Steve Melewski

A Mychal Givens update

May 20, 2010, 8:19am

Orioles

A lot of fans have been asking about Mychal Givens, the shortstop that the Orioles drafted in the second round, with the 54th overall selection, last June out of Plant High in Florida. Givens turned 20 a week ago today and continues to play every day at extended spring training. He is expected to play for a short-season O's affiliate when they begin play next month. Gary Kendall, who will manage again this year at Aberdeen, is heading up the staff at extended spring training in Florida and...

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Stats, facts and notes from Wednesday's loss at Texas

May 19, 2010, 10:48pm

Orioles

Stats, facts and notes from Wednesday's loss at Texas

Win and losses: The O's began their five-game road trip with a 4-3 loss to Texas Wednesday night. They are now 13-28 on the year and have lost four of their past five games. The Orioles are 5-16 on the road, 7-8 in one-run games and 3-8 vs. AL West teams. The offense comes up short: The O's fall to 2-24 when scoring three runs or less. They have scored just 13 runs with a team average of .257 over the last five games. The O's were 4 for 13 batting with runners in scoring position in...

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Rangers win in the last of the ninth

May 19, 2010, 7:11pm

Orioles

It was another 4-3 game for the Orioles, but they lost this one when Texas scored in the last of the ninth. Michael Young ripped a leadoff double off the glove of shortstop Cesar Izturis to start the ninth and after a walk and flyout, Alberto Castillio replaced Cla Meredith. Castillo walked Josh Hamilton and Dave Trembley called for Jason Berken, the seventh pitcher of the night. With the bases loaded and one out, Nelson Cruz hit a sac fly to center to end the game and break the 3-3 tie. It...

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Why no Guthrie in the seventh? (updated, tie game)

May 19, 2010, 6:25pm

Orioles

Why no Guthrie in the seventh? (updated, tie game)

Jeremy Guthrie was pitching well tonight and making big pitches when he needed to. He had a 2-1 lead after six innings but did not take the mound for the seventh and Matt Albers came on and now Texas has scored twice in the inning to take the lead 3-2. Guthrie was at just 90 pitches, so why didn't he come out for the seventh? We'll wait on Dave Trembley's answer after the game. Is there a reason other than he just thought it was the right time to go to the pen? Guthrie retired the side...

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Tillman talk

May 19, 2010, 5:56pm

Orioles

Another outstanding start tonight for Chris Tillman at Triple-A. He pitched seven scoreless innings of three-hit for Norfolk vs. Pawtucket with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his ERA for the season to 3.31. Over his last six starts, Tillman's ERA is just 2.14 and he has fanned 30 and walked just seven over 42 innings. A Baltimore Sun report indicates Michael Aubrey will be called up for the weekend series vs. Washington with pitcher Alberto Castillo possibly going back to Norfolk...

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Izturis for the lead (w-updates)

May 19, 2010, 4:35pm

Orioles

Number nine hitter Cesar Izturis made sure the Orioles did not blow a bases loaded chance in the top of the second at Texas. Tejada, Scott and Jones all singled. Up came Garrett Atkins with one out and the sacks full. He took a called third strike that might have been a ball outside, but he was punched out. With two outs up came Cesar. batting .206 on the year and with just four hits over his last 41 at bats. But he came up with a looping, clutch, two-out, two-run single to center for a...

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In the minors tonight

May 19, 2010, 12:05pm

Orioles

Chris Tillman pitches for Triple-A Norfolk when it hosts Pawtucket. Tillman is 3-4, 3.83 on the year. But over his last five starts, he is 3-1, 2.57 and has walked just five and fanned 26 over 35 innings. Norfolk is 16-24 after getting blanked 6-0 by the Pawsox last night. The Tides have lost six of seven. Michael Aubrey is batting .441 (15 for 34) over his last 11 games with two homers and 5 RBI. Josh Bell has 21 RBI his last 28 games. Nolan Reimold is 2 for 17 with a homer since...

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O's vs. Rangers - a preview

May 19, 2010, 7:59am

Orioles

The Orioles (13-27) begin a two-game series and five-game road trip at Texas (22-18) tonight. The Rangers won the last two games vs. Los Angeles after losing three in a row. They are in first in the AL West, with a two-game lead over Oakland. The Rangers, who are 15-7 in home games, have won eight of their last 12 and 14 of 21 games. They were 11-12 in April and are 11-6 in May. They have a decent offense that has produced much better at home. Rangers offense, 2010 season: Home: .286...

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orioles steve melewski

Wieters clocked at 1.69 - that's fast!

May 19, 2010, 6:21am

Orioles

It looked like just another routine out in a baseball game. But it wasn't. It was the top of the fifth inning of Monday night's game at Camden Yards. Kansas City was batting with one out and a man on first. The runner, Mike Aviles, broke for second. O's catcher Matt Wieters threw a strike to second to record the out as Cesar Izturis applied the tag. What made the play remarkable was how fast it happened. A veteran scout in the press box timed the play from the moment the ball hit...

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Post-game notes: O's top KC in ten

May 18, 2010, 6:52pm

Orioles

The Orioles 4-3 win in 10 innings over the Royals on Tuesday gave them a split of the two-game series and they went 4-4 on the eight-game homestand. Wins and losses: The O's improve to 13-27 on the season and are 11-11 since starting the year 2-16. They are 8-12 at home, 4-1 in extra-innings games and 7-7 in one-run contests. The Royals are now 15-25 on the year and 3-2 in extra innings. Nick the stick: Nick Markakis' RBI single in the tenth ended the game for a walk-off win. It was...

