Even without Manny Machado, the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds are still winning. They are 3-0 since a knee injury last Thursday sent him to the disabled list.
Catcher Michael Ohlman led the Shorebirds to their latest win on Sunday at Asheville going 4-for-4 with Delmarva's first grand slam since August 2008 when Tyler Henson hit one. Ohlman connected in the sixth inning as part of a career-best, five-RBI day.
Over his last six games, the 20-year-old Ohlman, an 11th-round pick in 2009 out of...
Well, when the Orioles began the year with a record of 6-1 and quickly got to five games over .500, none of us probably figured that just 26 games later they would be five games under .500.
It is just not a pretty picture right now for the Orioles. They were thoroughly outplayed in every facet of the game in losing the weekend series to Tampa Bay.
I'll detail some numbers here and most of them are not good. The O's need to turn around this run which has seen them go 8-18 since starting the...
After he saw his team score three runs or less for the 18th time over 33 games and get swept by Tampa, manager Buck Showalter talked about some balls that were hit hard and said "the worm will turn."
Luke Scott echoed those comments in the quiet of the Orioles' clubhouse, but also said the team-wide offensive slump is wearing on him.
Luke Scott admits the lack of offense is bothersome to he and his teammates
"We're humans," Scott said. "I take a lot of pride in what I do and I speak...
B.J. Upton said he likes to hit at Camden Yards.
I guess this weekend he proved it. Upton drove in four more runs today as Tampa completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 win over the Orioles on a sunny Mother's Day with 16,359 in attendance at the Yard.
The Orioles have lost four in a row and six of the last seven to fall to 14-19 and are now a season-high five games under .500.
Upton had two-run singles in the fourth and fifth innings as Tampa improved to 20-8 since an 0-6 start. He went...
After retiring the last 22 batters he faced in his last start, today right-hander Oliver Drake of the Single-A Frederick Keys retired the first three hitters he faced at home versus Wilmington.
When he gave up a leadoff single in the second, that ended a run of 25 straight hitters retired by Drake, a 43rd-round draft pick in 2008 out of Navy. He and the Keys lead that game 2-1 in the fourth.
Drake, who made two starts earlier for Double-A Bowie giving up 11 runs, is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.02...
It could all change any minute, but the first three innings today here at Camden Yards have just brought more offensive frustration and no runs for the Orioles.
Tampa has scored three times in the fourth to take a 3-0 lead on the O's and Brad Bergesen.
Brian Roberts, who has just one hit over his last 21 at-bats, has walked twice to leadoff an inning without scoring. He was picked off second by Wade Davis in the first and thrown out trying to advance to third. He walked and was stranded at...
It seems every year the Orioles call on their bullpen to work a lot of innings. Over six months and 162 games, that creates a strain and drain on the the bullpen hurlers.
As American League teams begin play this Sunday, right now the Orioles rank last in the AL in starting pitcher innings at 179 2/3.
There are extenuating circumstances, of course, when you have a young rotation and some of the pitchers are still learning and developing. Some may not be able to give you the amount of innings...
Here is how different this series is for the Orioles against Tampa Bay as compared to their season-opening, three-game sweep versus the Rays.
In the opening three games, the Orioles allowed 12 hits total in the three games. The last two days Tampa has 12 extra-base hits off Orioles' pitching.
Tampa batters hit just .132 with three runs over three games earlier against the Orioles. In winning the first two in this series, the Rays have hit .321 as a team scoring 14 runs.
The Orioles have had...
It was yet another Orioles game where the talk was about a lack of offense. Once again, Derrek Lee stood by his locker to answer similar questions after Saturday's 8-2 loss to Tampa Bay.
"We didn't swing the bats. I don't know what else to say. We didn't score any runs," he said. "We are putting too much pressure on our pitching staff, scoring one and two runs every day. We're fighting hard, maybe too hard. We probably need to try and do a little less, play small ball or something like...
Jeremy Guthrie entered his start today at Camden Yards with a run of seven consecutive quality starts against Tampa Bay. He also had given up just three runs total in three home starts this season.
But this afternoon, Guthrie allowed three-run homers to Evan Longoria and B.J Upton as Tampa routed the Birds 8-2 in front of 18,961.
