Holmes on Valdez's adjustments and more

Holmes on Valdez's adjustments and more
To say the least, it's been a rough stretch for the Orioles pitching staff. They've allowed 77 runs during a 10-game losing streak. In May, as the club is 5-19, the staff ERA is 6.09. The Orioles now rank 14th in the American League with an ERA of 5.00, last in rotation ERA at 5.39 and 12th in bullpen ERA at 4.52. The team ERA was 3.91 in early May. Second year O's coach Darren Holmes, in his first year as assistant pitching coach to Chris Holt, is trying to keep his pitchers together and...
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O's try to deal with a losing streak that reaches double digits

O's try to deal with a losing streak that reaches double digits
Both Orioles pitcher Paul Fry and manager Brandon Hyde, in separate pregame Zoom interviews on Thursday, discussed dealing with losing for an organization that is in rebuilding mode. You knew some of it would happen, but going into last night's game, the club had just two wins in the last three weeks. Times that many figured would be rough were rough times 10. Last night, the Orioles lost to the first-place Chicago White Sox 5-1 as the losing streak reached 10 overall and nine in road...
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O's game blog: The series begins in Chicago

O's game blog: The series begins in Chicago
The search for a win to end a long losing streak has moved from Washington to Minnesota and now on to Chicago. Tonight the Orioles take on the first-place White Sox in the first of a four-game series and the seventh game of their current road trip. The trip began after the Orioles allowed 32 runs in losing three straight at home versus Tampa Bay. Then they lost three in Washington by a combined 22-16 score and three at Minnesota by 18-9. The Orioles (17-32) begin tonight 13 1/2 games behind the...
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O's Paul Fry on how players are holding up during losing run

O's Paul Fry on how players are holding up during losing run
He is in his fourth season on the Orioles. Which means reliever Paul Fry was not here in 2016, when the club was last in the playoffs. In fact, it was during his first year in 2018 that the Orioles made the mid-season trades of Manny Machado, Zack Britton and others. He's seen a lot of ups and downs in this game and been on an O's team that lost 115 games in 2018. Now as an elder statesman in the bullpen and with more tenure than many on this club, he's trying to be a player others can lean...
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Elias on team struggles and sticking with the plan

Elias on team struggles and sticking with the plan
Orioles fans are understandably upset with their team right now. Even those that knew and fully accepted that there would be tough times during another season of rebuilding were hopeful they would see better from the club that what it is showing lately. When John Means pitched a no-hitter, it was for a nearly .500 club and left the Orioles with a 15-16 record on May 5, and they had won five of the previous seven games. But now the Orioles have been swept three in a row by three straight teams....
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O's offense slowed as the losing streak rolls on

O's offense slowed as the losing streak rolls on
The out-of-synch Orioles, as Trey Mancini called them recently, were that again for most of today. All of it, really. When they score a bunch of runs lately, they seem to have given up a few as well. Recently, they've lost games scoring six, seven, nine, five and four runs. When they pitched well, they struggled to score and give their pitchers support. It had all added up to eight straight losses, 12 in the last 13 games and 15 in the past 17 as their record had fallen to 17-31 entering this...
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O's game blog: Looking for a streak-ender at Minnesota

O's game blog: Looking for a streak-ender at Minnesota
The Orioles need a win today to both avoid being swept in this three-game series in Minnesota and also to end an eight-game losing streak. The O's eight-game streak is their longest since they also dropped eight in a row Aug. 12-19, 2019. The club has not lost nine straight games since they lost 10 in a row from June 12-21, 2019. The Orioles have been outscored 69-37 (minus-32 run differential) in this stretch, while posting a 9.00 ERA and batting .254. The O's are 2-15 since May 7. They have...
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Mountcastle's plate discipline numbers and more on the pitching

Mountcastle's plate discipline numbers and more on the pitching
He is a young hitter the Orioles are trying to be patient with. Some games they see the good and the bad for Ryan Mountcastle on the same night, sometimes even within the same plate appearance. On Saturday night at Washington, Mountcastle smoked a Jon Lester cutter for a first-inning grand slam. But he chased a curveball to strike out in the fifth. Monday night at Minnesota, he worked a nine-pitch at-bat and then singled to center on a slider. But the next two times up he expanded the zone and...
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O's game blog: Dean Kremer, O's try to end streak in Minnesota

O's game blog: Dean Kremer, O's try to end streak in Minnesota
Still looking for their first win since a week ago Sunday in Baltimore, the Orioles will try to put last night's brutal loss at Minnesota behind them when they face the Twins tonight at Target Field. The Orioles (17-30) have allowed 62 runs during a seven-game losing streak. The seven-game streak is the longest since the O's lost eight in a row from Aug. 12-19, 2019. The club has lost 11 of 12 and 14 of 16 games. They have a minus-46 run differential during the 2-14 slide. The Orioles...
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O's game blog: John Means on the mound in series opener

O's game blog: John Means on the mound in series opener
The Orioles' last win came eight days ago at home by a 10-6 score over the New York Yankees. Since that win - the team's 17th on the year - the Orioles have had games scoring six, seven, nine and five runs and lost them all. Tonight they try and snap a six-game losing streak - which came via sweeps by Tampa Bay and Washington - as they open a three-game series with the Minnesota Twins. The clubs are tied with 17-29 records that bring up the bottom of the American League. The Orioles send ace...
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A closer look at a great start for Delmarva's offense

