The Orioles head to Oakland looking to jump-start their offense

The Orioles head to Oakland looking to jump-start their offense
ANAHEIM, Calif. - They say momentum in baseball is only as good as the next day's pitcher. When Manny Machado hit a seventh-inning grand slam on Monday night, the Orioles grabbed momentum and a win in Anaheim. At that point they had gone 14-7 the previous 21 games to get back to .500. You had to like their chances to win the series against the Angels and get the long West Coast road trip off to a good start. But then the unlikely duo of Parker Bridwell and Troy Scribner held the Orioles to two...

Wrapping up the disappointing loss in the series finale in Anaheim

Wrapping up the disappointing loss in the series finale in Anaheim
ANAHEIM, Calif. - When this road trip started on Monday night, the Orioles got an uplifting win. Manny Machado hit a grand slam in the seventh, Dylan Bundy fanned 10 and the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2. But not a lot went right after that. The O's bats were shut down by former Oriole Parker Bridwell last night, and today the Orioles were held to four hits in a 5-1 loss. That is three runs and 12 hits the last two days as they lose the first series on the three-city West Coast road...

Offense comes up short as Orioles drop series finale

Offense comes up short as Orioles drop series finale
ANAHEIM, Calif. - It was a series where the Orioles didn't get much offense and the trend continued this afternoon against a pitcher making his second major league start. The Orioles lost 5-1 in front of 36,202 to the Los Angeles Angels to drop the series after winning Monday's series opener. It's a disappointing end to a series that began with promise when Manny Machado's seventh-inning grand slam provided a 6-2 lead and win Monday night. But over the series' last two games, the Orioles...

Mark Trumbo on coming off the DL (plus game updates)

Mark Trumbo on coming off the DL (plus game updates)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Mark Trumbo is back in the Orioles lineup today for the first time since July 29. He was on the 10-day disabled list with a right rib cage strain. Over 103 games, Trumbo is batting .238/.300/.405 with 17 doubles, 17 homers, 50 RBIs and an OPS of .706. He is batting fifth as the designated hitter and struck out swinging his first time up in the second inning. "It feels really good (to be back)," Trumbo said this morning in the visiting clubhouse. "Really excited to get back...

Buck Showalter on Chris Davis (Steve Johnson traded)

Buck Showalter on Chris Davis (Steve Johnson traded)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is back in a down cycle with the bat. He is 2-for-21 his last six games with nine strikeouts as his average has dropped from .224 to .215. He is 1-for-7 in this series. I asked manager Buck Showalter this morning if he wishes Davis would become more aggressive at the plate and take fewer pitches? "Of course," he said. "I'm sure people see something in a game and they wonder about those things. If they saw all the work and conversations and...

O's game blog: Kevin Gausman gets start in series finale

O's game blog: Kevin Gausman gets start in series finale
ANAHEIM, Calif. - When the Orioles and Los Angeles Angels wrap up a three-game series this afternoon, right-hander Kevin Gausman will try to pitch another strong outing. He owned a 6.47 ERA in mid-June, but Gausman (8-7, 5.15 ERA) has been on a pretty good roll since then. Over his past four starts, he is 3-0 with a 0.65 ERA. Over 27 2/3 innings he has given up 19 hits and two runs with nine walks and 32 strikeouts. Going further back, Gausman is 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA over his last eight games....

Notes and quotes from the Orioles' loss last night

Notes and quotes from the Orioles' loss last night
ANAHEIM, Calif. - In a pitcher's duel Tuesday night the Orioles lost to one of their former players. They had some big chances to score on offense but the key hit that came on Monday night didn't arrive last night. One night after getting back to the .500 mark, the Orioles are one game under again after Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Right-hander Parker Bridwell, the Orioles ninth-round pick in the 2010 draft, held Baltimore to six hits and one run over seven innings. Bridwell...

Bridwell bests Hellickson as O's lose 3-2 (quotes added)

Bridwell bests Hellickson as O's lose 3-2 (quotes added)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - It came without much warning. Orioles right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, in his second start for the club, seemed to be rolling. He struck out six of the last seven batters to face him as he took the mound for the last of the seventh tonight. The game was tied 1-1. But Hellickson's effectiveness ended there. The Angels started the inning with four straight hits and went on to score twice to break the tie and post a 3-2 win over the Orioles tonight. The Orioles' three-game win...

Showalter remembers Schoop in LLWS (plus game update)

Showalter remembers Schoop in LLWS (plus game update)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - It is a storyline that comes up it seems every August. Right about the time that the Little League World Series begins in Williamsport, Pa. Someone will interview Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop about the time his team won the championship. Schoop and the kids from the tiny island nation of Curacao played in the LLWS not once, but twice. They had a strong showing in 2003. They won the championship in 2004. Schoop began that final game batting third and playing...

A look at Dylan Bundy's upcoming schedule and other notes

A look at Dylan Bundy's upcoming schedule and other notes
ANAHEIM, Calif. - After a strong outing on Monday night in the series and road trip opener, Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy is lined up to make his next start on Saturday, pitching on the normal four days' rest. The Orioles keep looking for ways to get Bundy extra rest and he had an extra day of rest before last night's start. Then he went out and pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs with no walks and 10 strikeouts, a new career high, on 105 pitches in beating the Angels...

