CHICAGO - The Orioles had a chance to at least end a disappointing road trip on a good note today. But they could not do it.
The White Sox scored four runs in the last of the sixth to break a 1-1 tie and beat the Orioles 5-2 in front of 20,139 at Gauranteed Rate Field.
A White Sox team that began this series having lost nine of 11 just took three of four from the Orioles. The O's head back to Baltimore tonight where at least they have played well this year. This road trip was a 1-7 disaster...
CHICAGO - Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman kept getting into and out of jams, but he finally broke. We've seen this a lot lately from Orioles pitching.
Chicago scored four runs off Tillman in the last of the sixth, with some wildness from right-handed reliever Jimmy Yacabonis thrown in, as the White Sox beat the Orioles 5-2. The Sox take three of four in this series at Guaranteed Rate Field.
With the loss, the Orioles are back under .500 at 32-33. They completed a 1-7 road trip and have lost...
CHICAGO - In the game here last night, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado had a loud 1-for-5 night. He singled in the sixth, but could have had three other hits in the Orioles' 10-6 win.
That is noteworthy since Machado is trying to get his bat going. He is 4-for-13 in this series, returning Monday from missing four games with a strained left wrist and sore hand after getting spiked in the series at home against Pittsburgh.
Manager Buck Showalter noted this morning how Machado struck several...
CHICAGO - The Orioles will be one pitcher short in their bullpen today for the series finale against the White Sox. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters that right-hander Mike Wright felt some shoulder soreness after the game last night. He is unavailable today.
He pitched two scoreless innings in the win over the White Sox. But he gave up some hard-hit balls in the sixth and seventh innings. Wright has a 5.56 ERA in six games and 11 1/3 innings.
"That is a little bit alarming because that...
CHICAGO - As Chris Tillman tries to begin to pitch better for the Orioles, he needs to start at the start. Tillman (1-4, 8.01 ERA) has allowed a first-inning ERA of 16.71 on the season. Over seven first innings, he has given up 13 runs and 16 hits, including four of his seven homers.
Tillman has made seven 2017 starts. He did not allow a run in the first inning of his first three. But now, over his last four starts, he was scored on each time in the first inning. In those games, he allowed 13...
CHICAGO - Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman pitches the series finale in Chicago this afternoon. He will try to avoid allowing a first-inning run for the first time since May 19.
He has allowed one or more runs in the first inning of his past four starts. He's allowed 13 runs in the first and over his past four starts, 13 of the 21 runs he has allowed have come in that inning.
If he could just get through the first.
"It's not like he goes out there and says, 'Que sera, sera?' " manager...
CHICAGO - The Orioles flipped the script tonight. Even though starter Dylan Bundy gave up five early runs as they fell behind by four, this time their offense bailed them out.
Catcher Welington Castillo hit his first career grand slam as the Orioles beat the Chicago White Sox 10-6 to snap a six-game losing streak and an 11-game road losing streak. They get back to the .500 mark at 32-32.
The Orioles scored nine runs in the fourth through the sixth innings, but Castillo had the game's biggest...
CHICAGO - This doesn't happen every day. The Orioles drafted a player this afternoon who was already in their clubhouse when he was selected. In the 36th round, the Orioles took shortstop Tyler Coolbaugh from Angelo State (Texas) University.
He is the son of their hitting coach, Scott Coolbaugh and is with his dad here in Chicago. The elder Coolbaugh said he was working in the batting cage when his son saw his name on the MLB.com coverage. At about that same time he got a congratulatory text...
CHICAGO - Tonight's game will be delayed by rain at the start. It was scheduled to begin at 7:10 p.m. CT but it has been raining here most of the afternoon. But a press box announcement indicated that they do expect to get this game in. Now we just await a start time.
Update: The White Sox announced that tonight's game will begin at 9:40 ET.
Meanwhile, here is how it is going for the Orioles these days. The losses are piling up and so are the injuries. First baseman Chris Davis went on the...
CHICAGO - On his first day in the big leagues David Washington will make his major league debut. The Orioles selected his contract today, and then manager Buck Showalter selected him to bat eighth as the DH.
Washington admitted he's a bit of a nervous wreck right now, but he'll try to channel the nerves and emotions as best as he can.
"It's crazy," Washington said. "My mind is going about a million miles per hour right now. Very excited. I've been a bit of a wreck. Trying to get...
