Steve Melewski

We are now just two days from minor league opening day

May 01, 2021, 12:24pm

Orioles

We are now just two days from minor league opening day

The Orioles are excited to see their young minor league players on the field starting Tuesday for many reasons. They had a strong preseason camp in Florida leading to Friday's release of the break-camp rosters. The organization feels a farm system that is now ranked fifth by MLBPipeline.com and seventh by Baseball America is robust. Final roster decisions were tough. "I think what is interesting is, you can look and see how much the organization has changed in terms of depth of talent over...

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O's game blog: Trying to build on Friday's win at Oakland

May 01, 2021, 11:20am

Orioles

O's game blog: Trying to build on Friday's win at Oakland

With back-to-back one-run wins over the New York Yankees and Oakland Athletics under their belt, the Orioles take the field today at Oakland looking to move to within a game of the .500 mark. It's the second game of a three-game series and six-game trip to face the top two clubs in the American League West. With Friday's 3-2 win over Oakland, the Orioles (12-14) improved to 8-4 in road games. Their .667 road winning percentage is tied for the second-highest in the AL and tied for fourth-best...

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Hyde on Means: "He's turning into a complete pitcher"

April 30, 2021, 10:21pm

Orioles

Hyde on Means: "He's turning into a complete pitcher"

Suddenly, they are the cardiac Orioles. They lose a ninth-inning lead against the New York Yankees, but beat them in 10 on Thursday. They travel across the country, almost lose a lead in the last of the ninth at Oakland but beat the first-place A's for the second time in a row. One guess as to which pitcher started both games? It was John Means on the mound when the Orioles beat Oakland 8-1 last Sunday, snapping their 13-game winning streak. It was Means back out again, this time on the West...

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The ace does it again: Means pitches O's past A's (updated)

April 30, 2021, 7:47pm

Orioles

The ace does it again: Means pitches O's past A's (updated)

Giving up a homer would annoy any pitcher. Tonight when he gave up one, it seemed to really annoy Orioles left-hander John Means. And Oakland batters would pay for that. A walk followed that solo homer in the Oakland second inning. Then Means would strike out eight of the next 12 Oakland batters and retire 14 in a row. He was well on his way to pitching another gem for the Orioles, as they beat Oakland 3-2 in the series and road trip opener. This win got very dicey in the last of the ninth....

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O's pregame notes on Franco, Galvis, Mountcastle and more

April 30, 2021, 4:26pm

Orioles

O's pregame notes on Franco, Galvis, Mountcastle and more

The Orioles will be without their usual left side of the infield, at least at the start, when they take the field tonight for Game 1 of a three-game series at Oakland. Neither Maikel Franco, who has made 23 starts at third base, nor Freddy Galvis, who has made 22 at shortstop, are in tonight's lineup for the series opener. Galvis has missed the last three games and has not played since Monday night when he suffered a sore left adductor/groin when running out a double. Franco had started every...

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O's game blog: The road trip opener

April 30, 2021, 1:51pm

Orioles

As the Orioles begin a two-city, six-game West Coast road trip tonight, they will send their ace to the mound. Lefty John Means (2-0, 1.50 ERA) gets the start as the Orioles play the first of a three-game series at Oakland. Means ranks third in the American League and tied for sixth in the majors in ERA. He ranks fifth in the AL in WHIP (0.90), fifth in opponent batting average (.171) and tied for ninth with 29 strikeouts. He will be making back-to-back starts against the same team. He was an...

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Orioles' minor league break-camp rosters

April 30, 2021, 9:35am

Orioles

We are now just a few days away from a new minor league season. Tuesday is opening day and there will be Minor League Baseball for the first time since the 2019 season. Today, we have the Orioles' break-camp rosters for their four full-season affiliates at Triple-A Norfolk, Double-A Bowie, high Single-A Aberdeen and low Single-A Delmarva. They all begin their 120 game seasons on Tuesday. The rosters, as always, are subject to last-minute changes and the opening day rosters will be announced...

