BOSTON - The Orioles weren't satisfied tonight with winning another series. Taking two of three from the Red Sox left them cold.
"Who cares about getting two out of three?" said center fielder Adam Jones following a 3-1 loss. "At this point and time, winning the series means nothing. We need wins is all. Good job getting the series if this was June, but it's September. We need wins."
"At this point, you need Ws. Lots of them," said second baseman Brian Roberts. "Winning two is...
BOSTON - Orioles manager Buck Showalter still hasn't named a starter for Saturday afternoon at Tropicana Field, choosing to wait until Jason Hammel pitches on Friday. If Showalter needs a long reliever, he could end up using one of his candidates - Miguel Gonzalez or Bud Norris.
"Ham hasn't exactly been throwing seven, eight (innings), 100-plus pitches, so if we have to get him early and use somebody else, I just want to leave our options open," Showalter said following tonight's 3-1 loss...
BOSTON - The first four hits off Orioles starter Chris Tillman went for extra bases tonight, and the game had only progressed to the bottom of the second inning.
One out in the bottom of the second inning.
Tillman is off his game, and the Orioles trail the Red Sox 3-0 in the top of the third.
Tillman has thrown 53 pitches. He received one visit from pitching coach Bill Castro. No one is warming in the bullpen.
Dustin Pedroia led off the first with a double and David Ortiz walked with one...
BOSTON - Orioles manager Buck Showalter has narrowed the field of Saturday starter candidates to right-handers Miguel Gonzalez and Bud Norris.
Showalter said he most likely will make the announcement before tonight's game.
"I need to have one other conversation," Showalter said. "Miggy threw some in the bullpen today and felt good, so that's encouraging. He's an option. I'll have one more conversation during or after BP."
Showalter said there's another factor that could influence...
BOSTON - Miguel Gonzalez threw a light bullpen session today and said he felt good. No issues related to the right groin strain that forced him out of Sunday's game in Toronto.
Gonzalez said he's ready to start for the Orioles on Saturday if given the ball. That decision is pending.
Manager Buck Showalter may announce his starter later this afternoon. Bud Norris also is a consideration.
Reliever Darren O'Day, who hasn't pitched since Sept. 7, is available tonight out of the...
BOSTON - Matt Wieters caught all 12 innings of last night's game against the Red Sox and he's back in the Orioles lineup tonight for the series finale at Fenway Park.
Since 2010, Wieters leads all major league catchers with 174 extra-base hits, followed by Yadier Molina with 173. The next-closest catcher is A.J. Pierzynski with 155.
The Orioles are trying to build their first four-game winning streak since they won five straight from July 14-22. The All-Star break arrived after the first...
BOSTON - Chris Tillman will seek his 17th win tonight and the Orioles will attempt to sweep the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Tillman is 4-1 with a 2.15 ERA in nine career starts against the Red Sox. He's 1-0 with a 1.93 ERA in four starts at Fenway Park, with five earned runs allowed over 23 1/3 innings.
Tillman's career ERA against the Red Sox is more than two runs per game better than his ERA against any other American League East club. He's posted a 4.18 ERA in nine starts vs. the Blue Jays,...
BOSTON - After registering their 81st win last night, the Orioles are assured of their second consecutive non-losing season.
I'm fairly certain that they're not aiming for .500, though. Dropping their last 11 games would probably be considered a huge disappointment.
It's impossible to overstate the importance of the defense in the Orioles' transformation from punchline to playoff contender. They've played 114 errorless games this season, the most in baseball since 1900.
The Orioles were...
BOSTON - Eighteen of the Orioles' last 24 games have been decided by two runs or fewer, including tonight's 5-3, 12-inning victory over the Red Sox.
The bullpen really comes into play in these situations, and it shined tonight under the lights at Fenway Park.
Darren O'Day wasn't available after rejoining the team earlier today, but he should be ready for Thursday night's series finale. Manager Buck Showalter wanted to give him one more day to rest after Tuesday's bullpen session in...
BOSTON - The Orioles trail the Rangers by one game in the wild card race following tonight's 5-3, 12-inning win over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Show of hands if you counted them out before this series. Don't be shy.
"I think we obviously know what's going on with the race, and the fact there's another wild card team out there, it makes things more interesting," said first baseman Chris Davis. "I think this is what they wanted when they threw in another wild card. But we've just got...
BOSTON - The Orioles are trying to improve on their 7-5 record in extra innings, and they don't care how long it takes.
Tonight's game has moved to the top of the 11th inning with the score tied 3-3.
