Adam Jones hits grand slam as O's complete sweep (with quotes)

Adam Jones hits grand slam as O's complete sweep (with quotes)
For the third night in a row, the Orioles offense was humming against the Toronto Blue Jays. On this night it was needed as the Orioles climbed out of an early 4-0 hole to beat Toronto 10-5 and sweep this three-game series. When the series began Monday night, the Orioles were 1-12 on the season against the Blue Jays with 10 consecutive losses. But tonight, the O's beat the Jays again to complete their first three-game sweep of the season against any team. Right fielder Adam Jones gave the...

O's game blog: Orioles go for three-game sweep of Toronto

O's game blog: Orioles go for three-game sweep of Toronto
The Orioles have a chance for a 2018 first tonight. They can complete their first sweep of any three-game series. They have beaten Toronto by scores of 7-0 and 12-5 over the past two nights, generating plenty of offense while getting wins from rookie pitchers David Hess and Josh Rogers. When this series began the Orioles were 1-12 this year against Toronto and they had lost the last 10 games played between the teams. Now they can sweep tonight. Not only have the Orioles not had a three-game...

Josh Rogers makes winning debut, Delmarva's All-Stars and more

Josh Rogers makes winning debut, Delmarva's All-Stars and more
An 11th-round draft pick of the New York Yankees in 2015, left-hander Josh Rogers made it to the Double-A level with Trenton in the Eastern League in the 2017 season. But it was just for seven starts and he assumed he would begin this year back in that Double-A rotation. But Rogers got a surprise and he began the 2018 season in the rotation with Triple-A Scranton. Then he got another surprise. He was traded to the Orioles and would pitch for Triple-A Norfolk. Then came his latest surprise. He...

Josh Rogers wins his MLB debut as O's top Toronto (with Rogers quotes)

Josh Rogers wins his MLB debut as O's top Toronto (with Rogers quotes)
Left-hander Josh Rogers made a successful major league debut at Camden Yards tonight. He went five innings to get a 12-5 win over Toronto. And an Oriole team that entered this series 1-12 this season against the Blue Jays is 2-0 in this series. Rogers, called up from Triple-A Norfolk, became the first lefty to start on the mound this year for the Orioles. Over five innings he gave up seven hits and three runs with one walk and two strikeouts. Acquired by the Orioles from the Yankees in the Zach...

O's game blog: Josh Rogers faces Jays in his MLB debut

O's game blog: Josh Rogers faces Jays in his MLB debut
After recording their sixth shutout of the year behind right-hander David Hess last night and ending an eight-game losing streak, the Orioles host the Toronto Blue Jays again tonight. It's the second game of a three-game series and sixth of a seven-game homestand. Hess went six scoreless on four hits and 99 pitches as the Orioles (34-98) snapped a 10-game losing streak to Toronto. He improved to 3-8 with a 5.08 ERA and picked up his first win since May 25. Hess has a 2.19 ERA over his last...

Second baseman Jonathan Villar on the O's stolen bases

Second baseman Jonathan Villar on the O's stolen bases
The Orioles rank 11th in the American League with 54 stolen bases, but they are trending up with that stat after getting six steals the last two games. They are doing a lot better than the 2017 Orioles, who had 32 steals for the year to rank last in the AL, 21 behind the next closest team. Second baseman Jonathan Villar is happy to lead the charge when it comes to steals. He wants to get some of his own steals and he is very ready, he said, to help his teammates learn the art of the steal. "We...

David Hess impressed in latest solid outing, plus other notes

David Hess impressed in latest solid outing, plus other notes
If the Toronto Blue Jays were going to break through last night versus Orioles right-hander David Hess, the middle innings provided them with plenty of chances. A leadoff double in the fourth. Runners on first and second with one out in the fifth. Runners on the corners with two outs in the sixth. I guess we could say Hess bent but didn't break. Toronto went scoreless in six innings against him last night and the Blue Jays went 0-for-6 against him with runners in scoring in those middle...

Hess throws six scoreless, Mancini drives in five in win (quotes added)

Hess throws six scoreless, Mancini drives in five in win (quotes added)
In might be a little early to be calling him a stopper, but in a rematch with the Toronto Blue Jays tonight, right-hander David Hess handled them again and in the process the Orioles ended an eight-game losing streak. Hess had a co-star tonight as Trey Mancini produced a five-RBI night with a three-run homer and two-run double. It matches his career high of June 7, 2017 versus Pittsburgh. Hess threw six scoreless in his latest strong outing as the Orioles blanked Toronto 7-0 in the series...

O's game blog: Can Hess duplicate success against Toronto?

O's game blog: Can Hess duplicate success against Toronto?
The last time right-hander David Hess (2-8, 5.50 ERA) took the mound he pitched well in a loss at Toronto's Rogers Centre. That was on Wednesday afternoon. Now, five days later, Hess goes back to the mound and the Blue Jays are once again the opponent. In that game last week, Hess went a career-high seven innings and threw a career-high seven strikeouts. He gave up just three hits and one run, and left trailing 1-0 in a game the Orioles would lose 6-0. Hess had a four-start stretch in June...

Ryan Meisinger is among the latest young arms to get bullpen chance

Ryan Meisinger is among the latest young arms to get bullpen chance
As the Orioles continue to look at a series of younger pitchers in their remodeled bullpen, right-hander Ryan Meisinger returned to the team Aug. 17 for his second stint this year in the majors. An 11th-round pick out of Radford University in Virginia in 2015, Meisinger was with the Orioles from June 29 to July 10. He allowed two runs and four hits over six innings. The 24-year-old Meisinger first made it to Double-A Bowie in 2017. This year he's played at three levels, starting with Bowie...

