Austin Hays is in center field today for his first start in the majors in two years.
The Orioles wrap up their series against the Rangers with more Hanser Alberto atop the order versus a left-hander. Renato Núñez is playing first base with Chris Davis on the bench and Mark Trumbo is the designated hitter.
Anthony Santander is in left field. He's batting .373 (19-for-51) with 15 RBIs during his 12-game hitting streak.
Asher Wojciechowski has allowed nine runs and 11 hits in his last two...
The story of Hanser Alberto has been retold more times than "The Night Before Christmas." Except this one is less believable.
A rotund old man in a red suit with flying reindeer sliding down chimneys to hand out gifts to millions of children? Sure, it's plausible. Even the part about the milk and cookies at every stop.
But Alberto has a chance to win a batting title.
Come on!
Alberto was selected off waivers four times since November. The Orioles grabbed him, let him go in spring training...
Aaron Brooks got called third strikes on Delino DeShields and Ronald Guzman tonight in the top of the first inning and the crowd erupted. Jeff Mathis went down swinging for the final out, but the reaction was a bit more subdued.
The fans must have been running low on sarcasm.
Brooks wasn't fooled, of course. He understood the reasoning behind the enthusiastic response. Six runs already had scored and 31 pitches were thrown before the first out. Forty-one were needed for Brooks to make it back...
Austin Hays almost took a detour through Arizona to make it back to the majors.
Hays was preparing to board a flight Wednesday and join the Surprise Saguaros of the Arizona Fall League until he got a call yesterday, as unexpected as they come, with news that the Orioles wanted him in Baltimore.
Major League Baseball is allowing players on the 40-man roster to report late to the AFL, giving Hays until the beginning of October to impress the Orioles.
The club felt that he needed more plate...
The Orioles have shifted gears based on an unexpected rule change regarding the Arizona Fall League and recalled outfielder Austin Hays from Triple-A Norfolk.
Hays has arrived at Camden Yards and is part of the expanded roster.
Major League Baseball notified teams that players on the 40-man roster can report to the AFL in October instead of Sept. 11, with games starting a week later. The Orioles are allowed to bring up Hays for a few weeks.
"On Thursday we got a memo from the league and they...
Chris Davis returns to the Orioles lineup tonight with the Rangers starting a right-hander.
Trey Mancini is the designated hitter. Mason Williams is in center field and Dwight Smith Jr. is in left.
Hanser Alberto ranks fourth in the American League with a .321 average. The White Sox's Tim Anderson is first at .333, followed by the Yankees' D.J. LeMahieu at .329 and the Astros' Michael Brantley at .324.
Rule 5 pick Richie Martin hit a three-run homer last night and has posted a .274...
Another game passed last night with Austin Wynns unable to swing the bat beyond the usual cage work.
He's healthy and he's ready, but the life of a third catcher on an expanded September roster can be filled with idle time.
There's the fast lane and then the cell phone lot.
Wynns hasn't received a plate appearance with the Orioles since Game 1 of a June 1 doubleheader against the Giants. He caught an inning on July 19, two in the nightcap of Tuesday's doubleheader and one last night after...
With his team playing so many close games, Orioles manager Brandon Hyde keeps relying on the same set of relievers rather than diving into the expanded area of his bullpen.
It works at times. Tonight wasn't one of them.
The Orioles couldn't hold a two-run lead in the seventh inning, with Paul Fry unable to throw strikes and Shawn Armstrong unable to save him. And the quest to match last season's win total stalled again.
The Rangers scored three times in the seventh after Dylan Bundy exited...
The row of lockers against one wall in the home clubhouse at Camden Yards is the setting for a Triple-A reunion.
The expanded roster has allowed pitchers Ty Blach, Chandler Shepherd, Branden Kline, Tanner Scott, Evan Phillips and David Hess to get back to Baltimore. Dillon Tate is assigned a corner locker that leads to the hallway outside manager Brandon Hyde's office, but he already had been recalled.
Hyde is starting the next wave of auditions with the relievers, who are handed a clean slate...
Mason Williams gets the start in center field as the Orioles continue their series against the Rangers.
Trey Mancini is playing first base. DJ Stewart is in left field.
Anthony Santander is batting .415/.415/.854 (17-for-41) with three doubles, five home runs, 12 RBIs and six runs scored during his 10-game hitting streak. He's in right field tonight.