Tommy Hunter allowed a leadoff bloop single to Shane Victorino in the bottom of the 10th, but David Ortiz grounded into a rare 6-5-3 double play. That sort of thing happens when the infield shifts.
Ortiz was 7-for-23 with a double and three homers against Hunter. He's 1-for-20 with 12...
BOSTON - Is it worth mentioning that Danny Valencia was batting .209 against right-handers before tonight?
The average is actually climbing, and Valencia gave it another lift with a leadoff single in the top of the fifth inning that ended Jake Peavy's no-hit bid.
Valencia scored on Matt Wieters' double to the deepest part of the ballpark in center field, and Wieters came home with the tying run on Brian Roberts' one-out double to left-center.
Nate McLouth struck out for the third time and...
BOSTON - Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen had allowed only four runs in the first inning before tonight. David Ortiz tacked on two more with one huge swing.
Ortiz's two-run shot into right field gave the Red Sox a 2-0 lead over the Orioles.
Ortiz struck a pose at home plate, as if posing for a statue. As if he actually were the statue.
Chen posted a 1.80 ERA in the first inning in his 20 starts before tonight, compared to 5.91 in his 32 starts last season. He allowed only one home run in...
BOSTON - In the latest installment of "As the Rotation Turns," Orioles manager Buck Showalter suggested today that Miguel Gonzalez could start Saturday afternoon against the Rays at Tropicana Field.
Gonzalez left Sunday's start in Toronto in the sixth inning with a strained right groin, and he experienced some mild discomfort while playing catch yesterday at Fenway Park. However, he's feeling much better today and is scheduled to throw a light bullpen session on Thursday.
Showalter will...
BOSTON - Darren O'Day is listed among the relievers on tonight's lineup card, so he'll be in uniform for the Orioles against the Red Sox. Danny Valencia's hot streak has earned him another start as the designated hitter.
For the Orioles
Nate McLouth LF
Manny Machado 3B
Chris Davis 1B
Adam Jones CF
Nick Markakis RF
Danny Valencia DH
Matt Wieters C
J.J. Hardy SS
Brian Roberts 2B
Wei-Yin Chen LHP
For the Red Sox
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Shane Victorino CF
David Ortiz DH
Mike Napoli 1B
Jonny Gomes...
BOSTON - Orioles catcher Matt Wieters produced his 11th sacrifice fly last night, tops in the majors, to score the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth inning.
Wieters had been tied with Cincinnati's Zack Cozart.
Forty-eight of Chris Davis' 51 home runs this season have come as a first baseman, tying Jim Thome (2002) for the most at the position in the American League since 1974.
Third baseman Manny Machado was having a frustrating night. Two errors, a missed tag and two popups to short...
BOSTON - Seventeen of the Orioles' last 23 games have been decided by two runs or fewer. Tonight, they improved to 7-10 in that span.
It wasn't easy and it sure wasn't pretty, but the Orioles rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Here's a sampling of comments from manager Buck Showalter:
On Scott Feldman and the ninth inning:
"Scotty bent, but he didn't break. I know he was frustrated because his command is usually good. He had three or four curveballs that could...
BOSTON - The visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park figures to get a little more cramped Wednesday afternoon. Reliever Darren O'Day is scheduled to take an 11:30 a.m. flight to Boston if he wakes up in the morning without any discomfort in his pitching hand.
O'Day threw all of his pitches off a mound today in Sarasota, and manager Buck Showalter wants him back with the team.
Showalter is glad that Chris Davis never left.
Davis hit his 51st home run in the sixth inning tonight to tie the game...
BOSTON - With one swing, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis tied tonight's game and broke Brady Anderson's franchise single-season home run record.
Leading off the top of the sixth, Davis drove an 82 mph slider from Red Sox starter Ryan Dempster into the center field seats for his 51st home run, knotting the score at 2-2. Anderson hit 50 homers during the 1996 season.
Davis also tied Anderson's record of 92 extra-base hits set in the same season.
The Orioles were able to retrieve the ball...
BOSTON - The Orioles will remain tied with the 2008 Astros for most errorless games in a season since 1900.
The record still stands at 113 after two Orioles miscues in the bottom of the fourth inning tonight led to an unearned run off Scott Feldman. The Orioles now trail the Red Sox 2-1 after Brian Roberts' RBI grounder in the top of the fifth.
Feldman is creating his own problems with a season-high five walks and 88 pitches in four innings. T.J. McFarland was warming in the bullpen.
The...
