O's game blog: Road trip continues at Houston

O's game blog: Road trip continues at Houston
After losing three of four games in Buffalo against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Orioles have arrived at the second stop on a three-city, 10-game trip. They play at Houston tonight to start a three-game series against the first-place Astros. The Orioles (24-54) beat the Blue Jays Friday night, 6-5 in 10 innings, but lost 12-4 and 5-2 the last two days. They started the season by winning 11 of 17 on the road, but are now 1-22 in the last 23 road contests. That makes them 12-28 for the year in road...
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A look at the Orioles' two Complex League rosters

A look at the Orioles' two Complex League rosters
When play begins today in the short-season Rookie-level Florida Complex League (the former Gulf Coast League), the Orioles will have two teams beginning play to join the four full-season affiliates that have been playing since May 4 on the farm. In July, the O's will field two teams in the Rookie-level Dominican Summer League. The two Complex League teams will feature a very, very heavy international flavor that will include 12 players that were part of the Orioles' first international...
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O's game blog: The Toronto series finale

O's game blog: The Toronto series finale
The Orioles need a win today in Buffalo against Toronto as they try to split this four-game series. Toronto won 9-0 to begin the series on Thursday and the Orioles evened the series with Friday's 6-5 win in 10 innings. The Blue Jays won 12-4 yesterday after scoring four runs in three different innings. Toronto (39-36) has won six of its last seven games. The Blue Jays are 15-17 at home and 12-11 in June. The Orioles (24-53) have lost seven of eight games and 15 of 17. They are 1-21 in the last...
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A look at Alexander Wells' debut, plus other notes

A look at Alexander Wells' debut, plus other notes
During a mostly otherwise bad day for the Orioles - they lost 12-4 to Toronto - seeing the big league debut of a player in his sixth year in the organization was a real highlight. Lefty Alexander Wells, 24, pitched two scoreless innings on 43 pitches in Buffalo, keeping Toronto off the board in the seventh and eighth innings. The debut came after Wells had pitched at five levels on the farm, starting in short-season ball in 2016 and going all the way through his rise this year to Triple-A...
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O's game blog: Seeking second straight in Buffalo

O's game blog: Seeking second straight in Buffalo
The Orioles began play on Friday night with a record of 1-40 this year when trailing after the seventh inning. They trailed 5-1 after the seventh last night. But they scored four runs in the eighth to tie Toronto 5-5 and one in the tenth to beat the Blue Jays 6-5 last night to snap a six-game overall losing streak and a 20-game road losing streak. Today the Orioles (24-52) face Toronto (38-36) in the third game of this series after winning last night for just the second time in the last 16...
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Looking back at Friday's win and looking ahead to the draft

Looking back at Friday's win and looking ahead to the draft
The Orioles players and manager Brandon Hyde had been telling reporters that the team had remained upbeat and the attitude in the clubhouse was good during all the recent losing. Some nights, to be honest, it didn't look like it, such as in recent shutout losses of 13-0 to Houston and 9-0 to Toronto. But, to be fair, when a team is getting blown out, it is hard to look good or to look like their energy level is strong. But it's easier to see that when, for instance, the team rallies from 5-1...
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Matt Harvey throws well as O's rally to win

Matt Harvey throws well as O's rally to win
For a pitcher with a record of 0-7 and ERA of 13.17 over his last eight starts, right-hander Matt Harvey threw quite well tonight. For an offense that had not scored in 24 straight innings, the Orioles no longer have to worry about that streak. And thanks to a late four-run rally and a bases-loaded walk issued by the Blue Jays in the top of the 10th, the Orioles beat Toronto 6-5 tonight. The O's ended a six-game losing streak and a 20-game road losing streak, improving to 24-52. In a 5-5 game...
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O's game blog: Trying to end streaks against Blue Jays

O's game blog: Trying to end streaks against Blue Jays
The Orioles can snap a losing streak of six straight and a road losing streak of 20 in a row if they can beat the Toronto Blue Jays tonight in Buffalo. The Blue Jays (38-35) host the Orioles (23-52) in the second game of a four-game series and a 10-game road trip for the O's. Right-hander Dean Kremer allowed six runs and got just one out last night before his first-inning knockout. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a grand slam as Toronto led 6-0 after an inning and 9-0 at the end of the third on its...
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Reunited in Aberdeen: Henderson moves up, joining Westburg and Mundy

Reunited in Aberdeen: Henderson moves up, joining Westburg and Mundy
ABERDEEN - To say the trio of Gunnar Henderson, Jordan Westburg and JD Mundy helped the low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds put up strong offensive numbers would be a bit of an understatement. And now that the trio is together again at high Single-A Aberdeen, they hope to begin bashing baseballs at the higher level as well. At the start of June, Westburg and Mundy were promoted to Aberdeen, and as of Sunday, Henderson has joined them with the IronBirds. At the beginning of the minor league season,...
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O's game blog: The road trip begins in Buffalo against the Blue Jays

O's game blog: The road trip begins in Buffalo against the Blue Jays
The Orioles begin a three-city, 10-game road trip tonight in Buffalo as they play the first of a four-game series against the Toronto Blue Jays. The teams met over the weekend in Baltimore with the Orioles winning 7-1 Friday but then losing 10-7 and 7-4 to complete the series. The Orioles (23-51) have lost five in a row and 13 of the last 14 games. Manager Brandon Hyde said they have to look at every game and the start of every new series as a chance to reset and reboot and believe that is the...
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Austin Hays and his teammates try to stay upbeat amid the losses

