The clubhouse is pretty much empty except for a few players who are grabbing an early breakfast - and it counts as early when you're playing a 1:35 p.m. game. The door to manager Buck Showalter's office is closed. He'll meet with the media at noon.
In other words, I'm early again.
A few stats to consider while we wait:
The Orioles are 11-3 in the opening game of a series since Showalter took over, but only 5-8 in the closing game.
The 11 runs surrendered last night were the most under...
Joe Girardi doesn't like Jeremy Guthrie.
It's not a reach to suggest that the Orioles' right-hander is Girardi's least favorite pitcher in baseball, though I'm not privy to his list and we're not Facebook friends.
Guthrie's first pitch of tonight's game nailed Derek Jeter on the left elbow, further irritating Girardi, who hasn't forgotten the two hit batters in a spring training contest in Tampa - including Mark Teixeira, who exited with a bruised right elbow - and a few other...
The Orioles gave up 11 runs tonight. They had allowed 11 runs combined in their last four games.
Robert Andino is the first Oriole to homer in consecutive games since Luke Scott on July 23-24 against Minnesota.
Andino is batting .364 in his last five games, with three doubles and two homers.
Manager Buck Showalter didn't talk about any of that, but I wanted to mention it anyway.
So why wasn't Jeremy Guthrie as effective tonight?
"A lot of deep counts," Showalter said. "That's...
Tonight's attendance: 48,775, the second sellout of the year.
Robert Andino has homered again, connecting off CC Sabathia in the bottom of the fifth inning and reducing the Yankees' lead to 6-3. He also extended his hitting streak to five games.
He's only appeared in six with the Orioles.
Don't even pretend that you envisioned an Andino home run in September while this season played out. Now you've got two of them.
Heck, I didn't think we'd see Andino all year, but Julio Lugo's...
The Orioles just introduced first-round pick Manny Machado to the Camden Yards crowd after the top of the third inning. Joe Jordan, director of scouting, stood on the field with Machado, who acknowledged the fans' applause with a wave and a smile.
If the Orioles are going to have 10 quality starts in their last 11 games, Jeremy Guthrie will have to blank the Yankees over the next three innings. He's allowed three runs and four hits in three innings, with one walk and four strikeouts. He's...
Jeremy Guthrie's first pitch of the game drilled Derek Jeter on the left elbow.
Jeter tried to spin away from it. No such luck.
Jeter dropped his bat and trotted to first base. The benches and bullpens didn't empty. But the crowd certainly reacted.
At least this one was legit. No foul ball.
Keep in mind that Guthrie has hit 14 batters this year, second to A.J. Burnett (16). He might be a little amped up.
Update: Guthrie struck out the next two batters, walked Alex Rodriguez and gave up a...
Another Jake Arrieta update: The rookie is scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday to remove a bone spur from his right elbow. Team physician Dr. Andrew Cosgarea will handle the surgery.
Arrieta wants to remain with the team, though he might not travel.
"I think it's going to be for the best," Arrieta said. "I've talked to the doctors and trainers and we decided I'm going to go ahead and get that bone spur taken out. Probably going to do it Wednesday, just get it over and done with...
Manager Buck Showalter said he was still 50-50 whether he would shut down Jake Arrieta until the club decided to schedule an MRI on the rookie's right elbow, which followed his admission that he felt "a little tightness" after his last start.
Arrieta was fine the next day, but the Orioles decided to be cautious.
"He's 20, 23 innings over where he's been. He's in a good spot and I think it's best to stop his innings right now," Showalter said. "We looked at all the variables involved...
The Orioles have decided to shut down Jake Arrieta, primarily because of a bone spur in his right elbow that might require surgery after the season.
Arrieta said he's been pitching with the spur since college and it only has a slight effect on his flexibility. Arrieta insisted that it doesn't influence the way he pitches.
The surgery isn't considered a serious procedure, but there's no reason to put it off if the spur could potentially cause him problems later in his career.
Arrieta...
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Robert Andino 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Jake Fox DH
Adam Jones CF
Nolan Reimold LF
Craig Tatum C
Cesar Izturis SS
Jeremy Guthrie RHP
Still hurts.
