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Different pitcher, similar result (Luke tied it)

April 13, 2010, 5:31pm

Orioles

Different pitcher, similar result (Luke tied it)

It is not Mike Gonzalez's fault this time. Amazing. Unbelievable, Incredible. Are these guys just cursed? The O's took a 3-0 lead behind a dominant Brian Matusz to the 8th tonight only to give up five runs and fall behind 5-3. This unraveled quickly and a small but boisterous crowd at the Yard dropped the boos on the home team's bullpen. With one out in the 8th, the next two batters reached vs. Matusz on a ground single and bloop. Two hard-hit singles followed as Matusz tried to get...

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Matusz on the mound (with updates)

April 13, 2010, 3:51pm

Orioles

It sure is a joy to watch Brian Matusz pitch. He is making just his 10th Major League start tonight but has the look of someone with much more experience. He works fast, changes speeds and throws strikes. Somewhere, Ray Miller is smiling. He has held the Rays scoreless with just one baserunner (a walk) through three innings. He threw 10 pitches in the first, 19 in the second and just eight, getting three pop ups, in the third. He struck out Evan Longoria on a great changeup in the second....

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Matt Wieters talks about batting fourth

April 13, 2010, 12:50pm

Orioles

Matt Wieters is a pretty low key guy with his interviews. No matter how much reporters tried today, he was just not going to make a big deal out of batting cleanup in tonight's batting order. He's batted fourth before in college and the minors, but tonight is in that four spot for the first time ever in the Majors. "It's just a new spot. Go out there and try to get hits and try to put runs up on the board. No change at all, just have to square balls up and find holes tonight. ...

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Quick non-AFL check

April 13, 2010, 3:49pm

Orioles

Players from the Orioles' organization are spread out beyond Arizona. Lou Montanez has played two games in Puerto Rico, going 3-for-7 with a double, home run, RBI and walk. He's also been hit by a pitch. Busy man. Luis Lebron, added to the 40-man roster yesterday, has pitched in four games in the Dominican. He's tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out two. Radhames Liz has made two starts in the Dominican, allowing one run and seven hits in 6 2/3 innings....

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Because You Asked - The Wrath of Khan

April 13, 2010, 3:50pm

Orioles

Everybody loves a good sequel. If only there was more than a small handful. The Godfather Part II. Rocky II. Kill Bill Vol. 2. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. The Empire Strikes Back. Aliens. And every single "Because You Asked..." They should have done Cast Away II, where the plane's going down and Tom Hanks is thinking, "Really? Again? Oh come on!" And how could they resist squeezing out one more Police Academy? There were still so many unanswered questions. Speaking of...

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Lincecum goes back-to-back

April 13, 2010, 3:48pm

Orioles

San Francisco Giants right-hander Tim Lincecum won another NL Cy Young today, but he also became only the second pitcher to receive fewer first-place votes than another candidate. Lincecum received 11 first-place votes, 12 second-place and nine third. Runner-up Chris Carpenter received nine votes for first, 14 for second and seven for third. St. Louis teammate Adam Wainwright received 12 votes for first, five for second and 15 for third. Javier Vazquez finished fourth, and Dan Haren...

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Revisiting the Steve Johnson roster decision (plus AFL update)

April 13, 2010, 3:47pm

Orioles

Revisiting the Steve Johnson roster decision (plus AFL update)

Andy MacPhail, president of baseball operations, said it's "understandable" that so many fans are obsessing over Steve Johnson's exclusion from the 40-man roster. But he also noted during our brief conversation earlier today that Johnson spent the majority of the 2009 season pitching at the Single-A level. The Orioles are counting on other teams passing on the chance to select him in the Rule 5 draft. It might be a different story if Johnson had finished the season at Triple-A Norfolk and...

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Yo, Adrian

April 13, 2010, 3:46pm

Orioles

If you woke up feeling a little different today, perhaps a little more energized, it's because free agency has officially started. It's not too late to rush out and buy a cake. You should have gone to sleep earlier so today would arrive faster. Sort of like Christmas. I'm not quite as pumped about it. The rumor mill spins out of control and the Orioles will be linked to just about every player on the market. I find it more annoying than anything else, and I'm not alone. The Orioles'...

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No runs, no hits...one Erik?

April 13, 2010, 3:45pm

Orioles

ESPN's Keith Law posted his top 50 free agents, which you can read by clicking here (you need to be an insider). The top three shouldn't surprise you: Matt Holiday, Jason Bay and John Lackey. Law ranks third baseman Adrian Beltre at No. 27, with the following comment: The last time Beltre entered his walk year, he had a career season, with 48 home runs and a .388 OBP in 2004, levels he had never seen before and wouldn't see during the course of his five-year contract with Seattle. This...

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Roster move

April 13, 2010, 3:44pm

Orioles

The Orioles have claimed catcher Craig Tatum off waivers from the Cincinnati Reds and designated pitcher Chris Waters for assignment. Tatum, 26, batted .239 with three homers and 21 RBIs in 64 games at Triple-A Louisville. He appeared in 26 games with the Reds and went 11-for-68 (.162) with one homer and six RBIs. Tatum is a former third-round pick who will compete for a backup spot in spring training. Baseball America rated him as the best defensive catcher in the Reds' system in...