Austin Hays and his teammates try to stay upbeat amid the losses
The losses are mounting. The latest was by a 13-0 score last night as the Orioles lost to Houston to get swept again in a three-game series. Since there are humans inside those uniforms, the players must have a tough time trying to stay upbeat during this losing. Before Wednesday's game, during an on-field interview after batting practice, O's outfielder Austin Hays said that, in his mind, the team has done a good job keeping the energy and their collective attitude upbeat. "We come in every...
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O's game blog: Wrapping up the homestand against Astros

O's game blog: Wrapping up the homestand against Astros
After scoring 24 runs in a recent four-game span that ended Saturday, the Orioles will look to get their offense going again tonight in the series and homestand finale against the Houston Astros. The Orioles (23-50) have scored just seven runs on 13 hits over the past three games since Saturday - the last game of the Toronto series and the first two versus Houston. Astros pitchers have held Baltimore batters to three runs and eight hits in this series. The Orioles have gone four straight games...
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Adley Rutschman's first full minor league season has been special

Adley Rutschman's first full minor league season has been special
BOWIE, Md. - After the Orioles selected Oregon State catcher Adley Rutschman with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2019 draft, he went on to play in 37 minor league games that summer. This year, bumped up to Double-A Bowie, Rutschman already has 41 games under his belt and no O's minor league player has more plate appearances, He's getting his work in and thriving, and so is his team. If the O's had presented a wish list for his first full minor league season before this year began, he's...
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Jorge López throws strong game in loss to Astros

Jorge López throws strong game in loss to Astros
Perhaps motivated by back-to-back shaky outings and/or by tying a career high by allowing three homers in his last start, Orioles right-hander Jorge López seemed focused on getting deep into tonight's game. And he gave the Orioles their 16th outing this year by a starting pitcher of six innings or more. He went a season-best 6 1/3 innings. But a seventh inning run by Houston broke a tie game as the Astros went on to beat the Orioles 3-1 at Oriole Park. While Houston (45-28) has won nine in...
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O's game blog: Jorge López faces Astros

O's game blog: Jorge López faces Astros
After a 10-2 loss on Monday night, the Orioles welcome the Houston Astros back to Camden Yards tonight to continue a three-game series. The Orioles were being no-hit into the eighth inning last night when Maikel Franco's home run scored two and was the club's first hit. Franco hit No. 9 and blasted that ball 420-feet, his third-longest homer of the season. The Orioles (23-49) are 1-3 on this homestand and 12-24 for the season at home. Overall, they have lost 11 of 12 games. They've been held...
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No pitcher suspensions on night one, plus other notes

No pitcher suspensions on night one, plus other notes
On the first night of Major League Baseball's new "sticky stuff" rules, with baseball pledging to enforce the rules about pitchers using foreign substances and threatening transgressors with ejections and suspensions, there were no offenders reported that I could tell. As of around midnight, I had not seen any reports from any games of someone ejected. Didn't we hear that most of the pitchers were bending the rules or, to say it another way, cheating? Many suggested they were, but last...
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O's game blog: O's host Houston in series opener

O's game blog: O's host Houston in series opener
After losing two of three games to Toronto - and dropping the last two games after Friday's 7-1 win - the Orioles host Houston beginning tonight at Oriole Park. It is a three-game series to complete a six-game homestand. Then the Orioles will play the Blue Jays and Astros again on the road as part of a 10-game road trip that also includes a trip to Anaheim. Tonight's game will not start on time as planned due to a rain delay, but the outlook for the rain to pass looks good for later this...
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O's Matt Blood on Gunnar Henderson's move up and more on the farm

O's Matt Blood on Gunnar Henderson's move up and more on the farm
He recently moved into a couple of top 100 prospects lists and now Orioles infield prospect Gunnar Henderson is on the move again, this time further up in the Baltimore farm system. The Orioles announced a series of minor league roster moves and promotions Sunday, which included Henderson's move from low Single-A Delmarva to high Single-A Aberdeen. Henderson did not play in Sunday's Delmarva game, but had a quite a run with the Shorebirds. Over 35 games, he hit .312/.369/.574 with 11 doubles,...
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O's game blog: The series finale against Toronto

O's game blog: The series finale against Toronto
After the ninth-inning meltdown on Saturday that led to a 10-7 loss, the Orioles look to bounce back right away as they host Toronto today in the series finale. The Orioles won 7-1 Friday night when their pitchers allowed just four hits. But they gave up six runs and five hits in the ninth yesterday in a 10-7 loss. The Orioles (23-47) have lost nine of the last 10 games. They are 12-22 at home, 6-10 this month and 9-19 versus American League East clubs. The Orioles (6) and Blue Jays (3)...
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Even though a lot went right, O's have to regroup after loss

Even though a lot went right, O's have to regroup after loss
The Orioles hit six home runs, three by Ryan Mountcastle and two by Cedric Mullins. DJ Stewart added another to give them six hit by homegrown players. They got a quality start for the first time since May 31, ending a run of 15 games without one. They led by four runs after the sixth and seventh innings. They led by three in the ninth and pitched two of their best relievers. It didn't work. They didn't win. The Orioles were a strike away from winning back-to-back games twice, but Toronto...
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