John Means serves as stopper as O's win series finale

John Means serves as stopper as O's win series finale
The way he was pitching, maybe Orioles left-hander John Means would not need big run support. As it turned out, he would not get it. But he was a stopper today for the O's. He stopped a three-game losing for the team as they avoided getting swept by Oakland. Means also stopped Oakland's 13-game winning. The run ends one short of the second-best streak in team history when they won 14 in a row from April 23-May 9, 1988. The 20-game run in 2002 is the club record. Means was real good again for...

Zac Lowther talks about his call to the major leagues

Zac Lowther talks about his call to the major leagues
Pitchers like Keegan Akin, Dean Kremer and Bruce Zimmermann have preceded him. Now 24-year-old lefty Zac Lowther arrives in the majors for the first time. Taken by the Orioles out of Xavier with the No. 74 pick in the 2017 draft, he was added to the big league roster today as Wade LeBlanc was designated for assignment. Lowther's strong minor league resume includes being named O's co-Minor League Pitcher of the Year with Akin 2018 and a stellar 2019 season when he was one of the best pitchers...

O's game blog: John Means faces A's in series finale

O's game blog: John Means faces A's in series finale
In an attempt to pick up their second home win of the season, avoid a three-game sweep and snap Oakland's long winning streak, the Orioles turn to their lefty ace today. John Means (1-0, 1.52 ERA) will make his fifth start. Means went seven scoreless innings on three hits last Sunday at Texas and is pitching on two extra days of rest. He threw 96 pitches last Sunday with two walks and nine strikeouts. Means ended his 2020 season by pitching to an ERA of 1.52 over his last four starts. He has...

On MASN telecast, Elias talks about alternate camp (plus Lowther info)

On MASN telecast, Elias talks about alternate camp (plus Lowther info)
Break up the alternate site Orioles. They are an unbeaten club. The group of players that provide insurance for the roster of the big league team as the wait for the minor league season to start May 4 are 4-0 in games where box scores have been provided. They have scored 38 runs in winning four versus the Nationals alternate squad camp roster. The Orioles posted some information on their player development Twitter account. During the Friday broadcast on MASN, O's executive vice president and...

O's game blog: O's try to even series against Oakland

O's game blog: O's try to even series against Oakland
If the rain holds off, we should get a few answers to a few questions tonight. Such as, will the O's offense struggle again? And, can anyone soon beat the Oakland Athletics? The A's beat the Orioles 3-1 last night to improve to 13-7. They are 13-1 with 12 wins in a row since an 0-6 start. At the beginning of this season they were losing by scores of 8-1, 9-1 and 10-3, but their last loss was April 8 - more than two weeks ago. Oakland has outscored its opponents 74-34 during this win streak...

Cole Sulser on adjustments that led to his strong start

Cole Sulser on adjustments that led to his strong start
When you count the growing list of Orioles bullpen pitchers that are throwing well, be sure to include right-hander Cole Sulser. He made a few minor adjustments and tweaks since last season, when he also got off to a good start, in hopes of seeing a solid season through to the end. The 31-year-old right-hander went 1-5 with a 5.56 ERA last season when his ERA dropped, hitting 8.38 over his last nine games. In 2021 his ERA is 0.00 and he's allowed just 0.789 WHIP thus far. That covers 6 1/3...

On another tough night of offense, O's 'pen was good again

On another tough night of offense, O's 'pen was good again
As the Orioles continue to struggle many nights on offense, there is frustration in that. But also frustration in how, with just a few more runs, they could have several more wins. Here are the scores of the last six O's losses dating to the first doubleheader with Seattle: 4-3, 4-2, 2-1, 1-0, 3-0 and 3-1. They have allowed just 17 runs in those six losses, which have come by 10 total runs. I told you it would be frustrating. But as the offense has been exactly that, the O's bullpen has been...

O's couldn't maximize big scoring chance and lose series opener

O's couldn't maximize big scoring chance and lose series opener
When a team is not hitting much and they get a golden chance to put up some runs, they probably need to pounce. The Orioles didn't tonight when presented a great chance as they lost the series opener to the Oakland A's at Camden Yards. The A's 3-1 win is their 12th in a row. Before this, the last club to win 12 in a row in the big leagues was Houston, from June 6-18, 2018. The Orioles (8-11) fall to 1-7 at home and to 1-9 when scoring three runs or less. When they get four or more they are...

O's game blog: O's host A's in homestand opener

O's game blog: O's host A's in homestand opener
After a 3-2 road trip to Texas and Miami, the Orioles begin the second homestand of the season tonight. It's a seven-game homestand, which begins against Oakland and continues Monday when the New York Yankees come to town. Tonight, the Orioles (8-10) host the hottest team in the majors. Oakland (12-7) has won 11 in a row and is tied with Seattle for first in the American League West. The A's began the year 0-6, then split the next two games before their win streak started. Their 11...

César Valdez on his success and chance to close for Orioles

César Valdez on his success and chance to close for Orioles
In his second season with the Orioles, 36-year-old right-hander César Valdez is still confounding American League hitters. And he's doing it in the ninth inning. And not with a 98 mph fastball, but rather a changeup that averages 78 mph. He is the opposite of a flamethrower and he uses his changeup 82 percent of the time. It's been so good that he is off to a 2-0 start with four saves and an ERA of 0.96 in eight games. He's allowed seven hits and one walk over 9 1/3 innings with 10...

