Chris Davis and José Iglesias remain out of the Orioles' lineup this afternoon as they go for their first series sweep since August 2018.
Iglesias pinch-hit last night but didn't play in the field.
Austin Hays also is on the bench today, with Hanser Alberto leading off. Cedric Mullins is playing center field.
Rio Ruiz is batting cleanup and Andrew Velazquez is the shortstop. Renato Núñez replaces Davis at first base.
Chance Sisco is the designated hitter.
Left-hander Tommy Milone is...
The Orioles chose to walk off the field after last night's 5-4 win and leave their roster alone. They didn't execute a post-midnight trade and spring a Zoom conference call on an unsuspecting media.
How boring.
Digesting a Richard Bleier trade requires multiple stomachs. Only cows got it right away.
My surface reaction went something like this: "What?"
Bleier was a trade chip for sure and July 31 made sense in a normal season, but not necessarily in 2020 after six games. A team in desperate...
The Orioles almost made it through tonight's game without committing an error, perhaps because they've gotten so good at handling everything thrown at them.
Players are lost to injury or trade. Opponents change unexpectedly and games are rearranged like furniture. Manager Brandon Hyde puts out fires and jokes about dressing for the part.
This team is only interested in staying hot.
The Rays scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game, taking advantage of Shawn...
The Orioles have selected catcher Bryan Holaday's contract from the alternate camp site in Bowie, and he replaces reliever Richard Bleier on the 30-man roster.
The move gives the Orioles 39 players on the 40-man roster. They're now carrying three catchers on the team.
Bleier, 33, was traded to the Marlins late last night for a player to be named later. His production and leadership must be replaced.
"Rich was one of our older players. We don't have a ton of them," said manager Brandon...
The message that Orioles manager Brandon Hyde keeps preaching to his relievers about throwing strikes right away and getting ahead in counts is heard by everyone on the staff. The words bounce off the walls.
It's the execution of that message that varies. And failures that make him want to bang his head on those same walls.
Hyde was thrilled with Shawn Armstrong's outing in Wednesday night's series opener against the Yankees. Six up and six down. Only 20 pitches thrown in two innings. Only...
Alex Cobb thought he had a strikeout tonight to close the top of the first inning. He took a couple of steps toward the dugout and catcher Pedro Severino stood to join him. But plate umpire Ryan Additon said the split-changeup missed high, an opinion that replays and pitch charts disputed, and Yoshi Tsutsugo lined the next offering into the gap for a run-scoring double.
The Orioles put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the first and stranded them.
These are the times...
Now that Chris Davis has rejoined the Orioles after a two-game absence, he's likely to make it back into the lineup Saturday night against Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow.
Davis is on the bench tonight and available to play. And the speculation that swirled while he stayed home can be grounded.
He didn't test positive for COVID-19 or opt out.
"He feels good," manager Brandon Hyde said on his daily Zoom conference call. "Been texting with him the last couple days, also. It just sounds like...
Chris Davis is out of tonight's lineup, but he's back with the Orioles.
Davis confirmed in a Zoom call this afternoon that he had had a low fever due to a sinus infection. He underwent about eight tests for COVID-19 in the past few days that came back negative.
Davis is on the bench against Rays left-hander Blake Snell. Shortstop José Iglesias remains day-to-day with a sore left quadriceps muscle.
Pat Valaika gets the start at first base tonight and Andrew Velazquez is the shortstop.
DJ...
The Orioles might be back to a full roster for tonight's series opener against the Rays at Camden Yards after playing a man down for the past two games.
Chris Davis could be cleared to rejoin the team after being kept at home for precautionary reasons, according to an industry source.
Davis hasn't tested positive for COVID-19, but he ran a low fever Wednesday morning and the Orioles placed him in the protocol.
From what I've heard, the fever was related to his sinuses and he's undergone...
Very little about the 2020 baseball season is going to approach normal, let alone fit the description like an oiled glove.
Having John Means start for the Orioles tonight came pretty close. At least the moment that the bullpen gate swung open and he walked onto the field.
The strict pitch count and expectations that he'd work three or four innings lent an unusual twist to the story, but the staff ace was back on the mound. Order restored to the rotation in the most literal sense.
And then the...
