He had two hits and scored a run in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game Tuesday night. He got promoted to Single-A Frederick after that game. On Thursday afternoon, he found out he would play in the Futures Game and Thursday night he homered in just his second at-bat in the Carolina League.
Just Manny being Manny.
As in Manny Machado, the Orioles' top prospect who won't turn 19 until July 6.
Machado had homered just once in his last 16 games with Single-A Delmarva, but connected in...
It has not been a good week for the Baltimore Orioles, as they have struggled in interleague play, losing two out of three games to the Washington Nationals and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Much like the Orioles, the Pirates and Nationals have been your traditional bottom-feeders recently; however, they have improved greatly this season. They are not seen as contenders, but they are no longer doormats, either.
That same notion can be also applied to the Orioles. A lot of people at the start of the...
For the first time in three outings, Triple-A Norfolk's Chris Tillman didn't have a start cut short by the weather.
Unfortunately, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre forced his early exit this afternoon.
Tillman allowed five earned runs (six total) and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings. He walked two and struck out four. His ERA rose to 4.56.
Tillman threw 97 pitches, 62 for strikes.
Tillman's last start ended after a 42-minute rain delay. He allowed one unearned run over 3 2/3 innings.
Jake Fox, who's...
Every year, there are players in the minor leagues who seem to fly under the radar, guys who are not considered top prospects or are not high-round draft picks.
But they put up good numbers and we should notice that.
Ty Kelly at Single-A Delmarva is one of those guys, and I got the chance to meet and interview him before Tuesday's All-Star Game at Perdue Stadium.
Kelly is 10th in the South Atlantic League batting at .312 in 52 games with seven doubles, three homers and 27 RBIs.
He went...
Brian Roberts may be missing from the Orioles lineup, but he's been busy putting the finishing touches on one of every summer's top fundraising events: Brian's Baseball Bash.
The sixth annual event, which raises money for programs at the University of Maryland Children's Hospital, will be held July 24 at 6 p.m. at Dave and Buster's at Arundel Mills Mall, 7000 Arundel Mills Circle. This year's edition will benefit three programs - expansion of the neonatal intensive care unit, clinical...
We are a time during each and every season where teams looking forward to playing in October are looking for help via trades. They need an extra piece to contend and often look at second division teams to acquire a player or two for the stretch run.
Meanwhile, teams that know they are realistically out of contention for the season are looking to dump expensive or productive players with value in exchange for young talent or a player who is perhaps more cost-effective.
For the Orioles, Jeremy...
The Orioles and Pirates have a 12:35 p.m. game today at PNC Park, which means an early lineup posting and a free night.
I'm talking about myself. I don't care what they do.
Zach Britton is taking the mound for the 15th time today. Nine of his outings have resulted in quality starts.
I'd settle for him getting through the game without an injury.
Brad Bergesen probably woke up with a bruise on the right side of his back after being nailed by Jose Tabata's liner last night.
I've woke...
Blake Davis is in the starting lineup today at second base.
For the Orioles:
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Derrek Lee 1B
Matt Wieters C
Luke Scott LF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Blake Davis 2B
Zach Britton LHP
Orioles pitchers are a combined 5-for-12 (.417) at the plate this year with two doubles and two RBIs. All other AL teams are a combined 9-for-120 (.075). Britton recorded his first major league hit Friday in Washington.
The Orioles have collected 62 hits in the last five...
The cities of Baltimore and Pittsburgh have been through quite a bit with their baseball teams in the last decade. They are roughly four hours apart in terms of driving distance, and of course, have passionate fan bases when it comes to their sports.
As we all know, both cities have quite a few parallels; however, none of them mirror more closely than the futility of their baseball franchises.
The Orioles have not had a winning season since 1998, and the Pirates have not had one since Barry...
Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts was reevaluated today by Dr. Michael Collins, a concussion specialist in Pittsburgh, and told to return again in two weeks.
Roberts has tracked pop-ups, according to president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail, but his baseball activities are limited. He's mostly confined to conditioning exercises, and he's still experiencing mild headaches when exerting himself. While he's making progress, it's coming in small increments.
Buck Showalter gives the...
