HOUSTON - One question had been answered today before the Orioles took the field. They wouldn't use 162 different lineups.
But could they win a series for the first time since April 22-24? Could they win back-to-back games for the first time since May 4-6?
Not if they can't score.
Wade Miley carried a shutout into the seventh inning, the Orioles came up empty after loading the bases with no outs and top prospect Yordan Alvarez hit a two-run homer in his second major league at-bat in the...
HOUSTON - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde didn't know that he'd used a different lineup through the first 64 games until told about it last week. It wasn't done intentionally. It wasn't devised as some sort of a plan.
Hyde has been basing his decisions on personnel and how the club is approaching the 2019 season. Nothing more to it. But today marks the first repeat, with Hyde posting the exact same lineup as yesterday.
The Orioles were the last team to come up with a different combination for...
HOUSTON - The Orioles will try again today to win their first series since April 22-24, going 0-11-1 leading into today's finale against the Astros at Minute Maid Park.
They're repeating a lineup for the first time this season, sticking with the group that produced a 4-1 win yesterday afternoon.
Hanser Alberto is leading off, Jonathan Villar is batting fifth and Anthony Santander is batting sixth. Stevie Wilkerson is playing left field again and Richie Martin is the shortstop.
Everyone is in...
HOUSTON - While the Orioles continued to audition Anthony Santander in right field yesterday with DJ Stewart on the injured list, one of their top prospects joined the highest affiliate for the first time in his professional career.
Austin Hays started in center field last night with Triple-A Norfolk and went 2-for-5 with a double. Release the streamers and confetti.
The rehab portion of Hays' season is finished. His thumb is healed and he no longer needs at-bats below his assigned level.
Hays...
HOUSTON - Astros left fielder Derek Fisher didn't flinch. Didn't move a muscle. Renato Núñez launched a ball over his head today in the sixth inning and he had no interest in watching its flight or checking where it landed. He knew only that he couldn't touch it and a scoreless tie was history.
Anthony Santander raced to the fence in right-center field in the bottom half of the inning and made a leaping catch to rob Yuli Gurriel of a three-run homer. It went down in the books as a...
HOUSTON - Sending down reliever Branden Kline last night had less to do with performance than the need to have someone available out of the bullpen.
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is sifting through his options today after using Shawn Armstrong, Richard Bleier and Mychal Givens last night. Kline surrendered the walk-off double to Robinson Chirinos, threw 23 pitches in two-thirds of an inning and headed out while the Orioles recalled Evan Phillips from Triple-A Norfolk.
"We needed a fresh arm,"...
HOUSTON - Trey Mancini is playing first base this afternoon and Chris Davis heads to the bench, as the Orioles continue their series against the Astros.
A right-handed lineup includes switch-hitters Anthony Santander in right field and Stevie Wilkerson in left, Hanser Alberto at third base, Pedro Severino behind the plate and Renato Núñez as the designated hitter.
Severino and Jonathan Villar return to the lineup after being absent the past two games.
The Orioles are using their 64th...
HOUSTON - The latest bullpen move for the Orioles has returned Evan Phillips to the majors.
Phillips has been recalled again this morning after the Orioles optioned Branden Kline following last night's 4-3, 11-inning loss to the Astros. He's a fresh arm with his last appearance coming Wednesday.
Phillips' next appearance with the Orioles will be his 13th. He's allowed 10 runs and 14 hits with 11 walks and 17 strikeouts in 13 innings.
The results are strikingly different with Triple-A...
HOUSTON - The Orioles lost another game last night on a walk-off, this time with catcher Chance Sisco holding up the ball and sprawled in front of the plate and the Astros' Yuli Gurriel somehow able to touch it while disappearing from sight.
The latest defeat for the Orioles, their 44th in 63 games, didn't come at the usual price on this trip.
No one dislocated a body part. Chalk outlines weren't drawn on any walls. The Orioles, for at least one night, were safe on the road.
Stevie Wilkerson...
HOUSTON - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde keeps challenging his younger and less experienced players to seize an opportunity. Run with it. Do what's necessary to become established at the major league level.
Anthony Santander has played only two games for the club this season. He homered last month in the second game of a doubleheader in Chicago and doubled and scored in the first inning tonight.
Chance Sisco was behind the plate again, batted cleanup, and homered to extend a lead that Rio Ruiz...
