Steve Melewski

FÃ©lix HernÃ¡ndez on his outing and velocity (O's lose, 6-5)

March 06, 2021, 3:07pm

Orioles

FÃ©lix HernÃ¡ndez on his outing and velocity (O's lose, 6-5)

Orioles starting pitcher FÃ©lix HernÃ¡ndez said he was happy to be back pitching tonight after missing the 2020 regular season. He gave up two runs over two innings versus the Detroit Tigers and then pledged to be better his next time out. "It was good," HernÃ¡ndez said of his outing. "I was happy I had a chance to pitch again after a year off. The results could have been better, but I'm happy with it." The O's radio announcers said most of his fastballs were in the mid-80s range...

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A slow start for the starters, plus MLB Network on the Orioles

March 05, 2021, 1:03pm

Orioles

With the understanding that it is way too soon to pass judgments and/or form opinions - and manager Brandon Hyde has told us he's not putting much weight on a pitcher's first outing - Orioles starters are not exactly rolling through opponents just yet. During the club's first six games and a 2-3-1 record so far in spring, O's starting pitchers have been scored on in five of the six games. Their starters also were scored on in the first inning in five of the six games. The rotation ERA is...

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Getting the Bowie band back together in Sarasota

March 04, 2021, 1:44pm

Orioles

Getting the Bowie band back together in Sarasota

The 2019 Double-A Bowie Baysox had a terrible start to their season. On May 6, they were 7-23, not only the worst record in the Eastern League at that point, but the worst in any league in all of minor league baseball. But a few months later that club would play for the Eastern League championship. They went 69-41 after the terrible start to win their division and make the EL playoffs. A semi-finals playoff win, three games to one over Harrisburg, sent Bowie to the EL Championship Series for...

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Dean Kremer on his outing today (O's beat Boston)

March 04, 2021, 9:55am

Orioles

Dean Kremer on his outing today (O's beat Boston)

For the fourth time in five games, an Orioles starting pitcher allowed runs today. And for the second time this spring, an O's starter was pulled with two outs in the first only to return and pitch the second inning. Lefty John Means did that Tuesday and right-hander Dean Kremer did today as the Orioles faced the Boston Red Sox. Kremer struggled with command during the opening inning before he was lifted. Boston center fielder Jarren Duran doubled to left with one out and Kremer fanned...

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Notes on Mullins' switch-hitting decision, Valdez and more

March 03, 2021, 2:27pm

Orioles

Notes on Mullins' switch-hitting decision, Valdez and more

The Orioles first had discussions with outfielder Cedric Mullins about giving up switch-hitting when Buck Showalter was their manager. Mullins said he first discussed the prospect of batting only left-handed several years ago. "He said basically straight up if I wasn't able to figure out my right side, that I'd go left on left," said Mullins. "I was in agreement with him. I felt like he was going to make the best choice for my career and that I was going to work my butt off to do what I...

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Wade LeBlanc pitches two scoreless innings (O's win 8-1)

March 03, 2021, 9:15am

Orioles

Wade LeBlanc pitches two scoreless innings (O's win 8-1)

Orioles lefty Wade LeBlanc today became the first Baltimore starter in four games to put up a zero in the opening inning. Then he followed with another in the last of the second today at North Port, Fla., as the Orioles faced the Atlanta Braves. LeBlanc got Ronald AcuÃ±a Jr. to pop out, Ozzie Albies on a grounder and Marcell Ozuna to pop to second in his 1-2-3 first. O's starters had allowed five runs in three first innings before today. In those games, in which the Orioles lost two and tied...

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Orioles announce minor league coaching staffs

March 03, 2021, 6:32am

Orioles

The Orioles today announced their minor league coaching staffs for the 2021 season at their four full-season affiliates, plus for two teams in the former Rookie-level Gulf Coast League and two in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. Gary Kendall will begin his third year as manager at Triple-A Norfolk and it's his 22nd season in the Baltimore organization. He led Double-A Bowie to the 2015 Eastern League championship. Kennie Steenstra is Tides pitching coach, beginning his 17th year with...

