FREDERICK, Md. - Single-A Frederick Keys shortstop Jonathan Schoop had a three-error top of the fifth inning tonight at Harry Grove Stadium.
The first error came when he was charged with fielder's interference, ruled by the umpires, that sent a baserunner from second to third base and putting runners on the corners with no outs for Lynchburg.
Bobby Bundy then issued his third walk of the night to load the bases for the Hillcats.
Then came a bizarre play that ended with Schoop adding his...
Orioles closer Kevin Gregg blew his fourth save tonight, surrendering a two-out single to Casey Kotchman that scored Ben Zobrist and tied the game 5-5.
It's not all Gregg's fault.
Zobrist tripled with one out, but the ball deflected off Felix Pie's glove as he lunged for it in left field. Again, we're not talking about a routine play. Far from it. But if the ball hits the glove, it must be squeezed. Pie needs to make that catch.
Isn't he normally a defensive replacement?
He was a...
Justin Duchscherer will make another attempt next week to go five innings in an extended spring training game.
Manager Buck Showalter said Duchscherer will pitch Tuesday or Wednesday.
According to the Orioles, Duchscherer left Tuesday's game in the third inning with spasms in his gluteus. He had completed four innings in his previous start despite being hit in the stomach by a line drive in the first, and he was scheduled to go five in his next outing.
The spasms apparently began after...
FREDERICK, Md. - The other Bundy is pitching well here tonight.
Lynchburg leads Single-A Frederick 1-0 after four innings at Harry Grove Stadium. The Bundy already with the Orioles, Bobby, is on the mound for the Keys tonight, making his 12th start. He begins tonight with a 6-3 record and ERA of 2.73 that is eighth best in the Carolina League.
The Hillcats scored off Bundy in the first when he walked the leadoff batter and the next hitter followed with a single. After a sac bunt, an Adam...
FREDERICK, Md. - Jonathan Schoop, the 19-year-old infielder from Curacao, was playing to rave reviews earlier this season when he was with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds.
That hasn't changed in the short time he has been here with the Single-A Frederick Keys, even though he has played in just six Frederick games.
Schoop is batting .324 between both teams, the second-best batting average this year in the O's minors behind Kipp Schutz at .343. Schoop is tied for third in the organization...
The Orioles announced today that they have recalled first baseman Brandon Snyder from Triple-A Norfolk.
Snyder, 24, batted .222 (2-9) in five games for the Orioles earlier this season.
In 47 games for Norfolk, Snyder batted .253 (48-190) with eight homers and 26 RBI.
Teams in the American League East haven't been bunched this tightly this late since 1994. Going into Friday night, the first-place Boston Red Sox and last-place Baltimore Orioles were six games a part.
The division is not known for parity, but it has it this year.
The Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays are better. The New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have struggled with pitching. The Tampa Bay Rays are pitching, but have trouble scoring.
Here's a look:
* A year ago, the Orioles were the...
J.J. Hardy will make his third career start tonight as a leadoff hitter. Pretty much a no-brainer there. And Brandon Snyder will start at first base against Rays left-hander David Price.
For the Orioles:
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Matt Wieters C
Nolan Reimold LF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Robert Andino 2B
Brandon Snyder 1B
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
Tim Nordbrook's "Aha!" moment came a few games into his rookie season, part of a commonplace baseball activity that's often taken for granted. The 25-year-old shortstop had just ranged into the hole to grab a ground ball, then thrown the batter out at first base. Orioles infielders were whipping the ball around the horn when the native Baltimorean got an attaboy from third baseman Brooks Robinson, his childhood idol.
"I turn to throw it to Brooksie and Brooksie says, 'Great play,...
Orioles scouting director Joe Jordan said he could not yet give us the names, but that the club has come to terms with some of its draft picks already.
"We have actually come to terms, I'm not going to give the names yet, but we've come to terms with at least two of our top 10 round picks. We are really, really close on a couple of other guys. There are three players in our top 10 still playing, so no work has been done on them. I expect that to happen in the next few days," Jordan said...
