Matusz on his outing against the Reds and his fastball velocity

Matusz on his outing against the Reds and his fastball velocity
After his latest tough outing, Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz was talking again about his velocity, which has still not returned to its 2010 output. "The velocity obviously isn't there. Being my fifth start, I feel I've made a lot of progress, but just have got to continue working and get a lot better," Matusz said after giving up six runs, nine hits and three homers in 4 2/3 in Saturday's 10-5 loss to the Reds. Brian Matusz talks about his struggles in the Birds' loss to the...
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Reds win homer-filled contest, 10-5, at Camden Yards

Reds win homer-filled contest, 10-5, at Camden Yards
It was not a home run derby contest tonight at Camden Yards although it looked like it at times. On a night when left-hander Brian Matusz struggled again, Cincinnati beat the Orioles 10-5 in a game that featured nine homers. All but one run scored in the game came via a homer as Cincinnati hit five and the Orioles hit a season-high four in front of 38,976 at Camden Yards. Matusz gave up three homers among nine hits and six runs in just 4 2/3 innings as he falls to 1-3 with an ERA of 6.85 in...
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Showalter's take on the Yankees was a big hit with the fans

Showalter's take on the Yankees was a big hit with the fans
In case there was any misunderstanding, Orioles manager Buck Showalter made it clear today how much he enjoys beating the Yankees. Showalter gave a most honest opinion on the subject at today's session with season-ticket holders here at Camden Yards. He was asked by one fan what it would take for the Orioles to beat the Yankees. "I can't stand the Yankees, OK," Showalter said. "That stays between us right here. I don't really care if they know, I think they can figure it out. "You...
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MacPhail talks contract and Showalter talks Roberts with season-ticket holders

MacPhail talks contract and Showalter talks Roberts with season-ticket holders
At the "State of the Orioles" address this afternoon with season ticket holders here at Camden Yards, O's president of baseball operations Andy MacPhal was asked by a fan about his contract. He is in the last year of his deal and the fan wanted to know if he will be staying with the Orioles. "I have always taken the position, unlike one my good friends in the game Jim Riggleman, let's just see how we do," MacPhail said. "Let's get to the end of the year and see how we do and take it...
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MacPhail addresses international spending with season-ticket holders

MacPhail addresses international spending with season-ticket holders
Orioles president Andy MacPhail and manager Buck Showalter just spent about 30 minutes taking fans questions here at Camden Yards as part of the latest "State of the Orioles" address with season ticket holders. MacPhail was asked by a fan why the club seems to be outbid by some other clubs in the international market. "We did spend more last year then we did the year before and we'll probably spend more this year than last year. We are actually making progress in that market based on what...
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D-Lee delivers the walk-off for the Orioles

D-Lee delivers the walk-off for the Orioles
After that recent stretch where he went 11-for-18, it was clear Derrek Lee's bat was coming to life. Tonight he provided another example with that clutch, walk-off homer to left, leading off the last of the 12th as the Orioles beat the Reds 5-4. Lee entered tonight batting just .128 on the year, going 6-for-47, when batting with runners in scoring position. He is a career .279 hitter with RISP. That homer did not come with RISP, of course, but it was pretty clutch. It kept the Orioles from...
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Random game notes

Random game notes
Some quick notes with the Orioles leading the Reds 4-0 after four innings tonight at the Yard. * While the Orioles are 20-18 at home on the year and have lost their last two at home, they are 10-4 over their past 14 games at Camden Yards. * The Reds went 5-for-8 batting with runners in scoring position in their last game, a 10-2 win over the Yankees Wednesday night in game two of a doubleheader. They had gone 2-for-27 with RISP in their previous five games. They are 1-for-4 tonight with RISP...
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For Blake Davis, it's time to get back on the horse

For Blake Davis, it's time to get back on the horse
He made a key error that allowed two runs to score Wednesday in the Orioles' 5-4 loss to the Pirates, but when Blake Davis showed up at Camden Yards today, he saw his name was in the starting lineup and he's back at second base. "Yeah, it's nice," Davis said, two days after his major league debut. "It shows a little bit of confidence in me and I was kind of excited when I saw my name. I'll just get back out there and get ready to play." Davis said many of his O's teammates were...
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More pregame Showalter

More pregame Showalter
Orioles manager Buck Showalter is often quite talkative on a lot of subjects during his daily pregame interview with reporters. But today he was not ready to say much about Jim Riggleman, who resigned yesterday as Nationals' manager. "I've known Jim for a long time," Showalter said. "There are a lot of things with a situation like this, you don't really know about. I should probably not weigh in because there are probably a lot of factors behind the scenes and it's not really any of my...
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Showalter on Davis and Arrieta

Showalter on Davis and Arrieta
Orioles manager Buck Showalter has Blake Davis back in the starting lineup tonight, at second base and batting ninth. He was asked if he was starting Davis to get him right back on the field after his error Wednesday scored two runs in the 5-4 loss to Pittsburgh. "That's not the only reason. But yeah, it was (a reason to start him)," Showalter said. "I thought the young man has done a lot to get the opportunity. Thought he had some good at bats in Pittsburgh too. He had a big at bat that...
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Some Orioles and Reds notes and stats

