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Tonight's pitchers: Tillman vs. Greinke

April 08, 2010, 6:08pm

Orioles

RHP Chris Tillman tonight makes his Major League debut. The 21-year-old right-hander was acquired by the O's from Seattle on February 8, 2008 as part of the Erik Bedard deal. At 21 years, 106 days old, Tillman will become the youngest Oriole to make his Major League debut since Hayden Penn did so at 20 years, 228 days old on May 28, 2005. Tillman has had two excellent years pitching in the O's farm system and is among the best pitching prospects in all of baseball. This season with...

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Tillman homer note

April 08, 2010, 6:07pm

Orioles

Chris Tillman allowed solo homers to Alberto Callaspo and Miguel Olivo in the second inning tonight. It's the first time this year he has allowed more than one homer in a start. In 96 2/3 innings at Triple-A, he gave up only five homers. Over his last six Triple-A starts before tonight, he had given up just one homer, a span of 36 2/3 innings. He has thrown 53 pitches through three innings with 15 in the first, 22 in the second and 16 in the third inning.

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Five Major League debuts

April 08, 2010, 6:06pm

Orioles

The Orioles have had now five pitchers make their Major League debuts this year. Chris Tillman was the first of the five to allow more than two earned runs, as he gave up three over 4 2/3. It was not a great outing by any stretch, but a start for a 21-year-old who has to deal with hype and high expectations. The five debuts added together produced an ERA of 2.77. That is impressive. Tillman left tonight trailing 3-2 and the O's still trail by that score after five innings. He can only...

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O's rally late for 7-3 win over KC

April 08, 2010, 6:05pm

Orioles

On a night where Chris Tillman allowed three solo homers in his Major League debut, the Orioles rallied for five late runs to gain a much-needed win. The Birds topped Kansas City 7-3 Wednesday in front of 19,741 at Camden Yards. The O's came to bat in the 7th down by 3-2. But after 116 pitches, Zack Greinke was taken out of the game and the Orioles rallied for three runs and the lead vs. the KC bullpen. Robinson Tejada walked the first two hitters to hand the O's a rally. An Adam Jones...

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Tillman's take on his debut

April 08, 2010, 6:04pm

Orioles

He didn't pitch as well as he had been at Triple-A this year, but Chris Tillman can relax a little now. The first one is out of the way. "I had some nerves in the beginning but then I got my feet under me a little bit. I was just trying to get ahead of hitters but I hurt myself falling behind at times. The off speed wasn't there for me tonight. The mound was wet and I was slipping a little bit," Tillman said. After giving up five homers in 18 Norfolk starts, Tillman gave up three solo...

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Post-game Notes: O's top KC

April 08, 2010, 6:03pm

Orioles

Chris Tillman got a no decision in his Major League debut. In 4 2/3, he gave up three runs and seven hits. He allowed three solo homers. He had given up just five homers in 18 starts at Triple-A. Tillman threw 93 pitches, 58 for strikes and has a one-start ERA of 5.79. Matt Albers got the win with 2 1/3 innings of scoreless relief. He threw just 22 pitches. After giving up a key homer last night, Jim Johnson pitched the last two innings to record his second save of 2009. Johnson, who...

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Afternoon baseball: KC at Orioles

April 08, 2010, 6:02pm

Orioles

Game Preview Kansas City (40-60) at Orioles (43-57) For the Orioles, it's 100 games down and 62 to go in this 2009 season. The O's are 43-57 at the 100-game mark after Wednesday's 7-3 win over KC. Adam Jones and Nick Markakis knocked in three runs each. Jones hit a first-inning homer for the third straight game in this series. The four-game set comes to an end this afternoon with a matinee contest set for 12:35 p.m. Brad Bergesen (6-5, 3.56) faces KC's Luke Hochevar (6-3, 4.84) The...

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Today's pitchers: Bergesen vs. Hochevar

April 08, 2010, 6:01pm

Orioles

RHP Brad Bergesen (6-5, 3.56) today makes his 19th start of the year, his 11th at home and the 1st of his career vs. the KC Royals. Bergesen, who has just one win over his last five starts, last worked on Friday at Boston. He gave up nine hits and three runs over six innings vs. the Sox. Bergesen has been outstanding at home this year, going 6-1, 2.82 and the team is 8-2 in those ten home starts. The O's are 9-9 in Bergesen's 18 starts on the season. Right-handed batters hit .274 vs....

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Brandon Snyder's bat heating up

April 08, 2010, 6:00pm

Orioles

Brandon Snyder must finally be warming up to Triple-A pitching. He is 1 for 2 in Norfolk's game this afternoon. That extends his current batting streak to eight games. He has 12 hits in his last 29 at bats (.414) as his average has climbed from .200 to its current .245. Snyder has 69 RBI on the year to lead all O's minor leaguers. Earlier this year, he batted .343-10-45 in 58 games with Double-A Bowie. He began today hitting .241-2-24 in 38 contests with Norfolk.

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Bergesen pitches O's past Royals, 7-3

April 08, 2010, 5:59pm

Orioles

Brad Bergesen gave up just one run over seven innings to get his 7th win as the Orioles beat Kansas City 7-3 to split the four-game series. Bergesen left the game in pain as Billy Butler's liner back to the mound hit him on his left shin. Catcher Matt Wieters would field the ball and throw Butler out to end the seventh. As of this writing, there was no further update on the extent of Bergesen's injury. He improves to 7-5, 3.43. He is now 7-1, 2.68 at home and over his last 12 starts is...

