SARASOTA, Fla. - Kevin Gausman was facing a Detroit Tigers lineup that featured just one everyday player. But the man who had the best seat to watch the Orioles right-hander pitch today said his stuff was so good, that he would have had a dominant outing if this had been a regular season game.
Gausman brought his A game and catcher Caleb Joseph said this outing would have played well against any team at any time in the regular season.
Joseph provided a glowing assessment of Gausman's five...
ORIOLES QUICK WRAP
Score: Tigers 7, Orioles 1
Recap: Right-hander Kevin Gausman had a strong outing against a lineup not filled with regulars. But he was good: five innings, allowing just two singles, with one walk and eight strikeouts. Gausman fanned five the first time through the order and said he had three pitches he could throw in any count. ... The Orioles' lone run scored on back-to-back doubles by Chris Davis and Trey Mancini in the second. Detroit scored five runs in the sixth through...
SARASOTA, Fla. - Of all the players in the Orioles clubhouse, maybe the most nervous and emotional about last night's Team USA game versus the Dominican Republic in the World Baseball Classic was catcher Francisco Peña.
He had two teammates on one team, with Adam Jones and Mychal Givens playing for the USA. He had his father, Tony Peña, managing in the other dugout. The first base coach with the Yankees, the elder Peña managed the Dominican Republic to the WBC championship in 2013 as...
SARASOTA, Fla. - It must be satisfying and quite encouraging for any young player at Orioles spring training to get props from manager Buck Showalter. For catcher Chance Sisco, the club's No. 1-rated prospect, those words came after Friday's game in Bradenton.
Sisco got the start against the Pirates, had an RBI single in a win and caught the first five innings. Showalter was particularly interested to see how the youngster handled Zach Britton's sinker and Britton pitched a scoreless top of...
TAMPA - Orioles right-hander Dylan Bundy pitched his longest spring outing and once again used his cutter/slider. Lefty Jayson Aquino continued his solid spring. Pedro Ãlvarez made a catch of a routine fly ball in his Grapefruit League outfield debut and the Orioles beat the Yankees 5-4 today in front of a sellout crowd of 10,393.
The game was tied at 4-4 in the top of the ninth when Rule 5 pick Aneury Tavárez hit a homer off Ernesto Frieri to break the tie as the Orioles improved to...
ORIOLES QUICK WRAP
Score: Orioles 5, Yankees 4
Recap: Right-hander Dylan Bundy went four innings in his longest outing of the spring. But he gave up four hits and three runs to raise his spring ERA to 7.36. ... Bundy said he threw eight or nine cutter/sliders today and plans to use the pitch during the regular season. ... Pedro Ãlvarez made his Grapefruit League debut as an outfielder, playing six innings in right field. He recorded one out on a routine flyout. ... He also went 2-for-3 with...
TAMPA - The Orioles got some potentially encouraging news on right-hander Chris Tillman today, who is dealing with shoulder discomfort. He will resume throwing next week, but at the same time, manager Buck Showalter acknowledged that Tillman is not expected to pitch in the majors in April.
Tillman, who got a cortisone injection in that shoulder on Wednesday, will take part in two throwing sessions next Wednesday and Friday.
"He'll have two long-toss sessions," Showalter said in the...
SARASOTA, Fla. - In some respects, Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman has been where right-hander Chris Tillman wants to go.
It was about one year ago when Gausman got a cortisone injection for a right shoulder strain. He missed the beginning of the 2016 season, but he returned to start for the Orioles on April 25, pitched 180 innings, had a very strong year and did that with no further shoulder issues.
Tillman might sign up for that right now if he could. Tillman got his own cortisone injection for...
BRADENTON, Fla. - They are not the only two candidates competing for a potential rotation opening with the Orioles, just the last two to pitch. Left-hander Chris Lee worked three scoreless innings last night and Gabriel Ynoa took the mound today here at LECOM Park.
During a 56-pitch outing, the 23-year-old right-hander went 2 2/3 innings, allowing five hits and two runs. The second run scored on a Michael Zouzalik balk after Ynoa left the game with the bases loaded and two outs in the...
ORIOLES QUICK WRAP
Score: Orioles 8, Pirates 6
Recap: Gabriel Ynoa got the start and a chance to make his pitch for a rotation job. He fared probably a little better than his line looked. He allowed five hits and two runs over 2 2/3 innings. But he gave up a bloop RBI single and a second run scored on Michael Zouzalik's balk. ... Trey Mancini hit his second spring homer, a long shot to left-center in the second. He's batting .351. ... The O's scored three in the third to lead 5-1 then on a...
