In the quiet of the Orioles clubhouse...(with Matusz video)

In the quiet of the Orioles clubhouse...(with Matusz video)
A few players talked about the O's latest loss, 8-6 to Tampa in 10 innings. Matt Albers on what happened in the 10th inning: "I think my mechanics are a little bit off. I walked the first two guys and put myself in a hole. I knew I had to throw a strike 2-1 and 2-2 to Pena. I need to work on a few things to get my sinkerball down. "All the losses sting, but this one, we were up 3-0. Come back and lose it is tough. The game's over so I have to come back and be ready...
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O's lose lead and game vs. Tampa

O's lose lead and game vs. Tampa
The Orioles have lost twice this year when leading after eight innings. Tonight they led 3-0 after seven and lost 8-6 to Tampa in ten innings to fall to 1-7 with five losses in a row. They have lost four games this year when leading after seven innings. Last year the Orioles went 52-5 when leading after seven. Brian Matusz was dominant with a two-hitter and 3-0 lead after seven. But Tampa took the lead with a five-run 8th only to see Luke Scott's pinch, two-run homer in the last of the...
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Different pitcher, similar result (Luke tied it)

Different pitcher, similar result (Luke tied it)
It is not Mike Gonzalez's fault this time. Amazing. Unbelievable, Incredible. Are these guys just cursed? The O's took a 3-0 lead behind a dominant Brian Matusz to the 8th tonight only to give up five runs and fall behind 5-3. This unraveled quickly and a small but boisterous crowd at the Yard dropped the boos on the home team's bullpen. With one out in the 8th, the next two batters reached vs. Matusz on a ground single and bloop. Two hard-hit singles followed as Matusz tried to get...
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Matusz on the mound (with updates)

Matusz on the mound (with updates)
It sure is a joy to watch Brian Matusz pitch. He is making just his 10th Major League start tonight but has the look of someone with much more experience. He works fast, changes speeds and throws strikes. Somewhere, Ray Miller is smiling. He has held the Rays scoreless with just one baserunner (a walk) through three innings. He threw 10 pitches in the first, 19 in the second and just eight, getting three pop ups, in the third. He struck out Evan Longoria on a great changeup in the second....
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Matt Wieters talks about batting fourth

Matt Wieters talks about batting fourth
Matt Wieters is a pretty low key guy with his interviews. No matter how much reporters tried today, he was just not going to make a big deal out of batting cleanup in tonight's batting order. He's batted fourth before in college and the minors, but tonight is in that four spot for the first time ever in the Majors. "It's just a new spot. Go out there and try to get hits and try to put runs up on the board. No change at all, just have to square balls up and find holes tonight. ...
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The Shorebirds' bats are streaking

The Shorebirds' bats are streaking
The Delmarva Shorebirds have gotten off to a great start under first-year manager Ryan Minor. They are 4-1, in first place, with four wins in a row and putting up some big offensive numbers. Delmarva scored six runs in the 9th Monday to beat Greensboro, 11-6. Tyler Kelly, a 13th-round draft pick last June, has nine RBI the past two games and 10 for the year to lead the South Atlantic League. In his first three games, he went just 2 for 12. In the last two, he is 5 for 11 with a homer and...
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Well, at least the starting pitching has been good

Well, at least the starting pitching has been good
An Orioles fan can hang his or her hat on that right now and almost nothing else. Through seven games, the ERA of the starters is 3.89 with four quality starts. Last April, the O's didn't produce a fourth quality start until game 16. But the solid pitching has been wasted by blown saves, awful hitting and base-running mistakes. The pitchers can only do so much. But moving forward, if they continue to get decent work like this from the starters, the wins should come. At least a few and...
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Post-game notes: Garza and Rays top Orioles

Post-game notes:  Garza and Rays top Orioles
With the 5-1 loss vs. Tampa Monday, the Orioles fall to 0-4 on this homestand and 1-6 on the year. They have lost four in a row since the season's only win, last Thursday vs. the Rays. It's the O's worst start since 2002. The Rays, who went 4-5 at the Yard last year, are 45-57 all-time at Camden Yards. He's pretty good: Tampa's Carl Crawford, who went just 2 for 10 vs. the O's last week, went 4 for 4 tonight with a double and solo homer. Winning pitcher Matt Garza gave up just one...
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Clubhouse quotes after the loss to Tampa

Clubhouse quotes after the loss to Tampa
Here are some of the post-game comments from the O's clubhouse after the 5-1 loss at home to Tampa. The O's fall to 1-6 for the first time since 2002. Nick Markakis of the frustration on not scoring a lot of runs so far: "It's not fun, it sucks. Overall, our pitching is doing a great job. Our offense needs to pick it up. I know for myself in the three hole I need to be more aggressive and get things going. "We all need to relax, it's a long season. No, it's not the way we wanted...
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And then depression set in

