Minor league moves

Minor league moves
Here is a recap of some minor league roster moves made today on the O's farm: With Scott Moore's contract selected by the Orioles, Justin Turner was designated for assignment to make 40-man roster room for Moore. To replace that pair on Norfolk's roster, pitcher Chris George was activated off the disabled list and is starting for Norfolk tonight and Paco Figueroa was added off Aberdeen's roster. Miguel Abreu, who was batting just .198 in 33 games at Bowie, was transferred to Frederick. ...
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Turner DFA

Turner DFA
The Orioles made their roster move official this afternoon. They purchased the contract of infielder Scott Moore from Triple-A Norfolk, and he'll take the roster spot of reliever Alberto Castillo. To make room on the 40-man roster, the Orioles designated infielder Justin Turner for asssignment. My flight just landed, so I'll follow up with more on this later.
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A preview: Orioles vs. Nationals

A preview:  Orioles vs. Nationals
The Orioles enter with a record of 13-29 after back-to-back losses at Texas to start this five-game road trip. They have lost five of the last six games and are 11-13 since the 2-16 start. The Orioles are 5-17 in road games and 2-10-2 in series on the year. Baltimore posted an 11-7 record vs. the National League last year, tied with an 11-7 mark in 1999 for its best ever in Interleague play. The Orioles are 101-128 all-time in Interleague games. Orioles starters had pitched to an ERA of...
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Do we have a rivalry yet?

Do we have a rivalry yet?
With this weekend's series at Nationals Park, the O's and Nats will kick off the interleague portions of their 2010 schedules. Since the first interleague game on June 12, 1997, we've watched 13 seasons of mixed play. After five seasons during which each division played against its same division from the opposing league (the AL East met the NL East in the first years of interleague play), the current format was later adopted in 2002. Today, we watch the O's face teams from various...
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That's Scott as in hot (bat)

That's Scott as in hot (bat)
So what is the deal with Luke Scott? How can one player be looking so bad one day and a few days later be one of the hottest hitters in the game? The only thing that is consistent with his swing is its inconsistency. Scott was hitting just .177 after his first 24 games and had just one multi-hit game in that time. But over his last 11 games he is hitting .488 with seven multi-hit games. He had 14 hits in his first 24 games and has now 20 hits in his last 11 games. He averaged one RBI...
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Matusz and O's rocked at Texas

Matusz and O's rocked at Texas
For lefty Brian Matusz, it was the shortest outing of his 17-start, Major League career. Five days after shutting out Cleveland for seven innings, he allowed eight hits and a career-high seven runs in just 2 1/3 innings as the Texas Rangers beat the Orioles 13-7 Thursday to sweep the two-game series. Matusz, who had given up just two homers all year over 47 1/3, tonight gave up two more. Nelson Cruz hit a three-run shot in the first and Vladimir Guerrero added a two-run shot in the second as...
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Two homers, two innings

Two homers, two innings
Brian Matusz has given up two longballs over the first two innings tonight and Texas leads the Orioles, 6-3 after two frames. Matusz had allowed just two homers over 47 1/3 innings in his first two starts and Texas matched that in two innings. It's a roller coaster Matusz, who gave up six runs two starts ago vs. Minnesota and then pitched seven scoreless last Saturday vs. Cleveland. Tonight, Nelson Cruz hit a three-run shot in the first and Vladimir Guerrero hit a two-run shot in the...
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Hoes and Miclat to the Keys DL

Hoes and Miclat to the Keys DL
The Frederick Keys have placed two middle infielders on the disabled list today as second baseman L.J. Hoes and shortstop Greg Miclat go on the DL, which must last at least seven days in the minor leagues. Hoes has missed several games now due to a form of strep throat and his DL stint is retroactive to May 18. Miclat, who missed two weeks in April with a broken nose, last night suffered a sprained foot sliding into second base in the third inning of a game Wednesday night. Hoes, a...
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Have lunch with Hall of Famers & 1970 World Series winners

Have lunch with Hall of Famers & 1970 World Series winners
The 40th Anniversary Celebration of the 1970 World Series is still several weeks away (set for Saturday, June 26), but the Orioles have announced an exclusive luncheon with members from the 1970 team that you might want to plan for now. As part of the celebration, the Orioles will host a gala luncheon for fans, also on Saturday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. At the luncheon, fans will have the opportunity to meet members of the 1970 team, participate in a Q&A session, and get their...
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A Mychal Givens update

A Mychal Givens update
A lot of fans have been asking about Mychal Givens, the shortstop that the Orioles drafted in the second round, with the 54th overall selection, last June out of Plant High in Florida. Givens turned 20 a week ago today and continues to play every day at extended spring training. He is expected to play for a short-season O's affiliate when they begin play next month. Gary Kendall, who will manage again this year at Aberdeen, is heading up the staff at extended spring training in Florida and...
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Stats, facts and notes from Wednesday's loss at Texas

Stats, facts and notes from Wednesday's loss at Texas
Win and losses: The O's began their five-game road trip with a 4-3 loss to Texas Wednesday night. They are now 13-28 on the year and have lost four of their past five games. The Orioles are 5-16 on the road, 7-8 in one-run games and 3-8 vs. AL West teams. The offense comes up short: The O's fall to 2-24 when scoring three runs or less. They have scored just 13 runs with a team average of .257 over the last five games. The O's were 4 for 13 batting with runners in scoring position in...
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Rangers win in the last of the ninth

