Chris Sale took the mound tonight at Camden Yards with a record of 15-4 and ERA of 2.65. He ranks tied for third in the American League in wins, fourth in ERA and eighth in strikeouts.
He looked like he had some dominant stuff early in the game. But that was before Nick Markakis smoked a three-run double to center field in the bottom of the second to propel the red-hot Orioles to another win. They beat Chicago 6-0 in front of 12,814 at Camden Yards.
The Orioles are now 14 games over .500 at...
Tonight the Orioles play their second game in a stretch of 11 of 14 against first-place teams Chicago and New York. Last night's 4-3 win got the Orioles off to a good start.
Right after that stretch ends on Sept. 9 against the Yankees at Camden Yards, the O's then play six straight against Tampa Bay and Oakland, two other playoff contenders.
In other words, if they are still in the race for a playoff spot by mid-September, they will have earned it. After that they end the regular season...
Growing up in Falls Church, Va., before he would go to Virginia Tech and later become an Angels' first-round draft pick, Joe Saunders would come to Baltimore to watch his favorite team, the Orioles, play.
Now, after Sunday's trade from Arizona, Saunders is an Oriole, and he will make his first O's start tomorrow night at Camden Yards. He won't need a ticket to get in this time.
"They had Cal here. They had Brady Anderson, Chris Hoiles, Mickey Tettleton, Raffy Palmeiro, Mike Mussina, a...
As the Orioles get ready to add Joe Saunders to their rotation, the good news is that the rotation is pitching pretty well right now. Unlike many times this year, there is no clear-cut candidate currently not pitching well to be replaced in the rotation.
In fact, since Aug. 4, the Orioles have played 21 games and gotten 13 quality starts (six innings or more, allowing three earned runs or less) in that time. They are 12-1 in those 13 games.
One stat that has held firm most of this year is...
It's amazing enough that the Orioles have won a club record of 13 straight one-run games, but how about this note: Jim Johnson has gotten a save in 12 of those 13 wins.
Moments after Nate McLouth hit a dramatic two-run homer to give the Orioles a 4-3 lead in the last of the eighth yesterday, there he was on the mound again. Again, trying to protect the slimmest of leads and again doing it beautifully.
There were a lot of heroes in another dramatic O's win last night, but at the end, there...
Yes, it has been awhile since Wei-Yin Chen pitched for the Orioles. Before tonight, his last outing was Aug. 19 in Detroit, when he gave up five runs and seven hits over five innings. That day he gave up five runs in the first inning.
Over his last three starts, Chen has pitched to an ERA of 7.47. Good for an airline, not an ERA. Over 15 2/3 innings in those outings, he gave up 25 hits including four homers, and a batting average against of .362.
Buck Showalter is clearly aware of this Chen...
Tonight begins a stretch where the Orioles play seven straight games and 11 of the next 14 against the White Sox and Yankees, a pair of division leaders.
Chicago comes to town tonight leading the AL Central by 2 1/2 games over Detroit with a record of 71-55 and six wins in a row. The Chisox just swept the Yankees and Seattle, and are 16 games over .500 for the first time since Sept. 7, 2010.
Chicago's last four wins have all been by one run and the White Sox are 15-4 in their last 19 one-run...
In Jake Arrieta's last two starts at Triple-A Norfolk, he pitched 12 2/3 innings and gave up just four hits and four runs with seven walks and 16 strikeouts.
Coming off those two outings with a better focus on every pitch and adjusted mental outlook, Arrieta is back with the Orioles and, for now, pitching out of the bullpen. He last pitched in an Orioles game on July 5.
"Real, real happy to be here," Arrieta said today. "Not necessarily the way I envisioned the year panning out up to this...
Gary Kendall, the manager of the Double-A Bowie Baysox, can remember the exact date. It was June 6 and his team had lost to Portland to fall to a season-worst 11 games under .500 at 23-34.
At that point, Kendall, on a suggestion from pitcher Kyler Newby, called a team meeting.
"I really didn't think we had any kind of identity, even though I thought there was a lot of talent on the field. We had a meeting in Portland and it was just about owning up to this. It was just a talk about pulling...
BOWIE, Md. - The Orioles' top pitching prospect, right-hander Dylan Bundy, had his scheduled start rained out today. The game was called about an hour after the scheduled 2:05 p.m. start time and will likely be made up next weekend when the Baysox play at Harrisburg.