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Mike Baumann has used simple approach to produce special stats

March 02, 2021, 2:37pm

Orioles

Mike Baumann has used simple approach to produce special stats

He has been among the most talented and successful pitching prospects in the Orioles organization. To get to there, right-hander Mike Baumann has used a pretty basic and simplistic approach to getting better. That is one to focus on what he can do to get better every single day and not look too far down the road. He's kept that approach since the day the Orioles drafted him in round three of 2017 out of Jacksonville University. Never spending time thinking about pitching in A-ball when he was...

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Cedric Mullins on scrapping switch-hitting (O's lose 4-2)

March 02, 2021, 10:34am

Orioles

Cedric Mullins on scrapping switch-hitting (O's lose 4-2)

It was a productive day for Orioles center fielder Cedric Mullins. Now hitting left-handed only, he got three at-bats versus southpaws today and produced a triple and an RBI single. But the Orioles are still looking for their first win of spring training. The Yankees scored three runs in the third to break a 1-1 tie and beat the Orioles 4-2 at Ed Smith Stadium in a seven-inning game. The Orioles (0-2-1) will play on the road against Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon with Wade LeBlanc getting the...

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Means on the O's players "looking to make a statement"

March 01, 2021, 1:57pm

Orioles

Means on the O's players "looking to make a statement"

When last we saw Orioles lefty John Means, he was giving up just one run and one hit with nine strikeouts in six innings late last September against the Toronto Blue Jays. It was part of stunning finish to his season. Over his last four starts, Means went 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA, a .488 OPS against and a 0.63 WHIP. He did that against teams that all ranked in the top 13 in team OPS in the majors, facing the Mets, Yankees, Rays and Blue Jays. Today, Means makes his 2021 Grapefruit League debut as...

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DJ Stewart homers as O's and Phillies play to a 4-4 tie

March 01, 2021, 9:43am

Orioles

DJ Stewart homers as O's and Phillies play to a 4-4 tie

Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart hit a two-run homer in the first inning today. It provided half of the O's runs as they played to a 4-4 tie in seven innings against the Philadelphia Phillies in Clearwater, Fla. The Orioles, who are 0-1-1, host the Yankees in Sarasota tomorrow with John Means scheduled to start. Baltimore took a 2-0 lead on Stewart's blast to right field. Austin Hays led off the game with a line single to center and scored ahead of Stewart's homer. It came on a 2-2 pitch off an...

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Birdland farm check-in: Double-A Bowie GM Brian Shallcross

February 28, 2021, 5:06pm

Orioles

Birdland farm check-in: Double-A Bowie GM Brian Shallcross

I'm continuing a check-in around Birdland today by talking with the general managers of the four full-season minor league clubs. In this entry, I spoke with Norfolk Tides GM Joe Gregory. Each interview will have a Zoom interview for you to watch, with some material not covered here in the text. Today, I check in with Brian Shallcross, who has a long history with the Double-A Bowie Baysox, having worked with the club since 2000 and serving as Bowie's GM since 2002. It's a first-rate operation...

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Emotional Trey Mancini on big ovation (O's lose 6-4)

February 28, 2021, 10:12am

Orioles

Emotional Trey Mancini on big ovation (O's lose 6-4)

It was not just any single in any spring training. This one meant a lot more. In his first at-bat since a spring game last March 2, Orioles first baseman Trey Mancini singled on a liner to center in the last of the first today. It sent Cedric Mullins, who had singled and moved to second on a wild pitch, to third base. It was preceded by a long standing ovation for Mancini and produced a very special moment during the first spring training game as the Orioles played the Pirates. A limited number...

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Wade LeBlanc wants to repay O's for having his back during injury

February 27, 2021, 12:02pm

Orioles

Wade LeBlanc wants to repay O's for having his back during injury

When a player uses the word "disaster" as part of the description of his season, it didn't go very well, Captain Obvious might say. For lefty Wade LeBlanc, it didn't go very well in the six starts he made for the 2020 Orioles before an injury sidelined him for the season. LeBlanc, 36, recorded an ERA of 8.06 last summer with a 1.567 WHIP over 22 1/3 innings. Then his season ended on Aug. 23, when he left a start after facing four batters in the first inning at Boston. He had a stress...

