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The Orioles bullpen pitchers: Trying to stick together through tough times

May 19, 2011, 12:51pm

Orioles

Orioles relief pitcher Jason Berken said the pitchers in the Orioles' bullpen remain confident they can do the job and he said they are a close-knit group and continue to support each other. The 'pen and some of its members are going through a rough time after the bullpen meltdown Monday in Boston and the struggles of Mike Gonzalez that continued last night against the Yankees. Berken said the pysche of the bullpen is still strong. "I think it's good," he said. "Everybody goes through...

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Vlad's bat heats up

May 19, 2011, 7:15am

Orioles

Orioles cleanup hitter Vlad Guerrero has a hot bat right now. He has produced four straight multi-hit games after going 2-for-5 last night. Over the four games, Guerreo is 9-for-19 with five doubles and three RBIs. He is batting .433 (13-for-30) over his last seven games, raising his average 31 points. In 39 games on the year, Vlad is batting .298 with four homers and 16 RBIs. I'm sure the Orioles are enjoying his hot bat and also hope the RBI production can increase. He did get a clutch RBI...

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Britton shows the Yankees his serious side

May 18, 2011, 3:54pm

Orioles

Britton shows the Yankees his serious side

Zach Britton pitched out of a first-and-third, one out situation in the second inning tonight and has blanked the Yankees through three innings here at Camden Yards. Britton last allowed a run in the second inning of his start May 6 versus Tampa Bay when the Rays scored three in that inning. He left that game with one out in the sixth but pitched shutout ball after that second frame. He then threw nine scoreless allowing just three hits last Thursday against Seattle. Manager Buck Showalter...

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Brandon Snyder rejoins the Orioles and now hopes for his chance

May 18, 2011, 1:31pm

Orioles

It was a unique situation earlier today in the Orioles' clubhouse. Reporters interviewing players that were not yet on the active roster and not certain if they would be. Before the Orioles headed out for batting practice, Brandon Snyder stood by his locker awaiting word on whether he would be on the active roster for tonight. He was activated before tonight's game and is in uniform. As for his season so far at Triple-A Norfolk, where he was batting .276 with nine doubles, five homers, 16...

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Derrek Lee pleads his case to stay off the DL

May 18, 2011, 12:46pm

Orioles

Derrek Lee pleads his case to stay off the DL

For now, Derrek Lee is not going on the disabled list and he is pleading his case with Buck Showalter to keep it that way. But Lee did reveal today that he has had some discomfort in his left oblique for a while now, but it got much worse during the game in Boston on Monday and he was removed from the lineup in the third inning. "It happened a few weeks ago and the last game it happened and it stayed," Lee said. "Kind of made me nervous honestly and I told the trainers about it. "It...

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Taking a closer look at Mark Reynolds' stats

May 17, 2011, 12:32pm

Orioles

Taking a closer look at Mark Reynolds' stats

In taking a closer look at Mark Reynolds' statistics, there are some trends worth looking at. At this point in the season, he is batting much better on the road than at home, better versus right-handed pitching over lefties and his batting average goes up the lower he bats in the order. Reynolds: Home:.097 avg., two homers, nine RBIs and .476 OPS. Road: .275 avg., three homers, 10 RBIs and .816 OPS. Against lefties: .100 avg., .383 OPS Against righties: .218 avg., .733 OPS Batting 7th:...

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Unheralded Cole McCurry is off to a great start with Bowie

May 17, 2011, 8:50am

Orioles

Unheralded Cole McCurry is off to a great start with Bowie

After four seasons in the Orioles' organization, mostly as a starting pitcher, lefty Cole McCurry is posting some eye-popping stats right now in his first season at Double-A, pitching out of the Bowie bullpen. The 25-year-old McCurry, a 43rd-round draft pick in 2007, made 102 appearances in his first four seasons with 76 coming as a starter. In 2009, he went 6-9 with a 2.71 ERA starting for Single-A Delmarva. Last year he was 5-6 with a 4.23 ERA in 30 games, 12 starts for Single-A...

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It wasn't all bad Monday at Fenway

May 16, 2011, 10:16pm

Orioles

It won't take all the sting out of blowing a 6-0 lead and losing the game in the last of the ninth, but two things continued to go well for the Orioles last night at Boston. They got another good starting pitching outing and the resurgence of the offense continued with seven runs and 10 hits. Of course, the Orioles could have scored more, especially early in the game. They went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring positon over the first three innings when they left six runners on base. Still,...

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Orioles take the lead at Boston, Lee leaves game

May 16, 2011, 5:09pm

Orioles

Many may not be able to stay awake for the end of this one, but the Orioles hold a 3-0 lead on Boston in the fifth inning. Each team has had a mess of base runners and chances to score more runs than they have. For Boston, that's a goose egg so far versus Chris Tillman. Boston has four hits and two walks against Tillman, but is 0-for-5 so far with runners in scoring position. Tillman has thrown 74 pitches so far. The O's took a 2-0 lead in a messy top of the first for Daisuke Matsuzaka on...

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Arrieta was solid again today in O's win over Tampa

May 15, 2011, 1:40pm

Orioles

Arrieta was solid again today in O's win over Tampa

Jake Arrieta continued his solid season this afternoon for the Orioles, giving up just two runs over six innings against Tampa Bay. Orioles' starting pitching continued the roll that has seen the starters work to an ERA of 1.64 over the last six games. Arrieta seems to crank out six innings and two or three runs allowed each time out. He started today with some overpowering, mid 90s heat early on and later worked in that curve and sharp-breaking slider. To me, he has picked up where he left...

