Orioles added to their hit list against top pitchers last night

Orioles added to their hit list against top pitchers last night
This is an impressive stat for the Orioles and it bodes well for them should they still be playing in October: They are now 10-5 in games when they face a starting pitcher who is currently in the American League top 10 in ERA. The latest win came last night. They pinned a loss on Chris Sale. They are 2-0 this year when Sale has started against them. They have not pinned losses on every top starter they have faced, but they've gone on to win 10 of those 15 games. Here is the list: * 1-0 when...
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O's use solid pitching, the longball and strong defense to beat Sale and the White Sox

O's use solid pitching, the longball and strong defense to beat Sale and the White Sox
Get one solid starting pitching performance. Mix in two homers against Chris Sale. Throw in one potential game-saving catch. And then add a late five-run rally to blown open a one-run game. Where to start with this impressive 8-2 Orioles win over the Chicago White Sox to start a three-game series? Bud Norris took a one-hitter and 3-0 lead to the last of the seventh, but he almost left that half-inning trailing. Avisail Garcia's two-out, two-run single made it a 3-2 game. The next batter,...
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O's game blog: A look at the challenge of facing Chris Sale

O's game blog: A look at the challenge of facing Chris Sale
As the Orioles face Chris Sale (10-2, 2.01 ERA), one of baseball's best pitchers tonight, maybe they will be encouraged by how they did against him on June 23. Sale has held American League batters to a .196 batting average this season. But that night, the Orioles had 11 hits off Sale in six innings and batted .423 against him. They beat the White Sox 6-4 that game. They didn't pin a loss on Sale, but that is easily his season-high for hits allowed. He has not given up more than eight hits...
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A look at how the Orioles are turning homers into wins

A look at how the Orioles are turning homers into wins
How important are home runs to the Orioles? Well, when they hit more homers than their opponent this year they are 45-6, and that is an .882 winning percentage. They are perfect, 14-0 in the second half, when out-homering the opposition. That stat is pretty amazing and it was brought to my attention when I first saw it on a graphic during a MASN telecast over the weekend. We already know the Orioles get a high percentage of their runs from the longball and are not a good team most nights at...
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Delmarva duo: Sisco and Dosch have been among O's best minor league batters

Delmarva duo: Sisco and Dosch have been among O's best minor league batters
During a season where the Orioles have had several position player prospects - like Christian Walker, Mike Yastrzemski and Dariel Alvarez - garner attention and earn promotions, two young kids at Single-A Delmarva have just continued to crank out the hits and put up big seasons of their own. Shorebirds catcher Chance Sisco and third baseman Drew Dosch rank among the top hitters this season in the South Atlantic League. Sisco has proven his strong first impression last year wasn't a fluke....
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Davis drives in go-ahead run, Gausman gets the win as O's top Cleveland

Davis drives in go-ahead run, Gausman gets the win as O's top Cleveland
For one inning at least, the Orioles broke out of their offensive doldrums in Cleveland, as the longball returned to their offense. They used those runs and a strong outing from Kevin Gausman to beat Cleveland 4-1 today at Progressive Field. The Orioles avoided a three-game sweep as they improved to 70-52. They had not lost three in a row since dropping four straight from May 27-30. A Jason Kipnis bloop RBI single in the fourth had given Cleveland a 1-0 lead, but the O's came to bat down by...
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O's game blog: Kevin Gausman to the mound as O's try to avoid sweep

O's game blog: Kevin Gausman to the mound as O's try to avoid sweep
The Orioles went to Cleveland having won eight of their last 10 games and eight consecutive series. But they need to win this afternoon to avoid being swept by the Indians. The Orioles have been swept in a three-game series once this year, May 12-14 at home against the Tigers. The last time they got swept in Cleveland was April 15-17, 2011. They are looking for some offense today after going 11-for-71 (.155) with just one run scored over the first two games in Cleveland. The Orioles have two...
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Jimenez's struggles leave his spot on a potential playoff roster in doubt

Jimenez's struggles leave his spot on a potential playoff roster in doubt
If the Orioles had to set their playoff roster today, should they get there of course, it would be hard for Ubaldo Jimenez to make it. Right now, he is not one of their five best starters and you probably only need three or four in the playoffs anyway. He could be moved to a long relief role in the bullpen, but at this point, it might be hard for him to even make it in that role. In October, you must go with your very best and he just has not earned the right to be considered that. Being...
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Jimenez struggles, Orioles blanked 6-0 by Indians

Jimenez struggles, Orioles blanked 6-0 by Indians
Last season, when he pitched for the Cleveland Indians, Ubaldo Jimenez went 5-2 with an ERA of 1.66 in his last 11 starts at Progressive Field. This outing didn't go quite that well. Jimenez struggled again and allowed two home runs and six runs as Cleveland blanked the Orioles 6-0 tonight to take the first two games in the series. The Orioles fall to 69-52 and have lost back-to-back games for the first time since June 28-29 against Tampa Bay. Also, the Orioles' eight-series win streak...
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O's game blog: A look at the Orioles' chance to tie a team record

O's game blog: A look at the Orioles' chance to tie a team record
If the Orioles can pull out wins tonight and tomorrow at Cleveland, they can tie a club record. The Orioles are looking for their ninth consecutive series win. They have won nine in a row twice before. The O's did that from July 31 to Aug. 27,1968 and they did it over two seasons from Sept. 18, 1995 to April 18, 1996. The O's have won eight series in a row four times in club history, including the current streak. Over the last 10 games, the Orioles have scored seven runs or more five...
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With big division lead, fans just not that upset at a walk-off loss