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Mentorship with Freddy Galvis and a Chris Davis take

February 26, 2021, 12:14pm

Orioles

Mentorship with Freddy Galvis and a Chris Davis take

If they turn out to be the Orioles double-play combination, the club hopes to get solid glovework out of shortstop Freddy Galvis and second baseman Yolmer SÃ¡nchez. Galvis has been a Gold Glove finalist and SÃ¡nchez won the American League Gold Glove at second base in 2019, when he beat out the other finalists, New York's DJ LeMahieu and Houston's Jose Altuve. O's manager Brandon Hyde was asked recently about SÃ¡nchez, 28, mentoring younger players. Hyde said both SÃ¡nchez and Galvis...

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Taking a look at one lineup possibility, plus more notes

February 25, 2021, 1:29pm

Orioles

Taking a look at one lineup possibility, plus more notes

Which American League team had the third-best team batting average during the 2020 season? And, yes, it was a season shortened to 60 games, 102 fewer than normal. It was the Orioles. They ranked 12th in team batting average at .246 in 2019 and were third at .258 in the AL last summer when the league average was .245. While the Orioles in 2020 produced 4.57 runs per game, under league average of .4.65, they rated eighth in OBP (.321), sixth in slugging (.429) and tied for eighth in team OPS...

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After solid 2020 season, Cedric Mullins is looking for a repeat

February 25, 2021, 9:22am

Orioles

After solid 2020 season, Cedric Mullins is looking for a repeat

For Orioles outfielder Cedric Mullins, a 2020 season that began with him going 1-for-13 and getting optioned to the alternate site ended with him re-establishing his career while leading the majors in bunt hits. The .077 batting start reminded us of his .094 start to the 2019 year. That led to his demotion all the way down to Double-A Bowie, and Mullins ended that season playing in the Eastern League playoffs. But that was also the beginning of his road back. In 48 games last summer he hit...

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Hyde remains confident in Sulser, plus other notes

February 24, 2021, 1:02pm

Orioles

Hyde remains confident in Sulser, plus other notes

Right-hander reliever Cole Sulser's first season with the Orioles started off pretty well, but it didn't end up that way. He went 1-5 with a 5.56 ERA and with 17 walks and 19 strikeouts over 22 2/3 innings. The 30-year-old Sulser went 1-2 with five saves, a 3.46 ERA and a .116 (5-for-43) opponent's batting average in his first 10 outings. But he finished 0-3 with an 8.38 ERA and a .316 (12-for-38) opponent's batting average in his last nine outings. In this entry from last month, Sulser...

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What does Ryan Mountcastle have coming as a follow-up act?

February 24, 2021, 9:21am

Orioles

What does Ryan Mountcastle have coming as a follow-up act?

When your debut season went as well as it did last summer for Orioles prospect Ryan Mountcastle, the encore can be challenging. "I think year two is always difficult," manager Brandon Hyde said today via Zoom of the challenges facing Mountcastle in 2021. "When you get to the big leagues, there is not a whole lot of major league data on you. But now that Ryan got some at-bats, teams are going to dissect how to try and get him out from the previous year. Year two is about making adjustments...

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Birdland farm check-in: Triple-A Norfolk GM Joe Gregory

February 23, 2021, 1:23pm

Orioles

Birdland farm check-in: Triple-A Norfolk GM Joe Gregory

After the dust has settled on Minor League Baseball, and now that we actually have schedules for the 2021 season, I'm going to check in around Birdland. Today, I start by interviewing Joe Gregory, the general manager of the Triple-A Norfolk Tides. While the primary task of a big league GM is to acquire players to win games, a minor league GM does not acquire any players. They are supplied by the big league organization. But that is about the only job they do not have. They work with all...