O's game blog: Bundy pitches against Mets in series finale

O's game blog: Bundy pitches against Mets in series finale
The Orioles have won just one road series this year and it was in New York. They can sweep a two-game series this afternoon, winning another road series. And it's in New York. At Citi Field, the Orioles play the New York Mets. Baltimore won 2-1 last night as Alex Cobb gave up just two hits and one run over six innings. Three O's relievers followed him to the mound as Mychal Givens, Richard Bleier and Brad Brach combined with Cobb on a three-hitter and Brach gained his ninth save. The...
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O's make progress on draft signings and Rajsich on day two

O's make progress on draft signings and Rajsich on day two
The implementation of the slot bonus amounts, that began in the First-Year Player Draft a few years ago as part of a new collective bargaining agreement, means that teams can reach agreements very quickly with draft picks. The Orioles have done just that. The Orioles are very close to signing multiple draft picks they have selected in the first two days of the draft including their top pick, prep right-hander Grayson Rodriguez from Nacagdoches, Texas. The listed slot for the No. 11 pick is...
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O's game blog: Alex Cobb pitches series opener (O's close with Rodriguez)

O's game blog: Alex Cobb pitches series opener (O's close with Rodriguez)
After Sunday's rainout and yesterday's off-day, the Orioles open a two-game series tonight on the road against the New York Mets. It is the start of a six-game road trip that will also take them to Toronto for a series that starts Thursday. The Orioles lost by 4-1 and 8-5 scores Friday and Saturday versus the Yankees, with two games rained out in what was scheduled to be a four-game series. They have now lost seven in a row to tie a season high set May 1-8. The Orioles have scored just 12...
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Orioles select Arkansas right-hander in round three (with updates)

Orioles select Arkansas right-hander in round three (with updates)
In the third round of the First-Year Player Draft today, the Orioles selected University of Arkansas right-handed pitcher Blaine Knight. He was the No. 87 overall selection. Knight is rated the No. 36 prospect by Baseball America, No. 48 by MLBPipeline.com, No. 55 by ESPN and No. 58 by FanGraphs. This season he went 11-0 with an 2.74 ERA over 16 starts with one shutout. In 95 1/3 innings he allowed 79 hits, including 16 homers, with 22 walks, 88 strikeouts and a .224 batting average against....
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O's Gary Rajsich and club's top two picks talk about the draft

O's Gary Rajsich and club's top two picks talk about the draft
For the first time, the Orioles have selected high school pitchers in back-to-back years with their top pick in the First-Year Player Draft, which has been held since 1965. With the No. 11 pick last night, the Orioles selected prep right-hander Grayson Rodriguez from Central Heights High School in Nacogdoches, Texas. He is 6-foot-5 and 230 lbs., and has a college commitment to Texas A&M. Scouting reports indicate his fastball often sat 92 to 94 mph this season, touching 97 and 98 mph....
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Draft day arrives: The Orioles will pick No. 11 and No. 37 tonight

Draft day arrives: The Orioles will pick No. 11 and No. 37 tonight
The three-day, 40 round First-Year Player Draft begins tonight. The first round, which will be televised live on MLB Network, is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. Tonight, teams will draft through the second round and the completion of compensation picks after that round, so that takes the draft through 78 selections. The draft resumes at 1 p.m. ET on Tuesday with round three through 10, and concludes at Noon ET on Wednesday with selections in rounds 11 through 40. The Orioles will make two...
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Looking back at the latest Orioles loss

Looking back at the latest Orioles loss
The Orioles continue moving on like a boat taking on water, springing leaks all over. After getting four straight quality starts - a season-high - Kevin Gausman allowed six runs over 5 1/3 innings last night. The defense behind him collapsed with three errors in the sixth, leading to an unearned run. The offense finally scored some runs and hit three homers, but still fell well short. The New York Yankees beat the Orioles 8-5 in front of 32,823 at Camden Yards that included a lot of fans that...
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O's hit three homers, make three errors in loss (with quotes)

O's hit three homers, make three errors in loss (with quotes)
The game started an hour and 44 minutes late due to a delay that featured little rain. Kevin Gausman allowed two homers and the home team made three errors in the top of the sixth. So there have been better nights for the Orioles this year. At least the run total was higher than the errors total by one. They did cut a four-run deficit to two in the sixth and hit three home runs of their own but they lost 8-5 to the New York Yankees, who have taken the first two games in this series. While the...
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O's game blog: O's starters have four straight quality starts

O's game blog: O's starters have four straight quality starts
The Orioles and Yankees will not start on time today. There is a message on the scoreboard that reads: "Ladies and gentlemen, the start of today's game is being delayed by the threat of inclement weather. We are monitoring the national weather service reports and will keep you advised of an expected start time as soon as possible. We thank you for your patience and understanding." Orioles starting pitchers have recorded a season-best four consecutive quality starts. Right-hander Kevin...
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For Mike Wright Jr. as his velocity got better so did his results

For Mike Wright Jr. as his velocity got better so did his results
Ask Orioles righthander Mike Wright Jr. why he was throwing 88 to 91 mph fastballs in April and now is throwing 95 and last night touched 97 and he's not sure of the answer. "Nope. Not at all. But this is the best my arm has felt in a very long time," he said this afternoon. "I just hope that continues and this velo stays. Yesterday I threw all four pitches just like I did as a starter and they were all good. Every day is a different day and some days one pitch might feel better than...
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O's have taken more high school players early in recent drafts

