As far as a pro debut goes, it was a pretty solid one. The Orioles' third-round draft pick, Jacksonville University outfielder Austin Hays, had three hits last night for short season Single-A Aberdeen.
Hays showed some speed on his first pro hit, a gap shot to left-center field in the third inning that went for an RBI triple. He had a 3-for-4 night with a run, stolen base, an RBI and a couple of nice defensive plays.
It was his first game, but not his first day with Aberdeen, and already...
It was a much-needed win and a much-needed solid outing by Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez. He gave up two runs over six innings last night as the Orioles beat the Padres 7-2 to split a two-game series.
The win improved the Birds to 41-30 and, with Boston's loss to the White Sox, the Orioles opened a two-game lead atop the American League East over Boston.
For the first time since June 5-6, O's starting pitchers have recorded back-to-back quality starts. Tyler Wilson and Jimenez allowed...
After all his recent struggles - struggles that sent him to the Orioles bullpen for an outing - right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez badly needed to pitch well tonight. He did, allowing two runs in six innings in the Orioles' 7-2 win over San Diego.
Did he feel pressure to pitch well tonight?
"I just wanted to get the job done for sure," Jimenez said. "There is no more pressure than that. As a pitcher, I know I have been struggling before I got sent down to the bullpen. But I always try to find a...
When he gave up two singles and a run to the first three batters in the first inning, it looked as it Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez might be on his way to yet another poor outing.
But tonight he wrote a different script.
Jimenez allowed just two runs and four hits over six innings as the Orioles beat San Diego 7-2 at Camden Yards to split a two-game series.
The victory was the Orioles' 1,000th in Camden Yards history, counting the postseason. They are now 1,000-959 at Oriole Park since...
Can a struggling pitcher turn it around and pitch the Orioles to a win tonight? Right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez (3-7, 7.34 ERA) makes his 14th start and tries to pitch the Orioles past San Diego to gain a split of this two-game series.
Jimenez's last two appearances came against Toronto - one as a starter and one out of the bullpen. He gave up 10 runs over 2 2/3 innings in those games. Over his past seven games, he is 1-4 with an ERA of 11.47. He has allowed five or more runs in five if his past...
Orioles lefty reliever Brian Duensing went on the 15-day disabled list this afternoon, retroactive to June 20, with left elbow inflammation, and lefty Ashur Tolliver was recalled from Triple-A Norfolk.
Duensing said he will have an arthroscopic procedure on Friday that will likely keep him out four to eight weeks. He is hoping for an Aug. 1 return. He said there are what he described as cartilage chips in the elbow that got irritated over the years and will be removed.
How he discovered the...
The Orioles have been resilient this year and they have to be that again now. The last two days, they've gone to Texas and back. They lost games to the Rangers and Padres by 4-3 and 10-7 scores. They held a three-run lead in each game, but could not win either.
Over the last three games, the Orioles have scored 21 runs on 44 hits, but they have won just one of those three games. But last night, every team in the American League East lost, so the Orioles remain in first place by one game over...
The Orioles' trek to Texas and back has resulted so far in two losses the last two days - two losses in games where the Orioles held three-run leads.
Tonight, they went to the seventh ahead of last-place San Diego 6-3. But they saw the Padres score the game's next seven runs to win 10-7. O's closer Zach Britton was asked if the tough travel back and forth to Texas contributed to tonight's loss.
"I mean, that's an easy excuse," Britton said. "But baseball is a tough grind, our schedule...
The Padres came to Camden Yards with a last-place record but with an offense that was showing signs of life this month. The Orioles got a good look at it tonight.
The Padres scored four runs in the top of the seventh against the O's bullpen to rally past the Orioles 10-7 at Camden Yards. The O's have lost back-to-back games to fall to 40-30. They held a three-run lead in each of those games. But with the Red Sox also losing, the O's maintain a one-game lead atop the American League East.
On...
With the Orioles adding right-handed reliever Oliver Drake to their roster today, manager Buck Showalter said one challenge for Drake in the past at the big league level has been the ability to pitch multiple innings.
"You'd like to have the people you bring up be able to pitch multiple innings," Showalter said. "And when Ollie is taking 20 to 30 pitches to get through an inning, you can't do that. And he has been much more efficient with that. That was a point of emphasis for him when he...
On Monday, right-hander Oliver Drake was named the International League Pitcher of the Week. Today, he got an even better reward: another trip to the big leagues.
