Updating my previous entry on Jason Berken, his MRI is scheduled for tomorrow afternoon in Baltimore.
He's been receiving treatment on his right shoulder for most of the season, but the discomfort behind the shoulder apparently has gotten worse.
Manager Buck Showalter watched video of Berken and noticed that the reliever's mechanics have changed and his pitches aren't as crisp. Berken isn't following through on his delivery and appears to be aiming the ball. The issue isn't a drop in...
Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters in St. Petersburg that reliever Jason Berken will undergo an MRI on his right shoulder.
Berken has been struggling throughout the second half after leading American League relievers in innings pitched. He'll be shut down until the Orioles obtain the results of the MRI.
Berken gave up an unearned run and two hits in two-thirds of an inning in Thursday's appearance. He's allowed 10 earned runs (12 total) in his last 10 outings.
That's all I've...
You'll notice some changes:
Julio Lugo 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Adam Jones CF
Felix Pie LF
Jake Fox 3B
Cesar Izturis SS
Craig Tatum C
Jake Arrieta RHP
The Orioles are facing another pitcher who might not be familiar to a lot of fans.
You know how that usually ends.
Tampa Bay's Jeremy Hellickson is making his third major league start today. He's a fourth-round pick in the 2005 draft who's 2-0 with a 1.29 ERA. He's allowed two runs and six hits in 14 innings, with two walks and 13 strikeouts.
Baseball America rated him as the 18th-best prospect in baseball going into the 2010 season. He started for Team USA in the Futures Game. He throws...
Jim Johnson's injury rehab assignment moved to Single-A Frederick tonight. He allowed four straight hits to Winston-Salem in the eighth inning, but only one run.
Johnson faced six batters, but he threw only 11 pitches. Pretty strange.
I'm told that his fastball sat in the low 90s.
Winston-Salem entered the game leading the Carolina League with a .289 average.
Triple-A Norfolk left-hander Zach Britton struck out nine Charlotte batters over eight innings. He allowed one run and five hits,...
Tampa Bay pitching has retired the last 18 Oriole batters.
If not for one swing from Adam Jones, the Rays would be working on a shutout.
Andy Sonnanstine threw 99 pitches in five innings, but he escaped serious trouble in the first and second and benefited from the Rays' uprising against left-hander Brian Matusz in the fourth.
The Orioles couldn't make it 11 quality starts in 12 games under Buck Showalter. Matusz lasted only four innings and was charged with five runs and nine...
B.J. Upton went from first to third on Jason Bartlett's one-out single in the third inning.
Good idea, except that Gabe Kapler stopped at third, adjusted his batting helmet and leaned in to talk to his coach as Upton approached the bag.
The play's right in front of Upton, but that's a minor detail. He was going first to third and nobody was going to stop him.
Kapler had little choice except to run home, where Matt Wieters waited for him and applied the tag. Kapler plowed into Wieters, but...
Adam Jones couldn't deliver with the bases loaded in the first inning, but he just slammed a ball off the foul pole in left field to break a scoreless tie and give the Orioles a 3-0 lead.
Andy Sonnanstine, whose ultimate goal is to reach 100 pitches before the fourth inning, tried to tempt Jones with another breaking ball.
It worked. Jones jumped all over it.
Ty Wigginton singled and Luke Scott walked before Jones came to the plate, giving the Orioles seven baserunners in two-plus innings....
How boring.
The Orioles used a walk to Brian Roberts, an error, a double steal and a walk to Luke Scott to load the bases with one out in the top of the first inning.
Who needs hits?
The Orioles did.
Adam Jones took a curveball that appeared to miss outside, but plate umpire Brian Knight called it a strike. Jones swung through a fastball to fall behind, 0-2, fouled off a pitch while trying to protect the outer half of the plate - he no longer could trust Knight - and popped up the next one...
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Adam Jones CF
Felix Pie LF
Matt Wieters C
Cesar Izturis SS
Josh Bell 3B
Brian Matusz LHP
The Orioles have won three straight series for the first time since June 12-21, 2009 vs. Atlanta, the Mets and Philadelphia. They haven't won four straight since Aug. 3-15, 2004, when they went 3-0 vs Seattle, 4-0 vs Texas, 2-1 at Anaheim and 2-1 at Toronto.
The Orioles are batting .302 since Aug. 3, the highest team average in the AL and second in the majors behind St. Louis (.304 in three fewer games). The 54 runs scored since Aug. 3 is tied for second (with the White Sox) behind Minnesota...