SALISBURY, Md. - Manny Machado is not the only Delmarva Shorebird position player here at the South Atlantic League All-Star game.
Ty Kelly is batting ninth at second base for the North team. Kelly is 10th in the league batting at .312 in 52 games with seven doubles, three homers and 27 RBIs.
He went 8-for-16 over his past four Shorebirds' games and, after hitting .259 for Delmarva last year, has taken his game to a higher level in 2011.
"The more I think about it, there were times I...
Not to put any pressure on Jeremy Guthrie tonight, but besides pitching for the first time since straining a muscle in his back, he also is expected to produce at least one hit.
Orioles pitchers are a combined 4-for-9 (.444) with a double and two RBIs. Jake Arrieta recorded his first major league hit last night, Chris Jakubauskas had his first two hits Sunday at Washington and Zach Britton recorded his first hit Friday.
Guthrie is 1-for-17 in his career. If you remember his double off...
Luke Scott has returned to left field after leaving Saturday's game in Washington with back spasms.
For the Orioles:
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Derrek Lee 1B
Matt Wieters C
Luke Scott LF
Mark Reynolds 3B
Robert Andino 2B
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
Sometimes in the minor leagues you can find players who actually put up better stats as they move up to higher levels. You wouldn't think that possible, but some players mature and learn more about the game and themselves, and it happens.
Joe Mahoney hit .222 his first year at Single-A Delmarva in 2008. He returned there in 2009 and hit .278. Then in 2010, Mahoney hit .299 at Single-A Frederick and then .319 at Double-A Bowie.
His game took steps forward as he moved up.
For lefty pitcher...
Jake Arrieta makes his 16th start tonight, and his first against the Pittsburgh Pirates.
He's only faced one Pirate in his career - and yes, that sounds a little strange. First baseman Lyle Overbay is 0-for-3 against him.
Arrieta leads the Orioles with 11 quality starts by definition. And I use "by definition" to avoid any debates over just how good he threw in some of those games. We're talking three earned runs or fewer over six innings or more.
Four of his six outings on the road have...
Matt Hobgood took the mound today for the Gulf Coast League Orioles and made quick work of the GCL Twins, retiring the side in order in the first inning on three ground balls. Ryan Berry, a ninth-round pick out of Rice in 2009, replaced him in the second.
Hobgood, 20, had been rehabbing a strained rotator cuff at extended spring training. Today marked his return to affiliated game action.
Afterward, he tweeted the following on @Matt_Hobgood48: "Feels great to be back in games again. Arm was...
There's been a lot said about the Orioles' Brian Matusz going into this season.
As the O's are still in a rebuilding phase - despite the addition of talent onto the roster - how they will do next season and beyond will depend on their pitching. Well, Matusz is an essential part of that and everyone is hoping for the best for him and the young supply of arms in the organization.
Although Matusz started 2010 on a pretty rough note, and included a stretch where he only won one start in the...
The Orioles, who took a 5-0 lead in the first inning tonight at Pittsburgh, began this game as major league's lowest-scoring first inning team.
They come in averaging just 0.26 first-inning runs per game to rank last in the majors.
0.26 - Orioles
0.29 - Seattle
0.32 - Oakland
0.36 - Kansas City and Washington
The Yankees lead the majors in scoring with 0.76 first inning runs per game.
The O's got five runs on six hits in the big inning as Adam Jones delivered a two-run single and they got...
With the Basic Agreement expiring at the end of the season, players and team owners are thinking about realignment.
The reason this is being discussed is that both sides want more equity within division races. The thought is that it is unfair for six teams in the National League Central to compete for a title while the American League West has four teams.
Realignment ideas range from blowing up both leagues as we know them and creating new divisions to moving one NL team to the AL.
For...
The Orioles have lost two World Series against the Pirates, in 1971 and 1979. Tomorrow night, before Game Two of their series with the Orioles, the Pirates will celebrate the 40th anniversary of that 1971 team.
The Orioles won the first two games, by scores of 5-3 and 11-3 at home, but then lost three straight in Pittsburgh. When that series returned to Baltimore, the O's Game Six win was followed by a 2-1 Game Seven loss with Steve Blass besting Mike Cuellar.
The Orioles and Pirates will...