts in a row and today marked his ninth career complete game and the first by an Oriole since Miguel...
ST. PETERBURG, Fla. - Ubaldo Jimenez remains in the Orioles rotation with Chris Tillman on the disabled list, and there's a competition brewing between the veteran right-hander and Wade Miley. Someone's got to go unless the Orioles decide on a six-man rotation.
Is Jimenez seizing the moment? Or at least the spot?
Miley allowed four runs and walked four batters in five innings yesterday against the Yankees and has posted a 7.15 ERA in seven starts with the Orioles. Jimenez was coming off...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Reliever Brian Duensing wasn't listed on the original lineup card this morning, but bench coach John Russell wrote in his name upon his arrival to give the Orioles four left-handers in their bullpen.
Duensing has allowed four earned runs in 6 2/3 innings with the Orioles in his seven appearances. He went on the disabled list retroactive to June 20 with inflammation in his left elbow and underwent surgery to remove cartilage chips.
The Orioles transferred Duensing to the...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles designated pitcher Odrisamer Despaigne for assignment this morning to create a spot for left-hander Brian Duensing on the 40-man roster.
The move isn't a surprise. The Orioles didn't recall Despaigne when 25-man rosters expanded this month and he clearly was in a vulnerable position.
The Orioles acquired Despaigne, 29, from the Padres on Feb. 4 for minor league pitcher Jean Cosme. He went 0-2 with a 5.60 ERA in 16 relief appearances, registered a 1.720 WHIP...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Pedro Alvarez is batting second again today as the Orioles open a three-game series against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Alvarez is hitting .307/.365/.648 (27-for-88) with 14 extra-base hits, 15 RBIs and 14 runs scored in his last 28 games since July 28.
Ubaldo Jimenez is looking for his first win as a starter since June 28 in San Diego. He's 4-2 with a 2.87 ERA in six career starts against the Rays, but 1-2 with a 4.79 ERA in three starts at Tropicana Field.
In his last...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have gone through brief portions of the season with closer Zach Britton as their only left-handed reliever. By the time I'm allowed inside their clubhouse this morning at Tropicana Field, they will have a fourth southpaw with Brian Duensing coming off the 60-day disabled list.
Britton and Duensing will join Donnie Hart and Jayson Aquino as part of their expanded September roster and pitching staff.
It completely changes how a manager works a game. Buck...
The Orioles didn't get a quality start out of left-hander Wade Miley, who struggled to make it through five innings. They went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine.
They kept knocking on the door, but never were able to bust it open.
A 5-2 loss to the Yankees this afternoon denied the Orioles a sweep of the three-game series and dropped them three behind the Blue Jays in the American League East.
The Orioles (74-62) will board their charter later today for Tampa, with...
Orioles outfielder Joey Rickard still hasn't swung a bat after being cleared on Friday to begin baseball-related activities. Manager Buck Showalter has been checking the reports and figures to speak with Rickard, who's currently at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota.
Rickard could make the drive over to St. Petersburg, Fla. while the Orioles are there for a three-game series against the Rays that begins Monday afternoon. That's usually how we get caught up with players who are...
The Orioles will make another roster move before Monday afternoon's game against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Left-hander Brian Duensing is headed to Baltimore today and will fly with the team to Tampa. He's currently on the 60-day disabled list after undergoing elbow surgery.
Duensing had cartilage chips removed from his left elbow in June. He appeared in seven games with the Orioles before the surgery and allowed four runs and nine hits in 6 2/3 innings.
Duensing allowed one run in seven...
Steve Pearce is playing left field today as the Orioles try to complete a three-game sweep of the Yankees.
Pearce is 5-for-12 with a double and home run against Michael Pineda, the likely reason why he's starting ahead of Hyun Soo Kim.
Pedro Alvarez is batting second as the designated hitter.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Kevin Gausman is the first starter to shut out the Yankees in consecutive outings since the Athletics' Scott Sanderson in May 1990.
For the Orioles Adam Jones CF...
The Orioles ended the 2015 season by sweeping the Yankees in a three-game series at Camden Yards to finish at .500.
There's more at stake this weekend. Completing the sweep today could push them closer to first place before heading to Tampa.
The rotation has produced quality starts in five of the last six games, and Dylan Bundy came within an out of joining the pack.
Wade Miley is 1-3 with a 7.14 ERA and 1.655 WHIP in six starts with the Orioles covering only 29 innings. However, he registered...
The Orioles keep refuting reports that their season is over and they should have been sellers and they may as well pack up their belongings and go home early.
The deficit in the American League East is back down to two games. They're no longer tied with the Tigers for the second wild card. Twenty-seven games are left in the regular season.
Buckle up.
According to STATS, this is the first time that the Orioles have shut out the Yankees in three consecutive meetings. The last club to do it was...
Kevin Gausman struck out the side in the first inning tonight and made it four in a row and six of eight, blowing through the Yankees' order the first time through it.
Strikeouts can run up a pitch count when accompanied by a heavy assortment of foul balls, and high pitch counts reduce the chances of a complete game, but Gausman's priorities were in a different order.
Get as deep into his start as possible and give the Orioles a chance to win.
It's now been 321 games since the Orioles' last...