Here is an interesting stat: Eight of the players in the Orioles' starting lineup today have combined for just one career homer off Justin Verlander in 85 at-bats. But the other player in the lineup today has seven career homers in 49 at-bats against the Detroit right-hander.
Jim Thome is the guy with all the homers. He is 12-for-49 in his career vs. Verlander for a modest .245 batting average. But he has one double and those seven homers off Verlander to go along with 11 RBIs and career OPS...
Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel told reporters a few minutes ago that he has decided he will have surgery on his right knee. The arthroscopic procedure will take place at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Monday.
"Obviously, it's not what I want to do, but it's what needs to be done," Hammel said. "I can't keep pitching on a bad leg and start doing things with my arm and hurting stuff there. I'm bummed out, but it will be a pretty routine surgery. I figure a few weeks, maybe four...
You could hardly blame Jim Johnson for his blown save Saturday. Not that giving up four hits and three runs in one inning is ever a good thing, but Johnson also was hurt by a key error on third baseman Ryan Flaherty in that inning.
Also, Johnson has been near-perfect in closing games for the Orioles this year and that was just his second blown save in 28 chances. Johnson saved his first 17 in a row before a blown save June 5 at Boston. He then saved nine in a row before Saturday's...
Taylor Teagarden was the last hero of the day for the Orioles in his first game for the club. But it also had to be a nice sight for O's fans to see J.J. Hardy tie the game with a homer in the bottom of the 13th, setting the stage for Teagarden's game-winner.
Hardy had just one homer in his last 28 games and was in an 0-for-28 drought. He had just nine hits over his last 94 at-bats when he came to the plate in the 13th. His solo shot off Joaquin Benoit tied the game, 6-6.
"It's a rough...
Well, that was not just another game.
In his first game and just his second at-bat with the Orioles, Taylor Teagarden hit his first career walk-off homer. His two-run shot to right was two batters after J.J. Hardy's game-tying shot to left and gave the Orioles a remarkable and exhausting 8-6 win in 13 innings over the Tigers.
The Orioles earlier had blown a 4-1 lead in the top of the ninth, and each team scored one run in the 11th. The Tigers took a 6-5 lead to the last of the 13th before...
The Orioles today outrighted catcher Ronny Paulino to Triple-A to make roster room for the addition of catcher Taylor Teagarden.
Paulino could refuse the assignment and become a free agent.
"I have a couple of days to decide what I'm going to do," he said this afternoon in the O's clubhouse. "It's tough because you want to be here in the big leagues. But I'm not playing much here so, if you have to go down somewhere and play to get more at-bats, you definitely have to think about...
Well, that is 3-for-3.
The Orioles have now had three statue ceremonies, and they have all been fantastic and a great reunion of Baltimore Orioles royalty.
Jim Palmer was honored today and there was a real buzz in the crowd when the fans got a glimpse of Brooks Robinson, who attended today along with Cal Ripken, Eddie Murray and Earl Weaver. Also present were many former Orioles, including Brady Anderson, Mike Bordick, Al Bumbry, Rick Dempsey, Dick Hall, Billy Hunter, Boog Powell, Terry...
In seven games as an Oriole, Jim Thome is batting just .200 with no extra-base hits and one RBI. He is 5-for-25 with 11 strikeouts and just one multi-hit game.
In interleague games with Philadelphia, Thome went 12-for-36 with four homers, 14 RBIs and an OPS of 1.137. But so far with the Orioles, his slugging percentage is just .200 and his OPS is only .486.
Thome was hitless in four at-bats Friday night against the Tigers and admitted before the game that his swing has just not come around...
This was not exactly the start to the second half the Orioles had in mind. Get blown out at home and lose their No. 1 starting pitcher to an injury.
Jason Hammel left the game in the top of the fourth as Detroit routed the Orioles 7-2 at Camden Yards. For the Tigers, this is their sixth win in a row. For the Orioles, they fall to 6-14 over their past 20 games.
Hammel left after throwing a 1-2 pitch to Brennan Boesch, who was leading off in the top of the fourth. Hammel landed awkwardly, it...
At the press conference to announce his signing, O's first-round pick Kevin Gausman was asked what today was like for him as he waited to see if he would get signed by the Orioles.
"Kind of stressful," Gausman said after agreeing to a reported $4.32 million bonus with the club. "Didn't sleep very much last night and wasn't allowed to eat until about 1:30 today because I got my physical done. I was a little bit grumpy today, trying to get some food in my belly. I was confident we were...
