Jones' bat cools off and Bowie's playoff chances takes a big hit

Jones' bat cools off and Bowie's playoff chances takes a big hit
That great second half Adam Jones was having has been slightly derailed in recent games. Jones picked up a hit in last night's game against Tampa, but is just 1-for-18 over his last five games and is batting .083 (3-for-36) over his last 11 games without a homer and just two RBIs. This has all dropped Jones' batting average from .299 to .284. Maybe Jones could use a day or two of rest. Perhaps he is still hampered by the chest muscle injury that sent him to the hospital in Minnesota. He has...
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Markakis homers, but Simon struggles as Rays even series with victory

Markakis homers, but Simon struggles as Rays even series with victory
Coming into tonight's game the Orioles had given up just 11 runs to Tampa Bay in seven games this year at Tropicana Field. Tonight, B.J. Upton drove in five runs by himself. Upton's big night - he had a two-run double and three-run double - led Tampa Bay to a 6-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday night. The loss was the O's 82nd and clinched a losing record for the Orioles for the 14th consecutive season. Jim Hunter talks with Buck Showalter about the Orioles' 6-3 loss to the Rays The...
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Looking at the amazing performance this year by Orioles pitching at the Trop

Looking at the amazing performance this year by Orioles pitching at the Trop
The Orioles have put some together some rather stunning pitching stats this season at Tropicana Field. It is the place where they gave up just three runs total in sweeping a three-game, season-opening series. It is a place where they are 6-1 this year and have outscored the Rays there 30-11. The Orioles' team ERA at the Trop is 1.60 on the season and the ERA of the starting pitchers there is 1.47. Tampa Bay batters have just 36 hits in the seven games and are batting just .168 against...
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Any room left on the Britton bandwagon?

Any room left on the Britton bandwagon?
Just about a month ago, some Orioles fans were jumping off the Zach Britton bandwagon. Now some of the same fans are probably looking to get back on. Britton began this year pitching very well and now it seems he is ending his season in the same fashion. Thanks to that seventh-inning rally Friday night, the Orioles' young gun lefty outdueled one of the top young lefties in the game in David Price. I know some fans jumped off the Britton bandwagon because I heard them do so in recent weeks...
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Britton outduels Price and O's come out on top at the Trop

Britton outduels Price and O's come out on top at the Trop
Orioles fans can dream of a future when a pitcher like Zach Britton goes toe to toe with Tampa Bay ace David Price and the Orioles escape with the victory. They can dream of it or just go back and watch the tape of tonight's game. Britton settled down after giving up two runs in the first inning and J.J. Hardy came up with a huge two-run single in the seventh as the Orioles and Britton rallied to beat Price and Tampa Bay, 3-2 tonight. The Orioles are now 7-6 on the year against the Rays and...
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It could be hard to buy runs tonight against Price

It could be hard to buy runs tonight against Price
The Orioles scored six runs Thursday against Toronto. They may not get to that total tonight facing Tampa's David Price. He is a pitcher on a roll right now. Price has an ERA of 1.45 over his last four starts and has allowed a batting average of just .173 in those starts. He went 3-2 with an ERA of 2.13 in six August starts. He is coming off an outing where he set a Tampa single-game record with 14 strikeouts. He pitched seven shutout innings of three-hit ball Sunday at Toronto with the 14...
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Frederick Keys gear up for playoffs and other minor league notes

Frederick Keys gear up for playoffs and other minor league notes
With four games to go, the Single-A Frederick Keys are putting the finishing touches on an excellent regular season and gearing up for the Carolina League playoffs. At 79-56, the Keys have the best record in the league despite losing five of the last six games. Frederick won the first half and leads the second half by a half-game over Potomac at 38-28. The Keys are already assured of having their best record ever. The 2005 team went 79-61 and this team will finish better than that even if it...
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Trying to figure out how Strop got here

Trying to figure out how Strop got here
I appreciated the many responses I got on Twitter yesterday when I tweeted my confusion over the Orioles' acquisition of right-handed pitcher Pedro Strop. It was announced that he was claimed on waivers but also some reports said he was claimed as the player to be named later in the deal that sent Mike Gonzalez to Texas. I was confused about that. If he was the player to be named later, why did the O's have to then also claim him on waivers, I wondered. As an aside here, yes it is a slow...
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Eyre on the homer he gave up and Jones on the Toronto series

Eyre on the homer he gave up and Jones on the Toronto series
Orioles reliever Willie Eyre gave up the two-run homer to Brett Lawrie that broke a 6-6 tie in the eighth inning today and lifted Toronto to an 8-6 win over the Orioles. Eyre said it was a pitch that hit its intended spot, but still went out of the ballpark. Willie Eyre talks about giving up the home run to Brett Lawrie in the eighth inning in the O's 8-6 loss "I went back and looked at it (on video). We were going inside and he just got to it. I got him in there a couple of nights ago,"...
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Markakis comments on the end of long series hitting streak

Markakis comments on the end of long series hitting streak
In losing last night, two Orioles hitting streaks ended, a 13-gamer by J.J. Hardy and a 10-game streak by Mark Reynolds. In losing today, Nick Markakis went hitless for the third game in a row in this series and his 182-series hitting streak ended as he went 0-for-3 with two walks today and 0-for-8 with four walks in this series. Nick Markakis discusses his 182-series hitting streak coming to an end in the O's 8-6 loss "All good things come to an end. In this game it is very hard to be...
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Blue Jays slug their way to another win in series finale

