Loss of Markakis may provide toughest test yet for these Orioles

Loss of Markakis may provide toughest test yet for these Orioles
Wow. There was a lot to digest and soak in during and after Saturday night's game. A controversial ending. The Nick Markakis injury. Lew Ford helps beat CC Sabathia. Joe Girardi is screaming at reporters. Mark Reynolds homered. Again. Pedro Strop struggled. Again. Oh, yes, and the Orioles tied the Yankees for first place. Again. Now the Orioles have to show their resilience. Again. Having seen them do that about 20 times this season, I wouldn't bet against them overcoming the loss of...
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Clubhouse reaction to the Markakis injury

Clubhouse reaction to the Markakis injury
In the Orioles clubhouse the topic was not so much a win over the Yankees, first place or how the last play unfolded. It was about the injury to Nick Markakis and how the Orioles will now try to overcome that difficult blow to their season. Here are comments from Adam Jones: "We have to rally around him. It (stinks), what do you want me to say? It's September and one of our best players is down for the the rest of the year. It (stinks). What can we do about that? Complaining won't heal his...
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Markakis: "I knew I broke it" (Markakis audio added)

Markakis: "I knew I broke it" (Markakis audio added)
Nick Markakis knew right away the news would not be good after he was hit on the left thumb by a CC Sabathia tonight in the fifth inning of the Orioles 5-4 win over the Yankees. "When it first happened I knew I broke it," Markakis said. "I couldn't bend my finger. Pain wise, it is not as bad as I thought it would be, but I knew it was definitely broken as soon as I took my batting glove off. I knew as soon as he hit it. I knew how it hit me. One of those accidents. "It (stinks). It's an...
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O's beat Sabathia, Yankees, to forge first-place tie in AL East

O's beat Sabathia, Yankees, to forge first-place tie in AL East
He may have entered this game with a career mark of 16-3 and 2.97 ERA against the Orioles, but this year CC Sabathia is 0-2 with an ERA of 6.38 vs. the Orioles. They beat him in come-from-behind fashion, 5-4 tonight, to take two of the first three in this series and once again the clubs are tied for first in the AL East with identical 78-61 records. The game hung in the balance in the top of the ninth as New York scored once to pull within one with runners on first and third with one out. But...
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O's stack the deck with right-handed hitters vs. Sabathia (updated)

O's stack the deck with right-handed hitters vs. Sabathia (updated)
Considering all the success that CC Sabathia has had pitching against the Orioles in his career, they have done pretty well against the Yankees left-hander this year. Sabathia faces the Orioles for the third time in 2012 tonight. In each of the first two starts he went six innings and gave up eight hits and four runs. Both times. He is 0-1 with an ERA of 6.00 against the Orioles in those games. He is 16-3 with an ERA of 2.97 in 24 career starts vs. the O's. Buck Showalter is putting out a...
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O'Day brings playoff experience and easy-going style to the Orioles

O'Day brings playoff experience and easy-going style to the Orioles
The Orioles have a few players with playoff experience on their current roster and reliever Darren O'Day is one of them. The 2010 Texas Rangers lost in the World Series and played 16 playoff games. O'Day pitched in 11 of them. He got to experience a playoff-like atmosphere here at Camden Yards on Thursday. His key out of Derek Jeter ended the top of eighth in a 6-6 tie before the Orioles scored four in the bottom half to make him the winning pitcher. "Thursday night's game was pretty...
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The players throw some praise in Buck's direction

The players throw some praise in Buck's direction
Many times during this season that has the Orioles just one game out of first place with 24 games to go, when a reporter has posed a question to Buck Showalter heaping praise in his direction, Showalter has turned that around and said "it's about the players." But during this Yankees series, with more reporters than usual in the clubhouse, several players have been asked about the O's season and several players have said something like "we've got a pretty good manager." Adam Jones was...
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Postgame comments from Chen, Andino and McLouth

Postgame comments from Chen, Andino and McLouth
Wei-Yin Chen said he is not wearing down as a long season comes closer to its end. He said that had nothing to do with his poor outing tonight where he allowed seven runs over 4 2/3 innings, as the Yankees beat the Orioles 8-5 at Camden Yards. "I'm not tired at all. The last couple of starts I've felt really strong. Physically and mentally I feel strong, too. Those three home runs was my problem. That's it," he said through his interpreter. "Physically I feel pretty strong for the first...
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O's comeback falls short as the Yankees take Game 2

O's comeback falls short as the Yankees take Game 2
Wei-Yin Chen matched a season high with seven earned runs and the Orioles missed a chance to move into sole possession of first place in the AL East as they lost 8-5 to the Yankees tonight in front of 40,861 at Camden Yards. They fall to 77-61 and lose for just the fourth time in 14 games to once again drop one game back of the Yankees. A loss tonight would have knocked the Yankees out of first place for the first time since June 12. Down 7-0 in the fifth, the Orioles rallied to within three...
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Will O's continue recent scoring spree tonight? (updated)

Will O's continue recent scoring spree tonight? (updated)
In case you haven't noticed, the Orioles are scoring some runs lately. They have scored 38 the last five games and 77 in the last 13, averaging 5.9 per game in that time as they began play tonight. They have scored 27 runs on 36 hits in the last four games vs. the Yankees. The homers are up, too. The Orioles have hit 17 over the last eight games and they haven't all been hit by Mark Reynolds, although he's been the clear ringleader. The latest homer count: * Chris Davis has six over his...
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Machado has been checking in on his former Bowie teammates

