The Orioles' rotation is a constant guessing game. Unlike the burger joint, you won't find Five Guys. Pitchers don't always work on normal rest. The MVO might be TBA.
Chris Tillman gets the ball tonight against the Boston Red Sox in the first game of the final homestand of the regular season. Rookie Steve Johnson will start on Saturday before a sellout crowd. Sunday is undecided, with left-hander Joe Saunders a possibility.
Tillman faced the Red Sox in his last start on Sunday and held...
It's usually a morning blog entry, but I'm feeling a little bold as the sun goes down.
I found a few leftovers that might be of interest, including this first item from Elias:
Last night, the Orioles hit home runs with men on base in the fifth inning (Chris Davis), sixth (Mark Reynolds), seventh (Davis again) and eighth (Manny Machado) in their 12-2 win over the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. According to Elias, it's the the first time in more than six years that a team hit home runs with men...
The Orioles' announced crowd of 26,513 last night brought the 76-date season total to 1,981,154. The average attendance at Camden Yards this season is 26,068.
By my math, which is as sketchy as the guy who sold me the Rolex in Times Square this summer, the Orioles need 18,846 to reach the two-million mark.
I'm told that Saturday's game against the Red Sox is sold out. The Orioles occasionally get seats returned by the visiting team or season plan holders, so fans should always check back,...
The Orioles have six games remaining in the regular season, and I still haven't figured them out.
They had lost three of their last four games before destroying the Blue Jays last night. The offense was sluggish before they erupted for seven home runs in a 12-2 victory. The rotation had become a major concern before Miguel Gonzalez turned in his third consecutive quality start.
Manager Buck Showalter has provided extra rest for Gonzalez, going to great extremes, but the right-hander was...
The Orioles remain 1 1/2 games behind the Yankees in the American League East after tonight's 12-2 romp over the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
Manager Buck Showalter wrote out two lineups before the game because he was unsure whether shortstop J.J. Hardy could play with a sore finger on his throwing hand.
"J.J.'s battling through a lot of things right now that most people would be sitting on the bench with," Showalter said. "I had two lineups up until about 6:30 tonight. Last thing he told...
The Orioles were batting .283 in this series before tonight, but only .190 (4-for-21) with runners in scoring position. They were hitting .206 (14-for-68) with RISP over their last eight games.
Nate McLouth had the right idea tonight. Just lead off the game with a home run and don't worry about it.
McLouth's ninth career leadoff homer, and his second this season, tied the game 1-1 after the Blue Jays took the lead in the top of the first on Edwin Encarnacion's 42nd homer.
McLouth's other...
The Orioles just announced that they placed pitcher Randy Wolf on the 60-day disabled list with a tear in the ulnar collateral ligament in his left elbow. They purchased the contract of veteran infielder/outfielder Bill Hall.
Wolf had an MRI on his left elbow yesterday and consulted last night with renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. Lewis Yocum, who contact team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens this afternoon. Yocum performed ligament-reconstructive surgery on Wolf's elbow five years ago, and the...
The Yankees beat the Twins 8-2 today, dropping the Orioles two games back in the American League East.
Big start tonight for Miguel Gonzalez. Big game for the Orioles, who have lost three of four.
Right?
"You can find somebody in the locker room every night to tell you this is a big game," said manager Buck Showalter. "I know who's not going to say that."
That would be Showalter.
"Believe me, I've got a grip on reality, but what are you going to do? It is what it is," Showalter...
The Orioles could know by the end of the day whether pitcher Randy Wolf has decided to undergo surgery on his left elbow.
Wolf talked to Dr. Lewis Yocum last night, and Yocum will consult with team orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens later today.
Wolf could go on the 60-day disabled list to create room for Bill Hall on the 40-man roster, though manager Buck Showalter said there are "three or four options there."
"We'll see what Randy and the doctors want to do," Showalter added. "We'd like...
Ryan Flaherty is starting at second base tonight, as manager Buck Showalter inserts an extra left-handed bat in the lineup against Blue Jays right-hander Carlos Villanueva.
For the Orioles:
Nate McLouth LF
J.J. Hardy SS
Chris Davis RF
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Jim Thome DH
Mark Reynolds 1B
Ryan Flaherty 2B
Manny Machado 3B
Miguel Gonzalez RHP
Hardy is 8-for-15 with four doubles and a home run against Villanueva. Davis is 5-for-8 with a double and two homers. Reynolds is 5-for-14...
