Steve Melewski

Notes and quotes following the Orioles' latest loss

September 12, 2018, 8:43pm

Orioles

The Orioles 2018 season is certainly one for the ages and not in a good way. As the Orioles are charging toward a team record for losses and approaching all-time records, they are looking terrible in doing so. Last night they allowed 10 runs in the third inning and trailed 10-0. Their offense went 1-for-28 with a single. They were shutout for the 13th time. They now have their eighth losing streak of the year of at least six games. Oakland had 20 at-bats with runners in scoring position and the...

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Oakland pours it on in the third in 10-0 romp (postgame quotes)

September 12, 2018, 5:48pm

Orioles

Oakland pours it on in the third in 10-0 romp (postgame quotes)

For the second night in a row, the Oakland Athletics scored in the third inning and went on to win at Camden Yards. But tonight it seemed like they would never stop scoring in that inning. Oakland had 10 hits and scored 10 runs in the top of the third to blast the Orioles 10-0 at Camden Yards. The Orioles (41-104) are now three losses from tying the club record for losses in one season, set in 1988. In the third inning, Oakland scored eight runs off starter Andrew Cashner and two off reliever...

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O's game blog: Andrew Cashner faces Oakland at Oriole Park

September 12, 2018, 3:00pm

Orioles

O's game blog: Andrew Cashner faces Oakland at Oriole Park

After Tuesday's homestand-opening 3-2 loss to Oakland, the Orioles host the Athletics again tonight. It's Game 2 of a three-game series and nine-game homestand. The Orioles (41-103) fell to 24-45 at home and saw a three-game home winning streak end. They are 0-4 against the Athletics for the year and 11-26 in one-run games. They recorded their 11th game with multiple stolen bases, their sixth since Aug. 20. Orioles right fielder Adam Jones had singles in the second and fourth innings Tuesday....

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Cedric Mullins on DJ Stewart as his MLB debut arrives

September 12, 2018, 1:06pm

Orioles

Cedric Mullins on DJ Stewart as his MLB debut arrives

As DJ Stewart gets ready to make his major league debut tonight, batting seventh and starting in left field for the Orioles, he will have a comfort level with the guy playing beside him. Cedric Mullins has a locker next to Stewart's in the Orioles clubhouse and starts in center tonight. The two have played many games together in the same outfield. It started after both were selected in the 2015 draft and went to short season Single-A Aberdeen. They also played together in 2016 with Single-A...

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Jonathan Villar continues to impress; DJ Stewart set for MLB debut

September 11, 2018, 9:17pm

Orioles

Jonathan Villar continues to impress; DJ Stewart set for MLB debut

Of the 15 players the Orioles acquired in the July trades, it appears the only one we can bank on seeing on opening day 2019 - barring another deal - is infielder Jonathan Villar. Villar continues to play well for the Orioles and drove in both runs last night in a 3-2 loss to the Athletics. The Orioles have scored 10 runs over the last three games, and Villar has knocked in five of them. In 36 games with the Orioles he's shown a nice package of power and speed. He is playing better for the...

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Surging A's beat slumping O's as homestand begins (with quotes)

September 11, 2018, 5:56pm

Orioles

Surging A's beat slumping O's as homestand begins (with quotes)

This being the 2018 Orioles, right-hander Alex Cobb retired the Oakland A's through two innings tonight and looked good doing so. And then he retired from this game. Presumably once again dealing with a blister on his right middle finger, Cobb pitched out of a two-out jam in the first and retired Oakland 1-2-3 on just nine pitches in the second. But Mike Wright Jr. took to the mound to start the third. Oakland scored three runs off him and beat the Orioles 3-2 at Camden Yards in the opener of...

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O's game blog: Alex Cobb on mound as homestand begins

September 11, 2018, 3:00pm

Orioles

O's game blog: Alex Cobb on mound as homestand begins

The Orioles begin a three-game series with Oakland tonight at Camden Yards. It is the start of a nine-game homestand that will see the Orioles play host to the Athletics, White Sox and Blue Jays. The Orioles (41-102) have 19 games remaining - 13 at home and six on the road. They have been better at home, going 24-44 (.353), than on the road, going 17-58 (.227) and losing 12 of the last 13. Oakland (87-57) is playing outstanding baseball and is the leader for the second American League wild card...

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DJ Stewart on his call-up to the Orioles

September 11, 2018, 12:48pm

Orioles

Outfielder DJ Stewart was home starting to look back on and evaluate his Triple-A season and look ahead and help in the planning of his January wedding. Then the plans changed for the start of his offseason. He had played his last game for Triple-A Norfolk on Sept. 3, but today Stewart got his first call-up to the Orioles. He will wear No. 62. When he gets in the game, it will be the Major League debut for a player the Orioles drafted in round of 2015 out of Florida State. So for him, the news...

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A few random takes as the homestand begins

September 10, 2018, 7:06pm

Orioles

A few random takes as the homestand begins

A few random thoughts while we await the start of a nine-game homestand for the Orioles. The hope is they play with more pep in their step than they did during a lackluster 1-8 road trip where they were outscored 65-25. The pitcher: Why has Mychal Givens regressed this year? From 2015-2017, Givens went 18-3 with a 2.75 ERA and allowed a slash line of .206/.290/.334. But this season, he is 0-7 with a 4.57 ERA and with a slash line of .246/.330/.357. Givens' strikeout rate has dropped a bit this...

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More with DL Hall and more on an awful road trip

September 09, 2018, 6:41pm

Orioles

More with DL Hall and more on an awful road trip

The Orioles brass can look back at the minor league season and find several individual success stories and see players that improved during the year that they must be excited about seeing again in 2019. One of the pitchers that must be near the top of that list is the 2017 top draft pick, left-hander DL Hall. Coming off his high school senior year and 10 1/3 innings last summer in the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League, the Orioles were careful to monitor and limit Hall's innings and pitch counts...

