A few notes as O's have lost first two this weekend at the Trop

A few notes as O's have lost first two this weekend at the Trop
Losing games is frustrating enough, but racking up close losses provides a whole other level of angst. The Orioles fell to 22-41 with Saturday's 5-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. They have lost by two runs and one run in this series. During their 14-game losing streak, the Orioles went 0-7 in games decided by two runs or fewer. They are 1-2 in such games since the losing streak ended, with both losses this weekend at Tropicana Field. The Orioles are now 4-10 in one-run games. Austin Wynns hit...
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O's game blog: Jorge López faces Tampa Bay

O's game blog: Jorge López faces Tampa Bay
As the Orioles try to even their series against the Tampa Bay Rays today after Friday's series-opening loss, they will have to beat a red-hot pitcher. Lefty Rich Hill (5-2, 3.05 ERA) gets the start for the Rays. He has thrown back-to-back scoreless starts versus the Yankees and Rangers, allowing five hits in 10 innings in those games. Over his past seven games, he has not allowed a run five times, going 4-1 with an ERA of 0.68. In 39 2/3 innings in that span, he has walked 13, fanned 39 and...
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Wells good again in series opener, Tides pitch shutout on the farm

Wells good again in series opener, Tides pitch shutout on the farm
It was kind of a tough night for one young Orioles pitcher last night, and a better one for another as they lost 4-2 to the Tampa Bay Rays to start a weekend series. Lefty Keegan Akin pitched with traffic on the bases most of his night, allowing five hits and three runs over four innings. The Rays forced him to throw 95 pitches, and two walks to start the game didn't help his cause. But Akin pitched out of that and minimized a jam in the third inning, allowing just one run. But second baseman...
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Austin Hays on return to lineup and origin of "parking lot Ced"

Austin Hays on return to lineup and origin of "parking lot Ced"
After two stints already on the injured list, totaling 28 games missed, Orioles outfielder Austin Hays returned to the active roster today. He's in the lineup tonight in left field, batting fifth in the series opener versus Tampa Bay. This time he hopes to remain active and healthy for the rest of the 2021 season. He has been on the IL with both left- and right-hamstring strains this year. "I think the strength and performance staff has done a good job of giving me an outline of what the rest...
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O's game blog: The road trip begins at the Trop

O's game blog: The road trip begins at the Trop
The Orioles begin a two-city, seven-game road trip in St. Petersburg, Fla. at Tropicana Field tonight with the start of a series against the first-place Tampa Bay Rays. The Orioles will play three games this weekend at the Trop and then four games starting Monday at Cleveland. Tampa Bay (39-24) leads the American League East by one game over the Boston Red Sox. The Rays are 20-5 since May 13 with a plus-77 run differential. They are 34-16 since April 16 after going 5-8 to start the year. The...
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Cedric Mullins' climb from Double-A to AL All-Star candidate

Cedric Mullins' climb from Double-A to AL All-Star candidate
When you find his name, seventh as of yesterday, among the OPS leaders in the American League, Cedric Mullins is keeping very good company. One spot ahead of him was Boston's J.D. Martinez and one spot behind was Xander Bogaerts of the Red Sox. A few spots ahead were players like Shohei Ohtani, Aaron Judge and Vladimir Guerrero Jr. A few behind were the likes of José Ramírez, Carlos Correa and Nelson Cruz. The Orioles center fielder is indeed keeping very good company. He is among the...
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Stepping up his game: Grayson Rodriguez moves to Double-A and keeps rolling

Stepping up his game: Grayson Rodriguez moves to Double-A and keeps rolling
Orioles pitching prospect Grayson Rodriguez has moved up the top 100 rankings to become the top-rated pitching prospect in baseball the old-fashioned way: He earned it. Rodriguez started the year dealing for high Single-A Aberdeen and went 3-0 with a 1.54 ERA in five starts. Then he got promoted to Double-A Bowie, where he is now 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in two starts, allowing one run and six hits over 10 innings. So for seven starts on the year, the 21-year-old right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.35 ERA...
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O's game blog: Can Birds put up runs on Taijuan Walker?

O's game blog: Can Birds put up runs on Taijuan Walker?
The Orioles' recent run of offensive success will get a real test tonight as they play the New York Mets in the second game of a two-game series. They will face right-hander Taijuan Walker (4-2, 2.17), a pitcher that ranks fifth in the National League in ERA and has already beaten the Orioles once this season. On May 12 at Citi Field, Walker went seven innings, allowing four hits and one run on 97 pitches. For the year, he has allowed 34 hits in 54 innings, giving up just two home runs with 23...
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Lineup produces top to bottom, O's sweep on the farm

Lineup produces top to bottom, O's sweep on the farm
It's fun to win and so it was fun around Birdland last night, as the Orioles and their four minor league teams combined for another perfect 5-0 night. The Orioles beat the Mets 10-3 and again got contributions throughout the lineup, which was great to see. As the O's have gotten their core hitters in the middle of the order back healthy and hitting in Trey Mancini, Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander, with a big push at the top, of course, from center fielder Cedric Mullins, it takes some...
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More runs, another win: O's hammer Mets in series opener

More runs, another win: O's hammer Mets in series opener
When a team scores a bunch of runs - and the Orioles had 18 in Sunday's win over Cleveland - the offense sometimes gets shut down in the next game. This was not one of those nights. The Orioles followed Sunday's 18-5 win - as they posted their most runs since Aug. 16, 2015 - with another big number in a win over the first-place New York Mets. The Orioles improved to 5-1 in June and to 22-38 overall, beating the Mets 10-3 to start a two-game series at Oriole Park. The O's went 25-35 last year...
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O's game blog: Series opener against Mets

