A player with just two career innings in the majors at second base - and none in the minors - was called on to make three big defensive plays on Friday.
The ball will always find you.
For inexperienced second sacker Rio Ruiz, it did on opening day in Boston. Two challenging popups running into the outfield that he had to chase down and a diving stop to his left to rob Alex Verdugo leading off in the last of the seventh.
All big in a close, low-scoring game.
"I think the first fly ball I had,...
As far as opening day games go, this one was hard to beat.
John Means was dealing, Trey Mancini officially returned to the sport and young Ryan Mountcastle came up with a clutch two-run double. The Orioles had their first win of the year and first shutout on opening day in 16 years.
Means joined a list of five O's starters who took the ball in an opener where the team would go on to win by a shutout.
* 1973, O's win 10-0 versus Milwaukee. Dave McNally pitched a three-hitter with no walks and...
Whether lefty John Means becomes a true ace pitcher for the Orioles in the future or not, he showed us today what one looks like.
Means was absolutely dominant in a 3-0 win over the Red Sox on opening day in Boston. Means allowed one hit in seven scoreless innings as the Orioles recorded their first opening day shutout since 2005. Then they beat Oakland 4-0 as Rodrigo Lopez threw six scoreless innings. It was the sixth opening day shutout in club history.
Means today became the first pitcher in...
The Orioles open their 68th season today when they play the Boston Red Sox in Fenway Park. It is the start of a three-game series and season-opening six-game road trip that also takes the Orioles to Yankee Stadium before the April 8 home opener. That is also against Boston.
The 2020 Orioles played 40 of their 60 games within the American League East. They went 5-5 against Boston, 4-6 versus Tampa Bay, 3-7 against New York and 2-8 versus Toronto. They went 5-14 in division road games.
At 12-15...
Ryan Mountcastle is ready for a special day: his first opening day in the major leagues. His first game last year was on Aug. 21. Today he is in the Orioles lineup as cleanup hitter and DH for the season opener at Boston.
It's a big milestone.
"Yeah, for sure," he said. "I've gone to big league spring training four or five times and I've gotten sent down every time. The first time I get to break with the club it's definitely a surreal moment and something I'll cherish, for sure."
And...
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde has said he believes his team will score some runs and has some real upside on offense. He's got a point, with players like Austin Hays, Ryan Mountcastle, Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander.
You can add to that the speed of Cedric Mullins and the hope to get some offense out of other spots that would exceed what was produced there last year.
Here is a look at where the Orioles ranked by position last year in OPS in the American League and I'll list which player or...
Can a pitcher that had a stunning finish to one season carry that over to the next? Can two pitchers do it?
If they can, then Orioles lefty John Means and Boston right-hander Nathan Eovaldi may have strong starts in today's season opener.
Means (2-4, 4.53 in 2020) and Eovaldi (4-2, 3.72 in 2020) will start on opening day at Fenway Park at 2:10 p.m.
The Orioles will begin their 68th season. They are 43-24 all-time on opening day, winning eight of the last 10, nine of 12 and 15 of the previous...
In looking at the roster resource section of the FanGraphs.com website, we can note a few things about the start of the 2021 regular season. For one, the Orioles will have the youngest starting rotation in the American League East and the fourth-youngest in the AL.
With the understanding that this is a good resource for roster information and usually very accurate, yes, there could be a pitcher or two not listed where they should be. But they got all five in the Baltimore rotation correct.
The...
He is a bit of a marked man as the No. 2 ranked prospect in baseball by MLBPipeline.com, by Baseball America and by ESPN. And at No. 2, catcher Adley Rutschman joins just three other Orioles that have ever been as highly rated by the major prospect analysts.
No one has been at the top 100 rankings business as long as Baseball America. The first Baseball America list had O's right-hander Ben McDonald ranked second in 1990 behind Atlanta's Steve Avery.
In 2009, Matt Wieters became the one and...
Today's spring training finale began on a down note for the Orioles. Lefty Bruce Zimmermann's run of nine spring scoreless innings ended when he allowed a leadoff homer.
The rough start for O's pitching didn't end there, as Zimmermann was charged with seven runs today against the Tampa Bay Rays.
This was the final spring outing for Zimmermann, the Baltimorean who will make his third big league appearance when he starts the season's third game, on Sunday in Boston.
