OAKLAND, Calif. - The Orioles offense came back to life last night with nine extra-base hits, including four homers, in a 7-2 win over Oakland. Tonight we'll see if the offense can continue in the second game of this four-game series.
The Orioles (57-58) can get back to the .500 mark. They are in a wild race for the second AL wild-card spot. Six teams are within 1 1/2 games of the spot which is held by Seattle and Tampa Bay jointly with 59-57 records. Minnesota is 1/2-game behind those teams...
OAKLAND, Calif. - If Trey Mancini was in a slump, it was hard to notice. But he did have just three hits his previous 23 at-bats going into last night's series opener at Oakland. His average had dipped below .300 and he went 0-for-11 to start the road trip.
But he matched that hit total last night, going 3-for-4 with a double and two solo homers as the Orioles beat Oakland 7-2 in front of 11,386 at the Oakland Coliseum.
The Orioles hit back-to-back homers twice, and both times it happened on...
OAKLAND, Calif. - In need of offense after scoring three runs over the last two games, the Orioles turned to an old friend tonight - the longball.
They hit back-to-back homers on back-to-back pitches twice tonight to beat the A's 7-2 in the opener of this four-game series at Oakland Coliseum. The Orioles improved to 57-58 for the season and to 2-2 on this 10-game road trip. Oakland is 50-65.
Adam Jones and Trey Mancini went back-to-back in the fourth off A's righty Chris Smith for a 3-1 lead....
OAKLAND, Calif. - It may now be just a matter of days before the Orioles get a look at Rule 5 outfielder Anthony Santander at the major league level. Manager Buck Showalter is excited to see what he's got.
The 22-year-old native of Venezuela was taken from the Indians organization last December at the Winter Meetings.
Santander played for Lynchburg in the Carolina League last year. He batted .290/.368/.494 with 42 doubles, 20 home runs, 90 runs scored, 95 RBIs and 10 stolen bases in 128 games....
OAKLAND, Calif. - With his batting average at its lowest point since he went 1-for-5 opening day, first baseman Chris Davis is not starting tonight. He is fine physically, but he has just two hits over 25 at-bats his last seven games and manager Buck Showalter will give him a day off and potentially more than that.
"Just give him a day or so," Showalter said during his pregame media session. "He's fine physically. As fine as anyone can be this time of year. He's available. Just giving him...
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Orioles seemed convinced after yesterday's game that outfielder Joey Rickard was going to be fine and it turns out that is exactly the case.
Rickard was hit on the batting helmet by a Troy Scribner pitch in the top of the sixth Wednesday afternoon in Anaheim. He came out of the game as Craig Gentry pinch-ran for him during the Orioles' 5-1 loss in Anaheim.
But Rickard is starting tonight in Oakland, batting ninth in right field.
"I'm good to go," he said this...
OAKLAND, Calif. - New city, new series. The Orioles begin a four-game series in Oakland tonight, looking to get their offense going again and looking to start compiling some wins on this 10-game road trip.
The trip began with the Orioles losing two of three to the Angels in Anaheim. They scored just nine runs in that series and just three runs on 12 hits in the last two games.
O's pitchers allowed 10 runs and 21 hits in the series with eight walks and 28 strikeouts. O's starters gave up nine...
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Orioles' road trip begins its second stop tonight as they start a four-game series against the Oakland A's.
Tonight's lineup has Tim Beckham in the leadoff spot, Adam Jones batting fourth and Chris Davis starting the game on the bench. Beckham hit leadoff for seven games with the Rays batting .226 (7-for-31). Also, Joey Rickard returns after leaving yesterday's game when he was hit in the helmet with a pitch.
The Orioles went 1-3 at Oakland last year. They lost the...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - They say momentum in baseball is only as good as the next day's pitcher. When Manny Machado hit a seventh-inning grand slam on Monday night, the Orioles grabbed momentum and a win in Anaheim.
At that point they had gone 14-7 the previous 21 games to get back to .500. You had to like their chances to win the series against the Angels and get the long West Coast road trip off to a good start.
But then the unlikely duo of Parker Bridwell and Troy Scribner held the Orioles to two...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - When this road trip started on Monday night, the Orioles got an uplifting win. Manny Machado hit a grand slam in the seventh, Dylan Bundy fanned 10 and the Orioles beat the Los Angeles Angels 6-2.
But not a lot went right after that.
