DUNEDIN, Fla. - With a few Orioles pitchers not getting the results they want so far this spring, the competition for the Orioles' starting rotation might be more open than it appeared to be.
While Chris Tillman made his first Grapefruit League start today, his spot in the starting five seems secure. But Miguel Gonzalez has struggled and Tyler Wilson, pitching in relief today, stated his case as the Orioles and Toronto played to a 6-6 tie in nine innings.
He gave up just two hits over 3 1/3...
ORIOLES QUICK WRAP
Score: Orioles 6, Blue Jays 6
Recap: An O's starting pitcher allowed at least one first-inning run for the 12th time in 16 games. Chris Tillman, making his first Grapefruit League start, allowed two runs and five hits in 1 2/3. He gave up both runs in the first. Jonathan Schoop and Pedro Alvarez had RBI singles for the Orioles. Schoop and Joey Rickard had two hits. Rickard is now batting .294. Toronto's A.J. Jimenez hit a two-run homer in the seventh off Parker Bridwell to...
DUNEDIN, Fla. - It sure seems like Orioles pitchers give up a lot of first-inning runs this spring, and Chris Tillman allowed two today in his first spring training game. The Orioles were down 2-1 after the first inning.
Tillman allowed a leadoff double to Toronto's Kevin Pillar, and one out later, he scored on a Jose Bautista single. Chris Colabello added an RBI single during the inning as the Blue Jays produced four hits.
Tillman is making his Grapefruit League debut today, but he did pitch...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Since first baseman Chris Davis re-signed with the Orioles, first baseman Christian Walker has gotten the question a few times. Will Walker be asked to play some outfield this year when he likely heads to Triple-A Norfolk.
He said the topic has at least come up recently.
"Possibly," Walker said. "Until now, that is pretty much what it is, just a conversation. I feel I'm athletic enough to make the adjustment and go out there and learn a new position. I'm here to help the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - The Orioles fans see the pitching numbers and have expressed concern. The O's staff entered today with a spring ERA of 7.28, the worst in the major leagues.
New O's starter Yovani Gallardo had a rocky outing this afternoon. At humid Ed Smith Stadium, he allowed four hits and five runs and gave up three homers in 2 1/3 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Gallardo was told about the fans' concern over the pitching during his post-start interview outside the Orioles...
SARASOTA, Fla. - In his brief pro career, and certainly as an amateur pitcher, right-hander Hunter Harvey must not have had too many days like Sunday.
Pitching in Fort Myers against the Minnesota Twins, the 21-year-old right-hander allowed three hits, two walks, threw a wild pitch and gave up five runs in just 1/3 of an inning. Two runs scored after Jason Garcia replaced him.
This morning, Orioles manager Buck Showalter announced that Harvey has been reassigned to minor league camp. Not because...
SARASOTA, Fla. - A few quotes and notes about the Orioles, who are 1-11-2 with 19 spring games remaining before opening day. They lost 14-5 to Minnesota yesterday, allowing 10 or more runs for the fifth time.
* At this point, you have to wonder if the Orioles are concerned about right-hander Miguel Gonzalez. After pitching to an ERA of 6.14 in 10 starts after the 2015 All-Star break, his spring ERA is 22.24 through three starts.
O's starting pitchers have allowed six runs or more three times...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - During a game that took 3 hours, 19 minutes, where his team allowed runs in five different innings, Orioles manager Buck Showalter saw some good and not so good today.
On a plus note, Pedro Alvarez played for the first time as an Oriole. He crushed a 1-1 pitch in the top of the first for an RBI double during a 1-for-3 day. But O's pitchers allowed 15 hits and 10 walks in a 14-5 loss to Minnesota. The Orioles are 1-11-2.
"Yeah, he (Alvarez) was solid," Showalter said. "I...
ORIOLES QUICK WRAP
Score: Twins 14, Orioles 5
Recap: Pedro Alvarez ripped an RBI double in his first O's at-bat in the top of the first. It came on a 1-1 pitch from Ricky Nolasco. Alvarez also grounded out and flied out in his first O's game. Miguel Gonzalez struggled again, allowing six runs and seven hits over 1 2/3. He has allowed 14 runs in 5 2/3 over three spring starts for an ERA of 22.24. Gonzalez has allowed six or more runs in two of his three starts. Hunter Harvey gave up five runs...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - There will be no prolonged hitless streak for new Oriole Pedro Alvarez. He crushed a 1-1 pitch off the right-center field fence for an RBI double in the first inning here today against the Twins.
Alvarez smoked the offering from Minnesota right-hander Ricky Nolasco to provide the Orioles a 1-0 lead during their three-run first inning at Hammond Stadium.
