Since slow start, Brian Matusz has been among O's best starters

Since slow start, Brian Matusz has been among O's best starters
Brian Matusz's comeback from last year's 1-9 season and 10.69 ERA picked up more steam last night when the left-hander gave up just two hits and one run with one walk and nine strikeouts over 6 1/3 innings in a 4-1 win over Boston. Some fans probably doubted Matusz when he began this year 0-3 with an ERA of 7.98 over his first three outings. But since then, over his past six starts, he is 4-1 with an ERA of 3.57. Believe it or not, since those poor first three starts, Matusz leads Orioles...
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Matusz gets fourth win in five starts as O's top Boston

Matusz gets fourth win in five starts as O's top Boston
It wasn't that long ago that Orioles lefty Brian Matusz was dealing with a 12-game losing streak. Tonight, he pitched a gem against Boston and won for the fourth time over his last five starts. Matusz gave up just one run on two hits over 6 1/3 innings tonight, pitching the Orioles to a 4-1 win over the Red Sox. He gave up a homer to Kevin Youkilis in the fourth but little else as he improved to 4-4 on the year with an ERA of 4.86. Matusz walked just one and fanned nine to tie his career...
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O's carry some hot bats into Game 2 of Boston series

O's carry some hot bats into Game 2 of Boston series
Tonight, the Orioles are trying to get back to 12 games over .500 with a win over the Red Sox. Even with last night's loss, the Orioles have won seven of their last nine and eight of their past 11 games against Boston. But the Red Sox have now won nine of their last 11 games overall, outscoring their opponents, 64-31 with a team ERA of 2.69 in that stretch. Some O's hot hitters heading into tonight's game: * Adam Jones is batting .345 (19-for-55) during a 13-game hitting streak that ties...
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Showalter talks about Xavier Avery's improvement

Showalter talks about Xavier Avery's improvement
To say the least, the improvement of 22-year-old outfielder Xavier Avery has been impressive. He has played nine big league games now and been hitless in just three. One of those was last night, but he still scored a run and drove in a run with an impressive bases-loaded walk against Boston. Avery's numbers were up pretty much across the board this year at Triple-A Norfolk over what he hit last season with Double-A Bowie. He has continued to put up good numbers since joining the...
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Dylan Bundy's next start could be moved to Sunday

Dylan Bundy's next start could be moved to Sunday
It now appears that
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Brian Roberts audio

Brian Roberts audio
The big development at Camden Yards yesterday really took place before the game, when Brian Roberts spoke for more than seven minutes with reporters about his impending return to the diamond. Roberts has not played for the Orioles since May 16, 2011, but said yesterday that he should be able to begin a minor league rehab assignment very soon. The exact date has not been set, but it now could be days or weeks away - and not months down the road. Here are some audio clips from that interview...
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Frederick's rotation now features four 2011 draft picks

Frederick's rotation now features four 2011 draft picks
If you missed it over the weekend, the Single-A Frederick Keys had a weekend of stunning starting pitching. Three Orioles 2011 draft picks in Mike Wright (round 3), Kyle Simon (round 4) and Trent Howard (round 7) combined to pitch 18 innings without allowing a run on just seven hits against a good-hitting Salem team. Salem batters went just 7-for-57 (.123) against the Keys' trio, which walked eight and fanned 16 batters. On top of that, in his first start in the Carolina League last...
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Boston rallies against Hunter and Gregg to win series opener

Boston rallies against Hunter and Gregg to win series opener
After making seven straight scoreless appearances covering 9 1/3 innings, that streak ended for pitcher Kevin Gregg tonight and the runs he gave up led to an Orioles loss. Boston pushed across a pair of runs in the seventh against Gregg on an Adrian Gonzalez sac fly and a Will Middlebrooks single to break a 5-5 tie before adding a run against Troy Patton in the eighth. That carried the Red Sox to an 8-6 win over the O's at Camden Yards. Boston rallied from a 5-2 deficit to improve to 9-2...
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Some early-game notes

Some early-game notes
The Orioles tonight are looking for their sixth win over the last seven games, their 14th win in 20 games and to improve to 20-8 over the last 28 games. They used three singles and three Clay Buchholz walks to take a 4-2 lead in the bottom of the third tonight. Buchholz retired the first six batters he faced, but looked more like the pitcher who entered this outing with an ERA of 7.77 in that inning. The crowd is not big tonight and I bet that will be a topic of conversation for some fans. My...
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Matt Lindstrom updates his status

Matt Lindstrom updates his status
Orioles reliever Matt Lindstrom is eligible to come off the disabled list this Saturday but it could take a little longer than that for his return. Lindstrom has a partial tear in a ligament in the middle finger on his right hand and provided reporters with an update this afternoon. "The latest is that my finger is pain-free," Lindstrom said. "The biggest thing they told me is I need to be careful to let that ligament heal a bit better. Kind of a waiting period right now. I've been doing...
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Brian Roberts says a minor league rehab assignment is getting close