The O's bats were shut down by former Oriole Parker Bridwell last night, and today the Orioles were held to four hits in a 5-1 loss. That is three runs and 12 hits the last two days as they lose the first series on the three-city West Coast road...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - It was a series where the Orioles didn't get much offense and the trend continued this afternoon against a pitcher making his second major league start. The Orioles lost 5-1 in front of 36,202 to the Los Angeles Angels to drop the series after winning Monday's series opener.
It's a disappointing end to a series that began with promise when Manny Machado's seventh-inning grand slam provided a 6-2 lead and win Monday night. But over the series' last two games, the Orioles...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Mark Trumbo is back in the Orioles lineup today for the first time since July 29. He was on the 10-day disabled list with a right rib cage strain.
Over 103 games, Trumbo is batting .238/.300/.405 with 17 doubles, 17 homers, 50 RBIs and an OPS of .706. He is batting fifth as the designated hitter and struck out swinging his first time up in the second inning.
"It feels really good (to be back)," Trumbo said this morning in the visiting clubhouse. "Really excited to get back...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis is back in a down cycle with the bat. He is 2-for-21 his last six games with nine strikeouts as his average has dropped from .224 to .215. He is 1-for-7 in this series.
I asked manager Buck Showalter this morning if he wishes Davis would become more aggressive at the plate and take fewer pitches?
"Of course," he said. "I'm sure people see something in a game and they wonder about those things. If they saw all the work and conversations and...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - When the Orioles and Los Angeles Angels wrap up a three-game series this afternoon, right-hander Kevin Gausman will try to pitch another strong outing.
He owned a 6.47 ERA in mid-June, but Gausman (8-7, 5.15 ERA) has been on a pretty good roll since then. Over his past four starts, he is 3-0 with a 0.65 ERA. Over 27 2/3 innings he has given up 19 hits and two runs with nine walks and 32 strikeouts.
Going further back, Gausman is 5-0 with a 2.87 ERA over his last eight games....
ANAHEIM, Calif. - In a pitcher's duel Tuesday night the Orioles lost to one of their former players. They had some big chances to score on offense but the key hit that came on Monday night didn't arrive last night.
One night after getting back to the .500 mark, the Orioles are one game under again after Tuesday's 3-2 loss to the Los Angeles Angels. Right-hander Parker Bridwell, the Orioles ninth-round pick in the 2010 draft, held Baltimore to six hits and one run over seven innings.
Bridwell...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - It came without much warning. Orioles right-hander Jeremy Hellickson, in his second start for the club, seemed to be rolling. He struck out six of the last seven batters to face him as he took the mound for the last of the seventh tonight. The game was tied 1-1.
But Hellickson's effectiveness ended there. The Angels started the inning with four straight hits and went on to score twice to break the tie and post a 3-2 win over the Orioles tonight.
The Orioles' three-game win...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - It is a storyline that comes up it seems every August. Right about the time that the Little League World Series begins in Williamsport, Pa.
Someone will interview Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop about the time his team won the championship. Schoop and the kids from the tiny island nation of Curacao played in the LLWS not once, but twice. They had a strong showing in 2003. They won the championship in 2004.
Schoop began that final game batting third and playing...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - After a strong outing on Monday night in the series and road trip opener, Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy is lined up to make his next start on Saturday, pitching on the normal four days' rest.
The Orioles keep looking for ways to get Bundy extra rest and he had an extra day of rest before last night's start. Then he went out and pitched seven innings, allowing five hits and two runs with no walks and 10 strikeouts, a new career high, on 105 pitches in beating the Angels...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Besides having a mid- to high-90s fastball and nasty slider, Orioles right-hander Mychal Givens has something else that helps him pitch well as a reliever - a short memory.
When Givens took the mound Friday night at Camden Yards in the eighth inning, he was trying to protect a 2-1 lead for Kevin Gausman and help the Orioles beat the Tigers. When he entered that game, he had pitched to an ERA of 0.60 his previous 26 games. But he allowed two singles and a walk, and with the...
ANAHEIM, Calif. - After their Manny Machado and Dylan Bundy-led 6-2 victory Monday night, the Orioles try for two wins in a row over the Los Angeles Angels tonight.
The Orioles (56-56) have won eight of 10 and 14 of the last 21 games. They have won three straight by a combined 23-7 score and are 21-33 on the road.
Machado hit his fifth career grand slam in the seventh inning Monday to break a 2-2 tie. Bundy fanned a career-high 10 without a walk and improved to 11-8 with an ERA of...