Steve Melewski

Checking in with some stats and notes before the NY series opener

April 13, 2011, 8:40am

Orioles

Checking in with some stats and notes before the NY series opener

Some stats, facts and notes to ponder as the Orioles and Yankees hope to begin their rain-delayed series tonight in The Bronx. *The Orioles are 40-26 since Buck Showalter took over as manager. They are six games better than the Yankees during that stretch. *Mark Reynolds is 5-for-9 on the year (.556) when batting with runners in scoring position. His career average is .266 when batting with RISP. *Of the Orioles' 35 runs scored on the year, they have scored 11 in the first three innings and...

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Denny Hocking with some candid comments on Rowell and Mahoney

April 12, 2011, 5:57pm

Orioles

Denny Hocking with some candid comments on Rowell and Mahoney

One of the pleasures of this job as it relates to the minor leagues has been the chance to get to know and interview some interesting people. That includes coaches and players. I have met many in the minors that would classify as a great interview. I can now add Bowie Baysox coach

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Talking with Tillman and the subject is his velocity

April 12, 2011, 10:16am

Orioles

Talking with Tillman and the subject is his velocity

When Chris Tillman takes the mound in New York tonight, there may be some fans checking the radar gun readings almost as much as they check the ball and strike count. There has been a lot of discussion among the fans that Tillman's velocity may be down and they are wondering if that impacts his pitching and not in a good way. Some fans cited a lack of his normal velocity as a reason why Tillman gave up four runs in his start against Detroit, but he seemed to be throwing with similar velocity...

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Buck made the call and Britton will miss NYY series

April 12, 2011, 5:31am

Orioles

Buck made the call and Britton will miss NYY series

Orioles rookie pitcher Zach Britton faced the Yankees in spring training, but his first outing against them that counts will have to wait. Manager Buck Showalter had two choices for a starting pitcher for the Thursday game in the Bronx because both Jake Arrieta and Britton pitched in the Saturday doubleheader and would be on normal rest for Thursday. But Showalter said Arrieta will start that game and Britton will pitch the series opener on Friday at Cleveland. It's probably a little...

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Joe Mahoney out with quad injury

April 11, 2011, 4:25pm

Orioles

The Orioles' 2010 minor league Player of the Year, Joe Mahoney, is not in the lineup for Double-A Bowie tonight due to a quad injury. He missed Sunday's game and is not playing this evening as Bowie is at Richmond. Mahoney went 1-for-7 with a double and two walks in the first two Baysox games of the season at Harrisburg. The injury is considered day-to-day. Right now, there are no plans to put him on the DL and O's officials hope he can return in a day or two. Mahoney was added to the...

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Triple-A Tides look to avoid 0-5 start tonight

April 11, 2011, 12:15pm

Orioles

Triple-A Tides look to avoid 0-5 start tonight

Like their parent club, the Triple-A Norfolk Tides have not gotten their offense going much this year. But unlike the Orioles, Norfolk is winless and is last in the league in batting. The Tides scored just five runs in going 0-4 in their season-opening series at Charlotte. The Tides' team batting mark of .165 is last in the International League. Norfolk plays at Gwinnett tonight looking to avoid its first 0-5 start since 1993. Ryan Adams has begun the season at 1-for-12 while Brandon Snyder...

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A look at CF depth in the O's minors

April 11, 2011, 9:48am

Orioles

The Orioles, like any organization, would like to create a situation where they have solid depth throughout their minor leagues with prospects at both the lower and higher levels. While some fans right now would question the Orioles' minor league depth and may well be right about that, at certain positions the Orioles are becoming well stocked. Center field is one of those positions. When the 2011 season began last week the O's had a center fielder that will be batting leadoff at each of...

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Markakis: "The first week we did pretty damn good."

April 10, 2011, 7:54pm

Orioles

Markakis: "The first week we did pretty damn good."

One year after dealing with a miserable 2-16 start, these are better times for the Orioles. Even after losing the last two games against Texas, the club is off to a 6-3 start and in first place in their division. "I say it's good," O's outfielder Nick Markakis said of the club's start. "We've got a winning record and we just played a really good ballclub. It's not like we got blown out, we played close games with the exception of one. I think, overall in the first week we did pretty...

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Guthrie talks about his outing vs. Texas

April 10, 2011, 1:07pm

Orioles

Guthrie talks about his outing vs. Texas

Pitching just a couple of days after getting out of the hospital, O's right-hander Jeremy Guthrie threw well versus Texas Sunday, even if he didn't feel 100 percent or have some of his usual velocity. "Legs felt good, but it's a strange feeling. I don't breathe very well and I get tired," said Guthrie, who had a form of pneumonia. "It's like you running a few sprints and being tired. Normally I can run a bunch of sprints before I get tired, now one of them makes me tired. It takes a...

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Guthrie returns, but Rangers beat O's to take series finale

April 10, 2011, 12:19pm

Orioles

Guthrie returns, but Rangers beat O's to take series finale

Jeremy Guthrie returned to the mound for the first time since the O's season opener today. He pitched well, but it did not lead to a win. Texas takes two of three from the Orioles, winning 3-0 today behind Derek Holland in front of 21,452 at Camden Yards. The Orioles, who begin a series Tuesday in New York, fall to 6-3 while the Rangers are 8-1. The Orioles scored five runs over the first three innings Saturday in the first game of a doubleheader. But since that point, they have scored just...

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Will Britton face the Yankees?

