After allowing 10 ER over his previous two starts, Jeremy Guthrie finished his 2010 season with a flourish tonight, pitching eight shutout innings as the Orioles beat Detroit, 2-1, to sweep a doubleheader at Camden Yards.
With the win the O's are 65-95 and now have one more win than the 2009 Orioles.
Guthrie was in command throughout, giving up just two singles, one to Ryan Raburn in the 2nd and to Will Rhymes in the 5th.
He had never pitched a complete-game shutout in the Majors, but after...
In his last start of last season, Chris Tillman gave up six runs over two innings vs. Cleveland.
Today, he ended his 2010 season on a real high note, allowing just three hits and one run over seven innings in the Orioles 10-6 win over the Tigers in game one of today's doubleheader.
Chris Tillman talks about his outing in the O's 10-6 win in Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader
"I think it's huge, that last start of the year is always a big boost into the off-season. Last year I had a tough...
The Orioles used one big inning and one big pitching performance to beat the Tigers 10-6 in game one of a doubleheader at Camden Yards.
With the win they improved to 64-95, matching last season's win total.
They also improved to 32-22 under Buck Showalter. His 32 wins matches the combined total of Dave Trembley and Juan Samuel over 105 games.
Buck Showalter talks with the media following the O's 10-6 win in Game 1 of Friday's doubleheader
Winning pitcher Chris Tillman gave up just one...
It's been one of those "weird years."
That is the phrase Nick Markakis used to describe his season.
In some respects, his stats have matched what he did last year. He hit .293 then and is at .293 now. He had 45 doubles last year and has 45 now. He had an on-base percentage of .347 last year and is at .367 now.
He is tied for third in the AL in doubles, is tied for 11th in walks and is 14th in on-base percentage.
He leads all league lefty hitters with an average of .351 vs....
No one is naming any names, but some players from other teams have expressed an interest in joining the Orioles through free agency.
This is a bit of a gray area, since players can't even file yet for free agency.
But when asked today if the O's improved play since August 3rd might help the club attract possible free agents this winter, O's manager Buck Showalter indicated that answer might already be yes.
"I know Andy and I get calls and whatever. Some of them don't completely make...
Maybe he tired a bit late in the year and his bat slumped then, but overall, the 2010 season has to be considered a pretty successful one for O's outfield prospect Xavier Avery.
He began the year with Frederick as one of the youngest players in the Carolina League (at 20) and by season's end, was the leadoff hitter and center fielder for Double-A Bowie.
"I feel like there are a lot of things I still have to learn at this level, but I've gotten better since I've been here too," Avery...
There are so many encouraging stats to pick from since Buck Showalter took over as manager of the Orioles.
How about these:
The Orioles went 1-14 in series vs. AL East foes before Buck and with Buck they won five of nine series vs. the East. Before Buck, they were 10-35 in games in the division and with Buck they went 14-13.
O's record vs. AL East teams with Buck:
*vs. Tampa: 5-4
*vs. NYY: 3-3
*vs. Boston: 3-3
*vs. Toronto: 3-3
The East seems like less of a Beast these days. Maybe...
If this was Kevin Millwood's last outing in an Orioles uniform, he sure left on a high note.
Millwood gave up just two hits, both bloop singles, over seven innings, as the Orioles beat Tampa 2-0, to win the series at Tropicana Field.
O's pitching recorded two shutouts and allowed just 12 hits in this series.
Millwood, who threw just 50 pitches over the first four innings, walked three with seven strikeouts. This was just his second win on the year in 27 starts vs. American League...
I say the answer to that question is a resounding yes. Despite being the owner of just 13 wins, I believe that 24-year-old right-hander Felix Hernandez should be the winner of this year's AL Cy Young Award.
Yes, Felix should be King.
After beating the Texas Rangers last night, Hernandez has a record of 13-12 and ERA of 2.27.
While CC Sabathia is 21-7, 3.18, David Price is 19-6, 2.73 and Clay Buchholz is 17-7, 2.33, my take is that all they have over Hernandez is more wins.
Did you know...
One night after getting an outstanding outing from their starting pitcher, tonight the Orioles got one not nearly as good and lost 5-0 to the Tampa Bay Rays.
With the win, Tampa clinched a playoff spot for the second time in team history.
Brad Bergesen gave up runs in four straight innings and left after five tonight in his third start of the year vs. Tampa.
Jim Hunter talks with Buck Showalter following the O's 5-0 loss to the Rays
Bergesen allowed six hits and five runs over five...
If the Tampa Bay Rays win to wrap up a playoff berth, but no one is there to see it, did they really clinch?