With big division lead, fans just not that upset at a walk-off loss
This is how good a season the Orioles are having. On a night when they left 10 runners on base, scored just one run and lost in walk-off fashion, there was little gloom and doom to be found on this blog last night. Kind of refreshing, isn't it? No one second-guessing Buck Showalter's every move or ripping everyone but the bat boy. No proclaiming this is nothing more than a .500 team. That one was big nightly for a long, long, long time during the 2014 season. No proclaiming the sky is...
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Walk-off loss: Mike Aviles homers in the 11th as Cleveland tops the Orioles

Walk-off loss: Mike Aviles homers in the 11th as Cleveland tops the Orioles
For the Orioles, it was a tough start to a nine-game road trip. Mike Aviles led off the last of the 11th with a homer to left off Brian Matusz as Cleveland beat the Orioles 2-1 with the walk-off win. Aviles hit a 77 mph breaking ball for his fourth homer. The Orioles fall to 69-51 and their eight-game winning streak in series openers comes to an end. The Orioles tied the game 1-1 in the top of the eighth with a two-out rally. With none on, Nelson Cruz singled to end Corey Kluber's night....
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O's game blog: A look at the O's impressive record against top pitchers

O's game blog: A look at the O's impressive record against top pitchers
First, the bad news. The Orioles tonight face Cleveland Indians right-hander Corey Kluber (13-6, 2.46 ERA). Kluber has given up just one earned run in 31 1/3 innings over his past four starts and he ranks third in the American League in ERA. Now the good news. The Orioles have played 13 games this year against a starter in the current top 10 of the AL in ERA and they are 9-4 in those games. Here are the league ERA leaders and how the Orioles have fared against them this year: 1.95 - Felix...
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Checking in with the newest Oriole and the challenge of facing Kluber

Checking in with the newest Oriole and the challenge of facing Kluber
For the first time since May of 2013 when he was in the Cleveland organization, 27-year-old infielder Cord Phelps is back in the major leagues. When Manny Machado went on the disabled list Wednesday, Phelps was the choice of the Orioles to take his roster spot. "Anytime you get told you are going to the big leagues it is a pretty cool feeling, so I'm excited and happy to be here," Phelps said upon arriving at Camden Yards. The Orioles claimed him off waivers from Cleveland on Nov. 25. He...
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Has this been the year of the hitter on the O's farm?

Has this been the year of the hitter on the O's farm?
When Baseball America came out with its list of the Orioles top 30 prospects last December, pitchers took up the first four spots, and six of the top eight on the list. Based on what we've seen happen this year, and with the departures from that list of Kevin Gausman and Eduardo Rodriguez, several hitters should start making their way higher up on the Orioles' top prospects list next winter. In some respects this has become the year of the hitter on the O's farm. Several players have had...
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Dylan Bundy goes on the disabled list with strained latissimus muscle

Dylan Bundy goes on the disabled list with strained latissimus muscle
Orioles top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy has been placed on the disabled list with Single-A Frederick due to a right latissimus strain. It happened while Bundy was running in the outfield following his most recent start. Bundy saw Orioles doctors today in Baltimore. "We did an MRI and it confirmed the muscle strain," Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette said. With the minor league regular season set to end Sept. 1, this could make it hard for Bundy to pitch again during this...
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The 2014 Orioles: While they lose players to injury, they add to their division lead

The 2014 Orioles: While they lose players to injury, they add to their division lead
Call it an Adam bomb. Whenever the 2014 season comes to an end and someone compiles a list of Adam Jones' greatest hits, last night's homer will be there. It's going to be a long list for Jones with key hits and this homer will rank right up there. He has had so many big first-inning homers this year, but this time he saved the best for last. Jones' three-run homer in the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and sent the Orioles on their way to a stirring 5-3 win over the Yankees that sent 37,587...
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Adam Jones: "Put me in the right spot, I'm expecting to deliver"

Adam Jones: "Put me in the right spot, I'm expecting to deliver"
In the Orioles clubhouse after his huge tie-breaking three-run homer in the last of the eighth led the Orioles past the Yankees 5-3, Adam Jones was asked if he was a bit more animated than usual when he ran around the bases tonight. "Big spot. Big home run. ESPN game," Jones said laughing. "Everybody watching. You know me, I play the game with emotion. Big home run, big spot. Nothing wrong with showing a little emotion there." First, Jonathan Schoop homered off Dellin Betances to tie the...
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Two swings, four runs: Schoop and Jones homer in eighth as O's rally past Yankees

Two swings, four runs: Schoop and Jones homer in eighth as O's rally past Yankees
Jonathan Schoop hit a big homer tonight and then Adam Jones topped him. Jones hit a tie-breaking three-run shot off Shawn Kelley as the Orioles beat the Yankees 5-3 at Camden Yards to sweep this rain-shortened, two-game series. A crowd of 37,687 roared on with its approval. After Schoop tied the game 2-2 with a homer off Dellin Betances, Jones delivered on the first pitch from Kelley after a Nick Markakis single and walk to Chris Davis. It was the latest big hit for Jones, who now has 23...
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O's game blog: Orioles go for another AL East series win tonight

O's game blog: Orioles go for another AL East series win tonight
The Orioles have won a season-high seven straight series. They have lost just one of their last 12 American League East series. They can add to both totals with a win here tonight in a rain-shortened, two-game series against the Yankees. The Orioles are 9-1-2 in the last 12 AL East series, and they have won three in a row and five of their last six. They are 29-19 against the AL East with a much better road (17-8) than home (12-11) record against the division. The Orioles have scored 36 runs...
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