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The value of pitching inside and Aberdeen's new playing surface

April 29, 2021, 7:16pm

Orioles

The value of pitching inside and Aberdeen's new playing surface

For Orioles starting pitchers, the ability to pitch inside and bust a hitter with an inside corner fastball was big in the series against the New York Yankees. Right-hander Matt Harvey was able to do it in Monday's win and right-hander Jorge LÃ³pez had some success doing it yesterday. But rookies Bruce Zimmermann and Dean Kremer could not do it as effectively, and it made a big difference in getting good results or not versus the Yankees in the series at Camden Yards. Against a power-hitting...

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O's win to split series as Mancini bat resurgence continues

April 29, 2021, 11:51am

Orioles

O's win to split series as Mancini bat resurgence continues

The Orioles still didn't put up much offense today, but they did get just enough to win. After CÃ©sar Valdez could not hold a 3-2 lead in the top of the ninth and the Yankees tied it up, the Orioles produced a 4-3 walk-off win in the 10th inning. Cedric Mullins' sac fly to center ended the game as the Orioles and Yankees split a four-game series. RamÃ³n UrÃas was the runner placed at second in the last of the 10th. He moved to third on Pat Valaika's sac bunt ahead of Mullins' sac...

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O's game blog: The series finale against New York

April 29, 2021, 8:16am

Orioles

O's game blog: The series finale against New York

This afternoon the Orioles (10-14) wrap up a four-game series and seven-game homestand, hosting the New York Yankees (11-13). After the Orioles won 4-2 Monday night behind Matt Harvey, their starters allowed 10 runs and 19 hits over eight innings the past two nights in 5-1 and 7-0 losses. Yankees batters went a combined 19-for-41 (.463) with four doubles and four homers the past two games against lefty Bruce Zimmermann and right-hander Dean Kremer. They went just 3-for-19 (.158) against...

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Continuing to wait for the O's offense to get it going

April 28, 2021, 7:34pm

Orioles

Continuing to wait for the O's offense to get it going

There are few things more frustrating to Orioles fans than losses to the New York Yankees. Except maybe blowout losses to that team, and 7-0 last night qualified. The Orioles were down 5-0 in the third inning and their struggling offense never got anything going. Trey Mancini got two hits and now has 500 for his career. But the rest of the team went 2-for-26 as the Orioles were shut out for the fourth time on the season and the second by New York. Both were 7-0 losses. The O's are struggling...

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Another O's starter hit hard in loss to Yankees

April 28, 2021, 5:27pm

Orioles

Another O's starter hit hard in loss to Yankees

When Giancarlo Stanton mashed a baseball at 119 mph in the top of the first inning tonight, that was incredibly impressive exit velocity. But the grounder to third was deftly fielded to his left by Orioles third baseman Maikel Franco and he turned it into a 5-4-3 double play. But before long, some other hard-hit balls off O's starter Dean Kremer would not be turned into outs. For the second straight night, Yankees batters teed off on a young O's starter. It was lefty Bruce Zimmermann last...

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O's game blog: Game 3 of the series against New York

April 28, 2021, 1:08pm

Orioles

O's game blog: Game 3 of the series against New York

The Orioles and New York Yankees have split the first two games of their series at Oriole Park. The Orioles (10-13) host New York (10-13) tonight in the third game of their four-game series and this seven-game homestand. The Yankees won 5-1 last night as right-hander Corey Kluber allowed one run over 6 1/3 innings. New York hit three solo homers with Aaron Judge (No. 5), Kyle Higashioka (No. 4) and Giancarlo Stanton (No. 6) connecting. Of the 12 hardest-hit balls in the game last night, Yankees...

