A look at some Orioles' plate discipline stats

A look at some Orioles' plate discipline stats
The Orioles offense has not gotten up to speed yet, that is pretty clear to see. The Orioles scored just six runs on 24 hits and went 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position at Minnesota. Right now, the Orioles rank third in the American League in team batting average, but 11th in on-base percentage, 12th in runs and last in walks. The O's have drawn 66 walks and the AL average for a team right now is 106. You could have figured the O's would not rate highly in some of these categories...
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A look at how Nelson Cruz's start compares to Chris Davis' in 2013

A look at how Nelson Cruz's start compares to Chris Davis' in 2013
To say the least, Nelson Cruz is off to a very strong start at the plate. Where would the Orioles be without him? Fortunately, they don't have to answer that question. Cruz has hit three homers over his last six games and seven in his past 13 contests. Over his last 15 games, Cruz is batting .328 (20-for-61) with seven homers, 22 RBIs and eight multi-RBI games. Impressive, indeed. Cruz's start rivals what Chris Davis did at a similar stage last year. Here are the stats of both after 28...
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Checking in on the O's minors

Checking in on the O's minors
With an off day today for the Orioles in the majors, here is a quick look at the four Orioles minor league affiliates and how they are faring so far. * Triple-A Norfolk is 10-19 * Double-A Bowie is 15-14 * Single-A Frederick is 12-15 * Single-A Delmarva is 13-16 Norfolk was averaging just 3.5 runs per game and then scored 24 runs on 28 hits in two wins on Friday and Saturday over Scranton. On Sunday, though, the Tides suffered a 16-2 blowout loss to Scranton. Suk-min Yoon got hit hard in that...
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Even with recent struggles, Schoop should stay in the majors

Even with recent struggles, Schoop should stay in the majors
Even though he has struggled at times at bat and has made five errors in the field, I think the Orioles should stick with Jonathan Schoop as their starter at second base. That's for now. With Manny Machado's recent return to the team, Schoop should be given more time now to settle in at second base. How much time? That, as usual, depends on several factors, chief among them how he plays. How the team does and how others are hitting could impact that. If some other regulars start hitting more,...
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Miguel Gonzalez with early exit, O's offense comes up short as Twins take finale

Miguel Gonzalez with early exit, O's offense comes up short as Twins take finale
The Orioles got their weekend series in Minnesota off to an uplifting start with a shutout win behind Ubaldo Jimenez as they moved into first place on Friday night. But their offense never did get going in the series and they lost 5-2 this afternoon as they dropped the final two games at Target Field. The Orioles scored just six runs on 24 hits and went 2-for-22 with runners in scoring position in this series. Nelson Cruz blasted another two-run homer to left and that pulled the O's to...
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O's game blog: O's starters struggle with pitch efficiency

O's game blog: O's starters struggle with pitch efficiency
When it comes to pitch efficiency, the Orioles have some improvements to make. On Saturday, Wei-Yin Chen threw 24, 22 and 20 pitches over his first three innings. He only gave up one run in that time, so it's not like he was getting hit much there. That is simply too many pitches, especially early in a start. It's not a formula to pitch deep in the game. All year, the Orioles have just five starts of seven innings or more. Here is a ranking of the O's starters from least to most pitches...
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Giving some props to Garabez Rosa, a Bowie player that is getting overlooked

Giving some props to Garabez Rosa, a Bowie player that is getting overlooked
Sometimes a player can play in one organization so long without putting up real impressive stats that you tend to overlook him when he does start to improve his game. Garabez Rosa is one of those players. On a Double-A Bowie team that has several players hitting the ball well, it is easy to overlook Rosa right now. But he is having what is so far a breakout season and his defensive versatility could lead him one day to make the back-end of a big league team's roster. Maybe even one in...
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Correia ends struggles, Mauer drives in four as Twins beat O's

Correia ends struggles, Mauer drives in four as Twins beat O's
Twins right-hander Kevin Correia had been struggling this season, but that all ended today. Correia held the Orioles to one run over seven innings as Minnesota beat the Birds 6-1 to even the three-game series at a win each. Correia began this start with an 0-3 record and 7.33 ERA over five starts. He gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings in his most recent start and had an ERA of 9.60 in three home starts. But this afternoon he allowed just five hits over seven innings with no walks and three...
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O's game blog: Should O's look to re-sign Cruz already?

O's game blog: Should O's look to re-sign Cruz already?
As the Orioles take the field today at Minnesota, they do so as the first-place team in the American League East. They are 14-8 since starting the season 1-4 and they are looking for a fourth win in a row this afternoon. Will Nelson Cruz continue his hot streak today? Cruz, who hit a 424-foot homer last night, is on a real tear over the last 13 games. In that stretch, he is batting .340 with six homers and 20 RBIs. He has seven multi-RBI games. Cruz has two homers over his last four games and...
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As the weather starts to heat up, will the Orioles follow suit?