Some Orioles and Reds notes and stats
Checking in with some stats and facts about both teams as the Cincinnati Reds make their first visit to Baltimore tonight since the 1970 World Series. * The Orioles hit .302 as a team and scored 4.2 runs per game during their nine-game road trip. Over the last six games they have 72 hits, a .324 team average and 28 runs scored. * Nick Markakis has the longest current hitting streak in the American League at 13 games. He is batting .400 (24-for-60) during the streak with a homer and eight...
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Machado homers on his first night in the Carolina League

Machado homers on his first night in the Carolina League
He had two hits and scored a run in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game Tuesday night. He got promoted to Single-A Frederick after that game. On Thursday afternoon, he found out he would play in the Futures Game and Thursday night he homered in just his second at-bat in the Carolina League. Just Manny being Manny. As in Manny Machado, the Orioles' top prospect who won't turn 19 until July 6. Machado had homered just once in his last 16 games with Single-A Delmarva, but connected in...
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The Earl of Baltimore held court in Salisbury

The Earl of Baltimore held court in Salisbury
This great game of baseball spans many years and generations, and some of us really got to experience that Tuesday night at the South Atlantic League All-Star game hosted by the Delmarva Shorebirds. Not long after we got to interview some up-and-coming stars of tomorrow, like Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, we were sitting in a conference room across from Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver. Now 80, Weaver led the Orioles to a .593 winning percentage in 17 seasons, winning four American League...
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Taking a look at one stat and its impact on Oriole wins and losses

Taking a look at one stat and its impact on Oriole wins and losses
Sometimes, baseball can be a very simple game. As the manager in "Bull Durham" said, "You catch the ball, you hit the ball, you throw the ball." Sometimes it rains of course. Sometimes you get clutch hits and you win. Sometimes you don't and you lose. In looking at the Orioles' season, one stat that seems to always figure heavily in whether the club wins or loses is how they fare when batting with runners in scoring position. Just look at the Pittsburgh series. On Monday, the O's...
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Ty Kelly is getting the job done for Delmarva

Ty Kelly is getting the job done for Delmarva
Every year, there are players in the minor leagues who seem to fly under the radar, guys who are not considered top prospects or are not high-round draft picks. But they put up good numbers and we should notice that. Ty Kelly at Single-A Delmarva is one of those guys, and I got the chance to meet and interview him before Tuesday's All-Star Game at Perdue Stadium. Kelly is 10th in the South Atlantic League batting at .312 in 52 games with seven doubles, three homers and 27 RBIs. He went...
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Minor league notes

Minor league notes
With the Orioles not playing tonight, let's take a look at some notes around the O's minors. The Bowie Baysox have been playing pretty well lately. The Baysox, led by manager Gary Kendall, have won 12 of their last 18 games to improve to 36-34 on the season. Catcher Caleb Joseph takes a 10-game batting streak into play tonight. He is batting .317 (13-for-41) during the streak with two homers and seven RBIs. He can tie Xavier Avery for longest hitting streak this year for Bowie at 11...
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Road trip ends with a thud: Costly error leads to loss at Pittsburgh

Road trip ends with a thud: Costly error leads to loss at Pittsburgh
For the Orioles today, the ball found a player making his major league debut at a key point in the game and the result was not good. Blake Davis, starting at second base, had a grounder go through his legs for an error in the last of the fifth, allowing two runs to score on the play. What should have been the third out instead cost the Orioles two runs as Pittsburgh moved ahead 5-4 on the play and won by that score. It should be pointed out that Davis played mostly right field and some...
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Doubles talk (updated)

Doubles talk (updated)
Seeing Nick Markakis hit two doubles in today's game at Pittsburgh had to be a nice sight for Orioles fans. Markakis, formerly a doubles machine, had just seven doubles all year and this is his first game of the year with more than one double. Markakis, who had 43 or more doubles the last four years, was on a pace this year to produce just 16 doubles coming into today's game. Last season, he was tied for fourth in the American League with 45 doubles and he became just the third player in...
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Delmarva does a great job hosting South Atlantic League All-Star Game as Machado heads for Frederick

Delmarva does a great job hosting South Atlantic League All-Star Game as Machado heads for Frederick
SALISBURY, Md. - The only thing that went wrong with last night's South Atlantic League All-Star game was the home team lost. The South beat the North 6-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 7,410 at Perdue Stadium. The North squad had won four straight from 2006-2009 and last year's game ended in a tie, so this was the first win by the South since 2005. But despite the fact that the team with five Delmarva Shorebirds on it came up short, everything else was pretty much a huge hit last night in...
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Frederick bound: Machado gets official word after All-Star Game

Frederick bound: Machado gets official word after All-Star Game
SALISBURY, Md. - The news that was very expected became official after tonight's South Atlantic League All-Star Game. The Orioles are sending top prospect Manny Machado from low Single-A Delmarva to high Single-A Frederick. Machado played his last game representing the Shorebirds tonight and went 2-for-4 with a run scored as his North team lost 6-3 to the South in front of a sellout crowd. Before tonight's game Machado said he had not been told anything about his next move, but shortly...
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