Steve Melewski

The Orioles are playing .615 ball in AL East games

April 22, 2013, 9:01pm

Orioles

It's a good thing the Orioles are playing well early on in games against the AL East because they sure seem to play a lot of games against AL East opponents right now. In fact, this series with Toronto will end a stretch where the Orioles have opened the season playing 15 of their first 21 games against teams from the division. Their 2-1, walk-off win over Toronto Monday night improved the O's record to 8-5 in the East. They have back-to-back walk off wins in division games after Matt...

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Postgame quotes from Tillman, Wieters and Markakis

April 22, 2013, 7:04pm

Orioles

Postgame quotes from Tillman, Wieters and Markakis

After pitching a total of 14 innings over his first three starts, Chris Tillman needed to start getting deeper into games and he did that tonight in the Orioles' 2-1 win over Toronto. Tillman didn't get a decision, but gave his team a strong start, allowing just four hits and one run over 6 2/3 innings to lower his ERA from 7.07 to 5.23. "He had all of his pitches working," catcher Matt Wieters said. "He had four pitches he could throw for strikes. We really didn't even break out the...

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Markakis with a walk-off RBI single as O's beat Jays 2-1

April 22, 2013, 6:06pm

Orioles

Markakis with a walk-off RBI single as O's beat Jays 2-1

There's another walk-off win for the Orioles. Nick Markakis looped an 0-2 pitch from Aaron Loup safely into left field with the bases loaded and two outs in the last of the ninth as the Orioles beat Toronto 2-1 in front of 11,168 chilled fans at Camden Yards. The lefty Loup came on in the ninth and hit Chris Davis with the inning's first pitch. An intentional walk issued to Nolan Reimold and a two-out error by shortstop Munenori Kawasaki kept the inning alive, and the O's made the Jays pay...

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Orioles rank fourth in AL East in starting pitchers' innings and ERA

April 22, 2013, 2:09pm

Orioles

Throughout this season, the amount of innings, or at times, the lack of innings, Orioles starters are pitching right now has been an issue. Here is a look at the average innings per start by each team in the AL East: 6.24 - Tampa Bay 6.13 - Boston 6.00 - New York 5.54 - Orioles 5.40 - Toronto How they rank in starting pitchers' ERA: 2.53 - Boston, first in AL 3.44 - New York, fifth in AL 3.77 - Tampa Bay, sixth in AL 4.97 - Orioles, 10th in AL 5.61 - Toronto, 13th in AL How many times O's...

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Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair talks about Jake Arrieta and his struggles

April 22, 2013, 1:12pm

Orioles

There are plenty of people rooting for Jake Arrieta to perform better consistently at the big league level, including those who have worked the most and closest with him. Like Orioles pitching coach Rick Adair. What does he want Arrieta to accomplish when he joins Triple-A Norfolk after being optioned to the minors today? "I don't think there is any one thing," Adair said this afternoon. "Just get to the point where he can get out there like he did in the third yesterday and do damage...

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Pitcher Alex Burnett is here and talks about joining the Orioles

April 22, 2013, 11:33am

Orioles

The newest Oriole is Alex Burnett, who joined the club today from Triple-A Norfolk. He takes the roster spot of Jake Arrieta, who was optioned to the Tides. The Orioles claimed the 25-year-old right-hander off waivers from Toronto on April 12 and he had pitched in three games with the Tides, going 3 2/3 innings, allowing no runs on two hits with no walks and four strikeouts. It has been a whirlwind few weeks for Burnett. He was with the Twins the last three seasons, but was claimed off...

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Three of four O's minor league clubs are in first place

April 22, 2013, 8:30am

Orioles

Three of four O's minor league clubs are in first place

The Orioles' four full-season minor league teams continue to all have winning records and three of the four are either alone in first place or tied for first. The four have a combined 40-30 (.571) record. * Triple-A Norfolk is 10-8 in second place * Double-A Bowie is 10-8 in first place * Single-A Frederick is 9-7 in first place * Single-A Delmarva is 11-7, tied for first place Bowie's offense has been pretty amazing with a .303 team batting average and 126 runs scored so far - and that is...

