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Eight was enough: O's end streak with blowout win

April 19, 2011, 5:42pm

Orioles

Eight was enough: O's end streak with blowout win

After not hitting much and not winning for eight games, the Orioles' offense broke out Tuesday night at Camden Yards as the Birds beat Minnesota, 11-0 to end the eight-game losing streak. Brian Roberts and Matt Wieters combined for seven RBI, and Vladimir Guerrero added a three-run home run as the Orioles evened the series with the win and improved to 7-9 on the year. Tom Davis catches up with Matt Wieters following the Orioles' 11-0 win over the Twins Minnesota starter Carl Pavano had...

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Quick Mahoney update

April 19, 2011, 4:35pm

Orioles

While there was some talk that first baseman Joe Mahoney could return from the disabled list and play tonight, he is not in the Bowie Baysox lineup and has still not been activated off the DL. Mahoney has been out since he played on April 9th for Double-A Bowie with a quad injury. It doesn't appear that the O's 2010 minor league Player of the Year will return tomorrow, but it's possible. A late-week return seems more likely. It is still a day-to-day type injury and no MRI or further tests...

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Getting an early clutch hit

April 19, 2011, 3:51pm

Orioles

After they went 0-for-9 the last two games and 2-for-20 the past three games with runners in scoring position, the Orioles got some big hits early tonight to lead Minnesota 3-0 in the third. After Carl Pavano breezed through a quick first inning on just seven pitches, the Orioles got to him for three runs on three hits in the last of the second. The rally started with a two-out, none-on infield hit to deep short by Adam Jones. After a walk, Matt Wieters delivered an RBI single to center....

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Arrieta can take more than a good fastball to the mound

April 19, 2011, 2:01pm

Orioles

Arrieta can take more than a good fastball to the mound

In the major leagues, it can take more than quality pitches for a starting pitcher to succeed. He may need poise, confidence, solid mound presence and a short memory to forget a bad outing as he navigates his way through a long season, hoping to make 32 or 33 starts and pitch over 200 innings. Jake Arrieta looks like a pitcher that might score well in some of those qualities a pitcher can take to the mound in addition to having a good fastball. "He has that potential," O's manager Buck...

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Checking in with another struggling O's reliever

April 19, 2011, 12:57pm

Orioles

Checking in with another struggling O's reliever

Kevin Gregg is not the only Orioles reliever looking to put up better numbers right now. Lefty Michael Gonzalez, who spent time on the DL with a strained left shoulder last year, said he is healthy and throwing fine right now. Still, he has been scored upon in four of his five outings and is 0-1 with a 10.38 ERA through five appearances. "I'm definitely not getting the results that I want but I feel really good. I am positive and upbeat about that. "Health-wise, my arm feels great. It's...

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Minor league notes on Snyder, Adams and Avery

April 19, 2011, 9:28am

Orioles

Minor league notes on Snyder, Adams and Avery

After a slow start, Brandon Snyder's bat is suddenly stirring at Triple-A Norfolk. Snyder is now batting .324 with a homer and eight RBIs after an impressive three-game batting surge. He had just three hits over his first six games, but has had eight in the past three contests. After batting just .150 in those first six games, Snyder had two homers among his three hits in last night's 10-5 Norfolk win over Charlotte. He is 8-for-13 over three games with a double, three homers and six RBIs,...

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Tillman's outing was encouraging (with Wieters audio)

April 19, 2011, 6:37am

Orioles

Tillman's outing was encouraging (with Wieters audio)

O's catcher Matt Wieters said before the game that Chris Tillman can pitch well at his current velocity and then Tillman went out and proved that to be true. We can all debate where Tillman's velocity went and why he doesn't throw low- to mid-90s more often now, but he doesn't. It doesn't mean he can't win consistently or pitch well if he gets ahead hitters and has movement on his pitches and command of them. Tillman's outing last night was encouraging. After yielding 10 runs and 15...

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Yet another night where the runs were not plentiful

April 18, 2011, 8:04pm

Orioles

Yet another night where the runs were not plentiful

It was another night of not much offense for the Orioles. The losing streak reached eight and the O's have scored a total of 20 runs during the skid. The last four games they have scored a total of 10 runs. Several individuals throughout the lineup continue to struggle. Vlad Guerrero went 0-for-4 in the loss and grounded into a double play. Guerrero just is not driving the ball at all right now and hit a 2-0 pitch to right field in the fourth inning. He has just one RBI the last nine...

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Tillman's outing so far (updated with final line)

April 18, 2011, 4:01pm

Orioles

Tillman's outing so far (updated with final line)

Chris Tillman, trying to bounce back from that early exit at New York last week, is off to a mixed start so far tonight. He and the Orioles trail the Twins 2-0 after three innings. Tillman has pitched two scoreless innings in the first and third, but gave up two runs in the second inning. Of the four hits he has allowed, three came consecutively in that frame. With one out, Michael Cuddyer and Danny Valencia hit back-to-back singles. Then catcher Drew Butera, batting just .113 at gametime,...

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Wieters said he's not concerned with Tillman's velocity

April 18, 2011, 1:51pm

Orioles

Wieters said he's not concerned with Tillman's velocity

O's right-hander Chris Tillman will take the mound tonight for the first time since he gave up nine hits and six runs over just 1 2/3 innings last Wednesday in New York. There has been a lot of talk about Tillman's velocity being down. Catcher Matt Wieters admits he has seen Tillman throw harder than he has this year, but also feels Tillman's current velocity is plenty good enough to win with. "He can definitely pitch at the velocity he is throwing now. I've seen where him he's been 94,...

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Wieters: "Everyone in the lineup believes in what they can do."

