The two-inning reliever

The two-inning reliever
It hasn't become as rare as, say, seeing a pitcher throw a complete game anymore, but it still seems pretty rare in baseball these days. That is, seeing a relief pitcher pitch not one, but two innings, in an outing. It doesn't seem like that would be asking too much, but managers are always thinking ahead and know that a two-inning outing for a top reliever today could mean he can't be used tomorrow. In the last week or so, we have seen Buck Showalter use both Jim Johnson and Koji Uehara,...

Jakubauskas talks about his outing

Jakubauskas talks about his outing
One more note on the starters: They're 3-8 with a 5.99 ERA and have failed to complete seven innings in the last 16 games since Jake Arrieta did it on June 10. Chris Jakubauskas fell to 2-1 with a 5.68 ERA after allowing five runs and seven hits in five innings. He noted that the Cardinals were "a little bit more aggressive." They also were four runs better. Chris Jakubauskas meets with the media about picking up his first loss as an O's starter "I noticed it in the first inning," he...

Stacey Long: June 30, 2009: A Night to Remember

Stacey Long: June 30, 2009: A Night to Remember
Sometimes talking about the 2011 Orioles gets tiresome, especially when they're losing. So instead of rehashing another failure, let's go back in time. It was on June 30, 2009 that the Orioles completed the greatest comeback in franchise history, and it was one of the most fun games I can remember watching. After falling behind 10-1 to the Boston Red Sox, the Orioles scored five runs each in the seventh and eighth innings to come all the way back and defeat the hated divisional rivals...

Orioles leave them loaded

Orioles leave them loaded
Each time Brad Bergesen begins to warm in the Orioles' bullpen, Chris Jakubauskas makes a big pitch to end an inning and stay in the game. He's not especially sharp tonight, but he's stubborn. The Orioles had a chance to wipe out a four-run deficit, or at least take a big chunk out of it, after loading the bases with no outs in the bottom of the fifth. Felix Pie and Blake Davis singled, and J.J. Hardy reached on an infield hit. Chris Carpenter was teetering. The Orioles couldn't topple...

Showalter speaks after 5-1 loss

Showalter speaks after 5-1 loss
You can't talk about tonight's 5-1 loss to the Cardinals without focusing on the bases-loaded, no-out situation in the fifth inning that yielded no runs, and another non-quality start from the rotation. "We had a shot at them there in the fifth," manager Buck Showalter said. "That was a big momentum swing." Was it quality pitching from Cardinals right-hander Chris Carpenter or the Orioles' hitters pressing at the plate? Maybe a little of both? Buck Showalter meets with the media to...

Cardinals make themselves comfortable at Camden Yards

Cardinals make themselves comfortable at Camden Yards
So far, the St. Louis Cardinals are enjoying their first-ever trip to Baltimore. They won 6-2 last night by taking a 3-0 lead in the second inning and they took a 2-0 lead tonight in inning two. Colby Rasmus hit a two-run homer off Chris Jakubauskas to start the St. Louis scoring. It was his second homer of the series, his third in four games and his eighth on the year. Skip Schumaker's RBI single in the third extended their lead to 3-0 and a sac fly by Lance Berkman made it 4-0. It could...

O's activate Simon from DL, Rapada designated for assignment

O's activate Simon from DL, Rapada designated for assignment
The Orioles announced today that they have reinstated right-hander Alfredo Simon from the 15-day disabled list, where he was placed retroactive to June 13 with a right hamstring strain. To open up a spot for him on the 25-man roster, left-hander Clay Rapada has been designated for assignment. Simon has appeared in five games for the Orioles this season, going 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA (14.1IP, 5ER). He pitched 3.0 innings or more in each of his last three outings. Rapada appeared in 22 games for...

Still time for Jones, other O's to make a late All-Star push

Still time for Jones, other O's to make a late All-Star push
Balloting for the All-Star Game continues through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time Thursday, and it's not too late to help Orioles outfielder Adam Jones - a MASNsports.com blogger, in case you didn't know - in his push to Phoenix for the July 12 Midsummer Classic. The latest results for the American League's outfield should be particularly troubling to O's fans. It's not that there isn't an Oriole in the top five in any position. It's not even that Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista, an ex-Oriole,...

A June swoon for Machado and other notes

A June swoon for Machado and other notes
Two words: Don't panic. Manny Machado homered in his second at-bat in the Carolina League, but he is hitting just .158 at 3-for-19 in six games with Single-A Frederick. I don't think anyone in the O's organization is worried in the least about a player who is playing in that league at the age of 18. Machado doesn't turn 19 until July 6. Before Machado was promoted to Frederick, he had been struggling some this month with Single-A Delmarva. In fact he is batting just .176 (13-for-74) this...

It's gone wrong for Guerrero

It's gone wrong for Guerrero
J.J. Hardy has now homered in nine consecutive series and reached base in 31 of 34 games since May 21. Does missing a month with an oblique injury deny him an All-Star berth? He sure looks like a deserving candidate. Not much information came out of yesterday's pregame session with manager Buck Showalter. It wasn't his fault. It was just a slow day. I did find it interesting that Showalter admitted to having some concerns about the lack of production from the cleanup spot. And those...