And then depression set in
Well, another night of little offense, clutch or otherwise. The Orioles are 1-6 with four losses in a row and are 0-4 on the homestand. Tonight's attendance of 9,129 was the smallest crowd in Camden Yards history. Tonight they went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position in the 5-1 loss vs. Tampa. Felix Pie's homer leading off the game, his first-ever leadoff homer, produced the O's only run. The O's are now 1 for 17 the last three games with RISP and just 9 for 57 (.158) in that stat...
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Tonight's attendance

Tonight's attendance
....was just announced at 9,129. Yes, that is sparce. That is the first time in the history of this ballpark a game attendance has been under 10,000. The previous lowest attendance for a game in Camden Yards history is 10,130 on May 26, 2009 vs. Toronto.
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Numbers and notes

Numbers and notes
Here are some notes and stats concerning tonight's game. The Rays scored two in the 6th vs. Guthrie to take a 3-1 lead. This is interesting. Stolen base attempts this year by Tampa. First series vs. O's: Went 1 for 4 Second series vs. NY: Went 7 for 7 The Rays easily led the AL in steals last year. Does this mean Matt Wieters is getting a rep for throwing out runners, even with a good team like Tampa. Or am I reading too much into that stat? Luke Scott was 0 for 10 in his career vs....
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To bunt or not to bunt

To bunt or not to bunt
Sometimes when a team is struggling to score runs they have to do unconventional things. In the American League, that could include a sac bunt in the second inning of a game. You don't see it often. Maybe the Orioles should have dropped one there tonight. They had runners on first and second vs. Matt Garza with no outs in the bottom of the second. Number seven hitter Garrett Atkins did not bunt. Instead he swung away and hit into a 6-4-3 double play. It was a bit of a rally...
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Luke Scott's take on fan criticism: "I'm frustrated too"

Luke Scott's take on fan criticism: "I'm frustrated too"
If you don't think the Orioles' players notice that the fans have been rather critical of their play so far, just check out the conversation I had with Luke Scott in the clubhouse today. In one sense he called out the fans for criticism of the team, but he also tried to explain his thoughts more in depth as well. Audio: Luke Scott sounds off on fan criticism to Steve Melewski Here is what Luke said on the topic of fans criticizing the club over the 1 and 5 start. "Well, I mean, I can go...
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No issues with Rowell

No issues with Rowell
You may have noticed that Billy Rowell of the Frederick Keys played the first game of the season, went 0 for 4, and has not played since. Rowell is not hurt. He was feeling the effects of a bad cold over the weekend and even stayed in the hotel one night as the Keys played a season-opening series at Lynchburg. Rowell may return to the lineup tomorrow night when Frederick plays its home opener. New Keys manager Orlando Gomez will be with the team for the first time tomorrow. He missed the...
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Stats, stats and more stats

Stats, stats and more stats
The O's team ERA is 4.13 right now, a season best. They have allowed just 5 ER the last two games. The O's starters' ERA is 3.89 and O's starters have allowed 2 ER or less four times already. The Orioles have three quality starts. Last year they didn't pick up their third quality start until game 12. The team ERA after six games last year was 5.67. There's been good pitching on the farm too. The team ERA's. 3.00 - at Norfolk, 4th in the International League 2.91 - at Bowie, 4th...
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Roberts to the DL now official

Roberts to the DL now official
The Orioles have just announced that they have placed 2B Brian Roberts on the 15-day disabled list with a strained abdominal muscle, retroactive to April 10. Roberts was batting .143 (2-14) with one double when he injured himself sliding into second base Friday against the Toronto Blue Jays. To fill Roberts' roster spot, the Orioles recalled INF Justin Turner from Triple-A Norfolk. Turner appeared in 16 spring training games for the Orioles and batted .344 (11-32) with one home run and...
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What does the 1 and 5 start mean?

What does the 1 and 5 start mean?
So the Orioles have started the year 1-5. They have an injured star player who may be headed for the DL, a struggling closer and they are scoring on average just three runs per game. Oh yeah and they soon have a West Coast road trip and have yet to play the Yankees and Red Sox. Hard to predict a winning streak is in their near future. Here are several ways a fan could feel about this: *Just see a poor record and believe it's the same old Orioles and they stink. *Put most of the blame on...
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Post-game notes: Jays rally and O's fall to 1-5

Post-game notes:  Jays rally and O's fall to 1-5
This could have gone better: The Orioles were outscored 15-8 and swept three straight by Toronto. The Orioles are 1-5, their worst start since beginning 1-5 in 2002. They have been outscored 27-19 this year. The Orioles scored just two runs on 15 hits in the series final two games. They have scored just 19 runs with a team batting average of .236 on the season. They have scored three runs or less in four of six games. The club's slugging percentage to date is just .374. The Orioles...
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Millwood comments on his outing

Millwood comments on his outing
David Hernandez gave up two runs Saturday and lost the game. Today, Kevin Millwood allowed just one earned run and took the loss vs. Toronto. "I felt good, still felt strong in the eighth. Just got a couple of balls up that they put good swings on." Millwood said the two-out, Miguel Tejada error in the Toronto 8th that was followed by his yielding back-to-back homers did not impact him. "No, not at all. We're going to make errors, that's just how it is. Sometimes you have to pick...
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