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Presenting some possible theories for Arrieta's struggles

April 21, 2013, 6:38pm

Orioles

Presenting some possible theories for Arrieta's struggles

We all know that Jake Arrieta has a lot of talent. He can throw a mid-90s fastball and a knee-buckling curveball. But he can't get his ERA under 6.00 right now and he hasn't pitched beyond five innings this year. He clearly has consistent issues with his control and command. Here are some theories on why he is struggling so much: * He thinks too much out there: This is a popular theory, that the issue is much more in his head than his arm. He overthinks things out there, some insist. He...

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Wieters and Davis talk about Arrieta's command issues

April 21, 2013, 2:17pm

Orioles

Wieters and Davis talk about Arrieta's command issues

Orioles catcher Matt Wieters was asked about Jake Arrieta's continuing command issues. Is it mechanical or are there some other issues? "We are going to work hard to find it where it's locked in a little more," Wieters said. "That's the big thing is he had it early. Just being able to keep it through a whole game, he has to find some keys that he can lock into and be able to come back to. "It's there. Now it is just a matter of being consistent and that is what everyone in baseball is...

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Arrieta: "The Dodgers didn't beat us today, I beat us"

April 21, 2013, 1:47pm

Orioles

Arrieta: "The Dodgers didn't beat us today, I beat us"

After another short and inconsistent outing, Jake Arrieta took the fall for today's Orioles loss to the Dodgers. He could not hold a 4-1 lead or get a single out in the fifth as he walked five and allowed five runs in four innings plus four batters. "Really feel like the Dodgers didn't beat us today, I beat us," Arrieta said. "Put us in a tough situation. Not giving up many hits at all, but making their job easier by putting them on base for free. It's unacceptable. It's not something I...

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Arrieta has another short outing as O's lose series finale with Dodgers

April 21, 2013, 1:01pm

Orioles

Arrieta has another short outing as O's lose series finale with Dodgers

The Orioles' momentum in this series came to a screeching halt today in the top of the fifth inning at Camden Yards. Working with a 4-1 lead, O's starter Jake Arrieta loaded the bases on a pair of four-pitch walks and a hit batter. The Dodgers turned that into a four-run inning to take a 5-4 lead on their way to a sweep-avoiding 7-4 victory. Arrieta's inconsistency was on display as he needed just 23 pitches in the first two innings, then threw 37 in the third, followed by a 1-2-3 fourth...

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Arrieta continues to frustrate himself and the fans with another inconsistent outing

April 21, 2013, 11:22am

Orioles

Arrieta continues to frustrate himself and the fans with another inconsistent outing

Well, it has now probably gone beyond frustrating. Maybe it's reaching the exasperation point for the fans, the players and Jake Arrieta himself. His inconsistency was on display again today against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He retired the game's first six batters on 23 pitches. At that point, ESPN's Buster Olney posted this on Twitter: "You watch Jake Arrieta dominate hitters the way he did in the first inning against LAD and you understand why O's think he's capable of more" But just...

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Orioles offense is trending upward again

April 21, 2013, 9:49am

Orioles

The Orioles have taken a roundabout way to get there, but their offense through 17 games has been solid. Here is what I mean by roundabout: They began the year scoring 34 runs in the first five games. A stretch producing just 29 runs over nine games followed and now they have scored 23 runs over the last three games. So over an eight-game stretch - at the start of the year and the last three games - they are scoring 7.1 runs per game. In the nine games in between they averaged just 3.2. But...

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Matt Wieters on his 70 percent success rate throwing out runners

April 21, 2013, 8:29am

Orioles

Matt Wieters on his 70 percent success rate throwing out runners

Matt Wieters has now thrown out seven of 10 potential base stealers and his 70 percent success rate leads the American League. Joe Mauer of Minnesota has gotten 60 percent (3-of-5) and no one else is close to that pair in the AL. Wieters has made improvements in this area and said he feels the speed of getting the throw off is probably the biggest factor in throwing out a runner. "I always think getting rid of the ball is the biggest factor. Get rid of it quick and then make an accurate...

