The Orioles ran out of rookie relievers making their major league debuts. Their streak of bullpen wins by newbies ended last night at two.
A modest total for most streaks, but no other team in the modern era went back-to-back before the Orioles, who provided the opportunity for Mike Baumann the previous night and Manny Barreda on Wednesday.
Could there be more contrasting relievers than these two?
Baumann, 25, the third-round pick in 2017 who's ranked as a Top 10 prospect in the system by...
Rule 5 pick Tyler Wells wasn't available to pitch tonight after Orioles manager Brandon Hyde reluctantly had to use him to get the final out in Wednesday's remarkable comeback win. The rookie pitched in back-to-back games and in three of the last four, and he wasn't going to close if a slim lead carried to the ninth.
Hyde was just hoping to be pressed into a decision. No jokes about avoiding one-run games. He'd take any margin as long as his club was on the right side of it.
Kansas City...
The Orioles found their infield coverage this afternoon while creating room in their rotation.
Veteran starter Matt Harvey is on the 10-day injured list with right knee inflammation, the move coming after he made his 28th start last night. Infielder Richie Martin has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and gives the Orioles five players on their bench.
Harvey is 6-14 with a 6.27 ERA and 1.543 WHIP in 127 2/3 innings. His 28 starts rank first on the club, three ahead of Jorge López, who was...
Trey Mancini returns to the Orioles lineup tonight for the first time since Sunday, batting cleanup and serving as the designated hitter.
Austin Hays and Ramón UrÃas are on the bench.
DJ Stewart is in left field and batting fifth. The double play combination remains Jorge Mateo at shortstop and Jahmai Jones at second base.
Ryan Mountcastle's 26 home runs are the third-most by an Orioles rookie in a single season, trailing Cal Ripken Jr. (28 in 1982) and Eddie Murray (27 in 1977).
Hays...
A quality start from Matt Harvey on Aug. 27 against the Rays has been followed by two failed attempts to complete the fifth inning. What's also going to follow are questions about his remaining time in a rotation that keeps getting younger and less experienced.
The Orioles will figure it out. In the meantime, they seem to be getting more frisky. More confident in themselves. Less inclined to wait for something bad to happen to them.
There's no reasonable way to question it.
They made sure...
Matt Harvey made his 28th start last night, the former Orioles reclamation project in spring training who turned into the No. 2 guy in the rotation breaking camp. Before all the shuffling that wrecked the order like a wet NASCAR track.
Whether Harvey receives a 29th, or when he does, is under discussion. Whether the Orioles bend to the need to evaluate and offer chances to their prospects who suddenly have formed a conga line to Camden Yards.
Mike Baumann made his major league debut Tuesday...
Mike Baumann is going to follow his major league debut last night, and his first victory, with another bullpen appearance.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said Baumann will be used in similar fashion after working 3 2/3 innings and allowing only an unearned run.
"We're going to do the same thing with Mike, probably in a few days," Hyde said, "where he's going to do an extended bullpen appearance where I probably bring him in in a clean inning and give us some innings out of the 'pen that...
Trey Mancini (oblique) and Ramón UrÃas (leg) remain out of the Orioles lineup for tonight's game against the Royals at Camden Yards.
Ryan McKenna is in center field and Cedric Mullins is the designated hitter.
Pedro Severino is batting cleanup.
Austin Hays will try to extend his hitting streak to 15 games. He's 19-for-51 (.373) with 12 RBIs, eight extra-base hits and 10 runs scored during the streak.
Mullins has homered in three consecutive games to run his team-leading total to 27....
The comments were made in jest and thousands of miles away from Baltimore. By former members of the Orioles organization who saw a perfect marriage between one of their players and the rebuilding team they left behind.
Never did they imagine that it would actually come true.
The Orioles claimed Jorge Mateo on waivers a month ago and he's reached base in 24 of his 25 starts, with a walk and his 10th stolen base last night. His name keeps appearing in the lineup, which the Padres couldn't do...
The Orioles keep building new streaks as if tool belts are now part of the uniform. Usually the kind that feel like a drill bit twisting through the temples of their manager.
Brandon Hyde was able to joke about the most recent streak, the one-run games that reached five in a row going into tonight. How he told his players it was OK to win 7-2 once in a while.
They didn't exactly follow orders against the Royals, but a four-run first inning hinted that they no longer wanted to be so...
