During live chat, Chris Davis charmed and entertained the audience

During live chat, Chris Davis charmed and entertained the audience
During the last Orioles homestand we had two more MASNSports.com live chats. We had another one with outfielder Adam Jones and one with first baseman Chris Davis. The players are generous to come in for a period of time that is usually at least a half hour or so and answer fan questions that come our way through social media. They come up to our nifty looking web studio on the fifth floor of the warehouse at Camden Yards and we get a chance to hear from the players in a non-clubhouse...
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Orioles use six-run outburst in eighth to beat Texas in series opener

Orioles use six-run outburst in eighth to beat Texas in series opener
Caleb Joseph picked a good time for his first major league extra-base hit. Nelson Cruz picked a good time to hit another homer. They were both part of a six-run explosion in the top of the eighth tonight as the Orioles beat Texas 8-3 in the opener of a three-game series. Moments after a homer by Robinson Chirinos off Brian Matusz tied the game 2-2 in the last of the seventh, the Orioles untied it with their second six-run inning in two games. The first big hit came off the bat of Joseph. His...
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O's game blog: This time, Joe Saunders pitches against Orioles in Texas

O's game blog: This time, Joe Saunders pitches against Orioles in Texas
The Orioles on the field, Joe Saunders on the mound and the game is at Texas. The Orioles have a pretty good memory when that happened in October 2012. That night, this happened. Despite very poor numbers pitching in that ballpark, manager Buck Showalter went with Saunders in the American League Wild Card Game that night and the Orioles beat Yu Darvish and the Rangers. Now, Saunders faces the Orioles for Texas. He is 7-0 with an ERA of 4.09 in nine career starts against Baltimore. According...
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No early pick provides challenge for Rajsich and O's scouting staff

No early pick provides challenge for Rajsich and O's scouting staff
Orioles director of scouting Gary Rajsich said he and his staff are ready for the challenge. The challenge is to find and sign some good players in this week's First-Year Player Draft without having a pick until the third round. After picking Kevin Gausman fourth and Hunter Harvey 22nd overall in his first two drafts with the Orioles, Rajsich and the Birds won't select until the 90th overall pick on Friday afternoon. When the draft's first two rounds unfold live on MLB Network starting...
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Hunter Harvey named SAL All-Star Game starter, five Shorebirds make team

Hunter Harvey named SAL All-Star Game starter, five Shorebirds make team
Orioles 2013 first-round pick Hunter Harvey will be the starting pitching for the Northern Division team in the South Atlantic League All-Star Game set for June 17 in Hickory, N.C. Harvey heads a list of five Shorebirds named to the game this morning, and not only does he get to start this game, but he'll be pitching just 18 miles from his home in Catawba, N.C. Harvey will be joined as a starter by Delmarva third baseman Drew Dosch and right fielder Mike Yastrzemski. Delmarva pitchers...
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A few thoughts on Lough, Webb and the offense

A few thoughts on Lough, Webb and the offense
Some thoughts and observations after the Orioles' 9-4 win over the Astros on Sunday, which allowed the O's to win the last two games in Houston and split the four-game series. The Orioles are still looking for their first series win since taking two of three from Houston in Baltimore May 9-11. Since then the Birds have lost three series and tied three others. * Some readers had posted in recent days wondering if David Lough should keep his roster spot and wondering what the Orioles see in...
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Machado hits a grand slam and Lough homers as O's rout Houston 9-4

Machado hits a grand slam and Lough homers as O's rout Houston 9-4
Before today, Manny Machado had not hit a grand slam for the Orioles and David Lough had not homered as an Oriole. Check and check. Machado's first career slam backed the pitching of Wei-Yin Chen as the Orioles routed Houston 9-4 to earn a split of the four-game series. The Orioles are 28-27 on the season and 3-4 on this long road trip, which continues Tuesday night at Texas. Nelson Cruz, the major league homer leader with 20, was hit on the left hand by a Scott Feldman pitch in the top...
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O's game blog: O's look for fourth straight quality start today with Chen on mound

O's game blog: O's look for fourth straight quality start today with Chen on mound
Now that the Orioles have three quality starts in a row, why not shoot for four? The O's three starters in the Houston series - Ubaldo Jimenez, Miguel Gonzalez and Chris Tillman - have pitched to an ERA of 1.86, allowing four runs over 19 1/3 innings. The Orioles have not had four consecutive quality starts all year. They had three in a row once before, from April 9-12. In 25 innings in this series, O's pitchers have given up just six runs and 15 hits with eight walks and 20 strikeouts. Of...
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Tough call on the farm: When is the right time to promote a player?

Tough call on the farm: When is the right time to promote a player?
Anytime a minor league player starts to produce very good stats at one level, the inevitable question comes up: Should he now get promoted to the next level? That topic came up earlier this week when I had a conversation with Orioles director of player development Brian Graham, one of the key front office staff members that is heavily and directly involved in such decisions. Talking about potential promotions is not an area where Graham wants to say much publicly. He doesn't want players...
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Tillman with the win, Cruz hits No. 20 as O's top Houston

Tillman with the win, Cruz hits No. 20 as O's top Houston
Chris Tillman needed a good outing and the Orioles needed a win. They got both today as Tillman gave up just one run over 6 2/3 innings. The Orioles got back to the .500 mark at 27-27 and ended a four-game losing streak. They snapped Houston's seven-game win streak and denied the Astros their first eight-game streak since 2008. Nelson Cruz hit his 20th homer as the Orioles won 4-1 at Houston. He was once again a big part of an O's victory. He went 2-for-2 with a double, solo homer, sac fly...
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O's agree to terms with pitcher Ramon Ramirez on minor league deal

