It's becoming so unbelievable, but the Orioles blew another game today in the 9th inning.
They took a one-run lead to the last of the 9th at Oakland, but Ryan Sweeney's two-run single with the bases loaded and one out vs. Jim Johnson gave the A's a 4-3 win.
Yes, the O's blew another one in the ninth.
Johnson was clearly struggling, according to Joe Angel's radio call. In the inning he gave up two hits and threw two wild pitches with Matt Wieters making a nice save to stop a third. He...
So it was the top of the fourth in today's game with a 0-0 score. The Orioles got a rally going when Matt Wieters and Miguel Tejada opened the inning with back-to-back singles.
They had runners on first and second and none out.
Up came Luke Scott, batting fifth today.
Now, I don't know of any American League team that would ask its number five hitter to bunt in the 4th of a 0-0 game.
But I would have had Luke try to drop a bunt there.
I know, it sounds crazy. Scott went on to hit into...
There are not a lot of Orioles producing quality stats so far. It's a short list.
But pitcher Jason Berken is on it.
In a mild surprise, Berken made the Opening Day staff as a long reliever. After going 6-12, 6.54 in 24 starts in 2009, this role is new to him.
In 69 career minor league outings, the 2006 sixth-round draft pick made 66 starts.
Last Tuesday, Berken pitched a scoreless inning vs. Tampa, then Wednesday, after Brad Bergesen's early exit, Berken pitched five innings of...
Telling a sad tale: Oakland beat the Orioles 4-2 Friday night and has taken the first two games of this four-game series. The Orioles are 0-2 on a ten-game road trip.
That's a 1-10 start and eight losses in a row for the Orioles. They are 1-4 in road games. The Orioles fall to 1-5 in games decided by two runs or less.
The Orioles have lost now eight in a row at Oakland dating to July of 2007 and are just 1-12 in their last 13 vs. the A's. Oakland is 67-28 vs. Baltimore since 1999.
No...
For the Orioles, it was another night of little offense and no victory.
The Birds fell to 1-10 with eight losses in a row in a 4-2 loss at Oakland.
The Orioles were held to a season-low five hits and went 0 for 4 tonight with runners in scoring position.
The only Orioles runs came on Ty Wigginton's two-run homer in the 5th. The Orioles have scored two runs or less in six of their last seven games. They have scored three runs or less eight times in 11 games.
Winning pitcher Dallas Braden...
The excellent pitching to start the year by O's minor league clubs came to a halt tonight as Norfolk allowed 14 runs and Delmarva gave up 15.
Durham had 20 hits in a 14-7 win over the Tides, who fall to 4-5. Norfolk starter Troy Patton lasted just one-third of an inning and 28 pitches. He gave up six hits and six runs, including two homers. Norfolk began the night with an ERA this year of 2.97 by its starters.
Rhyne Hughes had a triple in four at bats to extend his batting streak to eight...
Any O's fan could probably recite the numbers. The Orioles are hitting just .135 this year (10 for 74) when batting with runners in scoring position.
They are hitting just .028 (1 for 36) with runners in scoring positon and two outs.
Here's the RISP stat breakdown by game and player:
Game 1 at TB: 1 for 12, 10 left on base
Game 2 at TB: 2 for 9, 7 left on base
Game 3 at TB: 3 for 11, 8 left on base
Game 4 vs. Tor: 2 for 8, 7 left on base
Game 5 vs. Tor: 0 for 6, 7 left on base
Game 6...
The Orioles four minor league affiliates are off to a combined 21 and 10 start. That is tied with Cleveland for the best combined minor league record in baseball right now.
Norfolk: The Tides are 4-4 and have scored 15 runs in winning two in a row. Troy Patton pitches tonight at Durham. Josh Bell is hitting .214 and Brandon Snyder is at .200.
Rhyne Hughes is 10 for 25 during a seven-game hitting streak. He's batting .400, 4th best in the league. Norfolk starters ERA is 2.97. Tides...
I'd say I don't remember a worse Orioles start ever, but I do. I remember 0 and 21 in 1988. I also remember the 1978 season when the Orioles were blown out in three straight games vs. Milwaukee.
They were outscored 40 to 11 and Eddie Murray played third base. That didn't last long. Eddie at third or the losing. That team won 90 games.
This team looks like it will lose 90.
I don't think you could have dreamed up a worse start to the year. The team can't get a clutch hit, the...
Wins and losses: With the 6-2 loss at Oakland, the Orioles fell to 1 and 9 with seven losses in a row. The Orioles, off to their worst start since 1988, have the worst record in the Majors.
They fall to 1-3 on the road and have not won since the third game of the year.