J.J. Hardy is batting leadoff tonight for the second time. We'll see if he hits another home run in his first at-bat.
For the Orioles:
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Matt Wieters C
Luke Scott 1B
Mark Reynolds 3B
Felix Pie LF
Robert Andino 2B
Jake Arrieta RHP
This stat snuck up on me, but the Orioles are 9-2 over their last 11 home games. They are 4-2 on the current nine-game homestand which continues this weekend against Tampa Bay. The Orioles are 19-16 at home on the season.
The O's are coming off a three-game sweep of Oakland where the pitching led the way. The Orioles' staff allowed just three earned runs, five walks and 17 hits in that series. The O's bullpen has now pitched to an ERA of 0.55 over the last 10 games and the 'pen pitched 10...
The Orioles' homestand continues tonight against the Tampa Bay Rays and right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, who's 7-3 with a 2.64 ERA.
Hellickson hasn't allowed a run against the Orioles in two starts this season covering 14 innings. He turned in five scoreless innings May 7 at Camden Yards, though he walked five batters, and tossed a four-hit shutout six nights later at Tropicana Field.
Overall, Hellickson is 3-0 with a 1.25 ERA in 21 2/3 career innings against the Orioles. They're batting...
Only once in a career that spanned nine seasons and nine different organizations did Jeff Manto have four or more home runs in a single year. But as Orioles fans should well remember, the 1995 season was a special one for Manto, who completed a run of homers in four consecutive at-bats on this day 16 years ago. His power surge tied a record he shared at the time with 23 other players.
"When you look at me you don't think I've got a chance to set any kind of record, but when you're having...
When I first met Kevin Gregg in spring training in Sarasota, Fla., I was immediately impressed with his demeanor. He was polite, engaging, confident and eager to help the Orioles move up in the standings.
As the season has progressed, Gregg has proven to be effective as the Orioles closer despite "living on the edge" in several save opportunities.
Gregg has his style and he refuses to change his way and give in to hitters. He has tremendous confidence in his ability to get out of a jam,...
The Orioles announced today that they have placed first baseman Derrek Lee on the bereavement list.
Lee will be eligible to be activated on June 12. Lee was batting .229 (40-175) with four home runs and 15 RBIs in 45 games for the Orioles.
A corresponding roster move will be announced at a later time.
If it's Thursday, the Orioles must be off. It happens three times on that day until we move to a new month.
Today's open date either was planned or it melted off the schedule from the heat.
The temperature for last night's first pitch was 96 degrees. That's just wrong.
The Orioles have won three in a row and four of five. They lost five straight on the West Coast before returning home. They won five straight before making that trip. They had lost four in a row before getting hot....
I no longer live in a major league town. Having moved to North Carolina a few years ago, I don't have the luxury I enjoyed for many years in Baltimore of catching a big league game on a moment's notice. It's one of many taken-for-granted things I miss now that I'm away from the place I'll always consider home. These days I find that I'm not breaking old habits so much as I'm finding replacements for them. So I still make regular ballpark visits during the summer; they just happen to be...
We're no longer scoreless at Camden Yards, but we are sweating off a pound a minute.
Vladimir Guerrero led off the bottom of the fifth with a single. After two strikeouts and a wild pitch, J.J. Hardy produced the game's first run with a single into right-center field.
He homers when he bats leadoff, he hits run-scoring singles when he bats seventh.
Mark Reynolds followed with his 10th home run, a 398-foot shot to left-center field that increased the Orioles' lead to 3-0.
Reynolds leads...
The Orioles made 20 picks on day three of 2011 First-Year Player Draft on Wednesday, completing rounds 31-50. The Orioles selected 50 players overall, 28 pitchers and 22 position players, with 32 of their 50 selections being college products. The Orioles selected 9 left-handed pitchers and 19 right-handed pitchers, 4 catchers, 1 first baseman, 1 second baseman, 4 third baseman, 4 shortstops and 8 outfielders.
ORIOLES 2011 DRAFT SELECTIONS
ROUND PLAYER POS SCHOOL ...