After yielding slam, Mychal Givens bounced back last night

After yielding slam, Mychal Givens bounced back last night
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Besides having a mid- to high-90s fastball and nasty slider, Orioles right-hander Mychal Givens has something else that helps him pitch well as a reliever - a short memory. When Givens took the mound Friday night at Camden Yards in the eighth inning, he was trying to protect a 2-1 lead for Kevin Gausman and help the Orioles beat the Tigers. When he entered that game, he had pitched to an ERA of 0.60 his previous 26 games. But he allowed two singles and a walk, and with the...

O's game blog: Jeremy Hellickson makes second start for O's

O's game blog: Jeremy Hellickson makes second start for O's
ANAHEIM, Calif. - After their Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy-led 6-2 victory Monday night, the Orioles try for two wins in a row over the Los Angeles Angels tonight. The Orioles (56-56) have won eight of 10 and 14 of the last 21 games. They have won three straight by a combined 23-7 score and are 21-33 on the road. Machado hit his fifth career grand slam in the seventh inning Monday to break a 2-2 tie. Bundy fanned a career-high 10 without a walk and improved to 11-8 with an ERA of...

Parker Bridwell talks about facing the Orioles tonight

Parker Bridwell talks about facing the Orioles tonight
ANAHEIM, Calif. - He was selected by the Orioles in the ninth round of the 2010 First-Year Player Draft out of a Texas high school. He pitched at every level of their farm system, going 31-43 with an ERA of 4.71. He was ranked among the O's top 25 prospects not once or twice, but seven times. After all that time logged on the Orioles farm working to make the major leagues, right-handed pitcher Parker Bridwell is finally enjoying major league success. But not for the Orioles, but rather the...

Manny Machado came up huge on night one of the road trip

Manny Machado came up huge on night one of the road trip
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Great players make great plays. Given two chances in the seventh inning Monday night to make such plays, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado went 2-for-2. In a 2-2 tie he batted with the bases loaded and two outs and hit a grand slam 423-feet to left field. That was in the top of the inning. In the bottom of the seventh, he made an excellent backhand stop of a hot-smash grounder and turned that into an inning-ending double play. The Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2 to...

Manny Machado hits tiebreaking grand slam in win (quotes added)

Manny Machado hits tiebreaking grand slam in win (quotes added)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - On his 26th birthday, Mike Trout hit a huge homer. Moments later, 25-year-old Manny Machado trumped him. With the game tied 2-2 and the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the seventh, Machado hit a rocket grand slam to left to provide a 6-2 lead. The Orioles won by that score tonight over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They started a 10-game West Coast trip in impressive fashion and moved to within 1 ½ games of the second AL wild card spot. They also get back to...

Buck talks up Schoop and about Beckham's award (game updates)

Buck talks up Schoop and about Beckham's award (game updates)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - During his pregame media session today, Orioles manager Buck Showalter spent some time talking up his middle infielders tonight - second baseman Jonathan Schoop and shortstop Tim Beckham. He had praise for Beckham, the latest American League Player of the Week announced today. He wondered if more praise should be forthcoming for Schoop and if he will be in the hunt for some postseason awards. Here is Buck on Beckham, who went 14-for-24 with three doubles, a triple and three...

Buck Showater remembers Don Baylor (and other notes)

Buck Showater remembers Don Baylor (and other notes)
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he was asked to take part in a pre-game ceremony tonight honoring the life of Dan Baylor. The former Oriole and Angel passed away today at 68 after a 14-year battle with multiple myeloma. Baylor spent six of his 19 seasons with the Orioles after they selected him in the second round of the 1967 draft. He was named American League Most Valuable Player with the Angels in 1979, his team losing to the Orioles in the AL Championship Series....

O's Tim Beckham on his Player of the Week award

O's Tim Beckham on his Player of the Week award
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles infielder Tim Beckham doesn't seem too interested in trying to analyze his stunning start with the Orioles. But after going 14-for-24 (.583) in his first six games with the team, today Beckham was named the latest American League Player of the Week. One thing that Beckham will credit for some of his success, he's played every day since arriving in Baltimore. "It's a good feeling, man," Beckham said this afternoon in the visiting clubhouse. "It's a good feeling...

O's game blog: Dylan Bundy pitches road trip opener

O's game blog: Dylan Bundy pitches road trip opener
ANAHEIM, Calif. - With a road record of 20-33 for the season, the Orioles play in Anaheim tonight to begin a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels. It is the first stop of a 10-game, three-city road trip. It is an important stretch for the Orioles, who are in fourth place in the AL East (7 ½ games out). They are 2 ½ games back for the second AL wild card spot. At 55-56, the Orioles look to get to .500 for the first time since June 29. They have won two in a row, seven of nine...

Farm news: Wells, Breazeale honored, plus other notes

Farm news: Wells, Breazeale honored, plus other notes
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The honors continued today for Single-A Delmarva pitcher Alex Wells. He was named the Player of the Month in the South Atlantic League. Wells went 3-0 with an ERA of 0.00, throwing 31 scoreless innings in five July starts. The 20-year-old lefty from Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, allowed just 13 hits with no walks and 26 strikeouts. Both position players and pitchers are considered for this award. A few days ago, the Orioles announced that Wells was named their minor...