Steve Melewski

Tough night of pitching, August offense and the CuraÃ§ao connection

August 31, 2017, 9:54pm

Orioles

Tough night of pitching, August offense and the CuraÃ§ao connection

Before he was a one-man wrecking crew against the Orioles last night, Toronto designated hitter Kendrys Morales had not been doing too much recently at the plate. Heading into Thursday's series opener, Morales was batting .221 in August and he had just one homer and four RBIs his last 21 games. Then he bashed three homers and drove in a career-high seven runs last night as Toronto beat the Orioles 11-8. Morales hit a two-run homer in the third off Jeremy Hellickson, a three-run shot in the...

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Morales homers three times in Toronto's win (quotes added)

August 31, 2017, 6:36pm

Orioles

Morales homers three times in Toronto's win (quotes added)

The Orioles overcame two poor starting pitching performances and won against Seattle, but they not could not do it again tonight. Right-hander Jeremy Hellickson allowed seven runs as the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Orioles 11-8 at Oriole Park. The loss ends the O's win streak at seven. Their last eight-game streak was April 22-May 1, 2005. Toronto's Kendrys Morales went 4-for-5 with three homers and a career-high seven RBIs. It is his second career three-homer game. The first came on Sept. 20,...

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O's game blog: Hellickson faces Toronto in series opener

August 31, 2017, 2:55pm

Orioles

O's game blog: Hellickson faces Toronto in series opener

The Orioles will try to run their season-high winning streak to eight games tonight as they host Toronto to start a four-game series. The Orioles last won eight in a row from April 22-May 1, 2005. Winners of eight of nine and 26 of their past 42 games, the Orioles have outscored their opponents 52-24 during their win streak. Toronto is 61-72 and just got swept three straight by Boston. It was the Jays' fourth time they were swept in a series of three or more games. Toronto is 2-10 in its last...

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Tim Beckham praises team offense, criticizes his own defense

August 31, 2017, 1:36pm

Orioles

Tim Beckham praises team offense, criticizes his own defense

Shortstop Tim Beckham is no longer hitting better than .500 - or even .400. But he's had a pretty special 28-game start to his Orioles career. It is probably not exactly a coincidence either that the Orioles have had a pretty special month of August hitting as a team. Today, Beckham took some time to praise the team's offense while throwing himself under the bus somewhat for his own defense. Beckham is batting .385/.409/.648 for the Orioles with 10 doubles, two triples, six homers and 18...

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Frederick's Ademar Rifaela named Carolina League MVP

August 31, 2017, 9:46am

Orioles

Frederick's Ademar Rifaela named Carolina League MVP

Single-A Frederick outfielder Ademar Rifaela has been named the Most Valuable Player in the Carolina League. Rifaela leads the league with 24 homers and ranks among the league leaders in several other categories. The 22-year-old from Willemstad, Curacao, is batting .280/.350/.499 with 21 doubles, a triple, 24 homers, 78 RBIs and an OPS of .849. He becomes just the second player in Frederick's 29-year history to win this award. Brandon Waring was the first in 2009. Rifaela ranks first in the...

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Notes and quotes on the sweep, plus Bowie clinches a playoff spot

August 30, 2017, 7:18pm

Orioles

Notes and quotes on the sweep, plus Bowie clinches a playoff spot

You can't always outscore a shaky starting rotation, but the Orioles did it twice in their three-game sweep of the Seattle Mariners. Wrapped around Dylan Bundy's gem Tuesday night, Chris Tillman gave up six runs in 5 1/3 innings on Monday, but the Orioles won 7-6. Yesterday, Ubaldo JimÃ©nez gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings, but the Orioles won 8-7. As manager Buck Showalter said, to win seven straight, you have to do several things well and sometimes outslugging the other team is one of...

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Orioles outscore Seattle and sweep series (quotes added)

August 30, 2017, 2:16pm

Orioles

One big inning by Seattle and a short start by right-hander Ubaldo JimÃ©nez put the Orioles in a big hole today. But a relentless offense that hit four more homers helped them dig out. Down by 6-2 in the third inning, the Orioles rallied to beat Seattle 8-7 this afternoon at Oriole Park. With a season-high seventh straight win, the Orioles improved to 68-65. JimÃ©nez allowed six runs and six hits in just 2 2/3 innings, the last two scoring after he left the game. His ERA is now 6.85 and...

