BOWIE, Md. - Brian Matusz is still working on a shutout tonight at Prince George's Stadium. He just pitched around a one-out error and stolen base to blank Erie in the fifth and is leading 1-0.
Matusz got a popout to start the fifth and then No. 7 hitter Andy Ciriaco reached on an error charged to third baseman Carlos Rojas. But Matusz got a strikeout and soft line drive out to end the inning.
Through five, he has allowed just two hits and one walk with one strikeout. Only one runner has...
BOWIE, Md. - Brian Matusz has pitched three shutout innings for Double-A Bowie against Erie tonight in his second injury rehab start. He has allowed just one hit and one walk so far.
After a 1-2-3 first inning and a quick second where he gave up just a bunt single, Matusz got a double play ball to help him move quickly through the third inning.
He issued a leadoff, five-pitch walk and then got No. 9 hitter Shawn Roof to hit into a 5-4-3 double play. Four pitches later, a groundout ended the...
BOWIE. Md. - Wearing a white No. 10 Bowie Baysox jersey, Brian Matusz retired Erie leadoff hitter Jamie Johnson on a flyout to center on his second pitch. That got his second injury rehab start under way.
He pitched a 1-2-3 first inning on just five pitches, all strikes.
He retired the No. 2 hitter on a pop to shallow left on the first pitch and got No. 3 hitter Rawley Bishop to ground out on an 0-1 count.
That was fast.
The Baysox are coming to bat in the last of the first here at Prince...
BOWIE, Md. - Here is tonight's lineup for the Double-A Bowie Baysox as they take on the Erie SeaWovles at 6:35 p.m. here at Prince George's Stadium. Brian Matusz is pitching tonight for Bowie, making his second rehab start.
Matusz pitched four innings, allowing two hits and one run, Monday with Single-A Frederick. Matusz threw 60 pitches, 37 for strikes in that outing with Frederick and is expected to throw around 75-80 pitches tonight.
Check back here tonight often for updates on the game...
It was less than a week ago. Last Sunday, the Orioles blew out the first-place Rays on the road 9-3. At that point, they had won five of six games and were just a game under .500, at 19-20.
They took that momentum to Fenway Park and led Boston 6-0 in the sixth inning the next night. But they blew that game.
The Orioles haven't won since. After a Tuesday rainout, they lost in 15 innings to the Yankees on Wednesday and wasted Zach Britton's great pitching. Now they have given up 30 runs over...
Sometimes when you get to talk to the Orioles players as much as we do, you find out there are some good guys in that clubhouse. Guys any fan would want to root for.
Jason Berken is one of those guys.
Right now he is having a tough time getting people out and it got worse for him in the loss to the Nats when he gave up six runs and two homers in one inning. Berken has allowed 14 earned runs over his last 8 2/3 innings.
He was sent to the minor leagues after Friday's loss to...
I don't think he did it to tick off those that revel in stats, but manager Buck Showalter is batting Adam Jones second tonight for the second time this year.
Jones came up with a solid single in the first tonight off Jason Marquis and then grounded out in the third. He is now 3-for-7 on the year when batting in that spot.
Is that what they mean by small sample size?
Yes, that is incredibly small. But I like Jones batting second and probably mentioned that two, 20 or a hundred times this...
Manager Buck Showalter said one reason Nolan Reimold is returning to the Orioles is because he was swinging better the last few games with Triple-A Norfolk.
Reimold agreed with that assessment.
"I feel good right now, physically I feel great," Reimold said. "I have been more comfortable at the plate the last week or so. It's a good time to come up."
Reimold had hit safely in his last four Triple-A games, going 6-for-16 with a double, two homers and four RBIs. Overall, he was batting...
Ryan Adams started at second base last night for the Triple-A Norfolk Tides in Syracuse. He didn't know then that after the game he would be told he was coming to Baltimore to make his major league debut.
Tonight, Adams will bat ninth and play second for the Orioles here at Camden Yards. He will make his big league debut after 458 minor league games in the O's organization.
"I had no idea (I'd get called up)," Adams said. "I'd just been focusing on playing hard and taking care of what...
After their great run of starting pitching was derailed last night against New York, we will find out if the Orioles can get back on the wagon this weekend against Washington, which has struggled offensively.
Before last night, Orioles' starters had pitched to an ERA of 1.29 over the previous eight games. But Brad Bergesen gave up eight runs, all earned, in just 3 1/3 innings against the Yankees.
