Orioles lineup vs. Athletics

Orioles lineup vs. Athletics
Left-hander Wade LeBlanc is making tonight's start against the Athletics at Camden Yards, his first in 2021 after five relief appearances. LeBlanc hasn't thrown more than 24 pitches or exceeded 1 1/3 innings since the Orioles broke camp. There's going to be some baton passing, perhaps in the rain. In 10 career appearances against the Athletics, LeBlanc has gone 3-1 with a 4.40 ERA and 1.234 WHIP in 47 innings. DJ Stewart is in right field again tonight and Austin Hays is starting in left....
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Because You Asked - Saturday Night Cleaver

Because You Asked - Saturday Night Cleaver
If I've been negligent in sorting through my "mailbag," as I like to call it. That's because it was accidentally sent to the alternate blogging site in Bowie. Perhaps there was no need for a fifth mailbag with multiple off-days this week. I don't really know. But what's important here is that I'm ready to tackle more questions. Welcome to the latest sequel to this classic original. You ask 'em, I answer 'em and someone else asks again as if the subject is untapped. We laugh, we cry, we...
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López labors early as Orioles lose 3-1 (updated)

López labors early as Orioles lose 3-1 (updated)
The first time through the order became treacherous territory for Orioles starter Jorge López. As if he decided to go off script for the "Moneyball" sequel. Lopez hadn't allowed a run in three starts until turning over the lineup, but five of nine Oakland batters reached tonight and created an early deficit that the Orioles never made up in a 3-1 loss before an announced crowd of 7,574. Ramón Laureano led off the fifth by homering into the visiting bullpen, the final batter for...
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Updating rotation plans and more

Updating rotation plans and more
The Orioles are pushing back John Means to Sunday afternoon against the Athletics and waiting until later tonight to choose Saturday's starter. The options are a bullpen game or recalling a pitcher from the alternate training site in Bowie. "Just going to give John an extra day," manager Brandon Hyde said today in his Zoom call. Means will get a full week with his most recent outing Sunday against the Rangers. Normal rest would have put him on the mound tonight, but the Orioles had two...
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Orioles and Athletics lineups (updated)

Orioles and Athletics lineups (updated)
Austin Hays in the right fielder tonight, DJ Stewart is in left and Ryan Mountcastle is the designated hitter as the Orioles begin their homestand against the Athletics. Trey Mancini is the first baseman and Maikel Franco is in the cleanup spot. Ramón Urías gets the start at second base. Jorge López retired the first 11 Rangers batters with seven strikeouts in his last start. He's allowed seven runs and nine hits in 7 2/3 career innings against the Athletics. Oakland left-hander Cole...
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Wondering how rotation works through the weekend

Wondering how rotation works through the weekend
The Orioles are back to work tonight, moving past multiple breaks in the schedule this week and beginning a stretch of seven games in a row at home and six straight on the West Coast. A pause in the middle would have made more sense, but the Orioles play when they're told. The weekend starters are unsettled. Jorge López goes tonight, but the Orioles are TBD for the next two games. Dean Kremer was optioned, but left-hander John Means should be starting Saturday on an extra days' rest. Matt...
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This, that and the other

This, that and the other
The Orioles closed out their road trip yesterday with the bullpen tossing 3 1/3 scoreless innings. One inherited runner crossed the plate in a 3-0 loss to the Marlins. Relievers began the day with a 3.55 ERA that ranked sixth in the American League and eighth in the majors. Opponents were batting .228. They left Miami with the ERA down to 3.38. Cole Sulser was responsible for the inherited runner scoring on Adam Duvall's two-out single, but he hasn't allowed a run of his own in 4 1/3 innings...
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Zimmermann falters in fifth and Orioles fall 3-0 (updated)

Zimmermann falters in fifth and Orioles fall 3-0 (updated)
Orioles catcher Pedro Severino and manager Brandon Hyde gave rookie pitcher Bruce Zimmermann the same encouraging, and perhaps consoling, pat on the backside today - in rapid succession as if rehearsed - after he handed over the baseball and turned toward the dugout. Zimmermann sat on the bench expressionless in the fifth inning, staring straight ahead, as captured by the MASN cameras. He could have been thinking about the elevated fastball that Jesús Aguilar lined into left-center field for...
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Santander placed on 10-day injured list, McKenna recalled again

Santander placed on 10-day injured list, McKenna recalled again
The Orioles placed outfielder Anthony Santander on the 10-day injured list this morning with a sprained left ankle and recalled rookie Ryan McKenna from the alternate training site. McKenna never left the team after yesterday's option. He's back on the active roster and in right field today in Miami after Santander injured the ankle last night while going back to first base on a pickoff attempt. X-rays and a later MRI were negative, with no fracture in the ankle. But Hyde said this type of...
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Leftovers for breakfast

Leftovers for breakfast
The Orioles get Austin Hays back on the roster yesterday and lose Anthony Santander a few hours later. Two players just trying to make it through a season healthy. Neither injury is regarded as serious. Hays had a mild right hamstring strain, Santander sprained his left ankle. Hays knew he'd go on the injured list, but wouldn't miss much time. Santander had to be carried off the field, which suggested a possible break or torn tendon. A sprain is cause for celebration. Especially after X-rays...
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Santander leaves tonight's game with injury (O's win 7-5)