The Orioles have come to terms with pitcher Kevin Gausman, their first-round draft pick, taken fourth overall, out of LSU.
Moments ago, Gausman said this on his Twitter account:
Happy to be the newest member of the Baltimore Orioles organization!!! Living my dream!! #GoBirds!— Kevin Gausman (@KevinGausman) July 13, 2012
The Orioles did not sign fifth-round pick, Texas high school pitcher Colin Poche, who is expected to attend the University of Arkansas. He was the only top-10 round...
Not only will Nick Markakis play for the Orioles tonight for the first time since May 29, but he'll be the first to bat tonight. Markakis is in the leadoff spot in the order for the first time in his career.
"I had a little heads up about it," Markakis said a few moments ago in the O's clubhouse. "I'm up for whatever. I think it's my first time. I won't change my approach, try to do what I can to get on base and help us win the game."
Markakis said he doesn't feel any pressure to...
As of 11 a.m., the Orioles had not come to terms with top draft pick Kevin Gausman, the right-handed pitcher from LSU. But Orioles officials remain hopeful that they will have an agreement by today's 5 p.m. deadline.
"I'd be stunned if the O's didn't get a deal done with Gausman," Baseball America's Jim Callis said. Callis expects an agreement to come at around the allotted $4.2 million for that pick.
Some national media outlets are reporting that the Orioles have made "significant...
There is no doubt the Orioles have some problems on defense. There is no doubt the Orioles are inconsistent on offense. But to me, the club could overcome much of that and still win a wild card playoff berth if it can get consistently solid starting pitching.
Sometimes, the stats don't tell us what we need to know, but sometimes they do. The Orioles are 21-1 this year when their starter goes seven innings or more. The Orioles are 32-5 this year when their starter provides a quality start of...
With less than 24 hours now until Friday's 5 p.m. deadline to sign 2012 draft picks, the Orioles remain optimistic that they will come to terms with their top pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman.
The Orioles and Gausman's representatives at Legacy Sports have had ongoing talks throughout today, and it appears that they have closed the gap somewhat in terms of a signing bonus.
The pool allotment for the draft's fourth pick is $4.2 million, and an industry source said he believed Gausman's reps...
The Orioles have until Friday at 5 p.m. Eastern time to sign their top draft pick, LSU pitcher Kevin Gausman. An Orioles source tells MASNsports.com that the club made a new offer yesterday and that the Orioles "still feel pretty confident" that they will get this deal done.
The club source would not reveal any details of the new offer, but the slot amount listed for the fourth pick in the draft is $4.2 million.
"The ball is in their court," the source said.
Gausman is the...
Fresh off playing in the All-Star Futures Game, the Orioles' top two prospects, pitcher Dylan Bundy and shortstop Manny Machado returned to their respective teams to continue on a path that just about everyone suspects will one day take them to Baltimore.
Bundy is 5-2 with an ERA of 1.87 in 15 starts this year between Single-A Delmarva and Single-A Frederick. Over 62 2/3 innings, he has walked 13 and fanned 74 batters with a .165 batting average against.
Bundy gave up just five hits and no...
The Orioles are 45-40 at the All-Star break. They are in second place in the American League East and are in second in the AL wild card race right now.
Time to take a look back at the first half and ahead to what we may see over the second half of the season.
What went right: The Orioles' tremendous bullpen performance coupled with their ability to win close games served them well during the first half. They are an amazing 29-13 in games decided by one and two runs. That .690 win percentage...
If the Orioles were hoping to head into the All-Star break on a high note, this wasn't it.
They have now been shut out in back-to-back games and have gone 22 innings without scoring a run.
A pitcher with a terrible career ERA shut them out over five innings this afternoon, as the Orioles lost 6-0 to Los Angeles to head into the break with a record of 45-40.
The Orioles still do hold the AL's second wild card berth, but now by just a 1/2 game over Tampa Bay and one game over Cleveland
With...
At a time when they are struggling to score runs, the Orioles have fallen behind Los Angeles 5-0 today after four innings in the final game before the All-Star break.
For what it is worth, the Orioles are now guaranteed to be holding the American League's second wild card playoff berth at the break. Cleveland could have tied the Orioles today, but gave up three runs in the top of the ninth and lost 7-6 to Tampa Bay.
Meanwhile, back in Anaheim, the Angels hit three homers in the first three...