Steve Melewski
Steve Melewski

Memo to minor league pitchers: When you throw, keep it low

Memo to minor league pitchers: When you throw, keep it low
In the minor leagues, the Orioles want their pitchers to develop consistent and repeatable mechanics and deliveries. They prefer they have a good fastball and changeup combination along with a breaking pitch, and they really want their pitchers to work hard on pitching down in the strike zone. Sounds like good advice. It makes sense that it is easier for a batter to drive a ball that is elevated over one that is down in the strike zone or even low and out of the strike zone. If you watch...
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Steve Melewski

Shut down early, O's rally to beat Giants 10-2 and take series

Shut down early, O's rally to beat Giants 10-2 and take series
Over the first five innings today, the Orioles didn't come close to scoring a run off San Francisco right-hander Matt Cain. They were held to an infield hit and Cain needed just 61 pitches to get through five. Who knew they would later explode for 10 runs? But the third time through the order saw the O's bats come to life and they beat San Francisco 10-2 to win the series two games to one. The Orioles are 65-52 on the season. They moved to within 4 1/2 games of first place Boston, which...
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Steve Melewski

Bud Norris looks for his third O's win in three starts this afternoon

Bud Norris looks for his third O's win in three starts this afternoon
It has been two starts and two wins for Bud Norris in an O's uniform. He gave up two runs over six innings in beating his former Houston teammates and then gave up just one run over six innings to win at San Diego. Norris is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA over the two starts with four walks to 13 strikeouts over 12 innings. So far, left-handed batters are hitting .292 (7-for-24) against him as an Oriole and right-handed batters are hitting only .105 (2-for-19) with seven strikeouts. Norris has given up...
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Steve Melewski

Have the Orioles done enough in this recent stretch of games?

Have the Orioles done enough in this recent stretch of games?
Back on July 30, the Orioles began a stretch of playing 14 games in a 17-game stretch against teams with a losing record. Today they play Game 11 in that run and they are 6-4 so far, going 2-1 vs. Houston, 1-2 vs. Seattle, 2-0 at San Diego and 1-1 at San Francisco. They have won two of three series and today's game will decide the series with the Giants. After today, this stretch continues against a winning team with three at Arizona, followed by another club with a sub-.500 record when the...
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Steve Melewski

O's fall one run short in San Francisco, as Giants even series

O's fall one run short in San Francisco, as Giants even series
The Orioles' unbeaten run on their road trip ended today with a one-run loss to San Francisco. The Giants scored three times in the sixth off Wei-Yin Chen to beat the Orioles 3-2. The O's fall to 3-1 on this trip and 64-52 overall. With a win, the O's would have moved to within a half-game of the second AL wild card spot. The Giants were down 1-0 when they came to bat in the sixth and Chen had retired 13 batters in a row, but they scored three times to get the lead. After a leadoff...
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Steve Melewski

A look at Chris Davis, Adam Jones and the RISP stat

A look at Chris Davis, Adam Jones and the RISP stat
Sometimes it seems the Orioles really struggle to get the clutch hit and struggle with runners in scoring position. It was just last Sunday they went 0-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the game's first six innings against Seattle's Joe Saunders. But then you look at a night like last night when the O's went 3-for-8 with runners in scoring position and all three hits were pretty big. Adam Jones delivered a two-out RBI single in the first to put the O's in the lead. Then in the...
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Steve Melewski

After blown save, O's rally in 10th to beat Giants 5-2

After blown save, O's rally in 10th to beat Giants 5-2
There was a blown save, but not a blown game. After San Francisco tied the game at 2-2 off Jim Johnson in the last of the ninth, the Orioles scored three times in the top of the 10th to beat the Giants 5-2 in the series opener. A Hunter Pence RBI single tied it in the ninth as Johnson issued a single, a walk and a single to the first three batters he faced, suffering his seventh blown save. But, then he kept the game tied, pitching out of further trouble as the game moved to the 10th. With...
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Steve Melewski

Should O's consider Dunn or Reynolds?

Should O's consider Dunn or Reynolds?
They are two sluggers and both are known for hitting a lot of home runs and also for striking out a lot. One bats left-handed and one right-handed. Could either Adam Dunn or Mark Reynolds help the O's at the DH position? Should the club pursue one of these sluggers for the stretch run? Reports say Dunn has cleared waivers meaning he could be traded after the July 31 deadline. Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com suggested the Orioles or Rangers could be interested in pursuing Dunn. Presumably any...
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Steve Melewski

Will the O's have a good weekend against a struggling Giants team?

Will the O's have a good weekend against a struggling Giants team?
The Orioles begin a key weekend series in San Francisco tonight, but the Giants don't have a record like the Giants teams that won the World Series in 2010 and 2012. They are 51-63 and have lost four of their last six, and nine of their last 14 games. San Francisco is 3-8 against the American League and just 7-17 in its last 24 home games. Some other O's and Giants notes: * Chris Davis is batting .488 (20-for-41) in 11 interleague games, with six doubles, five homers and nine RBIs. His...
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Wright gets on a roll at Bowie

Wright gets on a roll at Bowie
Bowie right-hander Mike Wright has recently turned a good season into an even better one by going deeper into games and continuing to lower his ERA for the Double-A Baysox. Wright is 9-2 with an ERA of 3.46 over 22 starts. He ranks 1st in the Eastern League with an .818 winning percentage. He is tied for fourth in wins, fifth in strikeouts and ninth in the league in ERA. But over his last six starts, Wright has pitched to an ERA of 2.27. Over 39 2/3 innings he has walked just five and fanned...
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Why is Nick Markakis hitting with less pop recently?