It seems quite a few people were surprised at the low turnout of 12,466 Monday night at Tropicana Field.
With a win, the Rays would have clinched the second playoff berth in team history and Tampa-St. Pete apparently was not bubbling over with excitement.
The Rays began Monday with the best record in the Majors and some of the game's most exciting young players.
The team has a...
Brian Matusz had another good outing vs. an AL East rival and the Orioles gave the Yankees some help by winning tonight vs. the first-place Tampa Bay Rays.
Matusz gave up just three hits over seven innings as the Orioles beat the Rays 4-0 at Tropicana Field. He lowered his ERA to 3.70 vs. AL East opponents, his lowest mark vs. any division.
Matusz, who got out of a bases-loaded jam in the 5th, walked two with eight strikeouts. He threw 94 pitches, 63 strikes and is now 9-12, 4.40.
Jim...
Matt Wieters looked poised for a big finish to this season, but, just as quickly, his bat has trailed off again.
In the first half of September, Wieters was batting .395,-1-9 with four doubles, but since mid-September, he is just 2 for 22 at bat.
There doesn't seem to be any explanation for it outside of the usual ups and downs of the game. Wieters said he was feeling strong and was really starting to drive the ball and then it all seemed to go away.
To some fans who expected him to be an...
The name Narron is already listed once on the Orioles' all-time roster, and now Connor Narron is looking to put the family name there a second time in the future.
Jerry Narron managed in the O's farm system from 1989 to 1992 and in 1993 and '94, he was a coach on Johnny Oates' staff.
In June, the O's drafted his son Connor in the fifth round out of a North Carolina high school.
Connor bypassed a scholarship to North Carolina to sign with the O's, who sure made it worth his while with...
In addition to giving up a lot of homers this year to Toronto batters, the Orioles have struggled at times to hit Blue Jays pitchers.
That was the case again today as Shaun Marcum gave up just one run over seven innings as Toronto beat the O's 5-2 to sweep the three-game series.
Jim Hunter talks with Buck Showalter following the O's 5-2 loss to Toronto
The Orioles went 0-9 on the year at Toronto and they were out-scored 54-20 in those games. Blue Jays pitchers had an ERA of 2.48 in the...
For Brandon Snyder, the path to the Major Leagues has not been an easy or smooth ride.
He dealt with a position move to catcher and injuries early in his minor league career. Then the last two years he has been unable to put up consistent numbers at Triple-A.
Despite all that, the Orioles have seen other times in the minors when Snyder showed a solid bat and consistent gap-to-gap power.
The drive and passion for the game, "want to" as Buck Showalter calls it, has always been there from...
For the second day in a row, the Toronto Blue Jays used the home run ball to beat the Orioles.
Lyle Overbay led off the last of the 11th and hit an 0-1 pitch from Mark Hendrickson over the right field wall for a 5-4, walk-off win.
That was the Jays fourth homer of the game and seventh of this series. The Jays have hit a Major League-leading 241 on the season.
The Orioles have now lost three in a row and are 0-8 on the year at Rogers Centre. They have lost 13 straight and 22 of their last...
You probably could guess that one reason the Orioles are just 3-13 on the year vs. Toronto is all the homers the Blue Jays hit vs. O's pitching.
Through Friday, Toronto has out-homered the Orioles 30-7.
But, also consider the fact that Toronto's team ERA is 2.51 vs. the O's.
In fact, the Orioles score fewer runs per game vs. the Jays this year than any other AL East staff.
O's runs per game and OPS vs. AL East teams:
*Boston: 4.6 and .729
*New York: 3.1 and .660
*Tampa: 4.1 and...
Well, O's starters couldn't put up great numbers every night.
Kevin Millwood and Chris Tillman have allowed 11 ER over 11 innings the last two games. After a stretch where O's starters recorded quality starts in nine of ten games, missing only when Brian Matusz left a game early after a line drive off his left arm, O's starters now have just one quality start over the past six games.
Their ERA is 6.46 over that time.
Probably just a bump in the road and let's see if Jeremy Guthrie can...
The team with the most homers in the Majors used the longball to beat the Orioles tonight.
Despite being outhit 16-5, Toronto hit three homers in a 6-4 win over the Orioles in game one of the three-game series.
Jim Hunter asks Buck Showalter about the Birds' 6-4 loss to Toronto
The Orioles are 0-7 in Toronto on the year and have lost 12 in a row and 21 of their last 23 games at Rogers Centre.
The O's pulled to within two runs on Corey Patterson's pinch-hit, RBI double in the ninth and...