In East against East matchups, the AL has the edge

In East against East matchups, the AL has the edge
The American League East is winning in a head-to-head battle with the National League East. The two divisions are the best in each league so far, and each features four teams currently at .500 or better. The AL East actually has five with Boston's win last night. AL East clubs have a record of 31-20 against the NL East and have won 12 of 17 series between the divisions. Here are the AL East records against the NL East: * Yankees are 9-0 * Orioles are 6-3 * Blue Jays are 6-6 * Rays are 6-6 *...
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A second straight shutout: Chen pitches O's past Atlanta

A second straight shutout: Chen pitches O's past Atlanta
Wei-Yin Chen pitched a gem and the Orioles made the most of a pair of doubles to beat the Atlanta Braves 2-0 today at Turner Field, taking the series two games to one. Coupled with Jason Hammel's one-hitter last night, the Orioles posted back-to-back shutouts over a Braves team that is third in the National League in runs scored. O's pitching shut out the Braves over the last 20 innings of the series. It's the first time the O's have posted consecutive shutouts since Aug. 28-29, 2010...
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Chen strong so far at Atlanta

Chen strong so far at Atlanta
It's not a one-hitter but Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen is having a good outing today at Atlanta, blanking the Braves through six innings. He has a 2-0 lead with the O's looking to get the series victory. He gave up four singles over the first three innings, but got double-play balls to help him out in each of those innings. That included a nice play by Chen to field a bunt with two on and none out in the third to start a unique 1-6-4 double play with J.J. Hardy covering third and Robert...
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Today's Orioles-Braves live blog

Today's Orioles-Braves live blog
Live blogging again today: Same drill as last night. I'll post notes, stats and commentary here during today's game and invite you to do the same. Keep the comments and questions coming starting now and going for nine innings. Check back often and hit refresh for the latest from me and the readers. Chen out after seven: Chen is out and Darren O'Day comes in to pitch in the eighth. Chen pitched seven scoreless innings on six hits and 101 pitches to lower his ERA ot 3.36. Making those hits...
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Aberdeen IronBirds begin a new season tonight at Hudson Valley

Aberdeen IronBirds begin a new season tonight at Hudson Valley
The Aberdeen IronBirds will open their New York-Penn League season tonight playing at Hudson Valley and the IronBirds will host the same team in their home opener Wednesday night at Ripken Stadium. Aberdeen's manager is Gary Allenson, the Orioles' Triple-A skipper the last five seasons at Norfolk. His pitching coach is former Oriole Alan Mills and the batting coach is former Double-A Bowie manager Brad Komminsk. Right-hander Sebastian Vader, the Orioles' 18th-round pick in 2010, will be...
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He came up short of a no-no, but Hammel's solid season has been big for the O's

He came up short of a no-no, but Hammel's solid season has been big for the O's
So Jason Hammel had been there before, in terms of flirting with a no-hitter. In fact, it happened on the first Sunday of the year against Minnesota in his first career Orioles start. But that day he gave up a Justin Morneau double to start the eighth to lose the no-hit bid and last night it was a Jason Heyward single with two outs in the seventh. It seemed he had been pitching Heyward away on just about every pitch of that at-bat and the Braves outfielder finally got one he could handle to...
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Hammel tosses one-hitter as Orioles blank Atlanta

Hammel tosses one-hitter as Orioles blank Atlanta
He didn't get a no-hitter tonight but Jason Hammel pitched the Orioles' first one-hitter since September 28, 2006 when Daniel Cabrera did that at New York. He pitched the O's to a 5-0 win at Atlanta to even the weekend series at one win each. Hammel took a no-hitter into the seventh and walked Dan Uggla with two outs to snap a stretch of retiring 17 batters in a row. Then Jason Heyward singled to left to end the no-hit bid and put runners on the corners. Hammel got out of that jam by...
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Tonight's Orioles-Braves live blog

Tonight's Orioles-Braves live blog
Post your comments here tonight: Let the live blogging begin. I'll be posting some stats, notes and commentary on tonight's game in this entry throughout the Orioles-Braves game. I hope you the readers do the same. Post any comments and/or questions here and keep the dialogue going. I'll try to answer questions and keep it interesting during the game. Each time something new is added, it will appear at the top of the content right below this message and push the rest of the content down the...
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Updating some of the minor league injured

Updating some of the minor league injured
Here are a couple of updates on some currently injured minor league players: * Triple-A Norfolk's Ryan Adams has been out since mid-May with a fractured right thumb. He could begin a minor league rehab injury assignment on June 25 with short-season Single-A Aberdeen. * Norfolk catcher Luis Exposito, who has been out with a hamate bone injury, should return around July 15. * Double-A outfielder Ronnie Welty, who last played on May 10, could return around July 1. Welty has been out with a...
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The Orioles have traded LHP Cole McCurry to Atlanta

The Orioles have traded LHP Cole McCurry to Atlanta
The Orioles have traded minor league left-handed pitcher Cole McCurry to the Atlanta Braves for cash. McCurry had been with the Orioles since they drafted him in round 43 of 2007. The trade was culminated late last night and came about for two main reasons. One reason is that the Braves have had interest in McCurry before, and two, the Orioles have a roster crunch with too many pitchers for too few spots right now at Triple-A. They recently added Jamie Moyer and Rich Rundles to that Norfolk...
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O's bats go quiet for a night and some minor league notes

