Third baseman Josh Bell underwent an MRI today that he hopes will explain the source of the pain in his left side that's been bothering him for about three months.
Bell said he's been dealing with a sore muscle that's located in the "oblique area." The discomfort intensifies when he's immobile and has been interrupting his sleep.
"It feels like somebody is sitting on top of me," he said.
"It's fine once I've been moving around, but whenever I wake up, I pretty much have to get...
Manager Buck Showalter told reporters today that he's letting Vladimir Guerrero "freshen up" and expects the veteran to be in the lineup tomorrow night.
Guerrero is 1-for-18 on this homestand and has two home runs since July 6.
Asked whether Guerrero would be the cleanup hitter tomorrow night, Showalter replied, "More than likely." But he didn't make any promises.
Guerrero is 13-for-36 (.361) lifetime against White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, who starts tomorrow. He has two doubles,...
Felix Pie is batting first tonight as part of a revamped lineup. J.J. Hardy drops down to second. Adam Jones is batting cleanup, and Vladimir Guerrero is taking a seat on the bench.
For the Orioles:
Felix Pie LF
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Mark Reynolds 3B
Chris Davis 1B
Nolan Reimold DH
Robert Andino 2B
Tommy Hunter RHP
Nick Markakis was in the middle of two crucial moments in tonight's game.
If you've been following along, you know that he broke back toward second base on Vladimir Guerrero's one-out single into center field in the fourth inning. He also was incorrectly called out attempting to steal third base in the fifth inning.
He'll first address his reaction to Guerrero's single:
"That's a line drive right at you and your first natural reaction is to freeze, but I've got to do a better job of...
Manager Buck Showalter was ejected by third base umpire Phil Cuzzi in the fifth inning tonight, but he still handled the postgame session with the media. He didn't shower, dress and leave the ballpark.
Cuzzi missed the call on Nick Markakis, who clearly beat Brent Morel's tag.
"It's one of those things. It's unfortunate," Showalter said. "You can usually go back to three or four things that would have made it not matter, but it's tough. Obviously, he's safe, but it's tough. Things...
Need a reason to feel optimistic about tonight's game? Tommy Hunter has made one career start against the White Sox, back on July 3, 2010, and he held them to one run over seven innings.
Adam Jones collected his 70th RBI last night in the Orioles' 113th game, putting him on pace for 100 RBIs this season. He would become the third center fielder in club history to reach the century mark. Name the other two. (Answer below. No fair looking it up.)
Felix Pie had two more hits off Gavin Floyd,...
I pointed out this morning that Felix Pie was 7-for-12 lifetime against White Sox starter Gavin Floyd.
Make it 8-for-13.
Pie has walked and singled tonight, and he helped to fuel a three-run fifth inning that reduced Chicago's lead to 4-3.
Matt Wieters, Pie and Robert Andino strung together hits to load the bases with no outs. Station-to-station worked in this case. Wieters scored on J.J. Hardy's fielders choice grounder, Nick Markakis followed with an RBI single and another run scored on...
If you want to be one of the guys here, you've got to give up runs with two outs.
That's especially true if you're part of the rotation.
Jo-Jo Reyes, making his first start with the Orioles, retired the side in order in the top of the first inning. Paul Konerko worked Reyes for nine of the left-hander's 16 pitches before lining to left field.
Carlos Quentin led off the second with a 390-foot home run, ending Reyes' bid for a perfect game. Reyes retired the next two batters, but he...
Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed that he's considered moving Vladimir Guerrero out of the cleanup spot, in case anyone thought the idea hadn't crossed his mind.
"Obviously, he hasn't been as productive as you'd like to see from a guy hitting in that spot in the order," Showalter said.
Showalter has a few candidates in mind, though he's not giving away names. If he had an ideal replacement, he probably would have acted upon it by now.
My guess is Mark Reynolds and Adam Jones...
First baseman Chris Davis is back in the lineup tonight and batting fifth against White Sox right-hander Gavin Floyd.
For the Orioles:
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Chris Davis 1B
Mark Reynolds 3B
Matt Wieters C
Felix Pie LF
Robert Andino 2B
Jo-Jo Reyes LHP
J.J. Hardy:
"It's frustrating. We battled back, we took the lead. They got a couple of hits there, I think, it was the eighth, that brought them back the lead. A couple of broken-bat bloopers fell in. That's just bad luck and frustrating. Anytime we're up in the eighth inning, I feel like we've got a pretty good shot. J.J. (Jim Johnson) has been unbelievable all year. It was just a little bad luck tonight."