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A big day on offense as O's win series finale

May 15, 2011, 12:43pm

Orioles

A big day on offense as O's win series finale

Heading into today's game, the Orioles were batting .293 over their last five games and they were facing a pitcher, Andy Sonnanstine, whose career ERA against the O's was 6.62. Yes, it set up as a day the Orioles might post some numbers on offense and they did in a 9-3, 15-hit win against Tampa Bay to take this series, two games to one. The Orioles have won five of their last six to get to 19-20 on the season. They are 11-8 over the last 19 games. Gary Thorne meets up with Buck Showalter...

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The Rays are a good organization to emulate

May 15, 2011, 6:18am

Orioles

The Rays are a good organization to emulate

Andy MacPhail wasn't wrong in saying the Orioles should use the Rays as their role model. A lot of people were ready to throw dirt on Tampa Bay when they started 1-8, but the Rays quickly found their way back to first place and that's where they reside right now with a 23-16 record. Others have much larger payrolls and boast more star power. Tampa Bay just keeps winning and playing sound, fundamental baseball under a great leader in manager Joe Maddon. Tampa Bay proved to the Orioles that...

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Reversing the trends: Bergy gets it done against Tampa

May 14, 2011, 2:44pm

Orioles

Reversing the trends: Bergy gets it done against Tampa

Brad Bergesen came into this start today with an ERA of 7.45 in his past two starts, just one quality start all year and with a career record of 0-5 and 9.13 ERA in five lifetime starts against Tampa Bay. But he got a huge double-play grounder against Evan Longoria to keep Tampa Bay off the board in the first inning on his way to a four-hit shutout as the Orioles beat Tampa Bay, 6-0 at the Trop. It's the Orioles third shutout this year. Bergy seemed to be able to keep the ball down today....

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Klein is doing just fine on the O's farm right now

May 14, 2011, 7:34am

Orioles

Klein is doing just fine on the O's farm right now

Right-handed relief pitcher Dan Klein continues to pitch very well on the farm for the Orioles. Klein pitched 2 1/3 scoreless in Double-A Bowie's loss last night and has now pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings in his first four games there since moving from Single-A Frederick. In 11 games between the two teams, Klein is 1-1 with an ERA of 0.78 and .193 average against. In 23 innings, he has allowed just two runs on 16 hits with four walks to 27 strikeouts. He is doing nothing to put to rest talk...

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A closer look at the struggles of Mark Reynolds

May 13, 2011, 9:56pm

Orioles

A closer look at the struggles of Mark Reynolds

I have heard some fans say that we all should have expected to see new Orioles' third baseman Mark Reynolds hit for a real low average after he batted .198 last year. However, Reynolds hit .279 in 2007, .239 in 2008 and .260 in 2009. His career batting average coming into this season was .242. He was a career .280 hitter in the minor leagues. Right now, Reynolds is batting .174 with three homers and 15 RBIs. That batting average is 68 points under his career number. Plus, his power outage...

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Quick thoughts and notes on the Orioles' shutout loss against Tampa

May 13, 2011, 5:53pm

Orioles

A few quick thoughts after the Orioles' lost 3-0 to Tampa Bay tonight to begin a three-game series. * The Orioles have now scored just six runs over Jeremy Guthrie's last seven starts. They have not scored in five of those starts while he was still in the game. There is an adjective for that, but amazing and unbelievable doesn't seem to do that stat justice. * Jeremy Hellickson tonight proved the statement that momentum is as good as tonight's starting pitcher to be true in baseball. So...

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Minor league updates on Machado, Mahoney and George

May 13, 2011, 1:04pm

Orioles

Minor league updates on Machado, Mahoney and George

It appears the return of shortstop Manny Machado to the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds' lineup is at least a week away at this point. The Orioles' first-round pick in last year's draft suffered a dislocated left kneecap May 5. The swelling in the knee has gone down and Machado is close to returning to baseball activities. When he shows club officials he is 100 percent, they may still give him a few days to get back up to speed after that. Machado is batting .333 with six doubles, two...

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Comparing Britton

May 13, 2011, 6:40am

Orioles

By just about any standard, Zach Britton's start to his rookie season has been pretty amazing. He is 5-2 with an ERA of 2.42 and that now ranks as the seventh best ERA in the American League. Only three pitchers, Trevor Cahill of Oakland, Detroit's Max Scherzer and Jered Weaver of Los Angeles have more wins with six to his five. Britton's WHIP is now at 1.02 and that is 9th best in the AL. He has now pitched 52 innings and that ties for 13th in the league. Here is how Britton ranks...

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Can O's take momentum from Seattle sweep into key seven-game stretch?

May 12, 2011, 9:42pm

Orioles

Can O's take momentum from Seattle sweep into key seven-game stretch?

Coming off their second walk-off win in three days and a three-game series sweep, now the Orioles head into a stretch of seven games over the next seven days against the AL East. It starts tonight with three games at Tampa, followed by two at Boston and then two at home versus New York. Are the O's ready for this tough stretch, and will the momentum of the Seattle sweep help them get some wins during this next grueling stretch? The Orioles are 5-8 on the year against the AL East which...

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Brilliant Britton with his best start yet

May 12, 2011, 7:27pm

Orioles

Brilliant Britton with his best start yet

Zach Britton did everything but get a win tonight with his amazing nine innings of scoreless baseball. It's the first time this year Britton did not get a decision, but with a single run of offensive support, he could have easily been the Orioles' first six-game winner before May was over since Kris Benson in 2006. Britton is now 5-2 with an ERA of 2.42 through his first eight major league starts. That is the 7th best ERA in the American League and he is tied for 4th in the AL with five...