The Orioles made a series of pitching moves before tonight's game, setting up the possibility of achieving one club record and tying another during the series against the Royals.
Besides recalling Mike Baumann from Triple-A Norfolk and placing Jorge López on the 10-day injured list, the Orioles also selected the contract of reliever Manny Barreda from Norfolk and optioned reliever Zack Burdi to the Tides.
Reliever Hunter Harvey was transferred to the 60-day injured list to create a spot for...
Trey Mancini is out of the Orioles lineup again tonight after staying on the bench yesterday with "general soreness," according to manager Brandon Hyde.
Mancini was struck on the foot by a ball Sunday afternoon.
DJ Stewart is the designated hitter, as the Orioles continue their series against the Royals at Camden Yards. Ryan Mountcastle is the first baseman and batting second.
Ramón UrÃas also remains out of the lineup with soreness in his upper right leg.
Jorge Mateo is playing...
The Orioles are poised to recall one of their top pitching prospects, right-hander Mike Baumann, from Triple-A Norfolk, according to sources.
Baumann's arrival in Baltimore today would seem to indicate that Jorge López is going on the injured list after rolling his right ankle yesterday.
López faced one batter and sustained the injury while covering first base on Andrew Benintendi's ground ball to Ryan Mountcastle. He's pitched in six games since moving to the bullpen and allowed two...
Grant manager Brandon Hyde one baseball wish and he could go in pretty much any direction, no GPS capable of leading him to an exact spot. Give him a bunch, however, and he's demanding more length out of an expanded roster.
The bump from 26 to 28 players just doesn't cut it.
He'd rub the shine off the genie lamp for a deeper bench and pitching staff.
"I wish we had a 35-man roster in September this year," he said yesterday morning, sitting in the dugout for his media session and confirming...
The door opens so wide for Orioles in search of an opportunity, it's a wonder that the hinges don't snap in half.
Faces have been reddened by that same door slamming shut, the failures bound to leave a mark.
Zac Lowther got his latest chance this afternoon after making one appearance each in April, May and June, and two in July. Manager Brandon Hyde suggested that the rookie would receive multiple starts and, hopefully, open some eyes in the front office.
Maybe wider than the door.
Lowther...
The Orioles are recalling rookie left-hander Zac Lowther from Triple-A Norfolk today but haven't announced the move or who's leaving the active roster for the series opener against the Royals at Camden Yards.
This is Lowther's second major league start and sixth appearance. He's allowed 10 runs and 13 hits in 8 1/3 innings. His lone start was May 8 against the Red Sox, when he surrendered seven runs and seven hits in 2 1 /3 innings.
Lowther has never faced the Royals, who are 61-75 overall...
Say what you will about the 2021 Orioles, and the dialogue fills a lot of pages, but there's no denying that they're playing hard with the season down to its final month and hopes of staying competitive buried a long time ago.
You don't overcome a trio of three-run deficits yesterday at Yankee Stadium if you're already booking offseason vacations. You don't win two one-run games in the series. You don't keep grinding.
There are obvious signs and more subtle ones, the latter including how...
Nine consecutive four-seam fastballs to Gary Sánchez in the second inning today showed tremendous confidence in the pitch. But also with the obvious risks and other potential repercussions.
Sánchez got the barrel on the ninth, with the bases loaded and the Orioles ahead by a run, and launched it into the second deck for a grand slam.
The chance at a rare series win on the road seemed to disappear with the ball, but the Orioles kept clawing, kept putting runners on base and finally found...
Orioles manager Hyde is holding off until after today's game to reveal Monday's starter, saying it's going to require a corresponding move because the pitcher is being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.
This eliminates left-hander Alexander Wells, who's already with the team.
"I'm just going to wait on it," he said.
Mike Baumann started Tuesday for the Tides and would be working on extra rest. Zac Lowther would be on normal rest. Dean Kremer isn't available because the Orioles won't use...
Ryan Mountcastle and Jahmai Jones are out of the Orioles lineup today as they conclude their series at Yankee Stadium.
DJ Stewart is the designated hitter with the Orioles finally facing a right-handed starter.
Ramón Urias moves to shortstop and Jorge Mateo to second base.
Trey Mancini has hit safely in 11 of his last 13 games, batting .358/.404/.472 (19-for-53). He's the first baseman today.
Left-hander Keegan Akin has held opponents to one run in each of his last two starts totaling 12...