Santander leaves tonight's game with injury (O's win 7-5)
The wealth of outfielders on the Orioles roster took an unfortunate and potentially serious hit tonight in the first inning. It barely had time to evolve. Anthony Santander appeared to roll his left ankle while getting back to the bag on an attempted pickoff throw from Marlins starter Nick Neidert. Santander jammed his foot, collapsed in the dirt and pounded a fist into it as the pain radiated through his leg. Head athletic trainer Brian Ebel and manager Brandon Hyde lifted Santander and...
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Kjerstad cleared for workouts at Bowie site (and other notes)

Kjerstad cleared for workouts at Bowie site (and other notes)
Outfielder Heston Kjerstad, the second overall pick in the 2020 draft out of the University of Arkansas, has been cleared medically and will report Wednesday to the Orioles alternate training site in Bowie. Kjerstad was held out of last year's camp and fall instructional league while recovering from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle that can cause an abnormal rhythm and be a side effect of COVID-19. The Orioles withheld Kjerstad from spring training and had him report directly...
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Hays activated from injured list (with both lineups)

Hays activated from injured list (with both lineups)
The Orioles activated outfielder Austin Hays from the 10-day injured list this afternoon, returning him to the club after his removal on April 4 due to a strained right hamstring. The injury occurred after Hays ran out a double in Boston. Hays is 2-for-10 with a double, two RBIs and four strikeouts. He's on the bench tonight as the Orioles begin a two-game series against the Marlins in Miami. Outfielder Ryan McKenna was optioned to the alternate training site in Bowie. DJ Stewart is in left...
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Orioles prepared to try again in Miami

Orioles prepared to try again in Miami
The Orioles return from their first break this week to open a two-game series in Miami, where they've gone 2-13. It was a little complicated last summer. A rash of positive COVID-19 tests on the Marlins forced them to stay in Philadelphia, where they had opened their season. The Orioles remained in their Miami hotel, with no opponent, until flying back home with confirmation of the postponements. After some creative maneuvering in the schedule, the teams played four consecutive games in...
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Revisiting decision to option Kremer and logic behind it

Revisiting decision to option Kremer and logic behind it
The Orioles toyed with the idea of going with a six-man rotation, settled on the more traditional five and are downsizing to four. It's still April, only 16 games into the season. The roster will undergo plenty of changes and various circumstances are going to force the adjustments, whether due to injuries, postponements or quirky off-days stuffed into one week. Dean Kremer was optioned late Saturday night because he's a fifth starter on a team that isn't playing today or Thursday. Having to...
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Means shines again on road in Orioles' 1-0 10-inning loss (updated)

Means shines again on road in Orioles' 1-0 10-inning loss (updated)
There's nothing wrong with the mound at Camden Yards, the home clubhouse or the ballpark atmosphere. The routine at home isn't disruptive. John Means just happens to pitch better on the road this month, for reasons that can't be explained beyond the ridiculously small sample size. In Means' lone outing in Baltimore, he faced the Mariners in the first game of a doubleheader and allowed three runs in five innings with two home runs attached to his line. In starts made on three trips, he's...
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Hyde on Galvis, Kremer, Akin, Santander and more

Hyde on Galvis, Kremer, Akin, Santander and more
Following the first game of an April 13 doubleheader against the Mariners, Freddy Galvis was batting .143/.211/.171 and attracting some heat for his inconsistent play at shortstop. The comparisons to José Iglesias weren't flattering. Some fans were demanding that the Orioles recall Richie Martin from the alternate training site, especially after he collected two hits, including an RBI double, a walk and two stolen bases in Tuesday's game against the Nationals in Bowie. But Galvis had two...
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Orioles recall Cole Sulser, give Trey Mancini the day off

Orioles recall Cole Sulser, give Trey Mancini the day off
The Orioles filled the opening on their 26-man roster today by recalling reliever Cole Sulser from the alternate training site in Bowie. Sulser is riding the proverbial shuttle. He broke camp with the team, was optioned to make room for reliever Shawn Armstrong and served as the 27th man in Thursday's doubleheader. In two appearances, Sulser has tossed three scoreless innings with no walks and five strikeouts. He was on the taxi squad. Dean Kremer was optioned late last night because the...
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Notes on Hays, Hanhold, Abad and Fry

Notes on Hays, Hanhold, Abad and Fry
A roster move is pending for the Orioles, with outfielder Austin Hays appearing ready to be activated Tuesday in Miami. Exactly how it was expected to happen. Hays felt fine after playing seven innings Friday afternoon against the Nationals in Fredericksburg, Va., and he was back in left field yesterday for four innings in an intrasquad game at the alternate training site in Bowie. I heard that he looked good again at the plate and in the field. What's left now is a recovery day with camp...
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Mountcastle moves to first base tonight

Mountcastle moves to first base tonight
Ryan Mountcastle is starting at first base tonight for the first time this season as the Orioles try to secure a series win over the Rangers. Mountcastle has been the designated hitter in eight games and the left fielder in six. He started nine games at first base last summer. Trey Mancini is batting fifth as the designated hitter, followed by Mountcastle. Mancini struck out four times last night to give him 18 for the season, second on the club behind Mountcastle. Rio Ruiz stays at second...
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