Matusz, Jones and 'pen all come up big as road trip ends with a win

Matusz, Jones and 'pen all come up big as road trip ends with a win
Brian Matusz returned to the Orioles today to start what he hopes will be a solid season and Adam Jones saw his solid season continue this afternoon as the Orioles won the final game of their road trip, 2-1 at Seattle. The win snapped the Orioles' five-game losing streak. Gary Thorne interviews Buck Showalter after the O's 2-1 win For the second time this year, the Orioles won a game started by Mariners' rookie sensation right-hander Michael Pineda, even though he didn't get tagged with...

Best catch and best sight of the day

Best catch and best sight of the day
The best play of today was that catch by Adam Jones in the Seattle fourth. Running full go with his back to the plate, he reached out to rob Miguel Olivo just as he got to the wall. He had to take his eyes off the ball at the last moment, and I'm not sure how he could see the ball enough to get it in his glove, but he did, with a remarkable running catch. That might be the best catch I've ever seen Jones make, and that is saying something. Between his arm this year and his glove, his play on...

Updating Mahoney, Machado and Tillman; Bergesen Triple-A start set

Updating Mahoney, Machado and Tillman; Bergesen Triple-A start set
The Orioles were hoping that 2010 minor league Player of the Year Joe Mahoney could return to the Double-A Bowie Baysox by Sunday, but that is now very unlikely. Mahoney, who has been on the disabled list twice this year with a quad injury and has had just 34 at-bats with Bowie, has suffered a setback at extended spring training. The Orioles were hoping he could get into an extended spring training game Tuesday, but Mahoney is now out with a tight hamstring. Right now, that is a day-to-day...

Checking in with some Orioles & Mariners notes

Checking in with some Orioles & Mariners notes
Here are some notes and stats about the Orioles and Mariners as they begin a three-game series this afternoon. It's the second leg of a two-city road trip for the Orioles, who are 24-27 overall and 9-13 in road games. * The Orioles swept a three-game series from the Mariners May 10-12 in Baltimore by scores of 7-6, 4-2 and 2-1. They won the first and third games of the series with walk-off, extra-inning wins. O's starting pitchers worked to an ERA of 1.29 in that series. * The Mariners are...

Minor league updates on Machado, Mahoney, Hobgood and more

Minor league updates on Machado, Mahoney, Hobgood and more
The Orioles are hopeful that 2010 first-round draft pick Manny Machado will play in extended spring training games in Sarasota, Fla., starting Wednesday or Thursday. Machado has been out since May 5 with a left knee injury. In 25 games with Single-A Delmarva before that, he was hitting .333 with five homers, 21 RBIs and a 1.062 OPS. If he continues to progress he could return to the Delmarva lineup sometime next week. Double-A Bowie first baseman Joe Mahoney, who has been on the disabled...

Lost weekend at Oakland: A's win 6-4 to sweep the Orioles

Lost weekend at Oakland: A's win 6-4 to sweep the Orioles
When the Orioles scored four runs in the top of the fifth today it looked like the club might pick up a rare win at Oakland and give Zach Britton his first win since May 1. But the good vibes didn't last long. Josh Willingham's three-run homer capped Oakland's four-run last of the fifth off Britton as the A's regained the lead and beat the Orioles 6-4 to sweep the series. Oakland joins Cleveland and Tampa Bay as clubs that have swept the O's in a three-game series on the year. The...

Kipp Schutz leaves Frederick game in the second inning

Kipp Schutz leaves Frederick game in the second inning
Outfielder Kipp Schutz of the Single-A Frederick Keys left today's game at Salem in the second inning when he was hit by a pitch in the helmet. That was according to the team's Twitter feed, which said he left the field under his own power. The initial report was that Schutz was taken out as a precaution and was not showing any ill effects from being hit and that appears to be good news. He was just promoted to the Keys from Single-A Delmarva and played his first game in the Carolina League...

What will the Orioles do with the fourth pick in the draft?

What will the Orioles do with the fourth pick in the draft?
So will the Orioles take a position player or pitcher with the fourth pick in round one of the June 6 First-Year Player Draft? Will they take Bobby Bundy's brother or perhaps will Anthony Rendon fall to the Orioles at number four? These are some of the burning questions with the draft now just over a week away. Both Jim Callis of Baseball America and ESPN's Keith Law project the Orioles will take Oklahoma high school pitcher Dylan Bundy in their latest mock drafts. Callis has Pittsburgh...

The Orioles have just one win this year with Bergesen on the mound

The Orioles have just one win this year with Bergesen on the mound
No knock on Brad Bergesen, but when he has started this year, the Orioles have lost almost every time. They are just 1-7 in his eight starts this year. He'll try to begin to reverse that tonight when he makes his ninth start of the season tonight at Oakland. Bergesen is 1-5 with a 5.64 ERA on the season and his last appearance was on May 19. In his career, when pitching with six or more days of rest, he is 3-3 with an 5.65 ERA over eight starts. Showing his inconsistency this year, he gave...

Minor league notes on Townsend, Schutz, Miclat and Schrader

Minor league notes on Townsend, Schutz, Miclat and Schrader
First baseman Tyler Townsend of the Single-A Frederick Keys has missed the last three games, but is not injured. He is away from the team on a personal matter and should return soon. He could be back tonight but if he doesn't get back to the team in time for that game at Salem, the club just may wait until they return home on Monday for him to rejoin the club. Townsend, a 2009 third-round pick out of Florida International, got off to a blazing start and was hitting .344 but then his averaged...