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O's game blog: Orioles look for sweep against Seattle

August 30, 2017, 9:10am

Orioles

Last season the Orioles went 1-6 against Seattle. This season they are 3-2 and can complete a three-game sweep of the Mariners today. The Orioles have not swept Seattle three in a row at home since Aug. 6-8, 2012. The Orioles have won six in a row overall to move to 67-65, are 40-26 at home and two games over .500 for the first time since June 10. A win today would produce a season-high seven straight victories. With 7-6 and 4-0 wins the last two nights the Orioles have now won three straight...

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Another look at a great pitching performance

August 29, 2017, 10:02pm

Orioles

Another look at a great pitching performance

For 24-year-old right-hander Dylan Bundy, it was his 39th career major league start. But it was his best. Minutes before Bundy would take the mound and dominate the Mariners on Tuesday night, catcher Welington Castillo could sense he might have great stuff. "From the 'pen he had great life on the fastball," Castillo said. "So when he took the mound, it was nice and smooth. I just let the flow go, go with him. What was working for him? Everything was working. I was just calling the game with...

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Dylan Bundy and Welington Castillo on Bundy's one-hitter

August 29, 2017, 7:15pm

Orioles

Dylan Bundy and Welington Castillo on Bundy's one-hitter

The Orioles had not had a complete-game since Ubaldo JimÃ©nez at Tampa Bay on Sept. 5, 2016. They had not had a complete-game shutout since Miguel Gonzalez against Cincinnati on Sept. 3, 2014. The last individual one-hitter was thrown by Jason Hammel at Atlanta on June 16, 2012. But after tonight, we can update all those notes. Right-hander Dylan Bundy, in his 39th career Major League start, pitched a complete-game one-hitter and struck out 12 as the Orioles beat Seattle 4-0 at Camden...

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Dylan Bundy with a one-hitter and 12 strikeouts to blank Seattle

August 29, 2017, 6:08pm

Orioles

Dylan Bundy with a one-hitter and 12 strikeouts to blank Seattle

Dylan was dealing. Dylan Bundy set a new career high with 12 strikeouts and pitched a complete-game one-hitter tonight as the Orioles beat the Seattle Mariners 4-0 at Oriole Park. The Orioles have won six in a row to tie a season high first set May 4-9. This current run improves their record to 67-65. They are two games over the .500 mark for the first time since June 10. The only hit Bundy allowed was a bunt single to the third-base side of the mound by Kyle Seager with one out in the fourth....

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O's game blog: Orioles look to extend win streak

August 29, 2017, 3:03pm

Orioles

With five wins in a row, the Orioles can tie a season high if they make that six tonight versus the Seattle Mariners. The Orioles won 7-6 last night on the strength of 16 hits, with Trey Mancini, Manny Machado and Welington Castillo getting three each. Six different players drove in runs. The start of tonight's game is being delayed by rain, but the Orioles announced at about 6:30 p.m. that they expect to play tonight. Just a while ago they announced an approximate start time of 7:30 p.m. From...

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Mancini breaks slump, notes on Hart, minors award winners

August 29, 2017, 1:32pm

Orioles

Mancini breaks slump, notes on Hart, minors award winners

Any hitter who is having a good offensive season has probably had times during the year when he minimized a cold streak at the plate and got right back to hitting well again. Orioles rookie Trey Mancini has had to do this a few times. From Aug. 13 through 20, Mancini went 2-for-26 (.077), and that dropped his average to .282. Since then he has gone 14-for-27 (.519) with a homer and eight RBIs. Mancini is 10-for-17 (.588) with five RBIs in his last four games. "It takes a while when you're...