The Orioles today recalled Drake from Triple-A Norfolk, and infielder Paul Janish cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A. Because Janish has been outrighted before, he has three days to decide whether he will report to the Tides or elect free agency. Today's moves leaves the Orioles' 40-man roster at 39.
"Paul's a pro,"...
The Orioles' Manny Machado remains the leader in balloting at third base for the 87th All-Star Game set for July 12 in San Diego. Machado has 1,626,064 votes to lead Toronto's Josh Donaldson with 1,112,743. Machado is looking to make the All-Star Game for the third time.
No other Orioles lead at their positions. Catcher Matt Wieters is second by a huge margin to Kansas City's Salvador Perez (2,744,293 to 807,958 votes). First baseman Chris Davis is third in the voting, behind leader Eric...
The Orioles rotation just can't get seem to develop much consistency. The night after Tyler Wilson pitched eight scoreless against Boston, Mike Wright gave up eight runs. Orioles starters have pitched five innings or less in four consecutive games, five of the last six and seven of the past nine.
Over the last four games, O's starters have an ERA of 8.68, allowing 18 runs over 18 2/3. In the past 11 games, O's starters have an ERA of 6.83. For the season, the rotation ERA is 4.97. That is...
It was a frustrating evening for the Orioles on their one-night trip to Texas. They took a three-run lead. They lost 4-3 to the surging Rangers. O's right-hander Kevin Gausman, given little run support often this year, this time could not protect the early lead his team provided him.
Gausman has been struggling for a few starts now and it continued tonight. He allowed a solo homer to Ian Desmond in the third to make it a 3-1 game. Then Texas scored three runs an inning later for the 4-3 lead....
It's a matchup of American League division leaders with the two best records in the AL when the Orioles play at Texas tonight. It's a one-night-only matchup to make up for a rainout on April 17. The Orioles will be back home tomorrow night to play San Diego.
The Orioles are 40-28 (.588) and leading the AL East by one game. The Rangers have the best record in the league at 45-25 (.643) and lead the AL West by 8 ½ games over Seattle
Here is a look at how well Texas has played in 2016:
* The...
The short season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds have begun another season in the New York-Penn League. They played their season opener on Friday at Hudson Valley.
This year's team is managed by Luis Pujols, who is in his second season with Aberdeen. Justin Lord is the pitching coach for a third season and Scott Beerer is the hitting coach.
Aberdeen lost Friday 4-2 at Hudson Valley and then won there 3-2 on Saturday. Yesterday, Aberdeen lost 8-6 at Staten Island. The IronBirds play their home...
Just over a week ago, the Orioles began a four-game series in Toronto. That would be followed by a three-game series in Boston and three more at home against Toronto.
The Orioles began this stretch leading the American League East by 1 ½ games and they ended it with a one-game lead. They went 5-5 against their two closest pursuers in the division.
Considering they were 3-5 after getting pounded at home on Friday night 13-3, the Orioles did a nice job to take the last two games against...
After they lost three of four last weekend to Toronto and lost again on Friday night, it was big for the Orioles to win the last two games. They took the series from Toronto and emerged 5-5 over the last 10 against Boston and Toronto. The Orioles beat the Blue Jays 11-6 today in front of 39,024 fans at Camden Yards.
They began this 10-game stretch in first place and will end it that way. The Orioles have lost just one home series in 12 this year, going 9-1-2. They have a .500 record or better...
Chris Tillman had one bad inning. It elevated his pitch count and got him out of this game sooner than he wanted. But the Orioles' offense had a few good innings and that was more than enough.
The O's took the final two games of this series, beating Toronto today 11-6 at Camden Yards as Matt Wieters went 4-for-5 with a two-run homer and Jonathan Schoop went 3-for-5 with a two-run homer. The Orioles' offense produced a season-high 19 hits in 41 at-bats. Their 11 runs were two off the season...
The Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays play the third and deciding game of a three-game series this afternoon at Camden Yards.
They have split the first two games with Toronto winning 13-3 Friday night when Michael Saunders hit three homers with eight RBIs. The O's won 4-2 Saturday afternoon as Yovani Gallardo allowed two runs over five innings and the O's bullpen pitched four scoreless innings.
The Orioles (39-28) are 3-5 in their past eight games. Over a longer stretch they have won eight of 13...