Brandon Waddell is latest entrant to O's bullpen

Brandon Waddell is latest entrant to O's bullpen
It's been an active few days for 26-year-old left-hander Brandon Waddell, a pitcher that didn't know a single teammate when he joined the Orioles yesterday in Washington after his call-up from Triple-A. He began this year with the Minnesota Twins - the Orioles' opponent tonight - then got claimed by the Orioles, went to Triple-A Norfolk and now finds himself in the Orioles bullpen. He's a fresh arm for a club struggling to get consistent outs right now. Originally taken in the fifth round...

Bradish gets set for Triple-A debut, O's offense perks up

Bradish gets set for Triple-A debut, O's offense perks up
The Dylan Bundy trade has been looking pretty good recently for the Orioles. It was a trade from Dec. 4, 2019 with the Los Angeles Angels and the Orioles got four right-handers in return. They added Kyle Bradish, Kyle Brnovich, Zach Peek and Isaac Mattson. Mattson has already made it to Baltimore and Bradish got one step closer Saturday with his promotion from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. That was a quick promotion but the 24-year-old Bradish had thrown 13 2/3 scoreless innings on seven...

O's game blog: Matt Harvey faces the Nationals

O's game blog: Matt Harvey faces the Nationals
The Orioles gave up 32 runs and got swept three straight earlier this week by the Tampa Bay Rays. Now they have allowed 16 runs in losing the first two games in Washington. They need a win this afternoon to avoid back-to-back three-game series sweeps. So yeah, it's been a rough stretch for the team and the pitching staff. While the O's offense has underperformed much of this year, the pitchers have really been struggling lately. They have allowed 10 runs or more three times in the last five...

As a Rule 5 pick, pitcher Tyler Wells trying to prove he belongs

As a Rule 5 pick, pitcher Tyler Wells trying to prove he belongs
As the season goes on, the Orioles seem to be gaining more confidence in Rule 5 pitcher Tyler Wells. The right-hander came on in the sixth inning Friday night with the Nationals leading 2-0. The game was still very much on the line. And Wells has been holding his own. Not bad for a young pitcher who had Tommy John surgery in May 2019, so he hadn't pitched in two seasons covering 2019-2020. In 2018, he went 10-6 with a 2.49 ERA for the Minnesota Twins organization, but just 33 of those innings...

O's pitching bashed as Nats rally from five down (quotes added)

O's pitching bashed as Nats rally from five down (quotes added)
This is how badly it is going for the Orioles right now: For the second time in four games, they held a five-run lead but did not win. Leading 5-0 in the first and 6-1 after they batted in the top of the third, O's pitching collapsed to allow four runs each in the third and fourth innings and three in the sixth today as Washington stormed back to post a 12-9 win. The Orioles have lost the first two games in this series and will be swept three straight in back-to-back series if they lose...

O's game blog: Game 2 of the series at Washington

O's game blog: Game 2 of the series at Washington
For the Orioles, the games march on and so does the search for wins. After last night's 4-2 loss at Nationals Park, the clubs play the middle game of a three-game series at Washington today. It's the second of a 10-game road trip for the Orioles. The Birds have been held to three runs and six hits in back-to-back losses by 10-1 to Tampa Bay and last night. The Orioles were on their way to a fifth shutout loss until Freddy Galvis hit a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the...

Pregame notes on Mullins, Harvey, the offense and more

Pregame notes on Mullins, Harvey, the offense and more
As the Orioles offense has continued to struggle - they are 0-17 when scoring two runs or fewer after Friday's loss at Washington - it's also been a little tougher for center fielder Cedric Mullins at the top of the order. Opponents can see he was hitting well to begin the year, but not many others were and he became a focal point in their game plan in facing the Orioles. If some other hitters get going, it will help Mullins and, of course, the entire lineup. "Yeah, and a day off too,"...

Bats slowed in loss as road trip begins (more on Valdez's role)

Bats slowed in loss as road trip begins (more on Valdez's role)
As the Orioles began a three-game series and 10-game road trip on Friday night, their offense had another slow night. After being held to one run and two hits on Thursday afternoon, they got two runs on four hits last night and lost 4-2 to Washington. The Orioles continue to be, as Trey Mancini put it a few days ago, "out of synch." When they get some decent pitching, they don't back that up with some runs, like last night. And when they do get some offense, as they did recently in three...

O's game blog: Series begins at Nationals Park

O's game blog: Series begins at Nationals Park
The Orioles resume interleague play tonight as they face their neighbors to the south. They play at Washington tonight in the first of three games this weekend at Nationals Park. It is the start of a 10-game road trip. The Nationals (17-23) are in the last in the National League East, 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading New York Mets. The Nats are coming off a series where they lost three of four to the Chicago Cubs. They have lost four of six games and are 7-10 in May. They are 9-10 at...

A few minor league notes and a few O's pitching stats

A few minor league notes and a few O's pitching stats
The Orioles' four full-season minor league teams are currently playing .576 ball with a combined record of 34-25 through 59 games. The Orioles have three first-place teams among four as Double-A Bowie, high Single-A Aberdeen and low Single-A Delmarva are all either in or tied for first place in their respective leagues. Triple-A Norfolk is the outlier, and it's been a tough year for the Tides between injuries and losses. They have lost seven in a row and 9 of 10 to fall to 3-12. The Tides...

