Everyone has a story. How they spent the summer shutdown and, for professional baseball players, attempted to train and stay attached to their clubs. Just in case a season on hold was put into motion.
Orioles pitching prospect Zach Pop can spin an interesting tale. Going back home to Canada and rehabbing his surgically repaired right elbow after the closing of the Twin Lakes Park facility in Sarasota. The higher dependence on video to allow the Orioles to track his progress.
Being outside the...
Wilson Ramos shot a ground ball between shortstop and third base this afternoon and John Means turned away in disgust. Burned again by location.
Not within the strike zone, but on the field.
Between those hits was a two-run, opposite-field homer from Michael Conforto, who reached for a fastball and watched it carry as Ryan Mountcastle drifted back for it.
Means wasn't shelled. It was more like shocked.
Set free of the stricter pitch counts that accompanied his previous starts, Means worked a...
There was some good and some not so good for O's lefty John Means today. He went 5 1/3 innings and that was a season high, topping the 4 2/3 innings he threw Aug. 4 against Miami. He also threw a season-high 81 pitches. That is seven more than in his last outing against Toronto.
So, he continues to get stretched out and that part of his day was a positive. But he gave up two more homers this afternoon, and that was not a positive.
It got the Orioles' pitching off to a so-so start today, and...
Stephen Strasburg is rehabbing at his Virginia home one week following carpal tunnel surgery on his right wrist, but the Nationals right-hander won't be cleared to throw "for a while," according to manager Davey Martinez.
Strasburg had surgery last Wednesday in Baltimore to repair the carpal tunnel neuritis that had developed in his throwing hand. Though club officials never officially declared him out for the season, he was transferred to the 60-day injured list once it was determined he...
Some fans have asked the question with the Nationals at 12-21 and in last place in the National League East: Why not just call up all the prospects and see what you have for 2021 and beyond?
Manager Davey Martinez was asked about third baseman Carter Kieboom, who started the season with the Nationals but since Aug. 26 is back at the alternate training site working on his hitting and his approach at the plate.
"When we assessed Carter at the time, he was trending downward," Martinez said...
Another day, another chance for the Nationals to flip the script and beat the Phillies, something they've been unable to do in four tries so far this season. None of those previous four games, however, had Max Scherzer on the mound. Tonight's does.
Scherzer gets the ball on the heels of a dominant outing at Fenway Park last Friday, when he allowed one run over six innings, striking out 11 without issuing a walk. He will need to be at his best tonight to hold down the Phillies lineup and give...
After an offensive breakout last night, with three homers and 15 hits, the Orioles beat the New York Mets 9-5. They will try for a two-game series sweep this afternoon at Oriole Park.
The O's (16-19) improved to 7-13 at home, 8-6 versus the National League, 4-8 in series-opening games and won their second in a row after a five-game losing streak. The Mets (15-21) have lost five in a row.
The Orioles have scored 5.71 runs per game against NL opponents, going 8-6. And they average 4.53 runs per...
The Orioles will celebrate the 25th anniversary of Cal Ripken Jr.'s record-breaking 2,131st consecutive game on Sunday, September 6, during the 1:05 p.m. ET game against the New York Yankees. The celebration will recognize the iconic moment when Ripken played his 2,131st consecutive game, passing Yankees legend Lou Gehrig, on September 6, 1995.
Prior to that afternoon's game, Ripken will throw out the ceremonial first pitch to his son, Ryan Ripken, an infielder in the Orioles Minor League...
The Orioles are lifting the restrictions on John Means.
Manager Brandon Hyde has been providing incremental increases in pitch count and innings after Means returned from his second trip to the injured list. If the Mets cooperate with him, Means is going to move past four innings and 74 pitches in this afternoon's series finale at Camden Yards.
"I feel comfortable with taking him further than he's gone so far," Hyde said today in his Zoom conference call with the media.
"I think John's...
Pat Valaika is settling in nicely with his new team. Injuries to other players opened up some playing time for him and as more at-bats were coming, so have more hits. He went 4-for-4 last night in the Orioles' 9-5 win over the New York Mets.
Last season with Colorado, Valaika had four different stints with the big league team, getting 86 total plate appearances over that time. He already has 86 plate appearances with the Orioles. He's batting .275/.318/.488 with two doubles, five homers, nine...