First baseman Chris Davis remains away from the Orioles as they finish their two-game series against the Yankees at Camden Yards. He also was absent from the ballpark last night.
Manager Brandon Hyde isn't allowed to provide specific information on Davis, who's likely under COVID-19 protocol. The Orioles haven't replaced him on the active roster.
"C.D. is still unavailable today," Hyde said during his Zoom conference call.
"I'm going to leave it at that."
Davis worked out with the team...
The Orioles reinstated John Means from the 10-day injured list this afternoon and optioned reliever Cody Carroll to the alternate camp.
Carroll, who has faced nine batters and retired only one, left the ballpark shortly before 3 p.m.
Chris Davis and José Iglesias are out of the lineup. The Orioles aren't explaining Davis' absence. Iglesias, who had an RBI double last night, is dealing with some tightness in his quadriceps muscle.
Iglesias is a career .359 (42-for-117) hitter against the...
Orioles reliever Hunter Harvey left the alternate camp site in Bowie yesterday and joined his teammates at Camden Yards for the home opener. He arrived at the ballpark around 3 p.m. and headed through the gate reserved for players.
Harvey was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain and won't be activated today. However, left-hander John Means is coming off the IL and making the start against the Yankees.
Manager Brandon Hyde already knew that Harvey and reliever Dillon...
The orange carpet wasn't unrolled tonight at Camden Yards. Players walked out of the dugouts and lined up sans the traditional introductions. The only bunting used was intended to advance a runner.
The Orioles held their home opener in understated fashion, adapting to the new policies implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic.
A video played at 7:12 p.m. celebrating baseball's return but also calling for an end to racial injustice and reminding everyone of the importance of wearing...
The Orioles took batting practice this afternoon on a field that looked as it did for intrasquad games and an exhibition. Nothing to indicate that they were going to hold their home opening day.
No pomp due to the circumstances.
They didn't need any frills. They just wanted to get settled in their own ballpark after the scare they received earlier in the week in Miami.
"We're extremely excited for opening day here," manager Brandon Hyde said during his Zoom conference call. "It's...
Chris Davis admitted last night that his safety concerns increased after seeing reports of the positive COVID-19 tests among Marlins players. He also said he'd probably wear a mask at first base.
Davis gave the impression that he'd be playing in tonight's home opener against the Yankees, but he's absent from the lineup and away from the team.
Renato Núñez has replaced Davis in the field and the Orioles are short one player.
"CD, he's not here today," manager Brandon Hyde said...
Chris Davis is out of the Orioles' lineup tonight for their first home game of the 2020 season.
Renato Núñez is playing first base and Dwight Smith Jr. is the designated hitter.
Davis was 1-for-11 with an RBI double in Boston.
José Iglesias continues to bat third. Anthony Santander is one spot ahead of him.
DJ Stewart is in left field.
Orioles pitchers haven't issued a walk in the last two games. The club record is three straight on July 1-3, 1980.
For the Orioles Austin Hays CF...
Already outrighted off the 40-man roster and removed from the player pool, reliever Hector Velázquez is now leaving the Orioles organization.
He never got to throw a pitch for them in a spring training, summer exhibition or regular season game.
The Orioles traded Velázquez to the Astros this afternoon for a player to be named later.
Claimed off waivers from the Red Sox on March 8, Velázquez managed to throw a bullpen session at the Ed Smith Stadium complex before baseball shut down due...
Momentum in baseball is the next day's starting pitcher.
We must remind ourselves as the Orioles sit on their back-to-back wins in Boston.
They could have rolled into Miami and been toppled by Pablo López, who registered a 3.39 ERA, 1.084 WHIP and .229 average against in 11 home starts last summer, compared to a 7.36 ERA, 1.448 WHIP and .299 average-against in 10 starts on the road.
Of course, we'll never know because both games at Marlins Park were postponed.
The softer part of the...
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was able to joke tonight about his experience Monday at the team hotel in Miami, how he ordered a delicious cheeseburger for lunch with a side of sweet potato fries. He definitely recommends the fries.
Hyde was preparing for a game but instructed his players to stay near their phones. Don't leave their rooms. And take advantage of the 24-hour food service.
Guys are trying to keep it light, but the last few days have been unsettling. The reports on the positive...