Zimmermann and Rich Hill,...
Right-hander Matt Harvey will start the second game of the season for the Orioles. He ended his five-inning outing Sunday against Pittsburgh allowing two runs and none over his last three innings.
"Overall, I mean, when you can go five innings, feel pretty strong through all five, I think that's when you know you are ready," he said.
Harvey kept getting better during camp. He looks ready. Over his last two games against the Yankees and Pittsburgh, he threw nine innings, allowing three...
In his last spring outing before he pitches the second game of the 2021 regular season Saturday at Boston, right-hander Matt Harvey allowed two runs over five innings. He faced the Pittsburgh Pirates this afternoon at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota.
It's the next-to-last game of spring training for the Orioles, who will open the new season Thursday at Boston.
Harvey gave up single runs in the first and second innings.
Bucs Adam Frazier led off the game with a double, improving his average to...
There are two games remaining in spring training. But even with so little time remaining, the Orioles roster is still in flux, as the activity on Saturday proved.
The starting second baseman, Yolmer Sánchez, was designated for assignment and a pitcher not in the organization was acquired by trade, as the club added Adam Plutko from Cleveland for cash considerations.
As for what we know or think we know to this point:
* John Means and Matt Harvey will start the first two games, with the rest...
Are there any hitters in Orioles camp that have had better springs than young outfielders Austin Hays and Ryan Mountcastle?
That is a pretty easy answer. No, there really isn't anyone else.
Hays is batting .404/.440/.723 with four doubles, a triple, three homers, 12 RBIs and an OPS of 1.163. Mountcastle is batting .261/.271/.630 with five doubles, four homers and 13 RBIs along with an OPS of .901. Mountcastle's stats took a hit last night when he went 0-for-4, but he produced outs against...
It was a night when the Orioles rotation competition got reduced by one pitcher. Meanwhile, another stated his case, pitching very well against an American League East rival.
Lefty Keegan Akin was optioned to Triple-A during a game where right-hander Jorge López was mowing down the New York Yankees in Tampa with pretty solid regularity.
López threw five scoreless innings, his best outing of a good spring, allowing just two hits, and he matched Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a scoreless duel...
Former Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy remembered being a part of the group of players that turned the Orioles from losers into winners and returned the club to the playoffs. Former outfielder Mike Devereaux remembered his great 1992 season and being a part of the first team to play at Camden Yards.
The former O's duo has been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame.
They are joined by radio broadcaster Joe Angel, who will be inducted as this year's Herb Armstrong Award winner. The trio will be...
With the games dwindling and the rotation competition still apparently very much open, it was not a good time for a rough outing on the mound. But 25-year-old Orioles lefty pitching prospect Keegan Akin had one tonight.
He could not make it through the third inning as the Orioles hosted the Pittsburgh Pirates at Ed Smith Stadium.
Making his first appearance in a spring game since March 15 - he certainly had pitched on the back fields on other days - Akin allowed six runs and eight hits over 2...
We don't know what the stats say about a couple of Bruce Zimmermann outings in B games and/or on the back fields, but we do know his stats in three spring training games have been close to perfect.
Hard to top a zero ERA over nine innings.
The Baltimore native, 2013 Loyola High School grad and former player at Towson University got his feet wet with two games in the majors late last year. He gave up five runs in three innings in a start against Tampa Bay and allowed one run over four innings...
When he takes the ball a week from today at Boston, Orioles left-hander John Means can check off another box: opening day starter. A tired arm kept it from happening last July. But Means' rise from 11th-round draft pick and overlooked prospect continues on an upward trajectory.
He followed up an All-Star nod and second-place finish for American League Rookie of the Year in 2019 with a stunning end to his 2020 season. One where Means went 2-1 with a 1.52 ERA in his last four starts. He walked...
It could have been his last spring training game of 2021. Or right-hander Dean Kremer could pitch one last time in the spring finale on Monday. That would be his fifth day to pitch.
Tonight he threw one pitch that cost him, but otherwise had a solid outing against the Boston Red Sox in Fort Myers.
Kremer went 4 2/3 innings and that is the longest outing by an Orioles starter this spring. He allowed five hits and two runs with one walk and five strikeouts. His ERA is 6.32 through five spring...