Notes on 100 losses, stolen bases and the farm on Sunday

Notes on 100 losses, stolen bases and the farm on Sunday
With Sunday night's 5-3 loss to the New York Yankees, the Orioles were swept four straight and they fall to 37-94. The 2018 Orioles are closing in on becoming the third team in club history, which dates to 1954, to lose 100 or more. The 1954 Orioles went 54-100 and the 1988 Orioles went 54-107. There have been nine Orioles teams since 1954 that lost 95 or more in a season, and this club is one loss from becoming the 10th. The other nine teams are on this list: 107 losses - 1988100 losses -...

Dylan Bundy takes 13th loss as O's are swept (postgame quotes)

Dylan Bundy takes 13th loss as O's are swept (postgame quotes)
Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy had moments where he showed some improvement tonight, but he also fell behind 4-0 in the third inning. It was a hole the Orioles could not quite climb out of as they lost 5-3 to the New York Yankees, who sweep this four-game series at Oriole Park. For New York (83-47), this is its first four-game sweep in Baltimore since Aug. 14-17, 2003. The Orioles (37-94) have lost eight in a row, one short of a season high. They have lost 10 of 11, 15 of 17 and 19 of their...

Renato Núñez says pregame work is starting to pay off

Renato Núñez says pregame work is starting to pay off
Orioles third baseman Renato Núñez said he feels like he's made some recent improvements on his defense at third base, which is starting to show during games. In a small sample size of 30 games for the Orioles, Núñez has made four errors, but just one in his past 13 games. Errors, of course are just one defensive stat to look at. In the case of Núñez, the eye test shows he has just looked much more comfortable at the hot corner in recent games. He said he's worked very hard...

O's game blog: Dylan Bundy faces Yankees on "Sunday Night Baseball"

O's game blog: Dylan Bundy faces Yankees on "Sunday Night Baseball"
It is certainly not a showcase of two contenders, but for a few hours tonight, the Orioles will be in a national spotlight when they host the New York Yankees. The game will be shown nationally on ESPN's "Sunday Night Baseball." According to Elias Sports Bureau, the Orioles are 13-18 all-time in ESPN Sunday games. The Birds will need a win tonight to avoid being swept in four straight by the Yankees. The clubs split their first 12 meetings this season before New York won here Friday night...

The Orioles need a win tonight to avoid the four-game sweep

The Orioles need a win tonight to avoid the four-game sweep
Maybe the New York Yankees just got tired of hearing about the Orioles beating them six out of 12 times when this series began. They stormed back to beat the Orioles in 10 innings Friday night and then bashed five homers in two wins on Saturday. The Yankees have won the first three in this series by 7-5 (10), 10-3 and 5-1 scores. Before we lament the fact that New York has scored 22 runs and bashed eight homers in this series, the Orioles scored just four runs in two games yesterday. Their...

O's don't score until ninth as Yankees sweep (with quotes)

O's don't score until ninth as Yankees sweep (with quotes)
It was a night where Orioles right-hander Andrew Cashner was getting in a lot of trouble, but he was minimizing the damage. But against struggling right-hander Sonny Gray, the Orioles didn't do any damage. The Orioles were nearly shut out for the 13th time as they lost 5-1 to New York, which sweeps the day-night doubleheader. The Yankees can sweep a four-game series here on Sunday night. The Yankees scored in the first inning in both games today. Tonight, Brett Gardner smoked the first pitch...

O's game blog: Andrew Cashner on the mound as O's look for split

O's game blog: Andrew Cashner on the mound as O's look for split
Orioles pitchers have allowed 17 runs and 21 hits, including seven homers, in the first two games of this series against the New York Yankees, losing 7-5 in 10 innings and 10-3. Tonight, the Orioles host New York in the third game of a four-game series. The Yankees hit four homers off four different pitchers to win the day portion of this day-night doubleheader, 10-3, in front of 32,445 at Camden Yards. The Orioles (37-92) have lost six in a row and fall to 6-8 against New York and to 21-42 at...

Yacabonis gets early exit as O's drop Game 1 (postgame quotes)

Yacabonis gets early exit as O's drop Game 1 (postgame quotes)
After losing a late lead last night, the Orioles were ahead early in today's game. But that lead didn't last long, either, as New York scored six runs over the third and fourth innings to pull ahead and away to a 10-3 win in Game 1 of a day-night doubleheader at Oriole Park. The Orioles' (37-92) latest losing streak has reached six in a row. They have had seven losing streaks of at least six games in the 2018 season. They've now lost eight of nine, 13 of 15 and 17 of their last 21...

O's game blog: Jimmy Yacabonis takes the mound in Game 1

O's game blog: Jimmy Yacabonis takes the mound in Game 1
The Orioles host the Yankees twice today at Camden Yards. It's a day-night doubleheader with games at 1:05 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. New York rallied for a 7-5 win in 10 innings last night at Oriole Park as Neil Walker and Luke Voit hit 10th-inning homers off Cody Carroll to break a 4-4 tie. The Orioles (37-91) have lost five in a row and this is their 10th losing streak of at least five games this year. They have four losing streaks of seven games or more and a nine-game streak is the longest of the...

This one gets away from the 'pen, plus more on Players' Weekend

This one gets away from the 'pen, plus more on Players' Weekend
So that is two bullpen meltdowns for the Orioles in the last two games. Their 'pen has allowed 10 runs in five innings over the last two games against Toronto and New York. The Orioles went ahead of the Yankees 4-2 in the seventh last night on Jonathan Villar's two-run homer but they lost 7-5 in 10 innings Gleyber Torres punched a two-run single into right against Mychal Givens in the eighth to tie it 4-4 and Cody Carroll allowed homers in the 10th to Neil Walker and Luke Voit as the Yankees...