O's game blog: Homestand begins vs. Twins

O's game blog: Homestand begins vs. Twins
The Orioles return to Camden Yards today to host the Minnesota Twins in the start of a three-game series and eight-game homestand that will also include the Cleveland Indians and the New York Mets. The Orioles (17-36) were held to three hits yesterday in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox that extended their losing streak to 13 games. They have lost their past two games by 3-1 scores. The Orioles have lost 17 of 18 and 20 of 22 games. Their road losing streak reached 12 with Sunday's...

More players movin' on up on the farm

More players movin' on up on the farm
We are not even a month into the minor league season and the Orioles moved four more players Sunday with promotions. More could be coming sooner rather than later. Moving up from low Single-A Delmarva to high Single-A Aberdeen are shortstop/third baseman Jordan Westburg and first baseman J.D. Mundy. Westburg, 22, went 4-for-6 with six RBIs in his final two games with the Shorebirds. He batted .366/.484/.592 in 20 games with five doubles, a triple, three homers, 24 RBIs and an OPS of 1.075. He...

Another slow day on offense leads to latest loss

Another slow day on offense leads to latest loss
It was another day with little offense, another where the Orioles starter failed to get past the fifth inning, another where the bullpen gave up some late runs and another day when the Orioles could not get a win. They completed a winless road trip, going 0-10 with today's 3-1 loss at Chicago to the White Sox, who completed a four-game sweep. This was Chicago's first home four-game sweep versus the Orioles since June 1956. This one produced a frustrating inning where a great chance to break...

O's game blog: The road trip finale in Chicago

O's game blog: The road trip finale in Chicago
Still looking for their first win since May 16 and still looking to end a long losing streak, the Orioles play the first-place Chicago White Sox today. It is the finale of a four-game series and a 10-game road trip. The last Orioles win was two weeks ago today, when they beat the New York Yankees 10-6 at Oriole Park. Ryan Mountcastle drove in four runs and Maikel Franco knocked in three as the O's improved to 17-23. But the Orioles (17-35) are winless since that date and have lost 12 in a row,...

Are more promotions brewing on the O's farm?

Are more promotions brewing on the O's farm?
When the Orioles promoted infielder Joey Ortiz yesterday from high Single-A Aberdeen to Double-A Bowie, that opened a spot for another infielder at Aberdeen. Could 19-year-old Gunnar Henderson be ready to move up already and take that spot? Would his low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds teammate Jordan Westburg join him, or does the 22-year-old drafted out of Mississippi State move up first? Good questions, and while just one of this pair could soon be moving up to Aberdeen for the beginning of the...

O's don't win with Means on mound as streak continues

O's don't win with Means on mound as streak continues
For the Orioles, not only has it been a while since they won, but it has been a while since they won a John Means start. Yep, their ace was 4-0 with a 1.79 ERA, but the Orioles had not won with Means on the mound since he pitched a no-hitter May 6 at Seattle. In three starts since then, Means was 0-0 with a 2.79 ERA. And that would not change tonight in the second game of the doubleheader at Chicago. The White Sox hit two homers off Means and beat the Orioles 3-1 to complete a twinbill sweep....

O's game blog: Doubleheader day in Chicago

O's game blog: Doubleheader day in Chicago
The Orioles have two chances today to snap the 17th losing streak of 10 or more games in club history. After last night's rainout, the O's and Chicago White Sox play a straight doubleheader this afternoon. It's the third doubleheader of the season for the Orioles. The first two both came in what was originally scheduled to be a series of four games in four days at home in April versus Seattle. But it ended up being played as two doubleheaders. On April 13, the Orioles lost Game 1 4-3 in...

Elias talks trade potential in radio interview

Elias talks trade potential in radio interview
Leading up to the trade deadline last August, the Orioles were busy. They traded relievers Richard Bleier, Mychal Givens and Miguel Castro, and they dealt starter Tommy Milone to the Atlanta Braves. Those deals brought players like pitcher Kevin Smith, and infielders Tyler Nevin, Terrin Vavra and AJ Graffanino to this organization. The trade deadline is July 30 this year. How busy will the Orioles be? Are they going to deal some veterans, maybe some very popular players? Any untouchables? When...

O's game blog: Matt Harvey faces Chicago (rainout tonight)

O's game blog: Matt Harvey faces Chicago (rainout tonight)
With no wins in the last 11 days and just two in the last 22 days, the Orioles take the field in Chicago tonight. The Birds play the first-place White Sox after losing 5-1 last night in the opener of this four-game series. The Orioles (17-33) have lost 10 in a row, 14 of 15 and 17 of 19 games. They have also lost nine in a row on the road to fall to 11-15 away from Oriole Park. This is the 17th time in O's team history that they have had a losing streak of at least 10 games. The last time the...

Holmes on Valdez's adjustments and more

Holmes on Valdez's adjustments and more
To say the least, it's been a rough stretch for the Orioles pitching staff. They've allowed 77 runs during a 10-game losing streak. In May, as the club is 5-19, the staff ERA is 6.09. The Orioles now rank 14th in the American League with an ERA of 5.00, last in rotation ERA at 5.39 and 12th in bullpen ERA at 4.52. The team ERA was 3.91 in early May. Second year O's coach Darren Holmes, in his first year as assistant pitching coach to Chris Holt, is trying to keep his pitchers together and...