BRADENTON, Fla. - The latest Orioles pitcher to audition for a potential spot in the season-opening rotation is Gabriel Ynoa. The 23-year-old right-hander from the Dominican Republic got the start here this afternoon against the Pirates at LECOM Park.
Ynoa has made three previous spring outings, each time going two innings. Over six frames, he had allowed five hits and two runs (one earned) with one walk and three strikeouts.
Ynoa and the Orioles fell behind Pittsburgh 1-0 in the last of the...
As a highly drafted pitcher, there were some high expectations on left-hander Keegan Akin before he even threw one pitch as a professional. But he produced such good numbers last summer at short-season Single-A Aberdeen that Akin met those expectations in his debut season and has quickly become one of the Orioles' top pitching propsects.
Drafted in the second round (54th overall) last June out of Western Michigan University, Akin got a signing bonus of $1.177 million. Last year in college,...
Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman got a cortisone injection yesterday for his shoulder discomfort. While cautious optimism seems to be the current mood about Tillman, with any pitching injury, we don't know until we know.
That sounds like a wiseguy response, but even if Tillman can return to pitch in April and looks good, we won't know if he can stay healthy and pitch well all year. We just won't know until we do.
On the positive front, the Orioles say no surgery is contemplated right now...
While the Orioles' spring training camp has been very busy at the Ed Smith Stadium complex in Sarasota, Fla., the minor league camp has been humming along across town at the Twin Lakes Park complex.
Dozens of minor league players are preparing for their own seasons - many, of course, with hopes of reaching the major leagues. Some have already been there. Today, minor league camp takes another step forward with the beginning of games. The Orioles players will play four games each day, with two...
As opening day approaches, we know that the Orioles will be relying heavily on their bullpen during the 2017 season. The Orioles bullpen pitchers posted an ERA of 3.40 last year and that led the American League.
For most games this season, the Orioles will feature a seven-man bullpen. And we know that five of those spots will likely be filled by Zach Britton, Darren O'Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens and Donnie Hart. We don't yet know which pitchers will claim the sixth and seventh spots. But...
The news on right-hander Chris Tillman from Sunday was concerning. He never even made it to his planned bullpen session, shut down after about 10 long-toss throws before he was planning to take the mound.
So Tillman, who was on the disabled list from Aug. 24 to Sept. 11 last season with right shoulder bursitis, continues to have shoulder discomfort. He got a platelet-rich plasma injection in December and now Sunday's setback, detailed here and here.
Tillman returned from that issue last year...
The Orioles felt that if left-hander Chris Lee could prove to be healthy this year, that he could impact their 2017 pitching staff. He probably would have gotten his first callup to the majors last season, but he didn't pitch after May 23 when he had a start where he went eight innings and gave up just one run for Double-A Bowie.
Lat and shoulder issues slowed him last year and he took a few months off from throwing late in the year and into the offseason.
But Lee, who ended 2015 going 4-2...
Well, perhaps that win for Team USA last night gained the World Baseball Classic more fans in this country. If it didn't, tonight's heavyweight bout between the United States and the Dominican Republic figures to do that.
The Orioles sure factored significantly in the United States' 3-2 victory in 10 innings over Colombia. O's right-hander Mychal Givens allowed both runs that Colombia scored and Adam Jones drove in two for the USA, including the walk-off winner in the last of the...
The World Baseball Classic has proven to be a force and very popular around the world, creating interest and great television ratings in many countries. But for the event to gain more interest here, Team USA probably needs to win this event - or least get deep into the competition.
As Team USA - with two Orioles on the roster - begins Pool C play tonight against Colombia, we can note that the Americans have been rather mediocre in previous editions of the WBC.
Japan has been to the semifinals...
A player that has hit 47 homers or more twice in his Orioles career and one that signed a huge contract 14 months ago is bound to be a focal point for opponent pitchers and under a huge spotlight with his own fans.
That is life for Orioles first baseman Chris Davis. Recently, I wrote here how center fielder Adam Jones could produce better stats in 2017 than he did in 2016, and Davis also fits in that category.
A middle-of-the-order hitter that is expected to produce plenty of runs, Davis is...