Blue Jays slug their way to another win in series finale
After scoring five runs in the first game of this series but losing, the Toronto Blue Jays made sure they had enough runs to win the series final two games. After scoring 13 runs on 20 hits last night, this afternoon Toronto hammered its way to an 8-6 win over the Orioles. Brett Lawrie's two-run homer in the eighth off Willie Eyre broke a 6-6 tie. Yunel Escobar added four hits and two RBIs and is batting .397 this year against Orioles pitching. Starter Tommy Hunter struggled again, giving up...
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Some mid-game notes from Camden Yards

Some mid-game notes from Camden Yards
In an eight-game stretch through Tuesday night's game, Orioles starting pitchers had worked to an ERA of 3.09 with six quality starts. But Jo-Jo Reyes gave up eight runs over 2 2/3 last night and Tommy Hunter has allowed four today in the first four innings. Hunter has not been very impressive so far as an Oriole. Coming into today his ERA was 5.87 with just one quality start among his five. This is the fourth time he has allowed four earned runs or more. A win today by the Orioles would...
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VandenHurk returns to Orioles after learning experience at Triple-A

VandenHurk returns to Orioles after learning experience at Triple-A
It's not often you hear a player with major league experience say going back to Triple-A was a good move for them, but pitcher
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A lull in the offense and some minor league news and notes

A lull in the offense and some minor league news and notes
Last night's 13-0 blowout loss to Toronto was the seventh time this year the Orioles were shut out. They were blanked four times before the All-Star break and now three times in the second half. For a while there, the Orioles' bats seemed to be picking up, but now the club has been held to three runs or less in four of its last five games. In those five games, the Orioles have scored 13 total runs with a team batting average of .215 and an average with runners in scoring position of just...
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Reyes and O's pounded as Toronto evens series

Reyes and O's pounded as Toronto evens series
So much for the recent good run of Orioles' starting pitching. Lefty Jo-Jo Reyes, coming off an outing where he gave up just one run in six innings against Minnesota, got hammered tonight by his former team as Toronto routed the Orioles 13-0 at Camden Yards. Reyes gave up eight hits and seven runs over 2 2/3 as his O's ERA jumped from 4.57 to 6.66. O's starters were 6-2 with an ERA of 3.09 and six quality starts over the previous nine games and the Orioles team ERA was 2.74 in the nine...
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Hobgood not being shut down, could pitch in instructional league

Hobgood not being shut down, could pitch in instructional league
Here is another update on pitcher Matt Hobgood, who was placed on the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds disabled list on Tuesday. He will not pitch anymore this season for Aberdeen, but he is not being shut down. Hobgood was examined yesterday by Orioles orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens, who did not find any injury in his right shoulder. Hobgood will soon head to Sarasota to continue to workout and the Orioles have not ruled out him pitching some during instructional league games. He...
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Just when he started to pitch well, Gonzalez is heading out the door

Just when he started to pitch well, Gonzalez is heading out the door
Now that he is leaving the Orioles, Mike Gonzalez is pitching like the player the Orioles thought they were acquiring in December of 2009. No, this is not the new Oriole way. That player was coming off a season with Atlanta where he pitched to a 2.42 ERA and gave up just 56 hits with 80 strikeouts over 74 1/3 innings. Now that he is heading out of Baltimore, Gonzalez looks like that pitcher again. Before we go any further I can make a prediction and feel good about it coming true. Gonzalez...
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Another look at Adams' big hit and GCL pitchers move to Aberdeen

Another look at Adams' big hit and GCL pitchers move to Aberdeen
You have to feel good for a player that has played in 512 minor league games for six different teams and piled up 1,966 at-bats when he gets to the major leagues, and then has success. That is happening now, finally, for Ryan Adams, the Orioles' second-round pick in 2006 out of a New Orleans area high school. He's been everywhere from Bluefield, W.Va., to Baltimore, and last night he was in the right spot at the right time. His 10th-inning single gave the Orioles a 6-5 win over Toronto....
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Ryan Adams on his game-winning hit in the 10th

Ryan Adams on his game-winning hit in the 10th
After he was retired on a pop up to second base with the bases loaded and one out in the eighth inning, Orioles second baseman Ryan Adams was hoping for another chance in a key spot. It came two innings later. His RBI single off the right-field warning track capped the Orioles' two-run last of the 10th as they rallied to beat Toronto 6-5 tonight. It is the first walk-off hit of Adams' brief big league career. Ryan Adams gets a pie in the face after his game-winning hit in the O's 6-5...
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O's blow lead, but not game and beat Toronto in 10 innings

O's blow lead, but not game and beat Toronto in 10 innings
It seemed like a game the Orioles were going to give away, but they took it back with a victory on Tuesday night against Toronto. After they suffered a blown save in the ninth and Toronto tied the game 4-4, the Jays went ahead 5-4 in the top of the 10th. But the Orioles came up with two runs in the last of the 10th to pull out a comeback, 6-5 victory in the series opener. Brian Tallet walked Matt Wieters and Mark Reynolds to start the 10th. With one out, a Jake Fox RBI single tied the game...
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