O's game blog: Series opener against Mets
After an off-day Monday and with another coming up on Thursday, the Orioles will squeeze in a brief two-game series with the New York Mets beginning tonight at Oriole Park. On May 11-12, the Orioles lost two games to the Mets at Citi Field by 3-2 and 7-1 scores. At 29-23, the Mets lead the National League East by 3 1/2 games over the Atlanta Braves and by four over the Philadelphia Phillies. In their most recent series, the Mets went 2-2 at San Diego, winning the last two games on Saturday and...
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Back on the radar: Ofelky Peralta off to good start at Bowie

Back on the radar: Ofelky Peralta off to good start at Bowie
It was during September 2013 when then-Orioles international scouting guru Fred Ferreira went to see a pitcher he had not yet seen throw before at a showcase in the Dominican Republic. Before the day was out in San Pedro de Macoris, Ferreira decided the Orioles had to have tall right-hander Ofelky Peralta. On the spot he agreed to sign him for $325,000. The kid could throw mid-90s already and might grow into more velocity. Before too long, he moved into the O's top 30 prospects list. * No. 29...
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In new Baseball America top 100, O's have top pitcher and catcher

In new Baseball America top 100, O's have top pitcher and catcher
Baseball America released an updated top 100 prospects list today and the Orioles organization now features the top-rated catcher in Adley Rutschman at No. 2 and the top-rated pitcher, with right-hander Grayson Rodriguez at No. 11. For a Double-A Bowie team that is 21-7, Rutschman is batting .293/.450/.586/1.035 with five doubles, eight homers and 22 RBIs. He has walked more than he has struck out, 26 times to 24. His name is all over the Double-A Northeast leaders. He's second in OBP, third...
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Terrin Vavra off to a good start on O's farm

Terrin Vavra off to a good start on O's farm
For a kid from Wisconsin drafted in the third round of 2018, Terrin Vavra's first full season in pro ball in 2019 could not have gone much better. He was the low Single-A South Atlantic League MVP for Asheville when he filled up the stat sheet. Then came the 2020 season and no minor league ball. Then late that year, he got traded to the Orioles from Colorado with Tyler Nevin for relief pitcher Mychal Givens. In 2019, he had a big year. But after the deal, he would go through some big...
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This time, there was plenty of run support for Jorge López

This time, there was plenty of run support for Jorge López
Orioles right-hander Jorge López was not used to getting offense to support his pitching like this. He began today with the lowest run support average among all major league starting pitchers. But then the Orioles scored him one in the first and six runs in the second, and he was leading 7-0 just like that. When they added five in the fourth, they were leading, 12-1 and had already produced a season high for runs. They would finish with an 18-5 win to take the series over the Cleveland...
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O's game blog: Looking for a series win against Cleveland

O's game blog: Looking for a series win against Cleveland
The Orioles have played 58 games in the 2021 season, but so far have played just two rubber match games. Those are games to decide a three-game series when the clubs have split the first two games. The Orioles have played just two and won them both. On May 5, the Orioles won 6-0 at Seattle when John Means pitched a no-hitter. On June 2, they beat Minnesota 6-3 to win that series. The Orioles and Cleveland play their rubber match this afternoon before an off-day on Monday. The Orioles won on...
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Awaiting word on John Means, plus other notes

Awaiting word on John Means, plus other notes
The Orioles' bid for the season's first four-game win streak came up short in Saturday's 10-4 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The series is now tied at one win each with the rubber match today in Baltimore. But beyond the loss, the O's concern was for their ace pitcher, John Means, who gave up two solo homers in the first inning and then left after facing just five batters with left shoulder fatigue, something that apparently had been an on-and-off issue over the last few weeks. Means'...
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O's game blog: John Means looks for win No. 5

O's game blog: John Means looks for win No. 5
The Orioles take the field today looking for a season-high four-game winning streak when they play Cleveland in the second of a three-game series. The Orioles have twice won three in a row this season. They opened the year with a three-game sweep at Boston. And they took three in a row April 29-May 1, winning the first game versus the Yankees and the last two against Oakland. The Orioles beat Cleveland 3-1 Friday night as Keegan Akin threw five scoreless and their pitchers allowed eight hits...
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After rough spring, more evidence that Keegan Akin has turned it around

After rough spring, more evidence that Keegan Akin has turned it around
Lefty Keegan Akin has now made starts in both 2020 and 2021, so when he took the mound last night in the series opener against Cleveland it would have been easy to forget that his big league experience is very limited. As he threw the first pitch last night, he was making just his eighth career major league start. He went 1-2 with a 3.67 ERA in the first seven with 11 walks and 38 strikeouts over 27 innings. He had just 40 2/3 big league innings under his belt. Akin added five more innings last...
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Keegan Akin throws five scoreless innings as O's beat Indians

Keegan Akin throws five scoreless innings as O's beat Indians
The Orioles rotation has gotten on a mini run of good pitching. They would love to turn that into a major run but are going to need a lot more games to produce that. Small steps. For now, they will take a rotation ERA of 1.88 over their past five games after Keegan Akin's five scoreless innings tonight against the Cleveland Indians in the series opener at Camden Yards. Akin's outing got the Orioles started on their way to a third straight win. When Ryan Mountcastle hit a two-run homer in the...
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