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Jones' bat cools off and Bowie's playoff chances takes a big hit

September 04, 2011, 4:49am

Orioles

Jones' bat cools off and Bowie's playoff chances takes a big hit

That great second half Adam Jones was having has been slightly derailed in recent games. Jones picked up a hit in last night's game against Tampa, but is just 1-for-18 over his last five games and is batting .083 (3-for-36) over his last 11 games without a homer and just two RBIs. This has all dropped Jones' batting average from .299 to .284. Maybe Jones could use a day or two of rest. Perhaps he is still hampered by the chest muscle injury that sent him to the hospital in Minnesota. He has...

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Markakis at first base, Hudson making debut (Rays lineup)

September 04, 2011, 7:21am

Orioles

Markakis at first base, Hudson making debut (Rays lineup)

Manager Buck Showalter has made major changes to the lineup today, moving Nick Markakis to first base for only the second time, putting Matt Angle in right and giving Kyle Hudson his first major league start in left field. For the Orioles: Matt Angle RF J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis 1B Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Mark Reynolds 3B Robert Andino 2B Kyle Hudson LF Craig Tatum C Jeremy Guthrie RHP For the Rays: Jennings CF Damon DH Longoria 3B Joyce RF Lobaton C Kotchman 1B Guyer...

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Strop makes a solid impression in 6-3 loss

September 03, 2011, 5:02pm

Orioles

Strop makes a solid impression in 6-3 loss

Pedro Strop, acquired from the Rangers on a waiver claim that sort of qualified him as a player to be named later, struck out two Rays during a perfect eighth inning tonight. I know very little about Strop besides how he was signed by the Rockies as a shortstop and became a pitcher four years later. I heard he threw in the mid-90s and had a live arm, which is much better than having a dead one. Strop fanned B.J. Upton and Sean Rodriguez tonight, and retired Casey Kotchman on a fly ball to...

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A few pregame notes

September 04, 2011, 5:16am

Orioles

The season series between the Orioles and Rays is tied, 7-7. The Orioles are 1-5 in Baltimore, but 6-2 at Tropicana Field. The all-time series is tied, 118-118. A win today would give the Orioles consecutive road series wins for the first time since they took two of three from the Rays on Sept, 27-29, 2010 and swept the Rays in the opening series of 2011 (April 1-3). Kevin Gregg notched his 20th save Friday night and became the 16th Oriole pitcher ever to record 20 or more saves in a season -...

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Markakis homers, but Simon struggles as Rays even series with victory

September 03, 2011, 4:58pm

Orioles

Markakis homers, but Simon struggles as Rays even series with victory

Coming into tonight's game the Orioles had given up just 11 runs to Tampa Bay in seven games this year at Tropicana Field. Tonight, B.J. Upton drove in five runs by himself. Upton's big night - he had a two-run double and three-run double - led Tampa Bay to a 6-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday night. The loss was the O's 82nd and clinched a losing record for the Orioles for the 14th consecutive season. Jim Hunter talks with Buck Showalter about the Orioles' 6-3 loss to the Rays The...

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Matusz to go on Monday (Rays lead, 6-3)

September 03, 2011, 2:09pm

Orioles

Brian Matusz was skipped in the rotation tonight, but manager Buck Showalter told reporters in St. Petersburg that the left-hander will start Monday afternoon at Yankee Stadium. So much for a long wait. Alfredo Simon is taking the mound tonight. Hopefully, he'll still be there when MASN2 begins to air the game at 7:06 p.m. It's a Fox window issue, and I don't mean Jake. But anyway ... Matusz is 1-7 with a 9.07 ERA this season. He's 2-4 with a 3.65 ERA in six career starts against New...

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Looking at the amazing performance this year by Orioles pitching at the Trop

September 03, 2011, 12:26pm

Orioles

The Orioles have put some together some rather stunning pitching stats this season at Tropicana Field. It is the place where they gave up just three runs total in sweeping a three-game, season-opening series. It is a place where they are 6-1 this year and have outscored the Rays there 30-11. The Orioles' team ERA at the Trop is 1.60 on the season and the ERA of the starting pitchers there is 1.47. Tampa Bay batters have just 36 hits in the seven games and are batting just .168 against...

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Any room left on the Britton bandwagon?

September 03, 2011, 5:07am

Orioles

Just about a month ago, some Orioles fans were jumping off the Zach Britton bandwagon. Now some of the same fans are probably looking to get back on. Britton began this year pitching very well and now it seems he is ending his season in the same fashion. Thanks to that seventh-inning rally Friday night, the Orioles' young gun lefty outdueled one of the top young lefties in the game in David Price. I know some fans jumped off the Britton bandwagon because I heard them do so in recent weeks...

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Random thoughts and ramblings

September 02, 2011, 6:37pm

Orioles

Jim Johnson retired all six batters he faced last night after replacing Zach Britton in the seventh inning. I'll say it again: He's got to be in the top three voting for Most Valuable Oriole. His name will appear on my ballot. I talked to one reporter who said he'd choose Mark Reynolds over Johnson for third place behind Adam Jones and J.J. Hardy. I can't omit Johnson, who leads American League relievers in innings pitched and lowered his ERA last night to 2.58. We can continue to...