Tillman talk and other notes from last night

Tillman talk and other notes from last night
You wouldn't think a pitcher that has worked to an ERA of 1.33 over his last four starts would be in danger of losing his rotation spot, but that may be the case for Chris Tillman. The positive results with that ERA have come at a time when he keeps failing to show pitch efficiency and struggles to get deep in games. Tillman's last four starts: May 11 vs. Seattle: 6 IP, 1 ER, 112 pitches. May 16 at Boston: 5 IP, 0 runs, 88 pitches. May 22 vs. Washington: 5 IP, 1 ER, 97 pitches. May 27 at...

A short start and long string of double plays end O's win streak

A short start and long string of double plays end O's win streak
To say the least, it was a frustrating night in Oakland, where the Orioles have had a few. Their starter could not survive five innings, meanwhile, at bat, the Orioles hit into four double plays. The scoreless streak for the Orioles' bullpen ended at 15 2/3 innings when Oakland scored three runs off Alfredo Simon in the sixth inning to break a 2-2 tie. The A's beat the O's 6-2 to end the Orioles' five-game win streak. The Orioles are now 1-10 in their last 11 games at Oakland and have...

Series preview: O's versus A's

Series preview:  O's versus A's
The Orioles begin a six-game west coast road trip with a three-game series at Oakland tonight. Now that they have reached the .500 mark at 24-24 with a five-game win streak, the O's could go over that mark tonight. A win would put Baltimore over the .500 mark for the first time since the Orioles were 6-5 on April 14. The Orioles are now 58-47 (.552) in 105 games since Buck Showalter took over last August as manager. Vladimir Guerrero is batting .380 during an 11-game hitting streak and Nick...

Extra-base hits have been elusive for Markakis

Extra-base hits have been elusive for Markakis
Nick Markakis has been starting to get base hits and his average is on the rise. Markakis is working on an 11-game batting streak, during which he is hitting .362 as the Orioles get set to open a series tonight at Oakland. But here is a disturbing Markakis stat. He has just eight extra-base hits through 46 games and is on pace for just 28 this year. The last four years he has averaged 66 extra-base hits per season. Why the power outage right now for Markakis, a player who usually cranks out...

Clubhouse comments from Vlad and Guthrie after the win over K.C.

Clubhouse comments from Vlad and Guthrie after the win over K.C.
After his game-winning RBI single in the 12th inning today, Vladimir Guerrero talked with reporters in the O's clubhouse with help from O's staffer Rudy Arias, who served as interpreter. Can you talk about your game-winning hit? "I was trying to look for a good pitch to hit and get a base hit. Nothing to pull or home runs, just trying to get good contact. I ran hard. I didn't know. Made sure I tried to beat the (possible) double play." On the Orioles getting back to .500. "I'm very...

Reimold on his two-homer game against Kansas City

Reimold on his two-homer game against Kansas City
The day didn't start out great for Nolan Reimold, but it ended up that way. In the top of the second inning, Reimold, playing in left field, threw to the wrong base. With a man on first and one out, Wilson Betemit singled and Reimold's throw to third was much too late to get the runner and allowed Betemit to move into second. Kansas City went on to score four runs. Nolan Reimold talks about his first multi-homer game in the big leagues as the O's beat the Royals 6-5 "I should have been...

A walk-off win and three-game sweep for the Orioles

A walk-off win and three-game sweep for the Orioles
After blowing a great opportunity to win the game in the last of the 11th, the Orioles did win it today in the 12th to complete a three-game sweep of the Kansas City Royals. Vladimir Guerrero's seeing-eye, ground single to center scored Robert Andino as the Orioles beat K.C. 6-5. Andino led off the 12th with a double and with one out and runners on first and second, Guerrero's single ended the game. The Orioles completed a 5-3 homestand. The Orioles trailed 4-0 after the top of the...

Reimold homer notes

Reimold homer notes
What do Cliff Lee and Jeff Francis have in common? Besides being left-handed pitchers, they are now the last two hurlers to yield two homers in a single game to an Orioles batter. Nolan Reimold produced his first major league multi-homer game today, going deep in the second and third innings off Francis. He hit a solo shot to left on an 0-1 pitch in the second and his three-run homer an inning later came on an 0-2 pitch. Reimold hit six homers this year for Triple-A Norfolk in 39 games over...

A rocky second for Guthrie as O's trail early against K.C.

A rocky second for Guthrie as O's trail early against K.C.
Jeremy Guthrie threw 42 pitches today in a rocky second inning. The Royals scored four times on five hits and a catcher's interference charged to Craig Tatum to take a 4-0 lead. Guthrie threw just 13 pitches in a sharp first inning when he fanned two batters, but was at 55 pitches through two frames. With two outs in the second, Tatum was charged with a catcher's interference as Alex Gordon reached. Melky Cabrera followed with a two-run single and both runs were unearned. Guthrie regrouped...

After shoulder scare, Tatum returns to Orioles

After shoulder scare, Tatum returns to Orioles
Catcher Craig Tatum returns to the Orioles today and will start the game, catching Jeremy Guthrie and batting ninth in the series finale against Kansas City. Not only is Tatum thrilled to be back in the major leagues, but he is very relieved he is not dealing with a major shoulder injury. In early May with Triple-A Norfolk, Tatum made a throw in a game and felt big-time time pain in that right shoulder that sent him to the disabled list. "When I threw a ball I thought I was dying, my...