Stacey Long: Short outings by the rotation are killing the O's

Stacey Long: Short outings by the rotation are killing the O's
There are two days left in June, and for the entire month, there has been exactly one game when the starting pitcher for the Orioles pitched at least seven innings. That game was June 10, when Jake Arrieta pitched seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. That's it. Since his disappointing return from the disabled list, Brian Matusz is averaging less than 4.5 innings per game. Since joining the rotation, Chris Jakubauskas has pitched 20 1/3 innings in four starts. Rookie Zach Britton is...

Stellar stats not strong enough to earn sterling setup guys All-Star nods

Stellar stats not strong enough to earn sterling setup guys All-Star nods
As All-Star roster selection time approaches, the Nationals' Tyler Clippard and the Orioles' Jim Johnson are in the usual predicament for pitchers that act as the bridge between starter and closer: They have dazzling statistics, but not much hope of making an All-Star roster for the July 12 game in Arizona. "Setup pitchers don't always get the credit they are due,'' Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty said. "It would be hard to imagine where a team would be without good middle...

O's offense stalls in series-opening loss to St. Louis

O's offense stalls in series-opening loss to St. Louis
The St. Louis Cardinals had lost five of six games and 12 of their last 15 before tonight's series opener at Camden Yards. Plus, they had the highest ERA in the majors during the month of June. Despite that, the Cardinals beat the Orioles 6-2 in tonight's series opener. Kyle Lohse, who entered with a career interleague ERA of 5.93, pitched five shutout innings before a rain delay. Lohse, who gave up four hits with one walk and two strikeouts, improved to 8-4 with an ERA of 2.78. The...

Adam Jones on the All-Star possibility

Adam Jones on the All-Star possibility
With the selection of reserves for the All-Star teams coming up on Sunday, we'll know soon which Oriole or Orioles will make the American League squad. Most seem to be predicting that just one player from this team will make it, but there are several deserving candidates. They include Adam Jones, batting .294 with 14 doubles, 13 homers and 45 RBIs. "Personally, it's out of my hands," Jones said. "You know, we've got guys in here having helluva years. I'm just trying to do my part. We...

Orioles-Cardinals in rain delay (will resume 9 p.m.)

Orioles-Cardinals in rain delay (will resume 9 p.m.)
I knew this game was moving too fast. The tarp is coming on the field after umpires halted play at 8:35 p.m. Too bad the grounds crew didn't take action a few minutes earlier. Colby Rasmus hit a 400-foot home run to extend the Cardinals' lead to 4-0 in the top of the sixth. Zach Britton retired Yadier Molina on a ground ball for the second out before the Orioles bolted for the dugout. Britton had retired eight of nine batters before Rasmus launched his seventh home run. I'll take this...

Which bird will take flight? Pre-series O's, Cards notes

Which bird will take flight? Pre-series O's, Cards notes
Checking in with some notes on both teams as the Orioles get set to host the St. Louis Cardinals for the first time tonight. * The Orioles lead the American League with 32 homers in June. They hit nine in the Cincinnati series, and the Orioles have homered 13 times in the last seven games and 27 times in the past 17 contests. * Orioles starting pitchers have just one quality start over the last 10 games and an ERA of 5.43 in that stretch. The ERA of the O's starters was 7.63 over the weekend...

Operation Orange: Grassroots effort to pack Camden Yards

Operation Orange: Grassroots effort to pack Camden Yards
Chad Myers' dream was hatched watching the excitement of Orioles opening day in April reach a fever pitch on social media platforms. "I was looking at my social media stuff and seeing people leaving work early and getting tickets to the sold-out opener and I wondered, 'Why can't we recreate the atmosphere of opening day?' The sellout crowd, the hype, the people getting to their seats early instead of in the second inning - those shouldn't only happen on opening day," Myers said. At...

Orioles lineup against Cardinals

Orioles lineup against Cardinals
For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Derrek Lee 1B Luke Scott LF Mark Reynolds 3B Robert Andino 2B Zach Britton LHP Lee is two hits shy of 1,900 for his career. He'll become the 315th player in major league history to reach the milestone. The Orioles are the only team in baseball to have 10 or more home runs from their shortstop and third baseman. Reynolds leads all third basemen with 14 homers. Hardy ranks fourth among...
Tags:

In the end, will Markakis prove his critics wrong?

In the end, will Markakis prove his critics wrong?
He has been a lightning rod for criticism this year by fans on talk shows and message boards, but in the end, will Nick Markakis prove his critics wrong? Will the 27-year-old Orioles outfielder have a big finish to this season and make up for lost time with his stats after a slow start? Right now, it may be heading that way. Markakis' bat is finally hot and he is hitting .405 during a 16-game hitting streak with four doubles, two homers and 12 RBIs during the streak. He is 9-for-19 over the...

Sweet 16: Markakis extends hit streak in win over the Reds

Sweet 16: Markakis extends hit streak in win over the Reds
Nick Markakis came up with three hits in five at bats in Sunday's win over Cincinnati. His average is at its highest point since April 9 and he now has a 16-game hitting streak. Markakis is batting .405 (30-for-74) during the streak, which is one off his career best. The batting streak has raised his average from .236 to .277. "I feel like I'm getting there," he said. "Just gotta take it day-by-day and try to continue what I'm doing. Get on base and get big hits when you need...