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O's end homestand with walk-off win

May 18, 2010, 6:09pm

Orioles

Nick Markakis' RBI single to deep center with the bases loaded in the last of the tenth, gave the Orioles a 4-3, comeback win over KC on Tuesday night. The O's ended the homestand going 4-4. With one out in the tenth, Julio Lugo singled and Corey Patterson walked. Cesar Izturis then reached on an error charged to pitcher Brian Bullington, that loaded the bases. Markakis, who began today with just three RBI over his last 15 games, then drove a pitch to deep center for a game-winning...

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orioles steve melewski

Does first to score win?

May 18, 2010, 3:23pm

Orioles

With Kevin Millwood facing Zack Greinke tonight, we could have a night where not a lot of runs are scored. Of course, usually when you think that the final will be 10-9. MLB - ERA leaders since start of 2009: 2.27 - Zack Greinke 2.33 - Tim Lincecum 2.42 - Cris Carpenter 2.54 - Roy Halladay 2.60 - Adam Wainwright Here is a stunning stat. Coming into tonight, Millwood and Greinke have combined to make 16 starts with just one win. Greinke is 1-4 and Millwood 0-4. It's the deepest into a...

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orioles steve melewski

Wieters and Jones talk about the RISP stat

May 18, 2010, 1:06pm

Orioles

Wieters and Jones talk about the RISP stat

The stat that keeps rearing its ugly head did again for the Orioles last night. They went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position and today a couple of players talked about the lack of hitting in those key situations. "Is it tougher? (hitting in those spots)," Adam Jones repeated the question. "You've just go to be more selective. It's baseball, the opposition is trying to get you out and they're succeeding now. "We have so much scouting today and technology to keep people in...

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Updating the RISP stats (Cooney promoted)

May 18, 2010, 8:57am

Orioles

Updating the RISP stats (Cooney promoted)

Since the Orioles have struggled all year when batting with runners in scoring position, here is a closer look at that stat. Lowest average, AL, with RISP: .217 - CWS .221 - Orioles .233 - Oakland .234 - Seattle Fewest at bats AL with RISP: 277 - CWS 303 - Orioles & Cleveland 310 - Toronto Most at bats AL with RISP: 372 - Detroit 366 - NYY 358 - Texas O's hitters with RISP: Atkins: .240 (6 for 25) Izturis: .238 (5 for 21) Jones: .200 (5 for 25) Lugo: .125 (2 for 16) Markakis: .276 (8...

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Player versatility in the O's minors

May 18, 2010, 4:43am

Orioles

There is a subtle change coming to the O's minor leagues. It might even be one a lot of fans won't notice. There are indications the Orioles will begin to use some of their prospects and maybe others as well at multiple positions. It's worth seeing if a player can play multiple positions and it just makes sense. It's the minors, that's where you should be learning about your players and experimenting. This may not apply to every player, but it's expected to begin to be something they...

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O's fall by one run to KC (with Bergesen video)

May 17, 2010, 6:04pm

Orioles

O's fall by one run to KC (with Bergesen video)

A frustrating night with a frustrating ending for the Orioles. They loaded the bases with one out in the last of the ninth, trailing 4-3, but could not tie it or pull the game out in a 4-3 loss to the Royals in the opener of a two-game series. Joakim Soria struck out Ty Wigginton on a 1-2 pitch and Miguel Tejada grounded out on a 1-2 pitch as the O's left the bases loaded in the final inning. Brad Bergesen talks about his balk in the O's 4-3 loss to the Royals The O's went 1 for 12 with...

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Garrett Atkins on his struggles at the plate

May 17, 2010, 1:04pm

Orioles

Garrett Atkins on his struggles at the plate

Did Andy MacPhail put Garrett Atkins on the hot seat today? When asked by the Baltimore Sun, how long he would stick with his struggling first baseman he said "it doesn't have to be that way forever." Atkins is hitting just .243-0-6 and was asked today if he feels he's been put on notice. "I'm not too worried about it, it's been 100 at bats. You get five or six more hits, you're hitting .300. Just trying to come in here every day and work to get better and produce a little more out...

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Some notes and a look ahead to the KC series

May 16, 2010, 7:51pm

Orioles

Some notes and a look ahead to the KC series

The Orioles (12-26) will host the Kansas City Royals (14-24) the next two nights to wrap up a three-team, eight-game homestand. The Orioles took two of three from Seattle, then lost two of three to Cleveland to go 3-3 on the homestand. The O's are 10-10 since the 2-16 start. The pitching recently: *O's starters have an ERA of 2.62 over the last five games. *The O's bullpen has an ERA of 15.00 the last two games. The Orioles, who went 7-0 vs. the Royals in 2007, went 4-4 vs. KC last year....

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Clubhouse quotes after Sunday's loss to Cleveland

May 16, 2010, 12:40pm

Orioles

Clubhouse quotes after Sunday's loss to Cleveland

Some clubhouse quotes after the Orioles 5-1 loss to Cleveland dropped them to 3-3 on this homestand and 12-26 on the season. The O's scored just three runs in the final two games of the series. Ty Wigginton, was the catch in the first inning by Sizemore that robbed you of extra bases a key play in the game?: "I don't look at any one play in the game that's going to make a difference. It was a nice catch and good for him." Wigginton on Jake Westbrook: "Westbrook had tremendous...

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Punchless O's drop series finale to Tribe

May 16, 2010, 11:55am

Orioles

Punchless O's drop series finale to Tribe

The day can change and so can the opponent. The story remains the same. The O's offense continues to be one of the worst in the game. Today, Cleveland beat the punchless O's 5-1, as Jake Westbrook, now 2-2, pitched a complete-game, nine-hitter. Down to their last out, the O's avoided their fourth shutout when Luke Scott homered to left. The O's have scored one run or less 12 times. They are 2-22 when scoring fewer than four runs and now are 1-18 when outhit by their opponent. ...