So what's the Orioles' uniform of the day?
Maybe all black with an orange cap and cartoon bird. Or go all orange again until they lose. But please, no pillbox caps like the Pirates wore.
A victory today would give the Orioles four straight series wins, all since Buck Showalter took over as manager. This would be the first of the group against a division opponent, which happens to lead the American League's wild card race.
Don't forget Showalter's quote during the last homestand about...
I sat at the bar at Clyde's in Columbia and felt myself being transported to my childhood. And not because I drank John Dalys from a sippy cup.
Those orange jerseys and pants looked familiar. They were bad back in the day and they're bad now, but if the Orioles can get four 20-game winners to pose in them, I'll take back everything I just wrote.
I still love the old cartoon bird on the black cap and helmet. No white panel. That works for me. But the orange pants? Brutal.
I received a few...
For the Orioles:
2B Brian Roberts
RF Nick Markakis
1B Ty Wigginton
DH Luke Scott
CF Adam Jones
LF Felix Pie
C Matt Wieters
SS Cesar Izturis
3B Josh Bell
RHP Jeremy Guthrie
For the Rays:
C John Jaso
2B Ben Zobrist
LF Carl Crawford
3B Evan Longoria
RF Matt Joyce
DH Willy Aybar
1B Dan Johnson
CF B.J. Upton
SS Reid Brignac
RHP James Shields
A catcher batting leadoff. You don't see that one very often.
Reliever Jim Johnson is moving his injury rehab assignment to Single-A Frederick tomorrow...
I hope everyone in the area survived the storms last night and wasn't affected by the tornado warning that made my daughter afraid to take a shower. I explained that she doesn't have any windows in there, but she said something about lightning and the pipes.
I sent her up there anyway. And I'm happy to report that my instincts were correct.
That's a switch.
I had nightmares that somebody named Jeanmar Gomez shut down the Orioles and ruined their chance to sweep the Indians. Silly, I...
Felix Pie appeared to injure his left foot while leaving the batters box on a single in the fifth inning, but he stayed in the game after taking a few practice jogs down the right field line.
Corey Patterson watched Pie from the top step of the dugout. Head athletic trainer Richie Bancells and assistant trainer Brian Ebel paid close attention as Pie rounded third on Cesar Izturis' liner to center field that ended the inning.
Pie crossed the plate and took his position in left field. Maybe...
Kevin Millwood gave up another run in the first inning tonight when Trevor Crowe reached on an infield hit with two outs - a play close enough to bring manager Buck Showalter out of the dugout.
Millwood had allowed at least two runs in the opening frame in 11 of 12 starts before shutting down the White Sox in his last outing. Opponents have totaled 35 runs in the first inning.
Michael Brantley and Asdrubal Cabrera singled tonight after falling behind, 0-2, in the count. Shin-Soo Choo flied...
For the Orioles:
Brian Roberts 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Luke Scott DH
Adam Jones CF
Felix Pie LF
Matt Wieters C
Cesar Izturis SS
Josh Bell 3B
Kevin Millwood RHP
For the Indians:
Michael Brantley CF
Asdrubal Cabrera SS
Shin-Shoo Choo RF
Shelley Duncan DH
Trevor Crowe LF
Matt LaPorta 1B
Jason Donald 2B
Andy Marte 3B
Lou Marson C
Jeanmar Gomez RHP
The Orioles agreed to terms with three more draft picks: Pitcher Daniel Klein (third round), third baseman Connor Narron (fifth round)...
The Orioles announced today that they've extended their working agreements with their top three minor league affiliates through 2014.
Norfolk has been the Orioles' Triple-A affiliate for the past four seasons. Double-A Bowie and Single-A Frederick have been with the Orioles since 1993 and 1989, respectively.
"We are very pleased to continue our working agreements with the Norfolk, Bowie and Frederick clubs," president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said in a statement. "We have...
Former Ravens cornerback Frank Walker is headed to Miami?
I bet the receivers get there ahead of him.
If you woke up feeling a little different, it's probably because the Orioles are 40-74 and the Pirates are 39-74.
That's what happens when one team goes 8-2 in its last 10 games, and the other goes 3-7.
Interesting observation from West Coast O's Fan: Orioles starters have been victimized by only one bad inning in the last nine games. Jake Arrieta allowed five runs in the fourth inning...