It has not been yet decided whether Bundy will start tomorrow night. Tommy Hunter was sent from the Orioles to the Baysox and is tomorrow's scheduled starter at this point. So Bundy's next start is on hold for now, with a...
BOWIE, Md. - Amid rumors the Orioles are considering calling him up to the major leagues soon, 19-year-old pitching prospect Dylan Bundy will make his third Double-A start this afternoon at Prince George's Stadium at 2:05 when the Bowie Baysox host Harrisburg.
Bundy is 1-0 with a 3.18 ERA in his first two Bowie games. Over 11 1/3 innings, he has allowed 10 hits, five runs (four earned) with four walks and seven strikeouts. Eastern League batters are hitting .238 off the Orioles' top pitching...
The Orioles won their 69th game tonight, beating Toronto 8-2 to match their 2011 win total. But the players certainly didn't seem impressed by that and J.J. Hardy said the Orioles have other goals in mind now.
"I think we are all playing for something a little more than that now. I don't think it really means much to us at all really. We definitely have a bigger picture in mind," Hardy said.
"We definitely are going into every single ballgame thinking we're going to win and that is the...
Unless the Orioles go 0-36 the rest of the way, they will top last year's win total.
The Orioles beat Toronto 8-2 in front of 25,082 at Camden Yards tonight to improve to 69-57. Last year's team went 69-93.
Steve Johnson gave up a two-run homer in the first to Edwin Encarnacion, but no runs after that as he improved to 2-0 in his two big league starts. Johnson gave up four hits over six innings with two walks and seven strikeouts, and now has an ERA of 3.18.
In his two Orioles starts, he...
New Orioles Hall of Famer Mike Mussina said he understood that some Baltimore fans were mad at him when he signed with the Yankees. But he said time heals some of that and he was pleased with the reception he got tonight as he entered the Orioles' Hall.
"I think time settles things down," Mussina said. "I think it was a nice reception today. I think the people were glad to see me come back. It was nice to be on the field again. It was a nice reception and I think right now most people are...
After getting on the mound in a simulated game yesterday, Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel remains very encouraged by his rehab from right knee surgery. He still hopes to be back with the club possibly as soon as early next month.
"I still think the first week (of September, I can return), I'm hoping," he said. "I would hope maybe one more sim game and then a rehab start, then I would hope to be good to go by then. That is what I have for my plan, but I mean we're not rushing it. The guys are...
While Chris Davis put his name in the record book with a three-homer game on Friday night, he hopes that in the big picture what he is doing most this year is earning himself a job on the 2013 Orioles.
He feels he is well on his way to doing that during a season where he is batting .256 in 108 games with career-highs in homers (23) and RBIs (64).
"I think so. So far this year, I've proved I could compete every day at this level," Davis said. "I've had some ups and downs but I think that...
Chris Davis showed off his immense power last night, producing the 19th three-homer game in Orioles history and first since Nick Markakis on August 22, 2006.
It was an impressive display where he hit one onto Eutaw Street, another deep to right-center and one out to left. He neglected center field, at least for one night.
Watching Davis last night makes it a little easier to understand the ridiculous power numbers he had last year at Triple-A Round Rock before his trade to Baltimore. I know...
Chris Davis entered tonight with 20 homers, one shy of his career high. He took care of that and more tonight as the Orioles beat Toronto 6-2 in Game 1 of a three-game weekend series.
Davis produced the 19th three-homer game in Orioles history and first since Nick Markakis went deep three times against Minnesota on August 22, 2006.
Davis had 21 homers for Texas in 2009 and now he has 23 for the Orioles with 37 games remaining.
He hit a Eutaw Street homer off Carlos Villanueva in the second...
Ryan Flaherty is back on the Orioles active roster. He was on the disabled list from August 2-24 with a bacterial infection and just returned from playing nine game at Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit .289 with two homers, three RBIs and an .868 OPS.
"I started a little bit slow down there for the first three or four games and then I got it going," Flaherty said. "Want to take that back here and help this team win."
Flaherty began 0-for-15 in Norfolk but brings a hot bat back to the team as...
Orioles catcher Matt Wieters left Wednesday's game in Texas early, not because it was a blowout, but because he took a foul ball off his right shoulder and he felt some discomfort. But, he says he is fine and ready to play tonight.
"Nothing more than a bruise in a bad spot," Wieters said. "If it had been anyplace other than that shoulder I would have been able to keep playing. Just as the game went on it got a lit bit tighter. But I got ice on it after the game. It felt good yesterday and...