TORONTO - So he's had a pretty good season. It began at Single-A Frederick, moved onto Double-A Bowie and he's ending it with the Orioles. It has happened faster than anyone could have predicted, but outfielder Austin Hays, the club's third-round pick last June, is in the major leagues now.
Whether he starts next season with the Orioles we'll find out later, but Hays has a had a fantastic year. Between the two minor league clubs, he's hit .328/.364/.592 with 32 doubles, five triples, 32...
TORONTO - The Orioles got some solid pitching and a clutch late-inning home run tonight. They had Zach Britton on the mound with a lead in the ninth, but they still could not win.
Trailing 2-1, Toronto scored twice off Britton in the bottom of the ninth to produce a 3-2 walk-off win as the Orioles' losing streak reached six games and they fall to 71-74. It was the latest damaging loss for their flickering playoff hopes.
Britton struck out Kendrys Morales to get out a big jam in the eighth in...
TORONTO - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said today that the team will still be able to hold their fall instructional league at their Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla.
It is been delayed by the impact from Hurricane Irma on Florida's Gulf Coast. Originally players were expected to begin arriving for that tomorrow. Now players and staff will head to Florida on Sunday and the first workout is set for Monday.
All things considered, the Orioles' facility in Sarasota came through the...
TORONTO - The Orioles and catcher Welington Castillo got good news today. After taking a foul ball in the groin and leaving last night's game at Rogers Centre, Castillo does not have any damage and he feels he could pinch-hit tonight.
He is not ready to return to catch, but that could happen soon as well. Castillo took a foul ball off the bat of Miguel Montero in the first inning last night. He finished that inning but was replaced by Caleb Joseph in the bottom of the second.
Beyond the...
TORONTO - The Orioles will turn to right-hander Dylan Bundy (13-9, 4.12 ERA) to try and snap a five-game losing streak tonight. They play the Toronto Blue Jays in the second game of a three-game series.
After going 4-0 with a 2.00 ERA in five August starts, Bundy took the loss last Monday versus New York. Over four innings he gave up two homers, four walks and five runs on 98 pitches. It tied for his shortest start of the year.
During that five-start run in August, Bundy pitched 36 innings and...
TORONTO - The Orioles lost further touch with the American League's second wild card spot last night. While Minnesota did not play, the Orioles lost their fifth straight and they are now 3 1/2 games behind the Twins.
The Orioles lost 4-3 to start a three-game series at Rogers Centre. They are 0-4 on a 10-game road trip. The last three losses have been by a total of four runs.
The Orioles are also two games under .500 at 71-73. Now they are again chasing a winning record, not to mention several...
TORONTO - There were defensive miscues, an injury to a catcher and it was another night of not much offense for the Orioles.
They lost 4-3 to the Toronto Blue Jays in the series opener in front of 28,401 at Rogers Centre. Three games behind the second wild card to start the night, they fall to 71-73. They are two games under .500 for the first time since they were 63-65 on Aug. 25.
The Orioles have scored just eight runs during a five-game losing streak. They are 27-43 on the road and 3-8 since...
TORONTO - The Orioles lost one catcher and made two errors in the bottom of the second inning tonight to trail 2-0 early on against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre.
It was a pretty brutal half inning.
Catcher Welington Castillo took a foul ball to the groin area during Miguel Montero's at-bat which resulted in a strikeout to end the last of the first scoreless. Castillo was looked at by trainer Brian Ebel, but remained in the game for that at-bat. But Caleb Joseph was catching when the...
TORONTO - Convinced that his team can still make a run to get the second American League wild card, Orioles manager Buck Showalter today talked about his team's struggling offense.
During a four-game losing streak, the Orioles have scored just five runs on 23 hits with two home runs.
Have the Orioles just faced pitching that was real good or have they contributed to their recent team-wide slump?
"It's both," Showalter said. "I'm always going to give credit to the opposition, but the...
TORONTO - Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman is going to start the third game of this series on Wednesday against the Toronto Blue Jays on five days rest.
With a blister on the index finger of his right hand, he is being given an extra day after originally being scheduled to pitch tomorrow night. Now Dylan Bundy will make that start and Gausman goes the next day.
Gausman, who is 10-10 with a 4.99 ERA in 30 starts, said he is fine and that he often gets blisters.
"You know I get one every...