Prior to today, Guthrie was 9-8 with an ERA of 2.93 in 20 starts since last season's All-Star break. Plus, he pitched eight shutout innings versus Tampa on opening...
Programming note: Today's game is not airing on MASN, and instead is being broadcast on FOX. More information can be found here.
With the Orioles' offense continuing to struggle, the issue of taking more pitches and trying to increase the opposing starters' pitch count often comes up.
The Orioles want to become a good team at working counts, but right now, they just are very inconsistent at it. Some nights it happens, but many times it doesn't.
Also, when a team is struggling to score,...
Orioles reliever Koji Uehara has now been scored on in four of his last six appearances after giving up a two-run homer to Johnny Damon in the ninth last night.
He's trying to regain the form that saw him start this season with 4 2/3 scoreless innings.
"Major leagues is all about results so when you give up runs it's very frustrating," Uehara said today through his interpreter, Jiwon Bang.
Last year, Uehara gave up as many homers, five, as he allowed walks over 44 innings. This year, he...
With Joe Mahoney back on the disabled list at Double-A Bowie and expected to be out the next three or four weeks, some fans have wondered if the Orioles would move first baseman
A couple of notes on tonight's game with Tampa leading the Orioles 3-0 in the fourth.
*Zach Britton had given up just one run in the first and second innings over his first six starts, until Tampa got to him for three runs and four hits in the top of the second tonight. The Rays four hits in that inning was more than the three hits they had versus Britton when he pitched six innings against them in his major league debut.
*Tampa starter James Shields is 2-0 with an ERA of 0.69 over his last...
The MRI on Manny Machado's left knee found that he has a patellar sublaxation.
I am not a doctor and cannot give more inside info on that, but it still doesn't appear to be too serious. While Machado is likely to go on the seven-day disabled list, it remains possible that he will not. If the club sees improvement in the next day or two, he may not go on the DL and could return to action in less than a week.
Machado will remain with the Shorebirds, who are currently on a road trip in...
After a three-hit game on Wednesday in Kansas City and with four hits over his last six at-bats, Orioles third baseman Mark Reynolds hopes he is on the verge of a hot streak at the plate.
"I had a pretty good stretch for a couple of games in K.C.," Reynolds said today in the Orioles' clubhouse. "Some times that is all it takes. Get a couple hits and get that snowball effect going. Hope I can keep it up and start driving the ball. I am seeing pitches better and squaring some stuff up. I...
Orioles outfielder Luke Scott is in the lineup again tonight. He continues to play with some pain in his right shoulder. He is going to have an MRI Monday so doctors can take a more complete look.
"I want to just see if there is anything going on in there," Scott said. "And, if there is, what to do and if there isn't, what to do. Just know exactly what to do and go from there. I've been playing with this for pretty much the (whole) season but it's been bothering me pretty good for about...
The Tampa Bay Rays hit Baltimore tonight with a record of 17-14 and that is good for second in the American League East, one game behind the Yankees. Since starting the year with a 1-8 record, Tampa is 16-6. That is the best record in the major leagues since April 11.
The Rays have the best road record in the AL at 8-4 and the best road record in the league since the start of last season at 55-38, a win percentage of .591. Tampa has scored 73 runs on the road this year, averaging 6.1 runs per...
Orioles prospect Manny Machado said he feels "fine" this morning and is hopeful that he can be back in the Single-A Delmarva lineup in a few days.
He'll know more later today, in a few hours, when a doctor takes a closer look at his left knee. Machado said he was not sure if he would undergo an MRI.
Machado injured the knee in the first inning last night at Asheville. He fell to the ground when tagging up and trying to advance from second to third base. He was helped off the field.
"Oh,...
When you consider that, at this time last year, Zach Britton was 2-2 with an ERA of 3.60 for the Double-A Bowie Baysox, his start in 2011 for the Orioles is rather stunning.
Living up to the hype and his top prospect status, Britton is now 5-1 with an ERA of 2.63 in his first six major league starts. He is tied for second in the American League with five wins with Max Scherzer of Detroit, Trevor Cahill of Oakland and Cleveland's Justin Masterson.
He is 11th in the league in ERA, tied for...