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Bergesen talks about his injury

April 08, 2010, 5:58pm

Orioles

Brad Bergesen talked with reporters a few moments ago in the O's clubhouse. He left today's game after seven innings. On the last out he recorded he took a line shot off his left shin and he limped off the field. "It hurts pretty bad. When it first happened, I didn't know what happened at first. When I got into the dugout, I fell down, I thought it was broken. The pain was bad, I wanted to throw up. "I took the X-ray and there was no break on there. Hopefully there isn't. They...

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About Bell and Johnson

April 08, 2010, 5:57pm

Orioles

Josh Bell is a switch-hitting third baseman, who is 22 years old. He is currently batting .296-11-52 with Double-A Chatanooga and has 30 doubles in 94 games. He goes 6'3", 235 pounds. He has an on base percentage of .386 and a slugging percentage of .497. This year he is hitting .212 vs. LHP and .335 vs. RHP. Bell was a fourth-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2005. He is from Lantana, Florida. Power is one of his best tools and some scouts rated his power as 70 on the 20-80 scale. ...

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Emotional afternoon for Dave Johnson

April 08, 2010, 5:56pm

Orioles

So what must it be like to hear your son may be traded to the Orioles while you are on the air on the Orioles radio network? That's the afternoon Dave Johnson had as he was working today's postgame show with Tom Davis when reports began to surface that his son, pitching currently for the Dodgers Double-A team, may be headed to the O's organization. I should mention that as Dave agreed to be interviewed the trade was still not official, but he heard from Steve that he was told not to dress...

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Comments from Josh Bell

April 08, 2010, 5:55pm

Orioles

For Josh Bell, it is not easy to leave the only organization he's ever known, the Dodgers, but he also knows this. His chance to be a future Major League third baseman will be much greater with the Orioles. O's president Andy MacPhail stopped short of anointing him the O's third sacker of the future during a telephone press conference Thursday night, but he did say the O's are short at that position in the upper levels of their minors. "It's largely up to the players," MacPhail said. ...

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Goodbye George, welcome Steve and Josh

April 08, 2010, 5:54pm

Orioles

One of the perks of the job of reporter covering the Orioles is that you get to meet and talk to Orioles' players. That's a pretty neat thing for a kid from Baltimore like myself. What's cooler yet is when those players turn out to be quality people that are easy to root for. The Orioles have many such players on their roster but they just lost one - George Sherrill. In his less than two years here, Sherrill impressed just about any reporter who ever had a chance to interview him. He...

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Weekend preview: Boston at Baltimore

April 08, 2010, 5:53pm

Orioles

Game Preview Boston (59-42) at Orioles (44-57) The Orioles are trying to get their offense going again. Perhaps they are on their way after scoring 14 runs in beating Kansas City the last two days. After splitting that four-game series, the Orioles welcome Boston to town tonight to continue this seven-game homestand. Pitching Matchups: Fri, 705p - Jeremy Guthrie (7-9, 5.21) v. John Smoltz (1-4, 7.04) Sat, 705p - David Hernandez (3-2, 3.20) v. Josh Beckett (12-4, 3.44) Sun, 135p - Jason...

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Audio from Thursday's post-game radio show

April 08, 2010, 5:52pm

Orioles

Audio from Thursday's post-game radio show

So many have asked to hear it. Here is how it sounded on the Orioles' all-access post-game radio show Thursday afternoon when Tom Davis told his co-host Dave Johnson that his son had been traded to the Orioles. The audio is courtesy of CBS Radio, O's flagship station, 105.7 FM the Fan in Baltimore and the Orioles radio network. 105.7 The Fan Post-Game Audio: July 30, 2009 Read more here about Dave Johnson's emotional day. UPDATE - No official word yet, but it appears Bell and...

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Talking with the O's new closer

April 08, 2010, 5:51pm

Orioles

O's right-hander Jim Johnson had one career save in the minors and he has three career Major League saves, with two coming this season. Now he'll get plenty of chances to add to that total. The 26-year-old now takes over the closer duties for the Orioles after George Sherrill's trade to the Dodgers. "It's very similar to pitching the 8th inning. It's a critical part of the game and a time I want to be out there," Johnson said. He's been able to watch Sherrill close games for most...

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Andy MacPhail comments on the trade dealine

April 08, 2010, 5:49pm

Orioles

O's president Andy MacPhail said the last few hours before the trade deadline passed today without the Orioles close to making another deal. "It was uneventful. I would say we only talked to four or five clubs today. We only had one thing kind of different come up today and that really never got off the ground. It was kind of how I anticipated it would be. "We heard from some of our compatriots in baseball (praising us on the trade). We did what we had to do. It's a circumstance...

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Tonight's pitchers: Guthrie vs. Smoltz

April 08, 2010, 5:49pm

Orioles

RHP Jeremy Guthrie (7-9, 5.21) tonight will make his 21st start of the 2009 season, his 11th at home and his 3rd this year vs. Boston. Guthrie's last outing was Saturday at Boston. He gave up five runs in 6 2/3. In four July starts, he is 1-2, 5.62. Right-handed batters are hitting .261 against him and lefties bat .272 vs. Guthrie. He has allowed 23 homers in 115 2/3 innings on the year. He has struggled often early in his starts. Of the 71 runs he has given up this season, 35 have come...