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O's game blog: Trying to avoid a sweep at the Trop

September 08, 2018, 8:32pm

Orioles

O's game blog: Trying to avoid a sweep at the Trop

The Orioles have been swept in a series of three or more games 15 times this season. They'll need a victory this afternoon at Tropicana Field against Tampa Bay to avoid adding to that. The Orioles have been swept 10 times in three-game series and five times in a four-game series. They've had 10 of those sweeps come on the road and five at home. The most recent was last weekend when they lost three straight at Kansas City. Tampa Bay (77-64) has beaten the Orioles by 14-2 and 10-5 scores this...

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A brutal road trip comes to an end this afternoon

September 08, 2018, 6:30pm

Orioles

A brutal road trip comes to an end this afternoon

During a season where we have now seen the Orioles lose 101 games, we've seen plenty of nights where the team has looked bad. The last two nights at Tropicana Field might rank right up there. On Friday night, in a 14-2 loss, the Orioles trailed 6-0 in the third inning. They were held to six hits and stuck out 15 times and O's pitchers walked 11. At least they didn't give up any unearned runs. That would wait until the first inning in last night's 10-5 loss. An ugly bottom of the first ended...

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O's game blog: Orioles looking for second win on road trip

September 08, 2018, 6:41am

Orioles

After becoming the third club in team history to lose 100 or more games last night, the Orioles would become the second Baltimore club to have lost 101 or more if they get beat tonight. The Orioles (41-100) play at Tampa Bay (76-64) in the second of a three-game series and eighth game of a nine-game road trip, during which the Orioles are 1-6 so far. O's starter Dylan Bundy gave up six runs last night in a 14-2 loss to the Rays. Bundy has pitched to a 10.67 ERA over his last six starts. In his...

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What now for Dylan Bundy?

September 07, 2018, 8:43pm

Orioles

At this point, if Dylan Bundy is not hurt, as everyone insists, the Orioles need to either consider shutting him down for the season or skipping him one or two starts. Time to let this kid have a break to regroup, catch his breath and not face another major league team until late in the next homestand at the earliest. After his first five starts this year, Bundy had a 1.42 ERA. At the end of June his ERA was 3.75. But now he continues to struggle and the Orioles need to let him come up for air...

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O's game blog: Dylan Bundy faces Blake Snell in series opener

September 07, 2018, 10:22am

Orioles

O's game blog: Dylan Bundy faces Blake Snell in series opener

The Orioles have arrived in St. Petersburg, Fla. for their third stop on a three-city road trip. Tonight they begin a three-game series against the Tampa Bay Rays to wrap up a trip where they went 0-3 at Kansas City and 1-2 at Seattle. The Orioles (41-99) have lost five of six and 13 of their last 17 games. They are 17-55 away from Oriole Park and have lost nine of the last 10 on the road. Tampa Bay (75-64) is in third place in the American League East and holds the seventh-best record in the...

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Are the Orioles platooning Cedric Mullins?

September 06, 2018, 8:45pm

Orioles

We have seen recent games when Orioles switch-hitting center fielder Cedric Mullins didn't start against a left-handed pitcher. I certainly can understand the club's desire to both rest his cranky hip and/or use that time to get a look at John Andreoli. But I also hope the organization hasn't yet made up it's mind that Mullins will have difficulty continuing to be a switch-hitter. While Mullins hit better in his career on the farm batting left-handed, he made nice strides this year from the...

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A look at some Rule 5-eligible Orioles

September 05, 2018, 4:29pm

Orioles

The Orioles acquired 15 players in the July trades. Of those 15 players, six have made their way onto the 40-man roster, with right-hander Luis Ortiz being the latest. Just one of the 15 players needs to be added to the 40-man roster this November to avoid being eligible to be selected in December's Rule 5 draft: 24-year-old right-hander Dillon Tate. Tate was the No. 4 overall pick in the 2015 draft by Texas out of UC-Santa Barbara. The Rangers traded him to the Yankees on Aug. 1, 2016 and the...

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O's game blog: Orioles go for series win in Seattle

September 05, 2018, 1:32pm

Orioles

The Orioles beat the Mariners 5-3 last night to record their first win in five games on this road trip. They also ended an eight-game road losing streak. The Orioles (41-98) scored five runs with 15 hits last night after batting just .205 as a team and scoring eight runs in the first four games of the road trip. Trey Mancini had three hits Tuesday night and he's batting .301/.328/.530 since the All-Star break. That was his ninth game with three or more hits on the season, and 19th of his...

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O's game blog: Orioles look for first win on the road trip

September 04, 2018, 5:17pm

Orioles

The Orioles (40-98) are 0-4 so far on a nine-game road trip. They lost 2-1 in Seattle last night to start a three-game series at Safeco Field. The Orioles have scored just eight runs on just 26 hits in the four games at Kansas City and Seattle. The last two games the Orioles have scored one run in each and both came on solo homers by Jonathan Villar. The Orioles are 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position on this trip. Right-hander Alex Cobb (4-15, 5.11 ERA) will make his 26th start. In his...

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Zac Lowther's strong 2018 season featured fast start and big finish

September 04, 2018, 3:45pm

Orioles

Zac Lowther's strong 2018 season featured fast start and big finish

After a season when he led all Orioles minor league pitchers in ERA and strikeouts, left-hander Zac Lowther has a strong resume to contend for the Jim Palmer Award, which goes to the Orioles' minor league Pitcher of the Year. Lowther had success at two levels, and did so without a blazing fastball. But his velocity didn't keep him from pounding the zone with a high percentage of fastballs this year. It didn't keep him from soaking up knowledge and adding to his education in learning to read...