More on the offense as O's await red-hot Athletics

More on the offense as O's await red-hot Athletics
If we use the stat OPS - on-base plus slugging - the 2020 Orioles look a lot better than the 2021 club. And it's not very close. Counting all batters - qualifiers and non-qualifiers - the 2020 Orioles had six players with an OPS of .800 or better and two at .900 plus. And another player at .791. This year's club has just two players at .800 or above through 18 games and just four players on the entire club at .704 or above. Yep, only four players at .704 or above. Yikes. Last year's club had...

What it looks like after 18 games

What it looks like after 18 games
So the Orioles have played about 11 percent of the 2021 season. That is a sample, but a small one. Can we make any judgments from that? We can, but you run the risk of being wrong. Well, that's never stopped us before. At 8-10, the Orioles are playing .444 baseball. That is better than their .417 win percentage from last year when they were 25-35. A team playing at a win percentage of .444 for a full season would go 72-90. That is probably better than many projected. And maybe better than...

O's Zimmermann done in by one pitch in loss to Miami

O's Zimmermann done in by one pitch in loss to Miami
If you are a starting pitcher and your team has not scored you any runs, your margin for error is not minimal, it's zero. One mistake could cost you. That happened today to Baltimorean Bruce Zimmermann. The left-hander was twirling a shutout in a 0-0 tie at Miami when one pitch that got drilled into the gap led to a three-run inning and the Marlins went on to beat the Orioles. Another attempt to get back to .500 came up short as the Orioles fell 3-0. They went 3-2 on this road trip and come...

O's game blog: Looking for a win in the road trip finale

O's game blog: Looking for a win in the road trip finale
The Orioles wrap up this quick two-game series and their five-game, two-city road trip this afternoon when they again play the Miami Marlins. The Orioles won 7-5 last night and are 3-1 on this trip, which began in Texas. The Orioles are now 3-3 in series openers, and a win today would leave them 3-1 in road series. Lefty Bruce Zimmermann (1-1, 4.24 ERA) gets the start, his fourth of this season. Zimmermann has two quality starts and has gone six innings twice. For the season, he's allowed 17...

Notes on Harvey's start, Fry's good run and chasing pitches

Notes on Harvey's start, Fry's good run and chasing pitches
The Orioles will go for a two-game series sweep this afternoon and will have a 4-1 road trip if they can get another win at Miami. They took an early 6-1 lead last night and held on to win 7-5. They improved to 8-9 overall and to 7-3 in road games. They are 19-18 on the road since the start of the 2020 season. They are now 5-1 when they score first and 7-2 when they score four runs or more. On a night when he didn't have his best stuff or command, right-hander Matt Harvey managed to not walk...

A few notes on another O's road win

A few notes on another O's road win
It was a night where the defense behind him was shaky at times. And the Orioles almost let a five-run lead get completely away. But his offense did provide a nice early lead. And that led right-hander Matt Harvey to his first win as an Oriole. And his first win for anyone since July 13, 2019. That was for the Los Angeles Angels then against Seattle. Harvey had lost his last five decisions since, dating to July 18, 2019. The Orioles beat Miami 7-5 to get the opener of this brief two-game...

O's game blog: Harvey on mound in Miami series opener

O's game blog: Harvey on mound in Miami series opener
The Orioles have gotten five straight outings where their starting pitcher allowed two earned runs or less. This run began with right-hander Matt Harvey in Game 1 of Thursday's doubleheader, and Harvey is back on the mound tonight. He will make his fourth start of 2021 when the Orioles open a quick, two-day series at Miami. The Orioles lost 1-0 in 10 innings Sunday at Texas as they came up a win short of a series sweep at Globe Life Field. The Orioles (7-9) are 6-3 on the road. They are 2-3 in...

How spring struggles turned into season success for Paul Fry

How spring struggles turned into season success for Paul Fry
As his spring training was going from bad to worse, Orioles bullpen lefty Paul Fry was trying to remain confident and keep up a strong mental outlook. He was also hoping his manager was maintaining confidence in him. But just to be sure, a short chat with manager Brandon Hyde wouldn't hurt. Fry, who is pitching quite well now and has for most of this season for the Orioles, had a spring ERA of 10.61. Over 9 1/3 innings, he had given up 14 hits and 12 runs. His WHIP was 1.929. "Yeah, it did...

When the big three get going, so will O's offense

When the big three get going, so will O's offense
It's no secret the Orioles offense has gotten off to a slow start. You noticed, right? Through Sunday's games they have a team batting average of .221, which is ninth in the American League. They rank last in team OBP (.278), 13th in slugging (.365) and 13th in OPS (.643). They have already scored three runs or fewer eight times and been shut out twice. They are 1-7 in those eight games. When they score four or more, they are 6-2. We've detailed some of the recent pitching success here, but...

An encouraging weekend for O's, especially on the mound

An encouraging weekend for O's, especially on the mound
So that was a strong weekend of pitching for the Orioles. They allowed four runs in three games at Texas. Yet when they were shut out Sunday, it meant no series sweep against the Rangers. Still, they began the road trip taking two of three and head to Miami at 7-9. For the second time this season, the Orioles staff did not allow an earned run. They also did that in the opening day shutout at Boston. Baltimore pitching has allowed two runs or less six times on the season. They did it the first...