CHICAGO - Will this be the night for the Orioles? The night they end a six-game losing streak and an 11-game road losing streak that is tied for the second-longest in team history?
And what will it take? Maybe a starter pitching a great game or maybe a breakout by an offense that has scored three runs or fewer five times in the last six games.
After a rain delay of well over an hour, tonight's game is slated to start at about 9:40 p.m. ET.
Tonight right-hander Dylan Bundy (6-5, 3.05 ERA) will...
CHICAGO - Now a team with a losing record for the first time since the next to last day of the 2015 season, the Orioles continue to search for answers. They are just not finding many.
Whether it is another starter that doesn't get deep in a game or another night of missed chances on offense, a lot continues to go wrong for a team that once was 12 games over .500. But now the Orioles are 31-32 and much closer to last place than first.
Last night's White Sox starter, left-hander Derek Holland,...
CHICAGO - At this point, the players are probably running out of answers and the reporters are a bit weary of having to ask the same questions. But we heard more of both tonight after the Orioles' latest loss.
The Orioles lost 6-1 to the Chicago White Sox as starter Alec Asher gave up a grand slam and the offense could not cash in on numerous scoring chances.
At 31-32, the Orioles are a team with a losing record for the first time since they were 80-81 on Oct. 3, 2015. The road losing streak...
CHICAGO - Another night when a starter struggled, but at least it took longer this time. One pitch was pivotal, and so were several missed chances on offense.
The Orioles took a sixth straight loss tonight, falling to the Chicago White Sox by a 6-1 score as they fall under .500, at 31-32. They have a losing record for the first time since they were 80-81 on Oct. 3, 2015.
The Orioles have now lost 11 consecutive road games. That ties for the second-longest streak in team history. The 1954...
CHICAGO - With a rotation ERA that has now ballooned to 5.27 to rank last in the American League, the Orioles have some improving to do there.
Coming into tonight's second game of this series against the White Sox, Orioles starters have pitched to a 15.56 ERA the past six games, and a 6.70 ERA while the team has gone 9-21 since its 22-10 start.
Will the club look for reinforcement outside the organization? Manger Buck Showalter, not surprisingly, would not bite on that one today.
"That's not...
CHICAGO - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is headed for the 10-day disabled list but just not yet. For now, Davis is headed back to Baltimore after an MRI here this morning showed a Grade I right oblique injury.
This is on the lesser scale, but it appears that Davis still could miss several weeks. The Orioles are expected to replace Davis with Norfolk first baseman David Washington, but Showalter would not confirm that yet. Washington was scratched from Norfolk's lineup today and the...
CHICAGO - Just when Trey Mancini started to get this left field thing down and was doing well with the glove out there, he is moving back to first base.
At least for tonight, and we'll see for how long. With Chris Davis not starting tonight and possibly headed for the disabled list with what is apparently an oblique injury, Mancini is starting tonight at first base, his original position.
"I've been playing there my whole life," he said this afternoon. "In going out to the outfield it's...
CHICAGO - The Orioles try to end two losing streaks while also trying to avoid falling under the .500 mark here tonight. After last night's 10-7 loss, the Orioles (31-31) play the White Sox in the second game of a four-game series.
During a five-game losing skid, the Orioles have been outscored 54-16. Their starters' ERA is 15.56 the past six games, and is 6.70 the last 30 games, during which the team has gone 9-21.
The Birds have lost 10 in a row on the road, and 14 of the last 15 away from...
The First-Year Player Draft has resumed this afternoon. In the third round, with the No. 98 overall selection, the Orioles selected right-handed pitcher Mike Baumann from Jacksonville University.
This season, the 21-year-old Baumann made 14 starts, going 5-3 with a 3.09 ERA. Over 87 1/3 innings, he allowed 70 hits with 35 walks and 97 strikeouts. He has a four-pitch mix.
On the MLB.com coverage, analyst Jonathan Mayo projected Baumann could wind up in the bullpen long-term.
"They may give him...
CHICAGO - The Orioles were 22-10 and playing great baseball. They had a winning percentage of .688 and were on a 111-win pace.
We knew that could not continue to that extent, but just over a month after that hot start, the O's could be under .500 with a loss tonight.
This has not been a slump, this has been a collapse of a pitching staff. Sure, the offense shares blame, too. But right now, the rotation's shortcomings are glaring.
Since that start where the O's got 12 games over .500 they are...