The Orioles have now lost seven straight at Oakland and have not won there since July 22, 2007. The Orioles are 1-11 in their last 12 vs. the A's. Oakland is 66-28 vs. the O's since the start of the 1999 season.
The O's...
So here we go again with another Orioles game.
Time to find out if the team can get a lead, get a clutch hit, hold a lead, get a win.
It's the start of a three-city, ten-game road trip in Oakland.
I'll be watching the game from the Melewski estate in beautiful Harford County. I hope you'll add some comments to this blog all night long and into tomorrow morning.
Write in with a question or comment - your take on the game as it's going on, a story about going to O's games, tell us where...
O's right-hander David Hernandez has been looking forward to tonight's start at Oakland. And, not just to build on his first start last week, a solid outing vs. Toronto.
But, because Hernandez will be pitching in his home state in front of quite a few family and friends. He's from Sacramento, which is about 90 minutes from Oakland.
Hernandez should also get some time to see his infant son. His wife Rachel gave birth to their first child, Jayden Joseph in January.
"I'll probably need...
There have been a few moves today on the farm.
Triple-A Norfolk: Kam Mickolio officially sent to the Orioles. Also today, RHP Dennis Sarfate has been placed on the DL. As Roch first reported yesterday, he suffered a strained oblique Wednesday while warming up. Sarfate had pitched three scoreless innings with five strikeouts for the Tides. Norfolk has added pitchers Jim Miller and Armando Gabino from Bowie.
Double A Bowie: Added pitcher Zach Clark from Aberdeen's roster.
Single A...
Of all the stats, most of them negative, compiled already by the 2010 Orioles, here is maybe the most telling one of all.
O's record when leading after 7 innings:
2009: 52-5
2010: 1-4
So, last year, when they held the lead after seven, they won the game 91 percent of the time. This year that number is just 20 percent. Last year, they blew five such leads all year. This year, they have blown four in just nine games.
If that number were 4-1 instead of 1-4, their record would be 4-5...
The excellent pitching we've seen from Orioles minor leaguers so far this season continued in a stunning way on Wednesday afternoon and evening. All four O's affiliates won, three via a shutout. The four starting pitchers combined to pitch 23 scoreless innings.
The O's four clubs are off to a combined 18-9 start.
Jake Arrieta started for Norfolk in a 9-0 win over Charlotte. Steve Johnson started for Bowie in a 1-0, 12-inning win over Harrisburg. Rick Zagone was on the hill for...
Blown out: Today's 9-1 loss was the most lopsided of the year. The previous biggest margin of defeat was the four-run loss, 5-1 to Tampa on Monday.
The Orioles completed a winless first homestand, going 0 and 6. They were outscored 37 to 16 during the six losses vs. Toronto and Tampa. Tampa outscored the Birds 22-8 during the three-game sweep.
The 1-8 start is the worst since the 0-21 start in 1988.
Tampa Bay is 5-1 vs. the O's on the season. Today's win evened the all-time series...
Any Orioles' mistake seems to be costly these days.
In the first inning Wednesday, Tampa's Carl Crawford, batting second with one out, hit a popup on the infield. It was right near Cesar Izturis at short.
But he never saw the ball. Miguel Tejada, playing third base, thought he heard Izturis calling to make the play. Tejada came over at the last moment and the ball popped out of his glove for an error.
Of course, a few batters later Carlos Pena hit a three-run homer and all three runs...
For the Orioles a winless first homestand.
At least today there was no late-inning, gut-wrenching loss. The drama ended early. It was 6-0 after three and 8-0 after Tampa batted in the fourth. The final was 9-1, Rays.
Brad Bergesen got rocked for eight runs in three innings plus. Mike Gonzalez went on the disabled list. The Orioles went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position. They weren't exactly all over the bases today.
They were outscored 37 to 15 during the 0-6 homestand and...
Brad Bergesen is getting hit hard early today by the Rays, who already lead 6-0 in the third.
He has allowed a pair of 400-foot, three-run homers, one to Carlos Pena and one to B.J. Upton. Pena has hit two three-run homers in his last two at bats here in less than 24 hours. Pena's first-inning three-run homer produced three unearned runs after Miguel Tejada dropped a pop up.
Through three frames, Bergesen has allowed six runs on five hits. The Rays are 5 for 15 against him with four...
Since today's game has started so well here today, let's check the minors where two O's affiliates have day games.
Delmarva has already beaten Greensboro 9-4 in a game that began at 10:35. The Shorebirds are now 5-2 and had 11 hits. They've had ten or more hits in six games. Towson University product Gary Helmick hit two homers with 5 RBI today and Tyler Kolodny added a two-run shot.
Jake Cowan, last year's 10th-round pick, pitched six innings of shuout ball to go to 1 and 0. He...