O's bats go quiet for a night and some minor league notes
I heard someone say once that you can't win 'em all, and so the Orioles' five-game win streak came to an end last night with a 4-2 loss in Atlanta. There were a few differences between the O's 12-6 win on Thursday and last night's loss: The Orioles went from 16 to six hits. They went from 10 extra-base hits to just two. But maybe the biggest one was they went from 8-for-17 batting with runners in scoring position to 1-for-7. The Orioles also hit into four double plays last night after...
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O's get the lead after early offensive frustrations in Atlanta (Braves win 4-2)

O's get the lead after early offensive frustrations in Atlanta (Braves win 4-2)
The Orioles used a double and two Braves errors to get two runs in the top of the fourth at Atlanta tonight to take a 2-1 lead after three and a half innings. That followed some frustration on offense tonight in the early innings in Atlanta. They hit three rockets off Tommy Hanson in the top of the first, but one went for a groundout and another, by Chris Davis, went for an inning-ending double play. In the second, they got an Adam Jones double and two walks to load the bases, but then Brian...
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Aberdeen's roster, Bowie's hot streak and draft notes

Aberdeen's roster, Bowie's hot streak and draft notes
The short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds begin a new season on Monday at Hudson Valley and then open at home at Ripken Stadium next Wednesday against that same team. Aberdeen's manager is Gary Allenson, the Orioles' Triple-A skipper the last five seasons at Norfolk. His pitching coach is former Oriole Alan Mills and the batting coach is former Double-A Bowie skipper Brad Komminsk. Right-hander Sebastian Vader, the Orioles 18th-round pick in 2010, is going to be the IronBirds' opening...
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The offense came to life at home, now can the O's take it on the road?

The offense came to life at home, now can the O's take it on the road?
Here is an interesting contrast in stats for the Orioles' offense. They scored just 25 runs during a nine-game road trip that preceded the homestand that ended last night. But they scored 44 runs during the six games at Camden Yards. In the three-game series against Pittsburgh, the Orioles scored 27 runs on 44 hits with a .396 team batting average along with 12 doubles and seven homers. In the six games during the homestand, they batted .310 with 71 hits including 16 doubles and 11 home...
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O's put up 10 early runs to complete sweep of Pirates

O's put up 10 early runs to complete sweep of Pirates
To see a player drive in five runs in one game is pretty rare. Before tonight, the Orioles had one player do it this season when Matt Wieters knocked in five on April 16 at Chicago. Tonight they had two players do it in one game as the Orioles beat Pittsburgh 12-6 in front of 29,995 at Camden Yards to sweep the three-game series. Both Wieters and Steve Pearce had five-RBI games tonight in a game where the Orioles roughed up their one-time ace, Erik Bedard, for seven runs and eight hits over 3...
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It's been a homestand of solid offense for the Orioles

It's been a homestand of solid offense for the Orioles
The Orioles' offense has been putting some runs together during the homestand that ends tonight and that was even before they scored four runs in the first inning in this game off Erik Bedard. After scoring just 25 runs during a nine-game road trip, the O's have scored 32 times in the first five games of this homestand. They are batting .291 during that time with eight doubles and nine homers. The Orioles' 28 hits in the first two games of this series with the Pirates is their most in...
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Steve Tolleson made a U-turn in Norfolk back to Baltimore

Steve Tolleson made a U-turn in Norfolk back to Baltimore
Steve Tolleson has had a few interesting and active days recently. Sunday: Hits a game-tying, three-run homer against Cliff Lee in an extra-innings win over the Phillies. Monday: Finds out he is being optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk by the Orioles. Wednesday: Drives with his wife and young daughter from Baltimore to Norfolk, arriving there at 4 p.m. and then they unpacked their bags. Today: Gets called to come back to the Orioles, pack the bags again and drive back to Baltimore as he...
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Chris Davis adapts to the DH role as his bat stays hot

Chris Davis adapts to the DH role as his bat stays hot
Whether he plays in the field or starts as the designated hitter, Chris Davis has been doing some major damage at bat recently for the Orioles. He is 9-for-24 with three homers and eight RBIs during a six-game batting streak. Over a longer stretch, his past 21 games, he is batting .350 with seven homers and 16 RBIs. Davis' last 10 starts have come as the DH and he hasn't started at first base since May 28. He says manager Buck Showalter has not given him a reason for that. "He hasn't,"...
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The Orioles have agreed to terms with over 20 draft picks

The Orioles have agreed to terms with over 20 draft picks
The Orioles' scouting staff and scouting director Gary Rajsich have been very busy lately. Not only did the club draft 40 players last week but the team has already come to contract terms with over 20 players, MASNsports.com has learned. The team has only officially announced the signings of six players but that is just because they wait until the contracts have been approved by Major League Baseball to officially announce the names. Many more have agreed and it's just a matter of time until...
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Arrieta deserves another shot in the rotation after Pittsburgh outing

Arrieta deserves another shot in the rotation after Pittsburgh outing
Maybe he will now be in the rotation on a start-to-start basis, but after he pitched well last night against Pittsburgh, Jake Arrieta should stay in the rotation. Arrieta needed to pitch well and did in last night's 7-1 victory. Yes, the Pirates are the lowest-scoring team in the majors, but they put up six runs the night before and were 12-3 over their last 15 games when they arrived as a first-place team at Camden Yards. Arrieta struck out five of the first eight batters he faced on his...
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