Machado has been checking in on his former Bowie teammates
Even as he plays in this big series at Camden Yards, Orioles third baseman Manny Machado certainly has not forgotten the Double-A Bowie teammates he left behind a few weeks ago. Machado was a big part of the team's success this year and he's excited to see that their winning continued even after he left for the majors. He said he talked to a few of his former Baysox teammates on Thursday, the day after they won Game 1 of their playoff series with Akron. "I talked to (Jonathan) Schoop...
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Wieters on Reynolds, the crowd and confidence

Wieters on Reynolds, the crowd and confidence
As you have probably read, the Orioles' players were saying plenty of great things about the amazing crowd at Camden Yards last night. The sellout of 46,298 was roaring throughout the game. Matt Wieters was asked again today about the atmosphere in the ballpark last night. "It was the best I've played in front of here and I think it will be similar the rest of the series. But we have to focus on tonight's game. It we keep winning, they'll keep coming out," Wieters said. "It gives you...
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Some stats, some notes, some quotes from Cal

Some stats, some notes, some quotes from Cal
It was simply an amazing night at Camden Yards. From Cal Ripken Jr.'s statue ceremony and seeing the Orioles greats return again to one of the best home crowds just about anyone can remember at the Yard to the remarkable first inning that was topped by the last of the eighth inning, it was quite a night. Every time you think the Orioles can't top their latest comeback or great win, they do. The Yankees scored five runs in the first inning to lead the Orioles 5-0 on July 31 and couldn't...
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Adam Jones: "That was the biggest hit of my life"

Adam Jones: "That was the biggest hit of my life"
Adam Jones answered the question about as definitively as he answered the Yankees' comeback tonight. Jones put the homer he hit tonight to break the 6-6 tie in the last of the eighth at the top of his list on his all-time hit parade. "That right there is the biggest hit I've ever had in my life," Jones said. "Everything else has been leading up to this. It's my 100th Orioles home run. If someone knows how to find that ball, let me get it. But (it's) the biggest hit I've ever had....
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After lead gets away, O's use homer barrage to beat Yankees

After lead gets away, O's use homer barrage to beat Yankees
The Orioles let the lead get away, but certainly not the win tonight as they beat the Yankees 10-6 at Camden Yards behind a stunning power display in the last of the eighth. A frenzied sellout crowd of 46,298 looked on at Camden Yards. The Orioles and Yankees are once again tied for first with identical 77-60 records. Coming to bat right after seeing a 6-1 lead turn into a 6-6 tie, the O's unloaded on David Robertson. First, Adam Jones homered to left for a 7-6 lead one pitch after...
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A couple of mid-game notes

A couple of mid-game notes
Some mid-game notes after the four-run first had Camden Yards rocking about as loudly as anyone here could remember. Is the sink back on Jason Hammel's fastball? Did it ever go away? No, but Hammel's ground-to-air out ratio did decrease during this season from 1.95 in April to 1.32 in May, 1.33 in June and 1.21 in July. But Hammel got the first five Yankees out tonight on groundballs and then fanned Curtis Granderson to end the top of the second. He needed just 22 pitches over the first...
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Brother defends brother and Cal thanks his dad during statue ceremony

Brother defends brother and Cal thanks his dad during statue ceremony
There were several interesting moments during today's statue ceremony for Hall of Famer Cal Ripken, Jr. Among the most memorable was when Cal's brother, Bill Ripken, spoke and gave a passionate defense of Ripken's consecutive games streak. "There were some doubters and haters that along the way blamed Junior for any of the Orioles' problems," Bill Ripken said. "He was selfish. For those people, I don't get you at all. "The streak was about giving us the best chance to win every...
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Adam Jones: "We believe we can play with them"

Adam Jones: "We believe we can play with them"
With a big series against the Yankees now hours away, Adam Jones said the Orioles are confident that they can beat the Yankees. "We believe we can play with them," Jones said. "Not looking at the jerseys. You know who is over there and there are superstars. When I first got called up I was like, 'There's Alex Rodriguez, he seems like he's 7-5.' "But over the years, you learn, you can play with these guys. They have been the elite of the game. But you can play with them. You wouldn't...
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Taking a look at the O's rotation for the Yankees series

Taking a look at the O's rotation for the Yankees series
When the Orioles faced the Yankees last weekend, they pitched very well against New York. The Yankees' team average was just .167 in that series, and the Birds held that lineup to just 15 hits over 90 at-bats in three games. The AL's fourth highest scoring team was held to eight total runs. While the Orioles hit six homers in that series, New York had just four extra-base hits in the series and went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position. Obviously the Orioles would sign up for pitching...
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Will this be the year Bowie has playoff success?

Will this be the year Bowie has playoff success?
Long-time fans of the Orioles' Double-A Bowie affiliate can relate to long-suffering O's fans. The Orioles have made zero playoff appearances since 1997. Bowie had made just one since that year until this season. The Orioles have not won the World Series since 1983. The Baysox have never won the Eastern League championship even though they have been playing since 1993. In fact, Bowie has never even won a playoff series, losing in the playoff's first round in 1993, 1994, 1997 and 2008. So...
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