A closer look at a great start for Delmarva's offense
When you see the scores for the Orioles' low Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds, you notice some big offense. When the season started, they scored seven, eight and 11 runs among the first few games. Then they spent a week hammering struggling Fredericksburg during a six-game sweep. The bats didn't slow much last week against Carolina. The Shorebirds (13-5) won 12-8 on Saturday and 13-3 on Sunday. We've seen a group of young hitters and their young hitting coach thriving and Delmarva is the top...
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Brandon Waddell is latest entrant to O's bullpen

Brandon Waddell is latest entrant to O's bullpen
It's been an active few days for 26-year-old left-hander Brandon Waddell, a pitcher that didn't know a single teammate when he joined the Orioles yesterday in Washington after his call-up from Triple-A. He began this year with the Minnesota Twins - the Orioles' opponent tonight - then got claimed by the Orioles, went to Triple-A Norfolk and now finds himself in the Orioles bullpen. He's a fresh arm for a club struggling to get consistent outs right now. Originally taken in the fifth round...
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Bradish gets set for Triple-A debut, O's offense perks up

Bradish gets set for Triple-A debut, O's offense perks up
The Dylan Bundy trade has been looking pretty good recently for the Orioles. It was a trade from Dec. 4, 2019 with the Los Angeles Angels and the Orioles got four right-handers in return. They added Kyle Bradish, Kyle Brnovich, Zach Peek and Isaac Mattson. Mattson has already made it to Baltimore and Bradish got one step closer Saturday with his promotion from Double-A Bowie to Triple-A Norfolk. That was a quick promotion but the 24-year-old Bradish had thrown 13 2/3 scoreless innings on seven...
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O's game blog: Matt Harvey faces the Nationals

O's game blog: Matt Harvey faces the Nationals
The Orioles gave up 32 runs and got swept three straight earlier this week by the Tampa Bay Rays. Now they have allowed 16 runs in losing the first two games in Washington. They need a win this afternoon to avoid back-to-back three-game series sweeps. So yeah, it's been a rough stretch for the team and the pitching staff. While the O's offense has underperformed much of this year, the pitchers have really been struggling lately. They have allowed 10 runs or more three times in the last five...
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As a Rule 5 pick, pitcher Tyler Wells trying to prove he belongs

As a Rule 5 pick, pitcher Tyler Wells trying to prove he belongs
As the season goes on, the Orioles seem to be gaining more confidence in Rule 5 pitcher Tyler Wells. The right-hander came on in the sixth inning Friday night with the Nationals leading 2-0. The game was still very much on the line. And Wells has been holding his own. Not bad for a young pitcher who had Tommy John surgery in May 2019, so he hadn't pitched in two seasons covering 2019-2020. In 2018, he went 10-6 with a 2.49 ERA for the Minnesota Twins organization, but just 33 of those innings...
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O's pitching bashed as Nats rally from five down (quotes added)

O's pitching bashed as Nats rally from five down (quotes added)
This is how badly it is going for the Orioles right now: For the second time in four games, they held a five-run lead but did not win. Leading 5-0 in the first and 6-1 after they batted in the top of the third, O's pitching collapsed to allow four runs each in the third and fourth innings and three in the sixth today as Washington stormed back to post a 12-9 win. The Orioles have lost the first two games in this series and will be swept three straight in back-to-back series if they lose...
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O's game blog: Game 2 of the series at Washington

O's game blog: Game 2 of the series at Washington
For the Orioles, the games march on and so does the search for wins. After last night's 4-2 loss at Nationals Park, the clubs play the middle game of a three-game series at Washington today. It's the second of a 10-game road trip for the Orioles. The Birds have been held to three runs and six hits in back-to-back losses by 10-1 to Tampa Bay and last night. The Orioles were on their way to a fifth shutout loss until Freddy Galvis hit a two-run homer with two outs in the top of the...
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Pregame notes on Mullins, Harvey, the offense and more

Pregame notes on Mullins, Harvey, the offense and more
As the Orioles offense has continued to struggle - they are 0-17 when scoring two runs or fewer after Friday's loss at Washington - it's also been a little tougher for center fielder Cedric Mullins at the top of the order. Opponents can see he was hitting well to begin the year, but not many others were and he became a focal point in their game plan in facing the Orioles. If some other hitters get going, it will help Mullins and, of course, the entire lineup. "Yeah, and a day off too,"...
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Bats slowed in loss as road trip begins (more on Valdez's role)

Bats slowed in loss as road trip begins (more on Valdez's role)
As the Orioles began a three-game series and 10-game road trip on Friday night, their offense had another slow night. After being held to one run and two hits on Thursday afternoon, they got two runs on four hits last night and lost 4-2 to Washington. The Orioles continue to be, as Trey Mancini put it a few days ago, "out of synch." When they get some decent pitching, they don't back that up with some runs, like last night. And when they do get some offense, as they did recently in three...
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O's game blog: Series begins at Nationals Park

O's game blog: Series begins at Nationals Park
The Orioles resume interleague play tonight as they face their neighbors to the south. They play at Washington tonight in the first of three games this weekend at Nationals Park. It is the start of a 10-game road trip. The Nationals (17-23) are in the last in the National League East, 4 1/2 games behind the division-leading New York Mets. The Nats are coming off a series where they lost three of four to the Chicago Cubs. They have lost four of six games and are 7-10 in May. They are 9-10 at...
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