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Jones reacts to DH duties while Chen was pretty tough on himself after last night's win

April 20, 2013, 8:16pm

Orioles

Jones reacts to DH duties while Chen was pretty tough on himself after last night's win

Entering last night's game, Adam Jones had just three at-bats in his big league career serving as the designated hitter. Now he can add four more to that. Batting fourth as the DH, Jones went 1-for-4 with an RBI double in the 6-1 win over the Dodgers. Through 17 games, he is batting .352 with seven doubles, two homers, 14 RBIs and a .905 OPS. When an everyday player gets moved to DH for a game it can be a unique adjustment dealing with some down time and it was for Jones last night. "I'm...

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Manny Machado on his big night, plus comments from Chen and McLouth

April 20, 2013, 6:57pm

Orioles

Manny Machado on his big night, plus comments from Chen and McLouth

Manny Machado is not one to over-analyze his own play but tonight he was asked if he could explain how he is hitting homers at a greater rate in the majors than he did last year at Double-A Bowie. Last season there, Machado hit 11 homers in 109 Baysox games and now he has nine in 68 big league games after his three-hit, four RBI night led the Orioles to a 6-1 win over the Dodgers. "You know I just think the more at-bats I get the more comfortable I feel at the plate," Machado said. "It...

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Machado homers and drives in four as O's sweep doubleheader

April 20, 2013, 6:03pm

Orioles

Machado homers and drives in four as O's sweep doubleheader

Orioles fans have seen Manny Machado do some special things for their team already in his short big league career. He had quite a night tonight, leading the Orioles past Los Angeles 6-1 and a sweep of today's day-night doubleheader. The Orioles are 10-7 and three games over .500 for the first time in 2013. They have won three in a row, four of five and seven of the last 10 games. This was the O's first doubleheader sweep since Oct. 1, 2010 vs. Detroit With the game tied 1-1 in the last of...

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Orioles Hall of Famers return to honor Earl Weaver

April 20, 2013, 2:50pm

Orioles

They came back to say goodbye to the Earl of Baltimore. Orioles Hall of Famers Cal Ripken Jr. and Brooks Robinson spoke tonight at a pregame ceremony to honor the life of former Orioles manager and fellow Hall of Famer Earl Weaver, who died in January. Brooks spoke to Earl's family in his opening remarks. "You have been in our hearts and prayers for the last few months. We all butted heads with Earl every once in a while, but we admired him for sure," Robinson said. "I think even the...

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Postgame comments from Hammel and Reimold after the O's beat the Dodgers

April 20, 2013, 1:08pm

Orioles

Postgame comments from Hammel and Reimold after the O's beat the Dodgers

With a second game coming today, Jason Hammel was in trouble early in today's opening game. He was at 51 pitches through two innings and down 4-0. Not the way he wanted his day to start. "After I was at 51 after two I was like, 'Not with a doubleheader, I have to get deep.' That would have been the worst thing to do, kill the bullpen on the first game," Hammel said. "I was pretty happy with it overall. "Actually save for one pitch or two or three overall. The three-run homer to (Andre)...

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Reimold's two-run double in eighth gives O's 7-5 win over LA

April 20, 2013, 12:01pm

Orioles

Reimold's two-run double in eighth gives O's 7-5 win over LA

On a day where they fell behind 4-0, rallied to lead 5-4 and were tied at 5-5, the Orioles had the final answer today to beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-5 in the opener of the series. Nolan Reimold's two-run double to right in the bottom of the eighth broke the 5-5 tie. Chris Davis doubled with one out for his third hit of the day and two walks - one intentional - loaded the bases for the O's left fielder. He drove in three on the day. The Orioles ended a five-game losing streak to the...