As the weather starts to heat up, will the Orioles follow suit?
The Orioles have dug out of two holes, one much more meaningful than the other. They began the year 1-4 and their starting pitching ERA at that point was 7.56. Now, at 15-12, the Orioles are 14-8 since that 1-4 start, and last night they got the best outing of the year from Ubaldo Jimenez. They are also now a plus-2 in run differential. Digging out of that hole is less important, of course, than the won-loss record. With a three-game win streak in which they've outscored their opponents by...
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Jimenez gets first O's win and Cruz homers again in victory over Twins

Jimenez gets first O's win and Cruz homers again in victory over Twins
The Orioles signed Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz to contracts totaling $58 million dollars before the season and tonight those players made that look like a good investment. Jimenez had a strong game on the mound to pick up his first Orioles win and Cruz crushed a long two-run homer as the Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins 3-0 to open a three-game series. Jimenez was sharp from the start with his split-finger fastball and all his pitches looked to be working. He had five strikeouts over the...
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O's game blog: Jimenez on the mound for Minnesota series opener

O's game blog: Jimenez on the mound for Minnesota series opener
Even with a starting staff that has not produced many quality starts or pitched enough innings so far this season, even having played parts of the year without three key members of the infield and dealing with some crazy weather and travel, the Orioles still could emerge atop the American League East standings at the end of tonight. That would be a nice rebound from a 1-4 start. The 14-12 Orioles begin play tonight a half-game behind first-place New York in the AL East. Will this be the...
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Zach Davies heads to Double-A Bowie's disabled list with shoulder tendinitis

Zach Davies heads to Double-A Bowie's disabled list with shoulder tendinitis
Monday night, right-hander Zach Davies had a strong start for Double-A Bowie. He went seven innings at Richmond allowing four hits and two runs with five walks and 10 strikeouts. But today he finds himself back on the disabled list for the second time this year. The 21-year-old Davies is dealing with shoulder tendinitis. At this point the issue doesn't appear serious and the Orioles feel like he won't be out long. "He feels much today than he did yesterday, but he will miss a start,"...
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Some bullpen notes and Duquette talks Jimenez, Gausman in radio interview

Some bullpen notes and Duquette talks Jimenez, Gausman in radio interview
On a day and night where the Orioles played two games, and 19 innings, and their starting pitchers covered just 10 of those innings, the O's bullpen was called on often during the doubleheader with Pittsburgh. The Orioles used six pitchers in Game 1 and seven in Game 2. Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, Darren O'Day and Ryan Webb pitched in both games. O'Day said he felt fine after pitching in both games and was glad to get the work after three days without a game. "You know it's funny,...
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Wieters on the walk-off homer, Machado on his first game back and more

Wieters on the walk-off homer, Machado on his first game back and more
So was Matt Wieters thinking about hitting a game-winning homer when he led off the 10th inning of Game 2 tonight? "You know, you don't try to hit one out. It's tough to do when you do that. Just trying to hit something hard, especially in an extra-inning game," he said. Wieters did hit a walk-off homer, connecting off Stolmy Pimentel to give the Orioles a 6-5 win and a sweep of the doubleheader. It was a long day, but one that leaves them with a 14-12 record. Your browser does not...
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Wieters with a walk-off homer as the O's sweep Pittsburgh

Wieters with a walk-off homer as the O's sweep Pittsburgh
It ended with one swing in the last of the 10th inning. Matt Wieters smoked a homer down the right field line leading off the inning and the Orioles had a 6-5 extra-inning walk-off win against Pittsburgh. Wieters connected on a 1-0 pitch for his fifth homer of the year to give the Orioles a sweep of the doubleheader. Now at 14-12, the O's moved to within a half-game of first-place New York in the American League East. Down 4-0, the Orioles tied the game in the last of the sixth. Adam...
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O's game blog: Tillman on mound, Machado at third as O's go for sweep

O's game blog: Tillman on mound, Machado at third as O's go for sweep
Chris Tillman gets the start in the second game of this doubleheader as the Orioles go for the sweep. The right-hander is 3-1 with a 3.38 ERA in five starts. He has not pitched since last Wednesday at Toronto when he gave up seven runs and nine hits over 5 2/3 innings, but still got the win. That start raised his ERA from 1.71 to 3.38. Left-handed batters are hitting .276 off Tillman, who yields an average of .192 to right-handed batters and .231 when pitching with runners in scoring...
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Bud Norris on pitching out of jams and getting the Game 1 win

Bud Norris on pitching out of jams and getting the Game 1 win
Bud Norris didn't have a 1-2-3 inning and he allowed 10 baserunners in fewer than six innings, but he made some key pitches when he needed to and got the win in Game 1 of today's doubleheader. Norris gave up seven hits and one run over 5 1/3 innings in the 5-1 win over Pittsburgh and is now 2-2 with a 3.94 ERA. Pittsburgh batters went just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position against him (and 1-for-14 for the game). Was Norris going to one key pitch when he got into jams? "It was a...
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Pearce and Flaherty drive in two as O's take opener over Pittsburgh

Pearce and Flaherty drive in two as O's take opener over Pittsburgh
He didn't hit any homers or strike out Adrian Gonzalez with a splitter, but Steve Pearce did a pretty good job filling in for Chris Davis at first base today. Pearce, playing his first game since the Orioles re-signed him Tuesday, went 3-for-4 with two RBIs and made some nice plays in the field as the O's beat Pittsburgh 5-1 in Game 1 of a doubleheader. Shut down through four innings against Bucs right-hander Charlie Morton, the O's broke through with three in the fifth and one in the...
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O's game blog: O's host Pittsburgh in the first of two with Norris on mound

O's game blog: O's host Pittsburgh in the first of two with Norris on mound
So we finally get to see another Orioles game in today's doubleheader against Pittsburgh. The Orioles are 1-2 on this homestand and 12-12 on the season. How about a few O's notes: * Orioles starters have pitched six innings or more in each of the last four games, That is their longest stretch of six-inning starts this season. The starters' ERA is 4.32 in that time. The Orioles do have quality starts in three of those four games. * When last we saw the Orioles, they scored just six runs on...
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