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Orioles and Rays lineups

September 03, 2011, 11:15am

Orioles

The Orioles are sticking with a familiar lineup tonight against Tampa Bay right-hander Wade Davis. For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Robert Andino 3B Nolan Reimold LF Ryan Adams 2B Alfredo Simon RHP For the Rays: Desmond Jennings LF Johnny Damon DH Evan Longoria 3B Matt Joyce RF B.J. Upton CF Casey Kotchman 1B Sean Rodriguez 2B John Jaso C Reid Brignac SS Wade Davis RHP

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Pie injured, Orioles hang on for 3-2 win

September 02, 2011, 5:09pm

Orioles

Triple-A Norfolk center fielder Felix Pie left tonight's game in the top of the fourth inning with a strained hamstring. My guess is he'll be listed as day-to-day. Pie grounded to short to end the bottom of the third, making him 0-for-2 and leaving his average at .250. Tyler Henson moved to center as Pie's replacement, Brandon Snyder went from first base to left field, and Adam Donachie took over as the first baseman and leadoff hitter - something you're not likely to see happen again with...

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Frederick Keys gear up for playoffs and other minor league notes

September 02, 2011, 8:43am

Orioles

Frederick Keys gear up for playoffs and other minor league notes

With four games to go, the Single-A Frederick Keys are putting the finishing touches on an excellent regular season and gearing up for the Carolina League playoffs. At 79-56, the Keys have the best record in the league despite losing five of the last six games. Frederick won the first half and leads the second half by a half-game over Potomac at 38-28. The Keys are already assured of having their best record ever. The 2005 team went 79-61 and this team will finish better than that even if it...

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Tonight's Orioles-Rays game will be joined in progress on MASN2/MASN2 HD

August 30, 2011, 10:31am

Orioles

While MASN prides itself on giving its loyal viewers the most comprehensive Orioles coverage possible, even our network is subject to Major League Baseball's rules governing game broadcasts. That's why the beginning of tonight's Orioles-Rays game from Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Fla., can't be shown. MLB rules reserve the period between 4-7 p.m. on Saturdays for the national broadcast on FOX. The Rays have exercised their option to begin tonight's game at 6:05 p.m. - which, as...

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Britton outduels Price and O's come out on top at the Trop

September 02, 2011, 5:48pm

Orioles

Britton outduels Price and O's come out on top at the Trop

Orioles fans can dream of a future when a pitcher like Zach Britton goes toe to toe with Tampa Bay ace David Price and the Orioles escape with the victory. They can dream of it or just go back and watch the tape of tonight's game. Britton settled down after giving up two runs in the first inning and J.J. Hardy came up with a huge two-run single in the seventh as the Orioles and Britton rallied to beat Price and Tampa Bay, 3-2 tonight. The Orioles are now 7-6 on the year against the Rays and...

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It could be hard to buy runs tonight against Price

September 02, 2011, 3:54pm

Orioles

It could be hard to buy runs tonight against Price

The Orioles scored six runs Thursday against Toronto. They may not get to that total tonight facing Tampa's David Price. He is a pitcher on a roll right now. Price has an ERA of 1.45 over his last four starts and has allowed a batting average of just .173 in those starts. He went 3-2 with an ERA of 2.13 in six August starts. He is coming off an outing where he set a Tampa single-game record with 14 strikeouts. He pitched seven shutout innings of three-hit ball Sunday at Toronto with the 14...

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A different Britton in first inning

September 02, 2011, 3:40pm

Orioles

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Orioles lineup against Rays, Roberts update

September 02, 2011, 12:43pm

Orioles

For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Robert Andino 3B Nolan Reimold LF Ryan Adams 2B Zach Britton LHP Brian Roberts is at Tropicana Field. He's scheduled to meet with reporters in manager Buck Showalter's office around 5:10 p.m. His interview will air on O's Xtra on MASN2, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Update: Roberts told reporters that he's continuing to progress, but while he hasn't ruled out playing...

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Trying to figure out how Strop got here

September 01, 2011, 8:31pm

Orioles

I appreciated the many responses I got on Twitter yesterday when I tweeted my confusion over the Orioles' acquisition of right-handed pitcher Pedro Strop. It was announced that he was claimed on waivers but also some reports said he was claimed as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Mike Gonzalez to Texas. I was confused about that. If he was the player to be named later, why did the O's have to then also claim him on waivers, I wondered. As an aside here, yes it is a slow...

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Navigating through 40-man confusion

September 02, 2011, 9:52am

Orioles

I've warned you that math isn't my thing, and it challenged me again this week during the flurry of 40-man roster moves. It reminded me of the ol' shell game. Guys were moving on and off the roster so fast, my eyes began to cross. I thought Mark Hendrickson's addition after his 48-hour removal, and the Michael Gonzalez trade, left the Orioles without any more room for an outsider. I had Hendrickson pegged as the 40th. Mike Ballard and Mitch Atkins came off, Kyle Hudson and Rick VandenHurk...

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Reynolds, the roster and the rotation

September 02, 2011, 4:04am

Orioles

I'm dealing with serious laptop issues today, so you'll have to be patient with me. I had to borrow my daughter's computer, which made her a little uncomfortable. I could tell. And I don't know why. It's not like a teenage girl has anything to hide from her father. I had to charge the battery, download Verizon wireless and basically bring it back to life. Unfortunately, it doesn't have everything that I need to make this blog function at its usual efficiency, but I'm getting some...