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Zach Britton and Chris Tillman on the O's win streak

August 28, 2017, 9:28pm

Orioles

Zach Britton and Chris Tillman on the O's win streak

The Orioles played mediocre or worse baseball for several months, but in the last few days they have gotten hot and perhaps turned around their season. Back-to-back one-run wins over Boston and Seattle give the Orioles a five-game winning streak and put them a game over .500 at 66-65. They have not been over .500 since they were 31-30 June 11. Zach Britton, who got a 14-pitch save last night, talked about the Orioles trying to claim a playoff berth after they had losing records in May (12-16),...

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O's outscore Mariners 7-6 to start homestand (quotes added)

August 28, 2017, 6:09pm

Orioles

O's outscore Mariners 7-6 to start homestand (quotes added)

Orioles pitchers gave up just four runs in three games in Boston. Tonight, Chris Tillman allowed that many by the fourth inning. If the Orioles were going to win tonight, the bats would need to come up big. And the bats did that as the Orioles scored runs in five of six innings from the second through the seventh. They beat Seattle 7-6 at Oriole Park to pass the Mariners in the hunt for the second AL wild card spot at 66-65 to Seattle's 66-66. The Orioles are over .500 for the first time since...

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O's game blog: Tonight's game and minor league award winners

August 28, 2017, 3:04pm

Orioles

O's game blog: Tonight's game and minor league award winners

After a weekend sweep of the Boston Red Sox, the Orioles host Seattle tonight to start a three-game series and 10-game homestand. They'll host the Mariners for three games, the Blue Jays for four and the Yankees for three at Camden Yards. The Orioles recorded their first sweep of the Red Sox since June 9-11, 2015 at Camden Yards and the first series sweep at Fenway Park since Sept. 8-10, 2014. In the series, the Orioles outscored the Red Sox, 25-4. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, it...

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Britton is ready to go and Hart thinks about the homefront

August 28, 2017, 1:26pm

Orioles

Britton is ready to go and Hart thinks about the homefront

Orioles closer Zach Britton hasn't pitched since his run of 60 straight converted saves ended last Wednesday at Oriole Park. The 60 straight is an American League record. Britton has had some left knee soreness and had an MRI, which did not show any structural damage. He didn't close Sunday's game in Boston, as Brad Brach came on for a five-out save. But Britton indicated today that was more manager Buck Showalter giving his knee an extra day rather than him not being available to...

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Can O's take Boston sweep and run with it to October?

August 27, 2017, 5:28pm

Orioles

Can O's take Boston sweep and run with it to October?

Heading into their series with the Orioles starting Friday night, the Red Sox had gone 16-5 over the previous 21 games. They were 40-22 at home with 10 wins in the previous 12 games at Fenway Park. They were 8-3 in their last 11 games versus American League East teams. They were averaging 6.05 runs per game their previous 21 games. But then they got beat three games in a row by the Orioles, and were outscored 25-4 and outhit 36-18 in a stunning Baltimore sweep over the weekend. O's pitching...

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O's game blog: O's look for series sweep at Fenway Park

August 27, 2017, 9:04am

Orioles

O's game blog: O's look for series sweep at Fenway Park

After recording a season high in runs in Friday's 16-3 win and recording their eighth shutout of the year in Saturday's 7-0 victory, the Orioles have a chance to sweep the Boston Red Sox today at Fenway Park. The Orioles (64-65) also have a chance to get back to the .500 for the first time since they were 56-56 on Aug. 7. Their last three-game sweep at Fenway Park came in September 2014. The Orioles have outscored Boston 23-3 and outhit the Red Sox 30-10 over the weekend. O's starters have...

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O's go for sweep today, plus minor league pitcher notes

August 26, 2017, 4:37pm

Orioles

O's go for sweep today, plus minor league pitcher notes

The Orioles top two picks in the 2016 draft, pitchers Cody Sedlock and Keegan Akin, will end the minor league season on the disabled list with Single-A Frederick. But the Orioles will bring both players to their instructional league next month in hopes they head into the offseason healthy. Sedlock, the 27th overall pick in round one, has been on the disabled list twice with elbow issues. He spent July 1-22 on the DL with a right elbow flexor strain and went back on it Friday. "He'll go to...