Why is Nick Markakis hitting with less pop recently?
It is a fair question to ask: What has happened to Nick Markakis' power numbers and why are they down so much in recent weeks? For the 2013 season Markakis is batting .282 with 19 doubles, eight homers and 45 RBIs. He has a .336 OBP, a .377 slugging percentage and .713 OPS. He is on a pace to compile 27 doubles, 11 homers and 64 RBIs. According to baseball-reference.com, over his career, his 162-game averages in those categories are 40 doubles, 17 homers and 83 RBIs. His career slugging...
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O'Day provides insight on his pitching and his fishing during live chat

O'Day provides insight on his pitching and his fishing during live chat
We hosted a live chat at MASNsports.com during the last Orioles homestand with reliever Darren O'Day. As expected, O'Day was interesting, articulate, told some great stories and answered a lot of fan questions. During these chats, we often find out some interesting things about the players both on and off the field. For instance, O'Day talked about his effectiveness over the years against left-handed batters. A pitcher throwing from his lower arm slot, you would think he'd get...
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Steve Melewski

Chris Davis hits a 453-foot homer to lead the Orioles to victory

Chris Davis hits a 453-foot homer to lead the Orioles to victory
Chris Davis has been called "Crush" this year and today that nickname fit. Davis crushed a breaking pitch from lefty Colt Hynes in the eighth inning into the right-field stands for a three-run shot that broke a 3-3 tie as the Orioles beat San Diego 10-3 to sweep the two-game series. It was homer No. 41 for Davis and traveled 453 feet. That ties that blast for the second longest homer in the 10-year history of Petco Park. Davis, who has four homers his last eight games, now has 106 RBIs....
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Steve Melewski

A look at today's pitchers and some O's hitter notes (Hunter Harvey update)

A look at today's pitchers and some O's hitter notes (Hunter Harvey update)
Yes it was very strange seeing Miguel Gonzalez give up 15 runs over his last two starts. Especially considering he had given up 11 runs total in four June starts and 11 runs total in five starts in July. But Gonzalez gave up a career high nine runs (four earned) in his last start against Houston. Over his last two starts he has pitched 8 1/3 innings allowing 17 hits, 15 runs (10 earned). That has raised his ERA from 3.34 to 3.88. Before that, Gonzalez recorded eight consecutive quality...
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Steve Melewski

A look at Adam Jones' pursuit of the down-and-away breaking ball

A look at Adam Jones' pursuit of the down-and-away breaking ball
In the seventh inning Sunday with the Orioles down by one run, Adam Jones struck out on a down-and-away pitch by San Diego's Yoervis Medina. But, as if to prove that pitch won't always get him out, Jones delivered an RBI single in the first inning last night off Seattle's Edinson Volquez on another down-and-away pitch. In fact, this one looked to be a few inches off the outside corner and probably would have been called ball four. Jones had a big game in San Diego, going 4-for-4 for his...
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Steve Melewski

Norris wins his second as an Oriole, Jones has four hits as O's top Padres

Norris wins his second as an Oriole, Jones has four hits as O's top Padres
Adam Jones went 4-for-4 with a homer in his hometown, and Bud Norris improved to 2-0 with the team as the Orioles beat San Diego 4-1 in the opening game of an important eight-game road trip. Norris pitched out several jams, going six innings and allowing five hits and one run, with two walks and five strikeouts. He has an ERA of 2.25 in two O's starts. San Diego went 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position against Norris. They got a leadoff triple in the first but could not score, put two...
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Steve Melewski

Gausman makes Baseball America list, plus other notes

Gausman makes Baseball America list, plus other notes
The Orioles minor leagues did not exactly do very well when Baseball America released its "best tools" survey for every professional level. The publication ranks players in categories like best power prospect, best baserunner, best pitching prospect and best defender at each position in each league. The only Oriole to get mentioned was pitcher Kevin Gausman, who was rated to have the best changeup and best control in the Double-A Eastern League. Gausman is now with Triple-A Norfolk. No...
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Steve Melewski

An important road trip arrives for the Orioles

An important road trip arrives for the Orioles
This is not a make-or-break road trip for the Orioles, but with 50 games left and now being on the outside looking in for a playoff berth, it is pretty important. The O's went backwards during a 4-5 homestand. They lost ground in the standings and days on the calender - not a good combination. Right now, not only are the Orioles chasing two teams ahead of them in the AL East, but they are now chasing two ahead of them for the second wild card. Texas is leading that race, by a half-game over...
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Bud Norris on his strange home and road splits

Bud Norris on his strange home and road splits
Bud Norris makes his second Orioles start tonight, but first on the road. If you look at Norris' stats the last two seasons, he has pitched much better at home than on the road. Here are Norris' home-road splits the last two seasons with Houston: 2012: 4-1 with 1.71 ERA in 11 home starts, 3-12 with 6.94 ERA in 18 starts on road. 2013: 4-4 with 2.92 ERA in 13 home starts, 2-5 with 5.91 ERA in eight starts on road. Among qualifying American League pitchers (1.0 IP per team game), Norris has...
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Steve Melewski

With MLB suspensions coming, Chris Davis talked about PEDs over the weekend (MLB's release)

With MLB suspensions coming, Chris Davis talked about PEDs over the weekend (MLB's release)
When Chris Davis made his latest comments on Saturday at Camden Yards about performance-enhancing drugs in baseball, I asked him some questions I have been wondering about. With more PED-related suspensions coming today, why don't more players in baseball speak out against the cheaters? Why aren't the clean players outraged that they are under suspicion because of others? "I don't expect guys to be who they are not," Davis said. "If guys don't feel comfortable saying anything, it's...
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