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Adam Plutko has been a solid addition to O's bullpen

April 27, 2021, 8:03pm

Orioles

Adam Plutko has been a solid addition to O's bullpen

Even though he once pitched in a college rotation at UCLA with both Gerrit Cole and Trevor Bauer, the Orioles could not have expected right-hander Adam Plutko to pitch this well for them. When they acquired him from Cleveland on March 27 for cash considerations, it was expected to be for long relief situations and to cover some innings. He is throwing so well for this club that he's been used recently in some late-in-the-game high-leverage spots. Over nine games, he has an ERA of 1.42 and a...

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O's game blog: Bruce Zimmermann faces Yankees

April 27, 2021, 2:25pm

Orioles

O's game blog: Bruce Zimmermann faces Yankees

In winning on Sunday versus Oakland and Monday against the New York Yankees, Orioles pitchers have allowed three runs in the two games. Baltimore pitchers have allowed 16 runs over the last five games and 27 runs the past 10. The pitchers are doing pretty well: * The team ERA for the season is down to 3.99, which is seventh in the American League.* The rotation ERA is 4.71, 13th in the AL.* The bullpen ERA is 3.08 which is fifth in both the AL and the majors.* The O's rotation ERA is 3.67 over...

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Can Matt Harvey join John Means in pitching well atop rotation?

April 26, 2021, 8:13pm

Orioles

Can Matt Harvey join John Means in pitching well atop rotation?

The Orioles have lefty John Means at the top of their rotation and he's throwing great baseball. What if Matt Harvey could build on last night's strong outing and join him for a nice one-two punch at the top? That could be big for the pitching staff, which already has its bullpen humming along pretty well. It would be a lift for the rotation if Harvey, who lowered his ERA to 4.26 last night, could string together a few strong outings. Last night was just the sixth time in 21 games that an...

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Matt Harvey pitches O's past Yankees

April 26, 2021, 5:50pm

Orioles

With one strong outing tonight, Orioles right-hander Matt Harvey both pitched past his previous five-inning ceiling and pitched the O's to a win over the Yankees in the opener of a four-game series. After beginning Sunday with just one home win, now the Orioles have three after beating New York 4-2 in front of 6,367 at Oriole Park. The top of the eighth got dicey for the Orioles and ended with a controversial play that went against New York. Harvey picked up his second O's win and produced...

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O's game blog: Orioles-Yankees series begins

April 26, 2021, 2:40pm

Orioles

The Orioles' homestand continues tonight as they begin a four-game series against the New York Yankees. Both clubs are 9-12 and tied for fourth in the division, four games behind first-place Boston. The Orioles picked up just their second home win on Sunday, beating Oakland 8-1 and snapping the Athletics' 13-game winning streak. Right-hander Matt Harvey (1-1, 5.12 ERA) will make his fifth start. He has thrown 19 1/3 innings, never pitching more than five in a game, allowing 24 hits with three...

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Tate says O's 'pen is keeping it light while getting outs

April 26, 2021, 11:43am

Orioles

Tate says O's 'pen is keeping it light while getting outs

The mantra for the Orioles bullpen this year might be "Keep it loose, keep it light and get a lot of outs." Are they loose out there because they are pitching so well, or is being a loose group leading to them pitching well? The second part might be the answer, according to O's right-hander Dillon Tate. He's part of a bullpen that, with an ERA of 3.09, ranks fifth in both the American League and the majors. Over the last 12 games, the 'pen ERA is 1.81. It's a group that is pitching and...

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O's get series finale and welcome Yankees tonight

April 25, 2021, 2:45pm

Orioles

O's get series finale and welcome Yankees tonight

The Orioles' 8-1 win Sunday over the Oakland A's - one that snapped Oakland's 13-game win streak - had a homegrown flavor. The Orioles improved to 9-12 and welcome the Yankees to town tonight to begin a four-game series. The Birds had five homegrown players in the lineup, including Cedric Mullins, Trey Mancini, Ryan Mountcastle, Austin Hays and Ryan McKenna. Those players combined for eight hits and six RBIs. Hays produced his second career two-homer game. And O's homegrown lefties started...