Here is a question worth asking? How come Matt Wieters all the sudden owns left-handed pitchers?
Last year, Wieters hit .210 with an OPS of .564 against southpaws and this year he is batting .340 with an OPS of 1.027 against lefties.
And that was before he hit a two-run homer in the second inning tonight off Toronto lefty Brett Cecil to pull the O
s within 3-2 of the Jays.
It was Wieters 15th homer of the year, his fourth in eight games and traveled 408 feet to center field.
On the year,...
At his request, short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds pitcher Matt Hobgood was examined today by Orioles orthopedist Dr. John Wilckens and no structural damage was found in his right shoulder and no further exam or MRI is scheduled.
For now, rest has been recommended and Hobgood, the club's first-round draft pick in 2009, is expected to miss the remaining few games of the season.
The Orioles were hoping to send Hobgood to their instructional league workouts in Sarasota which start Sept....
When the Orioles finished 34-23 under Buck Showalter last year, the starting pitching led the way with an ERA of 3.16 over the 57 games.
Now, the Orioles have won six of their last eight games, sweeping the Twins and splitting with New York and, again, the starters have been pretty good.
Over the eight games, O's starters have pitched to an ERA of 2.92 with five quality starts. The team ERA is 2.50 in that stretch and the Orioles have out-scored their opponents 43-20 in the eight...
The short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds placed pitcher Matt Hobgood on the disabled list today. No official reason for the DL move has yet been announced, but it appears Hobgood's shoulder has become an issue again.
Hobgood was on the comeback trail this year from a strained rotator cuff but had struggled with Aberdeen, going 0-6 with an ERA of 10.46. Over 26 2/3 innings, he gave up 41 hits with 23 walks and 13 strikeouts.
The Double-A Bowie Baysox have picked a bad time to lose some...
Matt Wieters is playing a lot behind the plate again this year and carrying a heavy load at the demanding catcher position. But don't think Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't keeping track of just how much Wieters is on the field.
When asked about Wieters' solid offensive numbers in August as he continues to play a lot, Showalter had a question for reporters.
"We were looking the other day. If you count from the first day of the season (to now), how many off days do you think he has...
Alfredo Simon gave his team a chance to win, but didn't get many runs to work with tonight against the Yankees. He took the loss despite allowing just four hits and three runs over seven innings.
"I just felt great tonight," Simon said. "I gave up that run in the first inning after walking (Curtis) Granderson. After that, I tried to keep the game as close as I can to try to win. Today, we didn't get a lot of hits, that happened again. I lost the game, but didn't get a lot of support...
The Orioles had a chance for a series victory over the New York Yankees tonight, but lost 3-2 to wrap up the rain-shortened, four-game series.
New York took a 1-0 lead in the first on a Mark Teixeira RBI double and the lead grew to 3-0 in the fourth on Nick Swisher's two-run homer. It was his 21st of the year and sixth over the last seven games.
O's starter Alfredo Simon took the loss, giving up four hits and three runs over seven innings. He tied his career-high, throwing 114 pitches.
The...
Manny Machado of the Frederick Keys is at Camden Yards today to go on the MASN O's Xtra pre-game show as guest tonight. He spent time this afternoon standing around the batting cage talking with Orioles players.
"It's great, just to see what the guys are going through right now," Machado said. "Hopefully, you know, within the next two years I can be up here and do what they are doing."
The Orioles' top pick in last year's draft, the 19-year-old Machado has been with Frederick since...
If the Orioles are to start getting better, even a little, the young starting pitchers certainly have to take a step forward from what we have seen this year.
On Sunday against the Yankees, Zach Britton clearly did that and Brian Matusz clearly did not.
One out of two is better than 0-for and I still remain confident that Matusz will make that 2-for-2 - and maybe even before this season is over.
It's probably a bit early to say Britton is pitching as well as he did early in the season, but...
After he had given up six runs over 5 1/3 innings against the Yankees tonight, a reporter asked Brian Matusz if he thought he had made any progress over his last two outings:
"Yeah, I've made some progress, being able to be a little more consistent with the fastball," Matusz said after the Orioles 8-3 loss to New York. "Signs of good changeups today, but I've not been able to make the 0-2 pitch or the two-strike pitch and that's been hurting me. Especially to good hitters in tough...
