After losing to the New York Yankees at Camden Yards last night, the Orioles need a win tonight to even the series and get them back to the .500 mark at 4-4.
They last were two games under .500 at 5-7 last April 13.
On the mound, Miguel Gonzalez (0-1, 1.59 ERA) pitches against left-hander CC Sabathia (0-1, 6.35 ERA).
Gonzalez went 5 2/3 innings in his first start, last Wednesday at Tampa Bay, allowing three hits and one run, with five walks (tying his career-high) and five strikeouts. He took...
Acquired by the Orioles from the Chicago White Sox last Aug. 30 for minor league pitchers Miguel Chalas and Mark Blackmar, outfielder Alejandro De Aza is off to a good start in his first full season with team.
He has hit safely in all six games he has played, batting .333 (9-for-27) with one double, two homers, four RBIs, one stolen base and a .950 OPS.
In his last four starts, De Aza has three multi-hit games, going 7-for-18 (.389).
"Been working hard and when we we work hard, good things...
A blown lead against the Yankees. A 1-3 homestand. Four losses in five games since a 2-0 start. A bullpen that has been scored upon in every game this year.
This is not what the Orioles or their fans had in mind.
But there is no reason to panic just yet and keep this stat in mind: At 3-4, the 2015 Orioles have one more win than the 2014 Orioles did at the same time. That team went 2-5 in its first seven games, yet finished with 96 wins and a division championship.
But this year's Orioles have...
When it was over and the Orioles had let a game get away against the New York Yankees, two key position players expressed big confidence in an O's bullpen that has been scored on in each game this year.
"Hell yeah. One game doesn't determine if you are doing bad. Our bullpen is the best in the league. I have a lot of confidence in them. All of us do," third baseman Manny Machado said.
"One good swing. Just part of the game. I think we have the best bullpen out there and they will keep...
Adam Jones hit a very big home run tonight and then Stephen Drew topped him.
Jones' two-run homer in the sixth gave the Orioles a 4-2 lead over the Yankees, but then Stephen Drew hit a pinch-hit grand slam in the top of the seventh.
Drew's third career slam, which came on a 3-1 pitch from Tommy Hunter, put New York up by two and the Yankees went on to win 6-5 tonight in front of 21,633 in the opener of a three-game series at Camden Yards.
Hunter came on in the seventh after starter Wei-Yin...
The Orioles and Yankees meet for the first time this year tonight to begin a three-game series at Camden Yards.
Last year, the O's won the season series for the first time since 1997. They came close to a season series win, going 9-9 in 2012 and 9-10 in 2013, but they broke through big last year, going 13-6 against New York, including a 7-2 mark in Baltimore.
Orioles pitchers posted an ERA of 2.80 in those 19 games. They held down some of New York's best batters. Brett Gardner hit just .176,...
It's too early to call it a trend, but already three times this season the Orioles starting pitcher has had a pitch count of over 30 at the end of the first inning.
Chris Tillman threw 32 pitches in the first yesterday, Miguel Gonzalez threw 32 against Tampa Bay and Bud Norris threw 36 in the home opener on Friday against Toronto.
By the way, those are the three games the Orioles lost during their 3-3 start.
Way too early to be concerned, but today I asked manager Buck Showalter how O's...
Keith Lupton, a man that was instrumental in the start-up and operation of three Orioles minor league franchises, died Sunday. He was 73.
Keith was well-known to long-time employees in the Orioles player development department and was a minor league executive that won General Manger of the Year honors in the South Atlantic, Carolina and Eastern leagues.
Most recently, he was involved with two independent Atlantic League teams, the Lancaster Barnstormers and Southern Maryland Blue Crabs. (In the...
Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette was my guest Sunday on the "Orioles Baseball Tonight" radio show on the O's flagship station, 105.7 The Fan.
Among the topics we discussed was the recent trade between the Orioles and Los Angeles Dodgers. On Thursday, the O's sent pitcher Ryan Webb, minor league catcher Brian Ward and a competitive balance draft pick (No. 74 overall) to the Dodgers for pitcher Ben Rowan and catcher Chris O'Brien. That duo has been assigned to Double-A...
The Orioles lost 10-7 today to the Toronto Blue Jays and when it was over, right fielder Travis Snider took the fall for the three runs that came in on his watch.
With the bases loaded, two outs and the Jays leading 3-2 in the third against Chris Tillman, Snider had Devon Travis' drive to right tick off his glove. It was scored an error and three runs scored.
"I misplayed it," Snider said. "That is a ball that has to be caught. Especially, Chris pitched his backside off for us and gave us a...
