The tightness in Mark Trumbo's upper back and neck area that caused him to be scratched from yesterday's lineup has subsided and he's available to play tonight, according to the veteran outfielder and Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.
The club announced yesterday that Trumbo had a strained left trapezius.
"Upper back, something tightened up and it just wouldn't cooperate by the time that the game came around," Trumbo said. "So with this many extra guys, I felt like somebody else was probably...
Chris Davis has returned to the lineup for the Orioles' series opener against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards.
Davis hasn't played since Wednesday against the Dodgers. He's accumulated only nine plate appearances this month.
Trey Mancini is the designated hitter and DJ Stewart is in right field.
Mason Williams is in center field. Rio Ruiz is batting cleanup.
Chandler Shepherd is making his first major league start and third appearance, becoming the 17th pitcher to start for the Orioles this...
DETROIT - Jonathan Villar was born to run. Which also means it's in his blood to get thrown out on certain occasions. That's the risk he takes.
The Orioles can't tame him. It's more like they're trying to educate him on the proper times to be aggressive and to show some restraint.
Make smart decisions, but don't become timid.
A recent check of baserunning WARs - and yes, such a thing exists - found Villar tied with the Mariners' Mallex Smith for best in the majors at 0.9. He's stolen 35...
DETROIT - Four pitches into today's start, left-hander John Means already had surrendered a leadoff triple and a long home run. He hadn't worked up a sweat. Hadn't built up any mound dirt in his spikes.
Means would get on a serious roll after Jordy Mercer's 424-footer into the left field seats. Back to the form that allowed him to string together four consecutive quality starts and surrender two earned runs or fewer in five.
Would it be too late? Would a team knocking off the two hardest...
DETROIT - Just as the Orioles appear set with their 25-man roster over the final two weeks of the season, they make another move that today involves a new addition to the pitching staff.
The Orioles claimed right-hander Eric Hanhold off waivers from the Mets this afternoon and designated left-hander Ty Blach for assignment.
Hanhold, 25, isn't with the team, but could join it Tuesday at Camden Yards for the start of a three-game series against the Blue Jays.
The Mets designated Hanhold for...
DETROIT - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde thought about sitting Anthony Santander today while the young outfielder was mired in a lengthy slump. Santander altered those plans yesterday with a two-run single that snapped an 0-for-27 streak.
"He wanted to be in there today," Hyde said this afternoon.
"I know how much that hit meant to him in his last at-bat. I told him, 'Listen, I wasn't planning on playing you tomorrow if things didn't go real well today.' And he said, 'No, no, no, papi, I...
DETROIT - The Orioles didn't wait until the offseason to name a new director of player development.
Matt Blood has been hired to fill the role, with the club making the announcement this afternoon.
Blood had served as director of baseball innovation with the Rangers, who hired him in November 2018 as director of player development. He's in charge of staff recruitment, technology programs and player development strategies throughout the minor leagues.
Blood basically is the replacement for...
DETROIT - Being chosen as the International League's Player of the Month for August will be the last honor bestowed upon pitcher Chandler Shepherd in 2019. However, the true highlight of his summer is coming Tuesday night.
Shepherd has been told that he's starting against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards, a first for him in the majors after two relief appearances with the Orioles.
"It's special for me. I'm obviously super excited for the opportunity," Shepherd said yesterday morning while...
DETROIT - Rio Ruiz would have attracted a crowd at his locker last night, or whatever passed for one with a scaled-back media crew, if not for the walk-off grand slam that doomed the Orioles.
Ruiz had provided a lead in the top of the 12th with his run-scoring single off Tigers left-hander Daniel Stumpf, but he was bumped down every story and allowed to eat his postgame meal in peace after Ryan Eades issued a bases-loaded walk and John Hicks followed with the home run.
Given another chance...
DETROIT - Using nine relievers last night has forced manager Brandon Hyde to make a few adjustments for today's game against the Tigers.
The expanded roster doesn't solve every issue.
Hunter Harvey is available because Hyde kept him in the bullpen for an 8-4, 12-inning loss. However, he's going to avoid multiple relievers this afternoon while hoping for an extended appearance from starter Asher Wojciechowski.
"There's a lot of guys that I'm going to stay away from today," Hyde said....
DETROIT - Anthony Santander is playing center field today as the Orioles continue their series against the Tigers.
Trey Mancini is playing first base with Chris Davis staying on the bench.
Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field and DJ Stewart is in right. Chance Sisco is catching.
Asher Wojciechowski has never faced the Tigers.
Edwin Jackson has pitched for 14 teams, including the Tigers twice. He's registered an 8.51 ERA and 1.891 WHIP this season in seven starts.
Jackson is 7-1 with a 3.11 ERA...
DETROIT - The Orioles are down to their last 14 games of the 2019 season and content to go through them with a 37-man roster.
Reliever Tayler Scott was the last consideration and the Orioles recalled him yesterday from Double-A Bowie, which lost to Trenton in the Eastern League Championship Series.
Manager Brandon Hyde had indicated that Scott could rejoin the team after he stayed down in the minors for the minimum 10 days. The Orioles decided to assign him to Bowie for the remainder of the...
DETROIT - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde knew exactly what was coming. When the Tigers were making their first bullpen move and which reliever would enter the game.
There are certain tendencies that begin to take shape. The trick is being able to counterpunch.
Left-hander Daniel Norris worked three innings for the seventh start in a row and right-hander Drew VerHagen replaced him for the sixth time during that stretch. The Tigers didn't send out alerts to the visiting side, but Hyde and his...
DETROIT - The Orioles ran out of lockers today on the pitchers' side of the visiting clubhouse, causing reliever Tayler Scott to dress with the position players.
He was happy to be back, no matter where the Orioles put him.
Scott, 27, was recalled today from Double-A Bowie after the Baysox lost to Trenton in the Eastern League championship series. He relieved starter Tyler Herb last night.
"It was a lot of fun," he said. "It was good to go back and kind of see where you were a year or two...
DETROIT - Chris Davis wasn't in the Orioles lineup last night against right-hander Jordan Zimmermann, a favorable matchup on paper failing to influence his manager on the field.
Being a left-handed hitter and owning six hits in 11 career at-bats, including four home runs, didn't get Davis off the bench.
Davis figured to sit again tonight versus left-hander Daniel Norris, which is how it played out. He's appeared in only three games this month.
Brandon Hyde indicated that Davis' at-bats...
DETROIT - The Orioles recalled reliever Tayler Scott from Double-A Bowie earlier today. Scott joined the Baysox for the Eastern League championship series, which ended last night with Trenton's victory.
Manager Brandon Hyde has 15 relievers in his bullpen and the roster swells to 37 players.
Austin Wynns is getting the start today behind the plate and Hyde is putting Mason Williams in left field and Austin Hays in center.
Gabriel Ynoa is back in the rotation, for however long. He started...
DETROIT - Aaron Brooks was a solitary figure in the visiting dugout yesterday, the first Orioles player out of the clubhouse with about 45 minutes left before the game started.
He'd walk to the bullpen and warm up, but not before he sat alone on the bench, leaning forward with an intense stare as if locking his eyes on an invisible object in front of him.
Perhaps it was a silent pep talk, though it looked more like a stern lecture.
Brooks had a miserable start last weekend, allowing six runs...
DETROIT - The pennant races have an evil twin.
Sort of like fight club. Not supposed to talk about it. Clubs tanking in order to earn the first draft pick. Some fans are upset if their team wins, as if screwing up the master plan.
Rooting in reverse is trendy.
The Orioles and Tigers began their four-game series tonight, the two worst records in baseball colliding like a couple of rusted-out Ford Pintos. But don't believe for a second that players in the visiting clubhouse cared an ounce about...
DETROIT - Aaron Brooks gave the Orioles six scoreless innings in D.C., with only two hits allowed, but hasn't been able to duplicate or come close to it.
Brooks is back on the mound tonight after allowing six runs Saturday against the Rangers prior to recording his first out. He was gone after 2 2/3 innings.
The previous start wasn't as bad, but Brooks lasted only 4 1/3 innings in Kansas City and he's carrying a 7.54 ERA and 1.676 WHIP into tonight's game since joining the Orioles.
"The...
DETROIT - Mason Williams is in center field and batting second tonight for the Orioles in their series opener against the Tigers at Comerica Park.
Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field and batting cleanup and Stevie Wilkerson is at second base.
Trey Mancini is playing first base and Mark Trumbo is the designated hitter. DJ Stewart is in right field.
Aaron Brooks, who starts tonight, allowed three runs in one relief inning against the Tigers earlier this season while pitching for the Athletics....