Joey Rickard led off with an infield single to third base and one out later, Christian Walker singled ahead of the Alvarez...
FORT MYERS, Fla. - Orioles catcher Matt Wieters might have a sore right elbow, but for now it appears the concern level is low.
Before today's game here, manager Buck Showalter said no MRI for Wieters is planned yet. Wieters spoke with reporters about his elbow in Sarasota.
"There is a reason an MRI is not scheduled at this point," Showalter said. "If the next two or three days don't manage as we hope, that might happen. That is up to Richie (Bancells, head athletic trainer). He should be...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Earlier here we discussed the Orioles' top 10 ranked prospects, according to Baseball America. Here is the previous story and another look at the top 10:
1) Dylan Bundy 2) Hunter Harvey 3) Chance Sisco 4) Jomar Reyes 5) Mychal Givens 6) Chris Lee 7) Ryan Mountcastle 8) Trey Mancini 9) D.J. Stewart 10) Mike Wright
According to the Baseball American Prospect Handbook (which went to press in early December), here are the players rated 11 through 30 with a comment on each and...
A few more notes and thoughts on the Orioles - and, yes, we are still waiting for the first spring training win.
* After Friday's 7-1 loss to the Yankees, the Orioles are 0-10-2. According to STATS, the last team with a longer winless streak to start spring training was the 2009 Astros at 0-16-3. That Houston team went 74-88.
After Thursday's loss left the Orioles at 0-9-2, they were the first team to go winless in their first 11 spring games since the 2012 Nationals, who were 0-10-1. That...
A few notes and random thoughts on the Orioles while we await that first spring win:
* I'm not sure exactly what to make of this stat, but the Orioles homered in the same exact number of games both in 2014 and 2015. But they won a higher percentage of those games both with and without homers in 2014 on their way to the American League East championship.
The 2015 Orioles went 70-42 when they homered, a winning percentage of .625. In the same number of games the year before, they went 79-33...
Strikeouts can frustrate fans. The batter failed to put the ball in play and if you can do that, at least you have a chance to get a hit. Even mishit balls like bloops can fall in for basehits. But not much good can come from a strikeout.
Since 2012, the Orioles have ranked among the top five teams in the American League in batter strikeouts three times. They had the third-most strikeouts in 2012, were ranked 11th in 2013, fifth in 2014 and third last year.
The Orioles struck out 1,331 times...
Now that the Orioles have acquired this power-packed lineup, just how many home runs might the 2016 Orioles mash? Can they set records?
With power throughout the lineup and with a team playing in a hitter friendly ballpark, another 200-homer season seems very likely.
Starting with 2012, the Orioles have hit 214, 212, 211 and 217 homers. They have ranked in the top three in the league in homers each year, leading the American League in 2013 and 2014. But those teams didn't have Mark Trumbo,...
In a recent entry here, I wrote that the Orioles could field a lineup this year with five players that have hit 30 or more homers in one season in the major leaguers. Change that number to six.
The Orioles agreed to terms with Pedro Alvarez last night on a one-year deal, pending a physical. Here are career-high homers totals for six Orioles, adding Alvarez:
53 - Chris Davis 36 - Pedro Alvarez 35 - Manny Machado 34 - Mark Trumbo 33 - Adam Jones 30 - J.J. Hardy
Alvarez, who turned 29 on Feb. 6,...
Around this time last year, left-hander Tanner Scott headed to Orioles minor league camp as a little-known reliever coming off hand surgery. A year later, he could be a pitcher on a fast track after throwing well last season and in the Arizona Fall League, with a fastball that has reached triple digits.
The 21-year-old Scott is not flying under the radar anymore. Perhaps he once was as a sixth-round draft pick in 2014, but now those days are over for a pitcher who averaged 12.8 strikeouts per...
So far in spring training the Orioles have lost a few games, had a few injuries and have seen a few shaky pitching performances.
No need for major concern yet, not over a few exhibition games. But not everyone agrees, including the fan that tweeted this to me yesterday:
"If there are any pitchers available who can win at a major league level, baltimore needs to get them. This is an embarrassment."
On that note, on to the latest edition of 10 questions. Answer as few or as many as you like....
Orioles pitching prospect David Hess, a 22-year-old right-hander, will be interesting to watch this year. Can he carry over his great finish to 2015 to the 2016 season?
Hess was struggling early last year at Single-A Frederick, but then he got on a tremendous roll. That led to a late-season promotion to Double-A Bowie where he pitched two big games in the playoffs for the Baysox as they won their first Eastern League championship.
Over his last 16 starts of 2015 - including 12 for Frederick and...