Hanser Alberto continues to lead the majors with a .417 average versus left-handed pitching. He's atop the order tonight.
Rule 5 shortstop...
Alan Mills became the third manager of an Orioles minor league affiliate to earn an award for his work in 2019. And he's still uncertain about his future, wondering if he's going to stay with them, the obvious preference, or be searching for a job.
Mills was chosen as the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League's Manager of the Year after leading the rookie-level Orioles to the top record at 38-15. The season was cut short due to the threat posed by Hurricane Dorian and the playoffs were...
John Means found a needed distraction again tonight as he stepped on the mound. His thoughts locked on baseball. An escape of sorts before his personal life again takes hold and spins him around.
Making his second start since returning from the family medical emergency list, Means plowed through the Rangers batting order for six innings and waited for the Orioles to hand him a lead.
He got it, but the first hard-hit ball of the night against him resulted in a two-run homer for Nick Solak in the...
The Orioles have their rotation set through their four-game series against the Rangers and are going to figure out later how to insert a fifth starter.
The team is off again Monday, which gives manager Brandon Hyde some maneuverability. He's staying with John Means, Dylan Bundy, Aaron Brooks and Asher Wojciechowski, and can decide between Gabriel Ynoa and left-hander Ty Blach for the fifth spot.
Blach allowed two runs and two hits in five innings Tuesday against the Rays and Ynoa followed by...
Orioles infielder Jace Peterson and pitcher Tom Eshelman have been outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. The club made the announcement this afternoon.
Peterson could have declined the assignment and elected free agency, but he accepted it.
Eshelman and Peterson came off the 40-man roster while the Orioles were in Florida to create room for Mark Trumbo and Mason Williams, respectively.
Trumbo is in the Orioles lineup tonight as they start a four-game series against the Rangers at Camden Yards. Trumbo...
We never stop learning.
This is what I've been told as I advance through middle age. My problem is that I keep forgetting.
The Orioles made it out of Florida without any weather issues. Hurricane Dorian posed an enormous threat, raising discussions about moving the series to a neutral site before the teams settled on a Tuesday doubleheader to allow for an earlier departure.
There wasn't a drop of rain. Only the Orioles' record fell, a nightcap loss leaving them 46-93 and still one win shy of...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is measuring the level of composure that Dillon Tate brings into the first set of major league games. He already knows how the rookie can handle an uncomfortable situation while sitting in the clubhouse.
Tate removed his earbuds and put down his phone yesterday afternoon as a reporter approached him, braced for a set of questions related to Tommy Pham's accusations of head hunting and dugout chirping. They came a little later in the session...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde arrived at Tropicana Field yesterday still plotting how he was going to get through the next day's doubleheader. He needed two starters and had none on regular rest. Left-hander John Means was pushed back to Thursday in Baltimore.
The minor league system provided one answer, with left-hander Ty Blach included among the call-ups and working the opener.
The bullpen held the Game 2 starter, with Hyde choosing Gabriel Ynoa in an attempt to...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Anthony Santander is staying in the Orioles lineup tonight for Game 2 of the doubleheader against the Rays. And with good reason.
Santander extended his career-high hitting streak to eight games in the opener with the go-ahead home run in the sixth inning that propelled the Orioles to a 4-2 win.
During a scorching stretch of games, Santander has collected 15 hits in 33 at-bats for a .455 average with five homers and 12 RBIs. He's slashing .292/.328/.526 with 19 doubles,...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Tommy Pham saw five pitches today from Ty Blach in the bottom of the first inning. None of them clocked higher than 91.3 mph. None of them buzzing the tower.
Pham drew a walk and was erased on a double play. There was no takeout slide at second base or chirping from an Orioles dugout that tends to set the volume at library level.
Both teams decided to turn the page.
With tempers held and accusations muted, Game 1 of a rare doubleheader at Tropicana Field relied strictly...
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Mason Williams signed a minor league deal with the Orioles on March 28 because he saw an opportunity to play for them.
It just took a while.
Williams had his contract selected today from Triple-A Norfolk and got the start in center field in Game 1 of the doubleheader. He's the 57th player used by the Orioles to break last year's club record.
"He was a guy I saw a couple years ago in Cincinnati and he's had a really nice year in Norfolk for us," said manager Brandon...