"I definitely hit some balls right down the line. Those could go foul any day -...
Manager Buck Showalter didn't bury third baseman Josh Bell or center fielder Adam Jones during his postgame session with the media.
Not that I expected him to do it.
Bell committed an error and failed to make a play in the decisive eighth inning that allowed the go-ahead run to score. Jones made a poor throw that put the go-ahead run in scoring position before Bell's botched attempt to field a grounder to his left side.
Buck Showalter talks to the media about the O's making it a close...
The first 15 Orioles were retired Saturday night. The first nine were retired Sunday afternoon. The first six were retired last night.
That's what I call progress.
The Orioles are getting off to slow starts. That's the point I'm trying to make here. And the second inning has really been a sinkhole.
The Orioles are 0-for-33 in the second inning over their last 10 games since Mark Reynolds hit a home run off A.J. Burnett on July 29.
The offense is batting .190 (23-for-121) with 13 runs...
Tonight's attendance: 17,498
J.J. Hardy smacked a three-run homer off White Sox reliever Jesse Crain in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Orioles a 6-5 lead and set up Jeremy Guthrie for his sixth win.
Matt Wieters doubled off John Danks for his third hit tonight, and he reached third base after sliding into Gordon Beckham's glove and jarring the ball loose. Crain replaced Danks with one out, and Hardy greeted him with a shot into the left field seats.
Hardy is the first Orioles...
The White Sox have six hits off Orioles starter Jeremy Guthrie through two innings tonight. Five of them have gone for extra bases.
Paul Konerko doubled with two outs in the first inning, but he was stranded.
Then the floodgates opened.
A.J. Pierzynski led off the second with a 394-foot home run. Alex Rios, batting .215 before tonight, doubled to left field and scored on a single by Adam Dunn, who was batting .163.
Guthrie got ahead of Gordon Beckham, 0-2, and served up another home run....
The Orioles placed infielder Cesar Izturis on the 15-day disabled list today with a left groin strain. The move was announced a few minutes ago.
Reliever Jason Berken has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk to take Izturis' spot on the 25-man roster.
Izturis is making his second trip to the disabled list. He also was sidelined May 13 to Aug. 5 with a right elbow ulnar nerve injury that required surgery.
Izturis went 1-for-4 in two games after being activated and is batting .200 (6-for-30)...
Chris Davis really wanted to start at first base tonight.
Here's how much:
"I've tried," he said. "I literally actually put my name in the lineup before anybody else did and when I came back, it said I was pitching, so I moved it back out of the lineup. I would love to pitch, but I just don't want to subject these guys to that."
Davis has temporarily lost his place in the lineup, but not his sense of humor. He was on a roll today while standing in front of his locker.
"I'll...
The Orioles have summoned reliever Jason Berken from Triple-A Norfolk, and he could be officially recalled if the club decides to place infielder Cesar Izturis on the 15-day disabled list.
Izturis left yesterday's game in the fifth inning with a strained left groin, and he's "probably a little more sore" today, according to manager Buck Showalter.
It's possible that a roster move will be announced later today.
Berken could fill the bullpen spot vacated by left-hander Jo-Jo Reyes, who...
Shortstop J.J. Hardy has returned to the lineup after leaving Thursday night's game with a sore left ankle, but first baseman Chris Davis remains on the bench with a sore right shoulder. I'll pass along an update after manager Buck Showalter meets with reporters around 4 p.m.
For the Orioles:
J.J. Hardy SS
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Vladimir Guerrero DH
Mark Reynolds 1B
Nolan Reimold LF
Matt Wieters C
Robert Andino 2B
Josh Bell 3B
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
Despite all the issues swirling around the Orioles, it's still hard to believe that they haven't won a series since June 24-26 against the Reds.
You'd think it might happen by accident.
They've got four games coming against the White Sox beginning tonight. A split doesn't count. It's got to be at least three out of four.
We might have another roster move today, depending on the severity of Cesar Izturis' strained left groin. Izturis could go back on the disabled list, which would...