Well, the Yankees were not shutout in the second game of the split doubleheader at Camden Yards.
New York hit five homers, three in a row in the sixth, in an 8-3 win over the Orioles after Zach Britton and the Birds had blanked them 2-0 earlier in the day.
With the game tied 3-3 in the sixth, Robinson Cano hit a two-run homer off Brian Matusz and Nick Swisher followed with a solo shot. After Chris Jakubauskas came on for Matusz, Andruw Jones greeted him with a solo shot for a 7-3 lead.
Brian...
The Orioles and Yankees are tied 3-3 in the fourth inning of Game two of this split doubleheader as the Orioles are looking for their first seven-game win streak since an eight-game streak from April 22 to May 1, 2005.
Brian Matusz entered tonight's start with a record of 2-3 and ERA of 2.56 in five career starts against New York and a career mark of 4-3 and ERA of 2.49 in 10 career starts against New York and Boston.
This is Matusz's third start since coming back from the minors. Over the...
Matt Wieters has been behind the plate a few times this year as Zach Britton had some strong outings, including the May 18 game when Britton allowed just one run (unearned) in seven innings against New York.
But Wieters thought Britton's best outing of the season was today, when he blanked the Yankees on four singles over seven innings in a 2-0 win, the Orioles' sixth in a row.
"I think that is the best (stuff) he has had with all three pitches all year," Wieters said, after Britton did...
He had a shutout going, but had thrown 110 pitches through six innings today against New York.
Zach Britton then went out and got three quick outs in the seventh, felt strong and was hoping manager Buck Showalter would keep him in the game, even after throwing a career-high 120 pitches.
"I was about to ask him to go back out for the eighth," Britton said after pitching the Orioles past the Yankees 2-0. "I felt like the last 20 pitches I threw, I felt better than the first 100. That is nice...
It was just about one month ago. Zach Britton did not survive the first inning in a loss at Yankee Stadium on July 30. He gave up nine runs and seven hits in just one-third of an inning.
Today, he shut out the same club over seven innings, leading the Orioles to a 2-0 win over New York in game one of a day-night doubleheader.
Britton allowed just four hits - all singles - over seven innings, with one walk and five strikeouts. He threw 120 pitches, 73 for strikes. His 120 pitches is a...
During Ryan Adams first stay with the Orioles this year, the second baseman had 23 at-bats over 25 games. In his most recent stint, he has 18 at-bats in five games with the club.
This time, Adams is getting to play every day and he is 7-for-18 (.389) in the five games since his recall from Triple-A, with three doubles and two RBIs.
"I'm definitely excited and it's a huge opportunity for me," Adams said this morning in the Orioles' clubhouse. "My approach right now is to go out there and...
The Orioles' minor league clubs in the Gulf Coast League and the Dominican Summer League are both taking part in playoff games this afternoon.
The DSL Orioles are tied 1-1 in a best-of-three series with the DSL Royals and are playing the third and deciding game now with the score tied 1-1 in the fifth.
The winner of that game will advance to the Dominican League best-of-five championship series against the Angels.
The DSL Orioles were 46-24 in the regular season and that was the second best...
For a while there, it seemed fair to speculate if Matt Wieters' declining offensive statistics were tied to the heavy load of innings he has played this year at a most demanding position.
But after hitting just .235 in July with a .685 OPS, the Orioles' catcher is having a big August. In 21 games, he is batting .316 with eight doubles, four homers, 13 RBIs and a .967 OPS.
Over his last three games, Wieters is 5-for-10 with four walks and all five hits have gone for extra bases with four...
As of about 4:30 p.m. two of the Orioles minor league clubs have postponed games today.
Single-A Frederick was scheduled to host Potomac tonight and the clubs will now try to play a doubleheader at Frederick on Sunday at 1 p.m. with Nate Moreau (11-10, 4.42) and Jake Pettit (5-0, 1.38) making the starts.
Short-season Single-A Aberdeen's scheduled game today at home with Staten Island was cancelled and tomorrow's contest at Staten Island has already been postponed. The IronBirds are...