TORONTO - The Orioles begin a series at Rogers Centre tonight against the Toronto Blue Jays. They are 5-2 this season in this stadium and 11-5 against Toronto. They will need that success to continue during this three-game series.
With four straight losses, the Orioles (71-72) have fallen back under .500 for the first time since Aug. 26. They need to find some offense at Rogers Centre. They scored just four runs in Cleveland. During the four straight losses, the team average is .181 and they...
Chris Davis snapped a 3-for-31 stretch with a homer. Jeremy Hellickson provided a quality start after his ERA was 9.51 his previous five starts. Jonathan Schoop had three hits, raised his average to .305 and drove in his 103rd run. The O's bullpen pitched two scoreless.
It didn't lead to a win though. Not against a sizzling-hot Cleveland team which seldom trails recently and hasn't lost since Aug. 23rd. Cleveland made it 18 wins in a row in beating the Orioles 3-2 last night.
Right after...
The Orioles have lost three in a row and been outscored 18-3 in those games. Tonight they will try to end that streak and Cleveland's 17-game winning streak when they meet on ESPN.
The Indians are 86-56 and lead the AL Central by 12 games over Minnesota. The Tribe has run off the longest win streak in the majors since the Oakland A's won 20 straight in 2002. Cleveland is 39-16 since the All-Star break and 26-4 in its last 30 games.
The Orioles have been swept three straight six times this...
There is never a good time for a team to hit a cold stretch on offense, but for the Orioles this is really not a good time. They lost 9-1 to the Yankees Thursday and 5-0 and 4-2 to the Indians the past two games.
In a three-game losing streak, that is three runs scored on 16 hits and just one homer for the Orioles. There have been very few scoring chances and they are 1-for-8 with runners in scoring postion in those games.
They are 71-71 with 20 games left to play. The Orioles are three games...
After last night's 5-0 loss, the Orioles play at Cleveland this afternoon in the second game of this three-game series. Cleveland (85-56) will try to extend its winning streak to 17 straight today. That is the longest win streak in the majors since the A's won 20 in a row in 2002.
The Orioles are 71-70 and have fallen three games back in the chase for the second American League wild card. Minnesota (74-67) leads for that spot by two games over the Angels, 2 1/2 over the Rangers and three over...
How many times this year has it looked like the Orioles were in big trouble in the standings? Well, the latest is now after the club's 5-0 loss last night in Cleveland.
They are facing nine more games on this road trip and now they are three games behind Minnesota for the second American League wild card with 21 games to go. They are 27-40 on the road where they will play 14 of those remaining 21 games.
So yeah, it could be looking better and they could be positioned better. The Orioles won...
BOWIE, Md. - Double-A Bowie center fielder Cedric Mullins had three hits, including a homer, but three Baysox pitchers had a rough night as Altoona beat Bowie 8-4 tonight to take a 2-0 lead in their Eastern League playoff series.
After two straight losses at Prince George's Stadium, the best-of-five series moves to Altoona tomorrow night. Bowie will now have to win three straight on the road to advance to the championship series for the second time in three seasons.
Altoona No. 7 hitter Elvis...
BOWIE, Md. - The Double-A Bowie Baysox don't face a must-win situation tonight, but it's pretty close. They need to beat Altoona at Prince George's Stadium or they fall behind two games to none in a best-of-five series. And after this game, the rest of the series will be played at Altoona.
Bowie was held to one-hit last night - a Cedric Mullins single in the fourth - in a 2-0 Game 1 loss. Altoona starter Mitch Keller issued two walks and had four strikeouts in a 90-pitch complete-game...
The Orioles begin their next-to-last road trip of the year tonight and it will certainly be a very challenging one. It starts with three games at Cleveland against the Indians, who have won 15 in a row. Then they play three in Toronto and four games at Yankee Stadium.
The Orioles begin the trip at 71-69 with 22 games to play. They are two games behind Minnesota for the second wild card with the Twins leading the Angels by one game. The Orioles are 27-39 on the road.
Cleveland (84-56) just...
The Single-A Frederick Keys are now one win away from a Carolina League championship. Well, a co-championship any way.
The league office announced today the cancellation of the Carolina League Mills Cup championship series with a hurricane on the way. One of the four competing teams, Myrtle Beach, plays in a city that could be evacuated and sometimes real life matters top even baseball. It was a sensible decision. So the league decided that the two winners of the semi-finals series will be...
