One pitch tonight from Orioles rookie Alexander Wells, and the last home game of the 2021 season felt like too many others. Wells fed leadoff hitter Kiké Hernández a fastball and it landed in the left field seats. An immediate deficit against a team in the thick of the wild card race. One bad fastball didn't spoil the whole start. Wells worked a career-high six innings, and retired 10 of 11 batters and 16 of 18. Ryan Mountcastle hit his 33rd home run of the season, a three-run shot in...

The Orioles aren't going to make any determinations on their coaching staff until after the last out on Oct. 3. They'll do the usual evaluating and decide whether the unit remains intact under manager Brandon Hyde or requires one or more replacements. Movement already has started on the minor league side. Single-A Aberdeen hitting coach Tom Eller and low Single-A Delmarva hitting coach Patrick Jones won't return in 2022, according to multiple sources. Eller was head baseball coach at Harford...

Well, this was somewhat unexpected. An Orioles team with the worst rotation ERA in baseball facing the Boston Red Sox. When this series began, Boston led the majors in doubles and extra-base hits, were second in slugging, third in OPS and fourth with 5.15 runs per game. They had posted wins over the Orioles this year by scores of 14-9, 11-6, 8-1 and 16-2. And then they got shut down pretty well by three O's rookie left-handers. First it was Bruce Zimmermann going four innings Tuesday. Then Zac...

Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias spent 20 minutes in the dugout today fielding questions from the media. The typical season-ender with the club down to its last home game, followed by three in Toronto. Elias believes the organization is in "a very healthy spot right now" with "a ton of young talent" in the system, plus the advances made in analytics and international scouting. But he also knows the on-field product must be upgraded without compromising the rebuild...

The Orioles' final home game of the 2021 season will begin with rookie Alexander Wells making his 11th major league appearance and eighth start. Wells has a 7.61 ERA and 1.745 WHIP in 36 2/3 innings. He's averaging 12.3 hits, 3.4 walks, 5.9 strikeouts and 2.2 home runs per nine innings. Wells has completed five innings in his last two starts, allowing eight runs and 11 hits. He faced the Red Sox on Sept. 19 and surrendered five runs and six hits, with J.D. Martinez hitting a solo...

The Orioles would love to win their final home game of the 2021 season. Tonight, they get their chance when they host the Boston Red Sox in the series and homestand finale. The O's have a chance to win this series after they won 4-2 Tuesday night but lost 6-0 last night, shut out for the 10th time this season. The Orioles (51-107) fell to 26-54 through 80 home games with last night's loss, where they were held to four hits in 32 at-bats and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They...

On an otherwise not-so-great night in Birdland - in a 6-0 loss to Boston with the Orioles held to four hits - the best development of the night for the O's was the pitching of 25-year-old lefty Zac Lowther. It has been a tough year in some respects for Lowther, who began the 2021 season ranked as the Orioles' No. 11 prospect, per MLBPipeline.com, and No. 19 via Baseball America. He had a strong resume on the O's farm coming into this season, one that included his leading all O's minor...

Well, we've reached the final leg of a long and often painful season. The Nationals flew home from Denver late Wednesday night after a long and painful, 10-5 loss to the Rockies. And now after a well-earned day off, they'll face the Red Sox over the weekend to wrap things up in 2021. There are some compelling storylines to come over the next 72 hours, from Ryan Zimmerman's potential final games to Juan Soto's attempt to finish hot and win either the batting title or the National League MVP...

Reliever Joey Krehbiel is looking at a postseason race from both sides now. With the Rays, winners of the American League East. With the Orioles, who claimed him off waivers and are cast as spoilers, beginning last night with the second-worst record in the majors. Only one team valued him down the stretch. Krehbiel, 28, was designated for assignment after tossing a scoreless inning and striking out two batters for the Rays on Sept. 18. He's made three appearances with the Orioles and...

Zac Lowther turned to watch the ball and slapped his glove against his leg. Knowing where it would land and the implications. Perhaps also knowing that one run might be too much for the Orioles to overcome against Nathan Eovaldi. J.D. Martinez's 28th homer of the season, a solo shot to center field with one out in the second inning, was the only run surrendered by the rookie left-hander through the fifth. Plenty of hard-hit line drives, but nothing to influence the score. That happened in the...