O's try to deal with a losing streak that reaches double digits

O's try to deal with a losing streak that reaches double digits
Both Orioles pitcher Paul Fry and manager Brandon Hyde, in separate pregame Zoom interviews on Thursday, discussed dealing with losing for an organization that is in rebuilding mode. You knew some of it would happen, but going into last night's game, the club had just two wins in the last three weeks. Times that many figured would be rough were rough times 10. Last night, the Orioles lost to the first-place Chicago White Sox 5-1 as the losing streak reached 10 overall and nine in road...

O's game blog: The series begins in Chicago

O's game blog: The series begins in Chicago
The search for a win to end a long losing streak has moved from Washington to Minnesota and now on to Chicago. Tonight the Orioles take on the first-place White Sox in the first of a four-game series and the seventh game of their current road trip. The trip began after the Orioles allowed 32 runs in losing three straight at home versus Tampa Bay. Then they lost three in Washington by a combined 22-16 score and three at Minnesota by 18-9. The Orioles (17-32) begin tonight 13 1/2 games behind the...

O's Paul Fry on how players are holding up during losing run

O's Paul Fry on how players are holding up during losing run
He is in his fourth season on the Orioles. Which means reliever Paul Fry was not here in 2016, when the club was last in the playoffs. In fact, it was during his first year in 2018 that the Orioles made the mid-season trades of Manny Machado, Zack Britton and others. He's seen a lot of ups and downs in this game and been on an O's team that lost 115 games in 2018. Now as an elder statesman in the bullpen and with more tenure than many on this club, he's trying to be a player others can lean...

Elias on team struggles and sticking with the plan

Elias on team struggles and sticking with the plan
Orioles fans are understandably upset with their team right now. Even those that knew and fully accepted that there would be tough times during another season of rebuilding were hopeful they would see better from the club that what it is showing lately. When John Means pitched a no-hitter, it was for a nearly .500 club and left the Orioles with a 15-16 record on May 5, and they had won five of the previous seven games. But now the Orioles have been swept three in a row by three straight teams....

O's offense slowed as the losing streak rolls on

O's offense slowed as the losing streak rolls on
The out-of-synch Orioles, as Trey Mancini called them recently, were that again for most of today. All of it, really. When they score a bunch of runs lately, they seem to have given up a few as well. Recently, they've lost games scoring six, seven, nine, five and four runs. When they pitched well, they struggled to score and give their pitchers support. It had all added up to eight straight losses, 12 in the last 13 games and 15 in the past 17 as their record had fallen to 17-31 entering this...

O's game blog: Looking for a streak-ender at Minnesota

O's game blog: Looking for a streak-ender at Minnesota
The Orioles need a win today to both avoid being swept in this three-game series in Minnesota and also to end an eight-game losing streak. The O's eight-game streak is their longest since they also dropped eight in a row Aug. 12-19, 2019. The club has not lost nine straight games since they lost 10 in a row from June 12-21, 2019. The Orioles have been outscored 69-37 (minus-32 run differential) in this stretch, while posting a 9.00 ERA and batting .254. The O's are 2-15 since May 7. They have...

Mountcastle's plate discipline numbers and more on the pitching

Mountcastle's plate discipline numbers and more on the pitching
He is a young hitter the Orioles are trying to be patient with. Some games they see the good and the bad for Ryan Mountcastle on the same night, sometimes even within the same plate appearance. On Saturday night at Washington, Mountcastle smoked a Jon Lester cutter for a first-inning grand slam. But he chased a curveball to strike out in the fifth. Monday night at Minnesota, he worked a nine-pitch at-bat and then singled to center on a slider. But the next two times up he expanded the zone and...

O's game blog: Dean Kremer, O's try to end streak in Minnesota

O's game blog: Dean Kremer, O's try to end streak in Minnesota
Still looking for their first win since a week ago Sunday in Baltimore, the Orioles will try to put last night's brutal loss at Minnesota behind them when they face the Twins tonight at Target Field. The Orioles (17-30) have allowed 62 runs during a seven-game losing streak. The seven-game streak is the longest since the O's lost eight in a row from Aug. 12-19, 2019. The club has lost 11 of 12 and 14 of 16 games. They have a minus-46 run differential during the 2-14 slide. The Orioles...

O's game blog: John Means on the mound in series opener

O's game blog: John Means on the mound in series opener
The Orioles' last win came eight days ago at home by a 10-6 score over the New York Yankees. Since that win - the team's 17th on the year - the Orioles have had games scoring six, seven, nine and five runs and lost them all. Tonight they try and snap a six-game losing streak - which came via sweeps by Tampa Bay and Washington - as they open a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins. The clubs are tied with 17-29 records that bring up the bottom of the American League. The Orioles send ace...

A closer look at a great start for Delmarva's offense

A closer look at a great start for Delmarva's offense
When you see the scores for the Orioles' low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, you notice some big offense. When the season started, they scored seven, eight and 11 runs among the first few games. Then they spent a week hammering struggling Fredericksburg during a six-game sweep. The bats didn't slow much last week against Carolina. The Shorebirds (13-5) won 12-8 on Saturday and 13-3 on Sunday. We've seen a group of young hitters and their young hitting coach thriving and Delmarva is the top...