O's have played 31 games vs. clubs currently with winning records

O's have played 31 games vs. clubs currently with winning records
The Orioles schedule takes a turn beginning today. A turn away from American League East games. Thus far, they have played 23 of their 43 games and seven of 14 series within the division. After playing 54 percent of their current schedule against the AL East, the Orioles will play none of their next six series against the AL East. They go to Washington beginning tonight, followed by a trip to Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox. After that, they come home to face Minnesota, Cleveland and the...

Rough stretch vs. AL East ends as O's are swept by Rays

Rough stretch vs. AL East ends as O's are swept by Rays
After getting swept by the Tampa Bay Rays - and allowing 11 homers and 32 runs in the three games - the Orioles will find out how the other half lives for a short while. After playing 10 of their last 12 games within the rugged American League East, they will now play their next six series outside of the division. It starts tomorrow with the beginning of a 10-game road trip to Washington, Minnesota and the Chicago White Sox. Home series with Minnesota, Cleveland and the New York Mets...

O's game blog: Shooting for a win in the series finale

O's game blog: Shooting for a win in the series finale
The Orioles have scored 13 runs in the first two games of their series with the Tampa Bay Rays. But they've given up eight homers and 22 runs and lost both games. They need a win today to avoid being swept three straight in the final game of a homestand. They are 1-4 on this homestand and 6-17 at home for the season. The Rays will win this series, leaving the Orioles 0-6-1 in seven home series this season. Trey Mancini went 4-for-5 last night with a pair of solo homers and a three-run double....

O's offense perks up in losses, Elias on core players and more

O's offense perks up in losses, Elias on core players and more
O's fans had been waiting for the Orioles to break out on offense. And now they have scored 10, six and seven runs the last three games. But as Trey Mancini said after the game Tuesday, they are not synching up right now. When they get pitching, the hitting comes up short and when they get hitting, the pitching is not there. The O's have scored 13 runs in this series against Tampa Bay. But they have given up eight homers and lost the two games by 13-6 and by 9-7 last night. Even with lefty...

One that got away: O's lose five-run lead and game to Rays

One that got away: O's lose five-run lead and game to Rays
Trey Mancini was driving in runs and John Means needed just 13 pitches to get the first six outs tonight. The Orioles led Tampa Bay 5-0 after two innings and had their ace on the mound. What could go wrong? The Rays could outscore the Orioles 9-2 from the fifth inning on to come from five runs down and beat the Orioles. And that happened tonight at Camden Yards. Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 9-7 to run their win streak to six games. O's fans had been waiting for their offense to get it going....

O's game blog: John Means tries to pitch O's over Rays

O's game blog: John Means tries to pitch O's over Rays
He has been one of the best pitchers in the majors this year and tonight the Orioles ask left-hander John Means (4-0, 1.21 ERA) to pitch them to a win to end a losing stretch. Not a losing streak so much, but a run where they have lost five and six and eight of their last 10 games. Means is pitching on seven days' rest since his last outing on Tuesday May 11 at the New York Mets. That day, he pitched six scoreless innings on six hits in the follow-up act to his no-hitter. Four times this year,...

O's notes on Harvey's struggles, one-run games and more

O's notes on Harvey's struggles, one-run games and more
Before he made a start last week at Citi Field against the New York Mets, Orioles right-hander Matt Harvey was solid during his most recent three-start stretch. In those games - against the Yankees, Athletics and Red Sox - he went 2-1 with a 1.72 ERA, .193 batting average against and .608 opponent OPS. I think Birdland would happily take that and run with it. But Harvey had another early exit last night when he allowed a pair of three-run homers in the second inning in a 13-6 loss against Tampa...

O's game blog: The Tampa Bay series opener

O's game blog: The Tampa Bay series opener
After playing half of their 40 games against Boston and the New York Yankees - and going 8-12 - the Orioles will see a different American League East foe tonight. They host Tampa Bay to start a three-game series. The Orioles beat the Yankees 10-6 on Sunday as Ryan Mountcastle drove in a career-high four runs and Maikel Franco hit a two-run homer as part of a three-RBI day. Lefty Bruce Zimmermann got the win in relief, allowing two hits and one run over 5 2/3 innings on 84 pitches. The O's run...

Maikel Franco on slump-busting game and O's tough schedule

Maikel Franco on slump-busting game and O's tough schedule
When a player has just four hits over a 13-game stretch, that is a definite slump. But when the same player has three hits, including a homer and double, in the game that follows, that could be a slump breaker. That is the hope and goal for Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco. He went 3-for-4 and drove in three runs Sunday as the O's beat the Yankees 10-6. His two-run homer in the eighth provided some nice late insurance, extending Baltimore's lead from 8-5 to 10-5. Franco hit No. 4 and had...

Minor league notes on OBP, Aberdeen's steals, promotion timing and more

Minor league notes on OBP, Aberdeen's steals, promotion timing and more
Birdland has likely noticed and no doubt enjoyed some great starts by both individual players and teams on the Orioles farm. Through Sunday's games, three of the O's four full-season affiliates are playing .667 ball or better. The four teams have a combined record of 29-18 (.617) and the Orioles rank seventh among major league organizations in minor league win percentage. Among several players off to great starts are two of the club's best young prospects. Pitcher Grayson Rodriguez is 1-0...