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Born to blog, and to update Bergy

April 13, 2010, 3:43pm

Orioles

My ears are still ringing from the Springsteen concert last night, so I'm having trouble hearing this blog. At least I still have my voice, though I tried my hardest to destroy it during Thunder Road. There's nothing like a 3 Ãƒâ€šÃ‚Â½-hour show from The Boss to leave you exhilarated and drained at the same time. I could have sprinted all the way back to my car, but I would have collapsed on the hood and slept for days. (And the only redemption I can offer is beneath this dirty...

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Rough day for Perrault

April 13, 2010, 3:41pm

Orioles

Orioles farmhand Josh Perrault served up a two-run homer to White Sox prospect C.J. Retherford in the bottom of the eighth inning, giving Peoria Javelinas a 5-4 win over the Phoenix Desert Dogs in the AFL championship game. The Desert Dogs had won five straight titles before today. Perrault was charged with two runs and three hits. He also struck out two. Matt Angle, leading off and playing center field, was 2-for-4 with a triple and run scored. Third baseman Josh Bell, batting sixth, went...

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The Shorebirds' bats are streaking

April 13, 2010, 11:19am

Orioles

The Delmarva Shorebirds have gotten off to a great start under first-year manager Ryan Minor. They are 4-1, in first place, with four wins in a row and putting up some big offensive numbers. Delmarva scored six runs in the 9th Monday to beat Greensboro, 11-6. Tyler Kelly, a 13th-round draft pick last June, has nine RBI the past two games and 10 for the year to lead the South Atlantic League. In his first three games, he went just 2 for 12. In the last two, he is 5 for 11 with a homer and...

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orioles steve melewski

Well, at least the starting pitching has been good

April 13, 2010, 8:28am

Orioles

Well, at least the starting pitching has been good

An Orioles fan can hang his or her hat on that right now and almost nothing else. Through seven games, the ERA of the starters is 3.89 with four quality starts. Last April, the O's didn't produce a fourth quality start until game 16. But the solid pitching has been wasted by blown saves, awful hitting and base-running mistakes. The pitchers can only do so much. But moving forward, if they continue to get decent work like this from the starters, the wins should come. At least a few and...

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Clubhouse quotes after the loss to Tampa

April 12, 2010, 6:47pm

Orioles

Clubhouse quotes after the loss to Tampa

Here are some of the post-game comments from the O's clubhouse after the 5-1 loss at home to Tampa. The O's fall to 1-6 for the first time since 2002. Nick Markakis of the frustration on not scoring a lot of runs so far: "It's not fun, it sucks. Overall, our pitching is doing a great job. Our offense needs to pick it up. I know for myself in the three hole I need to be more aggressive and get things going. "We all need to relax, it's a long season. No, it's not the way we wanted...

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Luke Scott's take on fan criticism: "I'm frustrated too"

April 12, 2010, 12:50pm

Orioles

Luke Scott's take on fan criticism: "I'm frustrated too"

If you don't think the Orioles' players notice that the fans have been rather critical of their play so far, just check out the conversation I had with Luke Scott in the clubhouse today. In one sense he called out the fans for criticism of the team, but he also tried to explain his thoughts more in depth as well. Audio: Luke Scott sounds off on fan criticism to Steve Melewski Here is what Luke said on the topic of fans criticizing the club over the 1 and 5 start. "Well, I mean, I can go...

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Post-game notes: Garza and Rays top Orioles

April 12, 2010, 8:38pm

Orioles

With the 5-1 loss vs. Tampa Monday, the Orioles fall to 0-4 on this homestand and 1-6 on the year. They have lost four in a row since the season's only win, last Thursday vs. the Rays. It's the O's worst start since 2002. The Rays, who went 4-5 at the Yard last year, are 45-57 all-time at Camden Yards. He's pretty good: Tampa's Carl Crawford, who went just 2 for 10 vs. the O's last week, went 4 for 4 tonight with a double and solo homer. Winning pitcher Matt Garza gave up just one...

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And then depression set in

April 12, 2010, 5:59pm

Orioles

Well, another night of little offense, clutch or otherwise. The Orioles are 1-6 with four losses in a row and are 0-4 on the homestand. Tonight's attendance of 9,129 was the smallest crowd in Camden Yards history. Tonight they went 0 for 3 with runners in scoring position in the 5-1 loss vs. Tampa. Felix Pie's homer leading off the game, his first-ever leadoff homer, produced the O's only run. The O's are now 1 for 17 the last three games with RISP and just 9 for 57 (.158) in that stat...

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Tonight's attendance

April 12, 2010, 5:04pm

Orioles

....was just announced at 9,129. Yes, that is sparce. That is the first time in the history of this ballpark a game attendance has been under 10,000. The previous lowest attendance for a game in Camden Yards history is 10,130 on May 26, 2009 vs. Toronto.

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Numbers and notes

April 12, 2010, 4:44pm

Orioles

Here are some notes and stats concerning tonight's game. The Rays scored two in the 6th vs. Guthrie to take a 3-1 lead. This is interesting. Stolen base attempts this year by Tampa. First series vs. O's: Went 1 for 4 Second series vs. NY: Went 7 for 7 The Rays easily led the AL in steals last year. Does this mean Matt Wieters is getting a rep for throwing out runners, even with a good team like Tampa. Or am I reading too much into that stat? Luke Scott was 0 for 10 in his career vs....