Brian Roberts says a minor league rehab assignment is getting close
Speaking about his possible return to the Orioles a few minutes ago in the O's clubhouse, Brian Roberts said he thinks he can begin a minor league rehab assignment sometime within the next few weeks. "I would hope so, yeah. I don't have a day, but I would like to think so, yeah," Roberts said of that time frame. He said his long road back from concussion symptoms may soon lead him back to the field and he can now finally see a finish line to this process. "Yeah, definitely," Roberts...
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Looking at the Orioles' dramatic turnaround against the AL East

Looking at the Orioles' dramatic turnaround against the AL East
In looking at how well the Orioles have played this year, probably the biggest factor in having a record 12 games over .500 is the club's improved play within the American League East. This comes as a big development since the Orioles are going to play more than 70 games in the division again this year. Since 2009, here are the O's records against the East: * 2009: Went 24-48, .333 win percentage * 2010: Went 24-49, .329 win percentage * 2011: Went 28-45, .384 win percentage * 2012: Are...
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Rick Peterson talks about a possible Dylan Bundy promotion

Rick Peterson talks about a possible Dylan Bundy promotion
With another outstanding start under his belt, Orioles top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy now appears to be closing in on a promotion to a higher level. His next start will likely be Saturday - and it still could be for Single-A Delmarva - but the Orioles brass is expected to meet soon to discuss if now is the time to promote Bundy. "Dylan has clearly forced the issue for a point of discussion about, 'Let's talk about the next phase of this.' I think that is coming sooner than later,"...
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A promotion for Dylan Bundy may soon be coming

A promotion for Dylan Bundy may soon be coming
After his latest outstanding outing, this afternoon at Hagerstown, it appears that Orioles top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy is finally closing in on a promotion to a higher level. His next start will likely be Saturday - and it still could be for Single-A Delmarva - but it appears the Orioles brass will be meeting soon to discuss if now is the time to promote Bundy. "Dylan has clearly forced the issue for a point of discussion about, 'Let's talk about the next phase of this.' I think...
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Strasburg gets the win and homers as O's win streak ends

Strasburg gets the win and homers as O's win streak ends
Not today for the Baltimore Orioles. The Orioles were looking for a three-game sweep in the Battle of the Beltways and when they took an early 3-0 lead this afternoon against Stephen Strasburg, it looked within reach. But the Nats came back with nine unanswered runs to beat the Orioles 9-3 at Nats Park. Today's game drew 41,918 fans and the three-game series drew 120,929 fans. A victory would have given the O's a season-high six-game win streak and their first of six games since last...
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Dylan Bundy pitches five shutout innings today at Hagerstown

Dylan Bundy pitches five shutout innings today at Hagerstown
Dylan Bundy retired the first 12 batters he faced today and pitched five shutout innings at Hagerstown this afternoon to keep his ERA at 0.00 now through 30 professional innings. Bundy was facing a pretty good hitting club today. Hagerstown, with a 23-16 record, began the day leading the South Atlantic League in homers, second in runs scored and fourth in batting average. Today, Bundy may even get his first win as a pro as Delmarva leads 3-0 after five frames. Hagerstown's J.P. Ramirez made...
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Today's O's-Nationals live blog

Today's O's-Nationals live blog
Once again today I will post some stats, opinions and notes here in this entry during today's game as we feature a live blog this afternoon. I hope many of you add your own questions and comments today starting right now. Nats get the lead with the longball: The Nats got back-to-back homers with two outs in the fourth from Jesus Flores and Stephen Strasburg to take a 5-3 lead. Yes, the No. 8 and 9 hitters go deep off Chen for the lead. It's the Nats' first lead in this series. Flores'...
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The O's latest impressive wins come in D.C.

The O's latest impressive wins come in D.C.
For all the Orioles fans that can remember when it seemed like a .500 record was much too much to ask for, what must they be thinking now watching their team at 27-14 and leading the American League East by two games? Everyone is chasing the Orioles right now, who own the AL's best record. Heavy stuff for a team working on a 14-season losing streak. Just in the last week or so, the Orioles continued to do impressive things daily and nightly. After losing a series to Texas, they took two of...
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O's score early, hold off Nats late for 6-5 win

O's score early, hold off Nats late for 6-5 win
It seems like the Orioles have had to come up with a big play or big hit in late innings to win a lot of recent games. Tonight, they came up with some big hits early, and then had to hold off the Nationals late in the game. Adam Jones and Nick Markakis homered again - this time each hit two-run shots - as the Orioles beat the Nats 6-5 tonight in front of 42,331 at Nats Park to take the first two games of this series. Ryan Zimmerman homered off Jim Johnson with two outs in the last of the...
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Tonight's O's-Nationals live blog

Tonight's O's-Nationals live blog
Tonight's live game blog: We'll be trying something new here tonight and filing notes, opinions and stats about tonight's game as it goes on. Everything I add will appear at the top of the text right after this blog introduction. So check back here often during tonight's game and hit that refresh button to get the latest from here. Please feel free to post your own opinions and ask questions as the game goes on as well. Hope I hear from a lot of you tonight starting now. That was close:...
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