April 10, 2011, 11:35am

Orioles

The never-ending saga of the changing Orioles rotation will play out next in New York as the O's begin a series at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday night. All the starters for that series are officially listed right now as TBA. Manager Buck Showalter said today that Chris Tillman will pitch either Tuesday or Wednesday. It could be that Brad Bergesen's time in the minors will be very short and he returns to pitch the other game. Bergesen was just sent out yesterday, but could return before 10 days...

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The RISP stat

April 10, 2011, 10:44am

Orioles

The Orioles entered today with a team batting average of just .220, but they were batting .400 with runners in scoring position at 18-for-45 through eight games. You can't keep that pace up and they haven't. Today they are 0-for-2 with RISP and Mark Reynolds has been the guy up both times. Reynolds, after getting several clutch hits the last few days, today struck out with runners on first and third in the first. He then grounded out with second and third in the third. Keep in mind,...

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Manny Machado gets off to a good start with Delmarva

April 10, 2011, 8:25am

Orioles

Manny Machado gets off to a good start with Delmarva

O's top shortstop prospect Manny Machado has gotten his first full season of minor league baseball off to a good start. He is 3-for-7 through three games with Single-A Delmarva with a triple and three RBIs. He has already walked five times in the three games and has an OPS of 1.381. He served as the DH in Game Two of their twin bill last night. Delmarva is 2-1 with a 2.25 team ERA and will send Jacob Pettit to the mound today at home against Greensboro. Triple-A Norfolk was rained out last...

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Matusz gets set to take the next step in Sarasota

April 10, 2011, 7:35am

Orioles

Matusz gets set to take the next step in Sarasota

Brian Matusz said he is optimistic about his rehab process, which will continue starting tomorrow at the Orioles' spring home in Sarasota, Fla. Matusz went on the disabled list April 3, retroactive to March 30, with a strained left intercostal muscle. He said he has not had any pain for the last four days, yet he has not yet been cleared to throw or even play catch. Matusz is not sure when he might get back with the team and take the mound again. "I honestly don't know," he said. "I...

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Arrieta on his night: "When I did miss, they didn't."

April 09, 2011, 7:17pm

Orioles

Arrieta on his night: "When I did miss, they didn't."

After Zach Britton had pitched so well in Game 1, Jake Arrieta was hoping to build on that in Game 2 tonight. It started well for him as he retired the first six Rangers he faced over two innings. But he gave up six runs in the third and was knocked out in the fourth as Texas routed the O's, 13-1 in Game 2 of a doubleheader. Manager Buck Showalter questioned what he called certain sequencing of pitches Arrieta threw and the pitcher agreed with that in the O's clubhouse. "I think I fell...

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Hardy talks about his injury

April 09, 2011, 6:59pm

Orioles

J.J. Hardy is likely headed for the disabled list after leaving tonight's second game of the doubleheader in the third inning with a strained left oblique muscle. He missed Thursday's game with Detroit due to tightness on his left side near his rib cage. He felt good, he said, before the doubleheader. "Took some swings in the cage and felt like it was gone, it was nothing. First swing in the game and just kind of grabbed on me," he said. He batted in the bottom of the second of the...

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Rangers romp in Game 2 to split twin bill

April 09, 2011, 6:25pm

Orioles

Rangers romp in Game 2 to split twin bill

In a Game 2 matchup for the best record in the American League, the Orioles took an early lead but didn't score again in a 13-1 loss to Texas. The Birds were held to four hits. The clubs split the doubleheader leaving Texas with the top record in the league at 7-1 while the O's fall to 6-2. Jake Arrieta, who entered with a 1-1 record and 1.38 ERA in two career starts vs. Texas, got knocked out of this game in the 4th inning. Texas scored six runs in the 3rd and added two more in the 4th...

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Couple of quick notes from game one

April 09, 2011, 4:33pm

Orioles

Passing along a few stats coming out of the O's game one win over Texas. The Orioles were 2-for-4 in the win when batting with runners in scoring position. Their team average in that stat actually increased from .421 to .429. The O's are 18-for-42 on the year with RISP. Mark Reynolds had two hits, including a three-run homer. He now has 6 RBI over his last two games and 8 on the year. He is now batting 5-for-7 on the season, an average of .714, with runners in scoring position. He has...

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Texas manager Ron Washington on his team's first loss and Zach Britton

April 09, 2011, 3:32pm

Orioles

Texas manager Ron Washington on his team's first loss and Zach Britton

After his team suffered its first loss of the 2011 season after a 6-0 start, Texas manager Ron Washington said the O's just outplayed his squad in their 5-0 win in game one of a doubleheader. "We just got beat today," Washington said. "I wouldn't say we lost, I'd say they beat us. You lose it if you are out there throwing balls all around, but they beat us. "They got a big three-run bomb. Markakis got them on the board in the beginning and that young kid (Zach Britton), he made the...

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Britton now 2-0 as O's blank Texas to go to 6-1

April 09, 2011, 2:59pm

Orioles

Britton now 2-0 as O's blank Texas to go to 6-1

Zach Britton's second major league start was even better than his first. After allowing one run against Tampa in a victorious debut, today Britton did not allow a run as the Orioles beat Texas 5-0 in game one of the twin bill at the Yard. Britton did not allow a hit through 4 1/3 and pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings vs. the Rangers. He gave up four hits with three walks and two strikeouts. He is now 2-0 with an ERA of 0.66. He has given up just one run through 13 2/3 frames. Britton threw 103...