O's agree to terms with pitcher Ramon Ramirez on minor league deal
The Orioles have agreed to terms with right-handed pitcher Ramon Santo Ramirez. It's a minor league contract. Ramirez is expected to take his physical Monday and sign the deal after that. He will report to the club's Sarasota facility and then join Triple-A Norfolk. The 32-year-old has pitched in the majors with Colorado, Kansas City, Boston, San Francisco and the New York Mets. He was originally signed by Texas in 1996 out of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Ramirez is 23-21 with a 3.42...
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O's game blog: Chris Tillman looks to turn it around against Houston

O's game blog: Chris Tillman looks to turn it around against Houston
Coming off the worst two-start stretch of his career, Chris Tillman will try to turn it around this afternoon at Houston. Tillman is 4-2 with a 4.97 ERA on the season. In his past two outings combined, he has pitched 6 2/3 innings, allowing 14 hits and 14 runs. He's never allowed more over a two-start stretch. Since beginning the year with an ERA of 0.84 his first three starts, Tillman has pitched to an ERA of 6.64 over his last eight. He has pitched fewer than six innings in six of those...
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Gonzalez loses no-hitter, shutout and game as O's fall 2-1 at Houston

Gonzalez loses no-hitter, shutout and game as O's fall 2-1 at Houston
So the Orioles finally get some quality starting pitching back-to-back nights in Houston and they lose both games. The runs stopped coming just as the starters began throwing better. Miguel Gonzalez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning and a 1-0 lead into the seventh tonight, but Houston scored twice with two outs in that inning to beat the Orioles 2-1. Gonzalez deserved a better fate tonight. The Orioles have lost four in a row, nine of 13 games and 13 of their last 19 to fall to 26-27....
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O's game blog: Nelson Cruz homer numbers

O's game blog: Nelson Cruz homer numbers
The Nelson Cruz show continues tonight for the Orioles. Cruz is now batting .310 in 51 games with 19 homers, 49 RBIs and a 1.038 OPS. Last night, Cruz did not homer and that was news. It was just the third time in the last 10 games where he did not hit a homer. Cruz now leads the majors in home runs and is tied for the major league lead in RBIs. In the American League, he ranks first in homers, RBIs, slugging and total bases while ranking second in extra-base hits and 10th in batting...
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A look at the Orioles and the upcoming First-Year Player Draft

A look at the Orioles and the upcoming First-Year Player Draft
A week from today, the First-Year Player Draft will conclude with teams selecting players in rounds 11 through 40. Next Friday, they draft players in rounds 3 through 10. The draft begins Thursday, June 5, when the first two rounds are televised live on MLB Network. But this year, the O's won't be involved that first night. Their first pick will come in round 3 with the No. 90 overall selection. The Orioles gave up picks No. 17, 35 and 55 in the acquisitions of Ubaldo Jimenez, Bud Norris and...
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Delmarva outfielder Josh Hart suffers knee injury, will miss four to six weeks

Delmarva outfielder Josh Hart suffers knee injury, will miss four to six weeks
Single-A Delmarva outfielder Josh Hart will have arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and the recovery time is four to six weeks. So the hope is Hart can return to play later this summer. The Orioles' No. 13 prospect according to Baseball America, Hart was injured in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday night. He was going back to play a ball of the wall when the injury happened. Hart was the Orioles' second draft pick in last June's First-Year Player...
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Bowie's Christian Walker talks about his solid season and all those homers

Bowie's Christian Walker talks about his solid season and all those homers
There have been a few players off to real solid starts in the Orioles minor leagues this season, but perhaps none is faring better right now than Double-A Bowie first baseman Christian Walker. Walker has always been a good solid hitter with gap-to-gap power, but this year he's continuing to hit for a high average and he's mashing more homers, too. Through 52 games, the 23-year-old right-handed hitter is batting .330 with eight doubles, a triple, 14 homers and 46 RBIs. He has an OBP of .390, a...
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Springer's homer leads Houston to win over O's in series opener

Springer's homer leads Houston to win over O's in series opener
After their starting pitchers had worked to an ERA of 7.71 over the last 10 games, tonight the O's got an effective start from Ubaldo Jimenez. But it still didn't lead to a win. Houston rookie George Springer continued his recent torrid hitting with a tie-breaking two-run homer in the seventh as Houston beat the Orioles 3-1 in the opener of a four-game series. The Orioles have lost eight of their last 12 and 12 of their last 18 games. Houston has won six in a row for the first time since...
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O's game blog: The Orioles play series opener at Houston

O's game blog: The Orioles play series opener at Houston
The Orioles begin a four-game series in Houston tonight against the Astros, who are 22-32, in last place in the American League West and have the worst record in the AL. But that doesn't tell the whole story. Houston has started to score plenty of runs and win games. The Astros have won five in a row, outscoring their opponents 34-10 in that stretch. As my friend Mark Viviano pointed out via Twitter, while the Orioles are 6-11 in their last 17 games, Houston is 11-6. The O's took two of...
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Minor league notes on extended spring training and more

Minor league notes on extended spring training and more
While the Orioles have been playing games and their minor league affiliates have been doing the same, games have also been played by O's young players under the hot Florida sun. We don't see any standings or stats from these games - they are not kept or reported, at least publicly. But important learning and development has been going on at the Orioles extended spring training program. The players face teams from other organizations in games and also play simulated games to get needed reps...
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