In fact, during the eight-game run, O's starters had given up just eight earned runs total over...
As the Orioles welcome Nolan Reimold and Ryan Adams to the roster today, it has to be exciting for Reimold to return to the major leagues and for Adams to make it to the show for the first time.
Adams' long road through the Orioles' minors began when they drafted him out of a Louisiana high school in the second round in 2006. Since then, he has played for six O's farm clubs over six seasons, making it from Rookie League Bluefield to Triple-A Norfolk this year and now Baltimore.
The...
So the Orioles lost big tonight versus New York by a score of 13-2. They fall to 0-6 on the year against the Yankees and have been outscored 51-18 in those games.
The Orioles are 7-6 this year against Boston and Tampa, but winless versus New York. Tampa can beat New York and the Orioles can beat Tampa. Boston recently owns New York and the Orioles can beat Boston.
But the Orioles, with this game, have now lost 30 of the last 37 in this series and are just 6-20 in their last 26 home games...
This is the sixth meeting of the year between the Orioles and Yankees. In those six games, the Yankees have outscored the Orioles 16-0 in the first two innings of the games.
They are hard enough to beat without having to do it coming from behind.
Brad Bergesen gave up three extra-base hits, two walks and hit a batter in the top of first as New York took a 5-0 lead tonight.
He hit Robinson Cano in the leg with two outs and no one on and the Orioles down 2-0. What made it worse was he walked...
As we are now in a rain delay, and who knows how long it will last, I would love to get some questions or comments in this space while we wait out the rain drops at Camden Yards.
Feel free to leave it here now.
As a college basketball coach I know used to say, "I'd be happy to answer any questions you care to pose."
Here is a stat for you. Mariano Rivera, most career blown saves against:
13 - Boston
8 - Orioles & Angels
He has six career blown saves in 43 chances at Camden Yards.
Some notes as the Orioles try for their first win of the year after an 0-5 start against New York.
* After getting 12 hits last night, the Orioles team batting average is now .288 over the last eight games. They are hitting .311 with runners in scoring position during that stretch.
* The last two Orioles games, one each with Boston and New York, have lasted a total of eight hours and 49 minutes.
* The Yankees are 10-8 on the year against the American League East and 9-8 on the road. They...
Orioles relief pitcher Jason Berken said the pitchers in the Orioles' bullpen remain confident they can do the job and he said they are a close-knit group and continue to support each other.
The 'pen and some of its members are going through a rough time after the bullpen meltdown Monday in Boston and the struggles of Mike Gonzalez that continued last night against the Yankees.
Berken said the pysche of the bullpen is still strong.
"I think it's good," he said. "Everybody goes through...
Orioles cleanup hitter Vlad Guerrero has a hot bat right now. He has produced four straight multi-hit games after going 2-for-5 last night.
Over the four games, Guerreo is 9-for-19 with five doubles and three RBIs. He is batting .433 (13-for-30) over his last seven games, raising his average 31 points.
In 39 games on the year, Vlad is batting .298 with four homers and 16 RBIs. I'm sure the Orioles are enjoying his hot bat and also hope the RBI production can increase. He did get a clutch RBI...
Maybe the most frustrating thing about the last two games is that the Orioles' starters gave up just one run - it was unearned - and they wasted those efforts by losing both games.
Orioles starters have now pitched to an ERA of just 1.29 over the last eight games, but the Orioles have lost three of those eight. The starters have allowed two earned runs or less in seven of the last eight games.
One of the best things about baseball is you get to play just about every day, so the Orioles...
It was going to be hard to top the frustration of Monday's loss at Boston, but the Orioles may have done it with this 4-1 loss in 15 innings versus New York.
Another poor night for reliever Mike Gonzalez who gave up a two-run triple that broke a 1-1 tie in the 15th and was ejected after hitting the next batter in the head. I don't quite understand what intent the umpire saw there, but that's probably beside the point.
Gonzalez has gone from bad to worse. He has probably sunk so deep in the...
Zach Britton pitched out of a first-and-third, one out situation in the second inning tonight and has blanked the Yankees through three innings here at Camden Yards.
Britton last allowed a run in the second inning of his start May 6 versus Tampa Bay when the Rays scored three in that inning. He left that game with one out in the sixth but pitched shutout ball after that second frame.
He then threw nine scoreless allowing just three hits last Thursday against Seattle.
Manager Buck Showalter...