Rangers win in the last of the ninth
It was another 4-3 game for the Orioles, but they lost this one when Texas scored in the last of the ninth. Michael Young ripped a leadoff double off the glove of shortstop Cesar Izturis to start the ninth and after a walk and flyout, Alberto Castillio replaced Cla Meredith. Castillo walked Josh Hamilton and Dave Trembley called for Jason Berken, the seventh pitcher of the night. With the bases loaded and one out, Nelson Cruz hit a sac fly to center to end the game and break the 3-3 tie. It...
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Why no Guthrie in the seventh? (updated, tie game)

Why no Guthrie in the seventh? (updated, tie game)
Jeremy Guthrie was pitching well tonight and making big pitches when he needed to. He had a 2-1 lead after six innings but did not take the mound for the seventh and Matt Albers came on and now Texas has scored twice in the inning to take the lead 3-2. Guthrie was at just 90 pitches, so why didn't he come out for the seventh? We'll wait on Dave Trembley's answer after the game. Is there a reason other than he just thought it was the right time to go to the pen? Guthrie retired the side...
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Tillman talk

Tillman talk
Another outstanding start tonight for Chris Tillman at Triple-A. He pitched seven scoreless innings of three-hit for Norfolk vs. Pawtucket with two walks and four strikeouts to lower his ERA for the season to 3.31. Over his last six starts, Tillman's ERA is just 2.14 and he has fanned 30 and walked just seven over 42 innings. A Baltimore Sun report indicates Michael Aubrey will be called up for the weekend series vs. Washington with pitcher Alberto Castillo possibly going back to Norfolk...
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Izturis for the lead (w-updates)

Izturis for the lead (w-updates)
Number nine hitter Cesar Izturis made sure the Orioles did not blow a bases loaded chance in the top of the second at Texas. Tejada, Scott and Jones all singled. Up came Garrett Atkins with one out and the sacks full. He took a called third strike that might have been a ball outside, but he was punched out. With two outs up came Cesar. batting .206 on the year and with just four hits over his last 41 at bats. But he came up with a looping, clutch, two-out, two-run single to center for a...
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Contestants set for Second Annual Orioles Cook-Off

Contestants set for Second Annual Orioles Cook-Off
Last summer, the Orioles and the ESPN Zone teamed up to bring you the first annual Orioles Cook-Off with Brian Roberts, Jeremy Guthrie and (winner) Gregg Zaun. For this year's Second Annual Orioles Cook-Off, Brad Bergesen, Kevin Millwood, and Luke Scott will battle for the title of the best chef in Birdland. On Wednesday, May 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. the trio of Orioles teammates will trade their gloves for oven mitts at the ESPN Zone during the second annual cook-off event to again...
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In the minors tonight

In the minors tonight
Chris Tillman pitches for Triple-A Norfolk when it hosts Pawtucket. Tillman is 3-4, 3.83 on the year. But over his last five starts, he is 3-1, 2.57 and has walked just five and fanned 26 over 35 innings. Norfolk is 16-24 after getting blanked 6-0 by the Pawsox last night. The Tides have lost six of seven. Michael Aubrey is batting .441 (15 for 34) over his last 11 games with two homers and 5 RBI. Josh Bell has 21 RBI his last 28 games. Nolan Reimold is 2 for 17 with a homer since...
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O's vs. Rangers - a preview

O's vs. Rangers - a preview
The Orioles (13-27) begin a two-game series and five-game road trip at Texas (22-18) tonight. The Rangers won the last two games vs. Los Angeles after losing three in a row. They are in first in the AL West, with a two-game lead over Oakland. The Rangers, who are 15-7 in home games, have won eight of their last 12 and 14 of 21 games. They were 11-12 in April and are 11-6 in May. They have a decent offense that has produced much better at home. Rangers offense, 2010 season: Home: .286...
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Wieters clocked at 1.69 - that's fast!

Wieters clocked at 1.69 - that's fast!
It looked like just another routine out in a baseball game. But it wasn't. It was the top of the fifth inning of Monday night's game at Camden Yards. Kansas City was batting with one out and a man on first. The runner, Mike Aviles, broke for second. O's catcher Matt Wieters threw a strike to second to record the out as Cesar Izturis applied the tag. What made the play remarkable was how fast it happened. A veteran scout in the press box timed the play from the moment the ball hit...
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Post-game notes: O's top KC in ten

Post-game notes:  O's top KC in ten
The Orioles 4-3 win in 10 innings over the Royals on Tuesday gave them a split of the two-game series and they went 4-4 on the eight-game homestand. Wins and losses: The O's improve to 13-27 on the season and are 11-11 since starting the year 2-16. They are 8-12 at home, 4-1 in extra-innings games and 7-7 in one-run contests. The Royals are now 15-25 on the year and 3-2 in extra innings. Nick the stick: Nick Markakis' RBI single in the tenth ended the game for a walk-off win. It was...
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