The voting for Most Valuable Oriole ended yesterday at noon, with members of the media who cover the team pressured into remembering to e-mail their ballot and not treat it like their BGE bill.
This could be the narrowest margin of victory since I've been on the beat, and my first full season was 1997.
I announced my choice on Sunday's edition of "O's Xtra" on MASN while sitting in front of the visiting dugout at Fenway Park and feeling a light mist against my back. The grounds crew was...
The Orioles are two games behind the Yankees in the American League East and could slip another half-game back if New York holds onto its 3-2 lead over the Twins.
Update: The Twins beat the Yankees, 5-4. The Orioles remain 1 1/2 games back in the AL East.
Manager Buck Showalter praised left-hander Joe Saunders for giving the Orioles "a chance to win."
"We just couldn't do much with the bats, and the few opportunities that we had, we couldn't cash in," Showalter said following a 4-0...
The Blue Jays have collected seven hits off Joe Saunders in four innings. Maybe he should feel fortunate that they've only scored twice.
Toronto leads, 2-0, in the top of the fifth on a two-out RBI single by Yan Gomes in the first inning and a two-out RBI double by Adeiny Hechavarria in the fourth.
Saunders has thrown 60 pitches, 38 for strikes.
Saunders caught a break in the first when Rajai Davis' grounder hit Gomes to end the inning. Davis is credited with a hit and Robert Andino, who...
Manager Buck Showalter clearly is upset over the results of Randy Wolf's MRI, which he's keeping private at the moment.
Showalter has gained a lot of respect for Wolf in the short amount of time that he's managed the veteran.
"Randy's a guy who's going to give you a chance out there," Showalter said. "He knows what he's doing, he knows how to pitch. I think we've all seen that with him. This is a guy who's been in a lot of fires in his time professionally, so it's a loss if we do...
Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis has a new cast on his left hand and is still expected to have the pins removed from his thumb while the Orioles are in Tampa Oct. 1-3. The cast will be replaced by a splint.
Today's pregame media session was dominated by injury news and updates, beginning with pitcher Randy Wolf, who's experiencing discomfort in his surgically repaired left elbow and will be examined by Dr. Lewis Yocum.
Appointments with Yocum and Dr. James Andrews rarely lead to good...
Orioles pitcher Randy Wolf underwent an MRI on his left elbow today and will consult with Dr. Lewis Yocum, who performed his ligament-reconstructive surgery back in 2005.
The club isn't saying much about the injury beyond how Wolf felt discomfort in the elbow while throwing a curveball in the fifth inning of Saturday's start in Boston. Manager Buck Showalter wouldn't discuss Wolf's status with reporters until conferring with the veteran pitcher.
Showalter said there are two or there...
As expected, the Orioles have named outfielder LJ Hoes as their minor league Player of the Year and Dylan Bundy as their minor league Pitcher of the Year. The winners will be honored before tonight's game against the Toronto Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
Hoes will receive the Brooks Robinson Award after batting a combined .287 with five home runs and 54 RBIs for Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie. He also had a .372 on-base percentage, 20 stolen bases and 79 runs scored - the latter stat...
I thought about having a replacement ref handle my blogging duties this morning, but he kept writing about the Royals.
Manny Machado made a dazzling play at third base during the Red Sox series, diving to snatch a ground ball along the line, jumping to his feet and throwing out the runner with another one of his missiles.
In Game 2 of last night's doubleheader, Machado ranged to his left to glove Yan Gomes' grounder, skidded to a stop and fired a perfect strike to first baseman Mark...
The Yankees won tonight while the Orioles split their doubleheader, leaving a 1 1/2-game gap between the top two teams in the American League East.
Wei-Yin Chen took the loss in Game 2, allowing five runs and nine hits in five innings. He's completed seven innings only once in his last nine starts and hasn't won since Aug. 19.
"It's hard to do," manager Buck Showalter said after the 9-5 loss to the Blue Jays. "He spoiled us at a very high level this year and will again. You've been...
The first inning jumped up and bit Wei-Yin Chen again tonight.
Chen allowed two runs in the first, raising his total to 21 this season, and two more in the second to dig an early hole for the Orioles as they attempt to sweep this doubleheader. His pitch count stood at 42 as he took the mound for the third inning.
Edwin Encarnacion hit his 41st homer in the top of the first inning following a leadoff walk to Brett Lawrie and Rajai Davis' strikeout. The Blue Jays collected four hits in the...