HOUSTON - Orioles executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias anticipates that the club can begin announcing draft-pick signings next week, and he remains convinced that the process with catcher Adley Rutschman, the first-overall selection out of Oregon State University, will be a smooth one.
The July 12 deadline shouldn't trip up the Orioles.
"We've got a big effort on our hands now getting all these guys signed," Hyde said earlier today. "I'm working on that. Brad Ciolek,...
HOUSTON - Dwight Smith Jr. has joined the Orioles in Houston, allowing the medical staff to check on him again before he dressed and headed out of Minute Maid Park this afternoon.
Smith isn't available to the media because he's under concussion protocol.
In his place is outfielder Anthony Santander, who's starting tonight in right field after the Orioles recalled him from Triple-A Norfolk.
"I feel good," Santander said via interpreter Ramón Alarcón. "Very thankful to the team for...
HOUSTON - Anthony Santander is back with the Orioles and playing right field tonight for the series opener at Minute Maid Park.
Santander is batting second and catcher Chance Sisco is hitting cleanup.
Trey Mancini remains the designated hitter and Chris Davis returns to first base.
Mancini is 38-for-108 (.352) in 28 road games. Six of his 13 home runs have come in the first inning.
Gabriel Ynoa hadn't faced the Astros until tonight.
Gerrit Cole's 116 strikeouts lead the American League and...
HOUSTON - Needing an outfielder today to replace Dwight Smith Jr., the Orioles have recalled Anthony Santander from Triple-A Norfolk as they begin a three-game series against the Astros.
Smith has been placed on the seven-day concussion injured list after crashing into the left field fence last night at Globe Life Park in Arlington, Texas. He didn't fly with the team following a 4-3 loss to the Rangers.
The Orioles also had Smith undergo X-rays on his shoulder, but today's transaction only...
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles are urging fans to cast votes for Trey Mancini and get him into next month's All-Star Game in Cleveland. Ideas on how to promote him are percolating and he's the logical team representative based on his impressive first-half statistics and the limited alternatives on a team that began last night tied with the Royals for the worst record in baseball.
Mancini hit his 13th home run in the top of the first inning, a sore left foot still able to carry him around the...
ARLINGTON, Texas - The 62nd game of the season produced the 62nd different lineup posted by Orioles manager Brandon Hyde.
Hyde isn't trying to earn points for creativity. He's searching for a winning combination. He's playing matchups. And he's making concessions again tonight for a rash of injuries.
A three-man bench hasn't limited the ways that Hyde maneuvers personnel. Nor has one healthy reserve.
Chris Davis made his first start in right field since 2016. Stevie Wilkerson batted...
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles made their roster move official this evening by placing outfielder DJ Stewart on the 10-day injured list with a sprained right ankle and recalling super-utility player Stevie Wilkerson from Triple-A Norfolk. Wilkerson is in the lineup in center field and Keon Broxton is the only healthy reserve.
The Orioles optioned Wilkerson after Sunday afternoon's game. He's on the 40-man roster and versatile, two qualities that make him an appealing option for the...
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles are placing outfielder DJ Stewart on the 10-day injured list pending doctor approval, which is expected to come shortly.
Stevie Wilkerson reported to Globe Life Park as the corresponding roster move. He's allowed to return prior to the minimum 10-day requirement because he's replacing an injured player.
Stewart sprained his right ankle last night while chasing a fly ball in foul territory in right field. Hanser Alberto slid into him to avoid a collision and...
ARLINGTON, Texas - The Orioles apparently will try to perform a neat trick and play tonight's game without a healthy reserve.
The three-man bench was emptied last night after catcher Pedro Severino left the game with a bruised head and no concussion symptoms, second baseman Jonathan Villar with a sore right thumb and outfielder DJ Stewart with a sore right ankle after rolling it while in pursuit of a fly ball.
Manager Brandon Hyde said all three players should be able to avoid going on the...
ARLINGTON, Texas - One night after taking a four-run lead in the first inning, the Orioles got stuck in reverse.
They stranded two runners in the top of the first, fell behind and lost catcher Pedro Severino to a foul ball off the mask.
The catcher who hit three home runs last night.
Second baseman Jonathan Villar exited in the fifth inning with soreness in his right thumb and right fielder DJ Stewart sprained his right ankle in the sixth after a collision with Hanser Alberto while chasing a...