O's have taken more high school players early in recent drafts
It has not exactly been an organizational mandate or philosophy, but the Orioles have selected more high school players than college players in the first five rounds of the draft over the last five years. High school kids can have more upside and can get to the majors at a younger age, sometimes than their college counterparts, who may be 21 or older in some cases when drafted. According to this report from Baseball America, the Orioles selected a high school player with 59.3 percent of their...
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O's game blog: Cashner against the Yankees in series opener

O's game blog: Cashner against the Yankees in series opener
After Thursday's rainout, the Orioles and Yankees will begin their series tonight at Camden Yards. What was to be a four-game series is down to three at this point with the rained out game set to be made up on July 9 as part of a single-admission doubleheader. On the mound tonight for the Orioles is right-hander Andrew Cashner (2-6, 5.07 ERA) who will be making his 12th start. While he pitched to a 2.50 ERA in his first three starts, he is 1-5 with a 6.17 ERA over his last eight, allowing 58...
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Orioles and Yankees notes, plus Cedric Mullins is moving up

Orioles and Yankees notes, plus Cedric Mullins is moving up
After Thursday's rainout, the Orioles and New York Yankees look to get their series going tonight at Camden Yards. It is now a rain-shortened three-game series and the rainout will be made up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on July 9 at 4:05 p.m. Both clubs just pushed their starters back a day. So Andrew Cashner (2-6, 5.07 ERA) faces Sonny Gray (3-4, 5.98 ERA) tonight. On Saturday afternoon, the scheduled starters are Kevin Gausman (3-4, 4.31 ERA) and Masahiro Tanaka (6-2, 4.62...
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O's game blog: Andrew Cashner faces New York (game rained out)

O's game blog: Andrew Cashner faces New York (game rained out)
After losing three straight to the Washington Nationals by a combined 11-2 score, the Orioles host the New York Yankees tonight. It's the start of a four-game series to wrap up a seven-game homestand. No game tonight: Tonight's game has been rained out. The clubs will make it up as part of a single-admission doubleheader on Monday July 9 at 4:05 p.m. The Yankees (35-17) are two games behind the Red Sox (39-17) for the American League East lead. They also hold the second-best win percentage in...
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Another night when a lack of runs leads to a loss

Another night when a lack of runs leads to a loss
Just when you think the Orioles offense has to start putting up some runs, they don't. Now of course, they faced Max Scherzer last night, and he fanned 12 over eight scoreless in the Washington Nationals' 2-0 victory. But the Orioles scored only two runs on 20 hits in the series and were shut out twice They have now been shut out six times this season, including three times in their last 11 games. The Orioles went 1-for-10 during the Washington series when batting with runners in scoring...
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Chris Davis on trying to find positives, David Hess on his start

Chris Davis on trying to find positives, David Hess on his start
Tonight, they faced one of the best in the business, but it hasn't always been that way. Tonight, Max Scherzer fanned 12 Orioles as Washington beat the Orioles 2-0 in front of 20,370 at Oriole Park as the Nationals swept the three-game series. First baseman Chris Davis talked about losing to such a good pitcher: "They don't just hand out Cy Youngs and I think he's got a few of them." But for the Orioles offense, this was yet another quiet night. They were shut out for the sixth time and...
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Max Scherzer fans 12 as Nationals win to sweep series

Max Scherzer fans 12 as Nationals win to sweep series
Washington Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer came in on a roll and left that way. Scherzer fanned 12 tonight as the Nationals beat the Orioles 2-0 to sweep the series at Camden Yards. Orioles right-hander David Hess gave up just one run, but took the loss. The Nationals improved to 32-22 and complete just their second three-game sweep of the Orioles since moving to Washington in 2005. The first was from June 12-14, 2007 at Oriole Park. The Nats have won a team-record 10 straight road...
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O's game blog: Hess against Scherzer in series finale

O's game blog: Hess against Scherzer in series finale
After taking the first two games of this series by 6-0 and 3-2 scores, the Washington Nationals can complete a three-game sweep of the Orioles tonight. The last and only Nats' three-game sweep in Baltimore was June 12-14, 2007. Coming into this series, the Orioles were 15-7 at home versus Washington since the 2013 season. Coming into the series, the Orioles were 7-4 in their previous 11 home games this year, but they've scored just two runs on 16 hits and have gone 1-for-8 with runners in...
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Jace Peterson on batting leadoff and facing Max Scherzer

Jace Peterson on batting leadoff and facing Max Scherzer
Third baseman Jace Peterson tonight will become the seventh different Orioles hitter to bat leadoff this year. And by the way, it's only three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals that he has to face. Trey Mancini has hit leadoff 43 times, Chris Davis five times, Craig Gentry three times, Tim Beckham twice, and once each for Jonathan Schoop and Joey Rickard. Peterson, hitting .178/.310/.274 with five doubles, a triple, no homers and nine RBIs over 27 games, now...
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Britton on trade talk, Mancini on his struggles and more

Britton on trade talk, Mancini on his struggles and more
When Orioles closer Zach Britton pitches for a minor league affiliate tonight, it will be his first game action this year, and first since his December Achilles surgery. It will be a nice step forward for Britton. But Britton also knows that while it will be a big step toward his return to the Orioles, it could also lead to his being traded by the Orioles at some point this summer. The players see the reality of the situation. They understand as they look around their clubhouse these days, some...
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