I thought I could sleep it off, as if that ever works, but just the idea of being down a game in this series with CC Sabathia and Andy Pettitte taking the ball makes my body ache.
One more strike and we'd be discussing the possibility of a sixth consecutive series win. It could still happen, of course. I'm talking mathematically. But as long as we're dealing in numbers, Sabathia and Pettitte are a combined 40-8 lifetime against the Orioles.
We'll see what happens. This team...
One strike away from victory.
"We may have had it, too," manager Buck Showalter said.
Asked again about Koji Uehara's 1-2 pitch to Alex Rodriguez, Showalter replied, "It was close. It was obviously a better pitch than strike one to Matt Wieters. I'll tell you that."
Uehara was visibly upset that he didn't get the call from plate umpire Ted Barrett, and practically inconsolable after Rodriguez launched a three-run homer on the next pitch.
Buck Showalter talks with the media after the...
Koji Uehara just blew another save to the Yankees, and it almost brought him to his knees.
Actually, it caused him to squat in front of the mound, his back turned to home plate, as catcher Matt Wieters tried to console him.
Uehara served up a three-run homer to Alex Rodriguez on a 2-2 pitch with two outs in the top of the ninth, giving the Yankees a 4-3 lead.
Rodriguez unloaded on a 90 mph fastball one pitch after Uehara thought he had a called third strike on another fastball. Plate umpire...
That 34-pitch second inning looked like it would force Kevin Millwood to make an early exit tonight. He wasn't sharp and the Yankees were poised for that one big inning that would knock him out.
Not so fast.
Millwood has cleared seven innings and holds a 2-1 lead.
Jim Johnson was warming in the seventh as Millwood escaped a two-on, two-out jam created by walks to pinch-hitter Jorge Posada and Curtis Granderson. Manager Buck Showalter almost certainly will go to his bullpen in the eighth...
Adam Jones tied his career high for home runs while breaking a tie.
Jones' solo shot over the center field fence gave the Orioles a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth. He's hit 19 homers this season, moving him one behind Ty Wigginton for second place on the team.
Kevin Millwood has settled down and retired eight of nine batters. He threw 19 pitches over the last two innings after needing 50 to get through the first two.
Doesn't bode well for Troy Patton. I hope he brought a magazine.
Alex Rodriguez has given the Yankees a 1-0 lead with a 412-foot shot into the Orioles' bullpen leading off the second inning.
Rodriguez is 11-for-31 with three homers and five RBIs lifetime against Millwood.
Millwood has surrendered a career-high 28 homers this year. He entered the night tied for the sixth-most in the majors.
Robinson Cano followed with a single. You'll recall that he began the game hitting .441 against the Orioles this season, and .625 at Camden Yards.
Millwood walked...
Brian Matusz threw his bullpen session today and said his left arm felt "real good."
Matusz is still scheduled to start Monday night in Boston.
"I'm good to go," he said.
Arrieta played long toss today, but still has no idea whether he'll make another start for the Orioles.
"I aired it out and I feel great. If it's up to me, I'll pitch," he said.
"I know everybody wants to take precautions. I think some of the views are, what's another 14 innings going to do? But at the same...
Manager Buck Showalter's plans for the rotation should become more clear after today, and especially after left-hander Brian Matusz's bullpen session.
Matusz is slated to start Monday in Boston. Jake Arrieta's turn falls on Tuesday, but he could be shut down.
Arrieta still hadn't been told anything as he headed to the field to play catch this afternoon.
Showalter, pitching coach Rick Kranitz and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail met earlier today to discuss the rotation,...
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Felix Pie LF
Adam Jones CF
Matt Wieters C
Robert Andino 3B
Cesar Izturis SS
Kevin Millwood RHP
The Orioles need to go 3-13 in their final 16 games to guarantee a winning record under Buck Showalter. Davey Johnson was the last Orioles manager to end the season with a winning record (98-64 in 1997).
MASN's Kal Patel did a little digging and discovered that Earl Weaver is the only Orioles manager to post a winning record while starting midway through a season with a minimum of 30 games. He actually did it twice: going 48-34 in 1968 and 53-52 in 1985.
With seven more victories, the...