April 18, 2011, 1:14pm

Orioles

Wieters: "Everyone in the lineup believes in what they can do."

As the Orioles continue to struggle to score runs, the players tend to preach patience and say it is not time for them to make any drastic changes in their approach. "I don't think you can really change anything," catcher Matt Wieters said. "It's still early. Not everyone is swinging like they want to right now, but the big thing is, you can't press and that you believe in your ability. I think everyone in this lineup believes in what they can do." The Orioles scored just seven runs in...

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Will the Orioles make any lineup changes?

April 17, 2011, 7:08pm

Orioles

With the Orioles struggling to hit and mired in a seven-game losing streak where they have scored just 17 total runs, some fans have said they think it is time to shake up the lineup. I don't expect to see manager Buck Showalter do that. It would surprise me if it happened this early in the year. Just because someone bats in a different spot, doesn't mean they will suddenly start getting hits they were not getting before. Right now, there is not one Oriole that is a hot hitter. In fact,...

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Feel good story: Former Oriole Hoey returns to majors with Twins

April 17, 2011, 3:51pm

Orioles

Feel good story: Former Oriole Hoey returns to majors with Twins

The last few seasons, Jim Hoey pitched in the Orioles' minor leagues, battling back after two surgeries to try to get back to Baltimore and the major leagues. Hoey will make that return to the majors in Baltimore, but not with Baltimore. Traded by the Orioles to the Twins in December with Brett Jacobson in the deal for shortstop J.J. Hardy, Hoey began this year at Triple-A Rochester but was recalled to the majors today after the Twins' win over Tampa. That means he will be with the club...

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Swept away in Cleveland: O's losing streak reaches seven

April 17, 2011, 11:36am

Orioles

Swept away in Cleveland: O's losing streak reaches seven

For the Orioles, this was another day when they fell behind early and were frustrated on offense. The Birds lost, 4-2, at Cleveland this afternoon as they were swept in the three-game series and their losing streak reaches seven games. The Orioles completed a winless road trip, going 0-5 in New York and Cleveland with one rain out. Things have gotten so bad for the Orioles that Koji Uehara even issued a walk in the 8th inning. In fact, he walked two batters in the frame. That was the first...

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Are Lee and Guerrero usually slow starters?

April 16, 2011, 11:36am

Orioles

Are Lee and Guerrero usually slow starters?

I was wondering today if Derrek Lee and Vlad Guerrero have been slow starters in their careers. They have not hit much so far and maybe they are just not good hitters in early-season games. Well, both do have some good stats hitting in April. Lee has a career .270 average and .852 OPS in the month with 51 homers. But maybe the good news is that his April OPS ranks just fifth highest among the six months of the season. So he gets better after April according to his track record. The same is...

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Britton takes first loss as O's skid reaches five

April 15, 2011, 5:42pm

Orioles

Britton takes first loss as O's skid reaches five

After starting the year at 6-1, the Orioles have now lost five in a row to fall back to 6-6. Zach Britton took his first major league loss as Cleveland scored four in the third inning to beat the lefty and the Orioles 8-2 in the start of a three-game series. Britton gave up five runs and eight hits over six innings in falling 2-1 with an ERA of 2.75. Asdrubal Cabrera had a pair of two-run singles as the Tribe improved to 9-4. Justin Masterson improved to 3-0 with an ERA of 1.33, allowing just...

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Tribe gets four-spot off Britton in the third

April 15, 2011, 4:15pm

Orioles

Tribe gets four-spot off Britton in the third

After giving up just one run over his first 15 2/3 major league innings, Zach Britton allowed four in the last of the third at Cleveland tonight as the Tribe took the lead on the Orioles. Britton looked sharp at the start tonight, retiring the first six batters with three strikeouts. But Cleveland, which is 8-4 and tied for first in the AL Central, broke through with a four-run, six-hit inning. It included Lou Marson's RBI single, Asdrubal Cabrera's two-run single and a Travis Hafner sac...

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Mahoney hopes for a Sunday return to the Bowie lineup

April 15, 2011, 9:38am

Orioles

Mahoney hopes for a Sunday return to the Bowie lineup

It was the second game of the season for the Double-A Bowie Baysox. That's when first baseman Joe Mahoney, the Orioles' 2010 minor league Player of the Year, came up injured running the bases. The quad injury has forced Mahoney to the seven-day disabled list and he has missed the last five Baysox games. "It happened in Harrisburg, when I got my first hit, a double, rounding first. It's early, it's cold and they just want to make sure that I get it back to 100 percent so I am not dealing...

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Next Britton challenge: Stop a losing streak

April 14, 2011, 11:19pm

Orioles

Next Britton challenge: Stop a losing streak

For his first act, Zach Britton beat the defending American League East champions on the road in his major league debut. For his second act, he beat the Texas Rangers, who were 6-0 at the time and had scored 42 runs in those six contests. Britton calmly pitched 7 2/3 scoreless against that tough Texas lineup at Camden Yards in an impressive home debut. For his third act, Britton will try to stop an Orioles' losing streak. Another challenge for the kid. Somehow I suspect he will hold up just...

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Trying to sort it all out

April 14, 2011, 8:27pm

Orioles

I guess back on opening day, we would have been pleased with an Orioles' 6-5 start. But it doesn't seem as promising when it follows a 6-1 start and your team just suffered a blown lead at Yankee Stadium. Last night on my postgame radio show, "Baltimore Baseball Tonight" on 105.7 the Fan in Baltimore, it was pretty much a two-hour vent session. By the end, the fans got some things off their chests, but the O's had still blown the game in New York. It was disappointing because Jake...