In a matchup of opening day starters coming off strong outings, this kind of game was not expected.
Chris Tillman and Drew Hutchison lasted a combined seven innings and allowed 14 runs, as the Toronto Blue Jays held off an Orioles rally for a 10-7 victory.
The Blue Jays won the series 2-1 in front of 32,522 at Camden Yards and the Orioles are 3-3 through six games. Toronto improves to 4-2 with series wins in New York and Baltimore.
The teams exchanged two-run homers in the first inning as...
When Chris Tillman takes the mound today, he'll be throwing to catcher Ryan Lavarnway for the first time in a regular season game.
I asked Lavarnway if he and Tillman can gain anything from last night as they attack the Blue Jays hitters today? They saw Ubaldo Jimenez hold Toronto to one hit and no runs over seven innings last night. Can they just take that game plan that Jimenez used into today's game or does Tillman have a different style of pitching?
"I think there is a little bit of...
After exchanging blowout wins, the Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays play the third and deciding game of their three-game series here this afternoon.
Toronto spoiled the O's home opener with a 12-5 win Friday, but the Orioles won 7-1 last night in front of 38,897 at the Yard behind Ubaldo Jimenez and a Jonathan Schoop grand slam.
Right-handers Chris Tillman (13-6, 3.34 ERA last season) and Drew Hutchison (11-13, 4.48 ERA) will make their second starts of 2015 today. Both started on opening...
So far, so good for Orioles right-hander Jason Garcia.
The 22-year-old Garcia had not pitched above low Single-A level until Wednesday, when he threw a scoreless inning against Tampa Bay. On Friday, he pitched during the home opener, going 2 2/3 innings, allowing two hits and one run against Toronto.
Garcia recorded his first major league strikeout when he fanned Edwin Encarnacion in the sixth inning.
I asked Garcia if pitching coach Dave Wallace and bullpen coach Dom Chiti have offered him...
Ubaldo Jimenez has walked off the mound before at Camden Yards and heard boos. Tonight, he was cheered throughout a seven-inning outing where he allowed just one hit and no runs in a 7-1 Orioles win over Toronto.
He sees his 2015 season as a fresh start and a chance to put 2014 in his rear-view mirror.
"Yes I do. I did from the first day of spring training," Jimenez said. "You have to forget about what happened in the past and you have to forget quick. It doesn't matter whether it is good...
For the Orioles, it was a nice answer to Friday's blowout loss. For right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez, it was a fresh start and a chance to show his spring training progress was meaningful.
Jimenez pitched seven scoreless one-hit innings and Jonathan Schoop hit his first career grand slam as the O's beat Toronto 7-1 in front of 38,897 at Camden Yards.
After going 6-9 with a 4.81 ERA last year and pitching to a 6.59 ERA last April, Jimenez was in control from the start tonight. He retired the first...
Now 2-2 on the season after back-to-back losses that followed a 2-0 start, the Orioles host Toronto here tonight at Camden Yards in the middle game of a three-game set.
Toronto built a 10-1 lead by the fourth inning on Friday and had 16 hits in a 12-5 win that snapped the Orioles four-game home opener winning streak.
The Orioles are now 17-7 in Camden Yards home openers and 12-9 when their home opener is against an American League East opponent.
After hitting just one double during their...
After starting the season 0-for-6 with three strikeouts against Tampa Bay, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis picked up his first hit of the year against Toronto Friday. Then he got his second and was robbed of a third.
It was a good day at the plate for Davis, who went 2-for-4 with a single and double, and hit another ball to the wall in left only to see Blue Jays left fielder Kevin Pillar crash into the wall and rob him of at least an extra-base hit.
Did some things come together for Davis and...
In his first start since his 2014 struggles and since he had a strong spring training, Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez can be a bit of a stopper tonight.
He can both help the Orioles stop a modest two-game losing streak and help them slow down a Toronto offense that produced 12 runs on 16 hits Friday in a 12-5 win at Camden Yards.
Coming off a 2014 season where he went 6-9 with a 4.81 ERA in 25 games (22 starts), Jimenez gave up five runs in his first spring start. But since that day, he...
After a spring training where he had an ERA of 9.26, this was not the start Bud Norris wanted today. He gave up eight runs and seven hits in three-plus innings as Toronto beat the Orioles 12-5 at Camden Yards.
"Frustrating," Norris said. "Not what I envisioned. Tough to do here at home in front of these guys. I'll take that one for sure on me.
"Slider wasn't great today. I got ahead in some counts and they put some good swings and found some holes. But I've got to get better. This is the...