The Orioles have made the following roster moves:
The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 40 players.
TORONTO - For the Orioles, it has been a while since they scored so few runs and awhile since they suffered a walk-off loss.
But they dropped to 3.5 games out behind the surging Yankees in the AL East with a 3-2 defeat in the last of the ninth at Toronto. They previously had two walk-off losses on back-to-back days, April 6-7 at Pittsburgh.
They came into this game going 10-2 and scoring 75 runs the previous 12 games. Then they scored twice in the second inning and nothing after that in their lowest scoring game since producing one run in the second game of the series at St. Louis.
Toronto (29-32) produced its second walk-off win and 11th comeback win.
Even with a loss the Orioles are 6-3 in a 14-game stretch against AL East teams. Overall they have won five of seven and 10 of their past 13. Last night was just their second loss in their last 11 games at Rogers Centre.
TORONTO – The O's came into Wednesday night looking for their third straight win in Toronto, and a series-clinching win. The script was set just for that, as they took an early 2-0 lead, but the offense fell flat after the second inning and the Blue Jays walked off the O's to win 3-2 in front of 27,929 at Rogers Centre.
The Orioles fall to 39-21 with their third walkoff defeat of the year after two very early on April 6 and 7 to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Tonight's walk-off was aided by a miscue in the field.
Justin Turner led off the ninth against O's closer Craig Kimbrel with his third hit of the night, a single on an 0-2 pitch and was replaced by pinch-runner Cavan Biggio.
The miscue followed shortly after. Kimbrel tried to pick off Biggio, but his throw went off his body and into right field, allowing Biggio to get into scoring position. Then he moved to third, advancing on an Alejandro Kirk fly-out.
Runner on third, one out, and now the winning run was 90 feet away as the infield came in. Kimbrel then faced the contact-oriented Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
TORONTO – After two good nights for Orioles’ bats at Rogers Centre, producing 7-2 and 10-1 wins, the Birds look for three in a row against the Blue Jays tonight as this series continues.
Last night’s win improved the Orioles to 13-4 (.765) in American League East games and they are 3-1 versus the Blue Jays. The O’s also hold a 13-4 mark against the Blue Jays since the start of last season. And the Orioles are 9-1 in their past 10 games at Rogers Centre with a plus-39 run differential, outscoring the Blue Jays 66-27 in those games.
The Orioles are 6-2 in the first eight of 14 straight games within the division, playing in order, the Red Sox, Rays, Jays and Rays again.
The Orioles' plus-88 run differential for the year ranks third-best in the majors and second in the AL. The New York Yankees are first at plus-111. And New York (43-19) continues to lead the division by 2.5 games over the Orioles. The red-hot Yankees have won six in a row, 10 of 12 and 17 of their past 21 games.
Toronto had won five of its last six and nine of the past 14 heading into this series. But with Tuesday’s loss the Blue Jays are 28-32 and fall to 7-10 in division games. They have scored two runs or less 23 times this season including twice in this series.
TORONTO – Moments after confirming that O’s pitching prospect Cade Povich is in fact in Toronto and on the taxi squad for the Orioles, manager Brandon Hyde was unable (or perhaps unwilling) to provide the next date for a Kyle Bradish (1-0, 3.18 ERA) start.
“I don’t know yet, no,” Hyde said when asked if he has a day for Bradish’s next outing.
Bradish last pitched on Saturday at home versus the Rays. He presumably will not be on the mound tomorrow, which would have marked his spot in the rotation.
On May 26 versus the White Sox in Chicago, Bradish pitched seven no-hit innings on 103 pitches and lowered his ERA to 1.75. But pitching with an extra day of rest in that game with Tampa Bay he allowed five runs over 2 2/3 on 76 pitches.
Bradish’s season got a late start after he had a platelet-rich plasma injection in January to promote the healing of a right elbow UCL sprain.
Jordan Westburg is starting at second base tonight and Connor Norby is out of the lineup after homering last night for his first major league hit.
Norby is the 12th player in club history whose first hit is a home run.
Ramón Urías is playing third base. Kyle Stowers is in left field, Cedric Mullins is in center and Ryan O’Hearn is in right.
Anthony Santander is the designated hitter.
Ryan Mountcastle homered twice last night and is 29-for-91 (.319) with seven doubles, eight home runs, 26 RBIs and a 1.044 OPS in 24 career games at Rogers Centre.
The Orioles haven’t confirmed their starter for Thursday afternoon’s series finale against the Blue Jays. However, one of their top prospects is in the running.
He won’t be far from them.
Left-hander Cade Povich is headed to Toronto and will be placed on the taxi squad later today, according to a source, perhaps setting up his major league debut.
Povich was scheduled to start for Triple-A Norfolk on Thursday at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Now he’s an option for the Orioles, who are undecided about Kyle Bradish’s status.
Bradish would be working on his normal turn Thursday, but manager Brandon Hyde told the assembled media yesterday that the club might push him back. If so, Bradish would open the four-game series against the Rays on Friday night in St. Petersburg, Fla. or pitch the following day.
TORONTO – The Orioles are eight games into a stretch of 14 consecutive games versus AL East opponents. With how well this team now plays within its own division, this is good news.
And with Tuesday’s 10-1 blowout win at Rogers Centre over Toronto, the Orioles are now 6-2 in this stretch versus Boston, Tampa Bay, Toronto and Tampa Bay.
The Orioles are 13-4 (.765) against AL East clubs this year. For just the second time in team history they have won 13 of their first 17 division games. That also happened in 2005.
The Birds just keep hitting since they got swept at St. Louis and scored eight runs total in those three games.
They are now 10-2 the past 12 games. They have scored 17 runs this series, 29 in the last four games, 52 in eight games and 75 runs in those past 12 games. In this span they have 118 hits, including 22 home runs and are batting .280 with an OPS of .844.
TORONTO – Ryan Mountcastle likes hitting against Toronto and in Toronto. That point was reinforced again tonight as he hit a three-run homer to left in the Orioles' four-run third and later added another homer as they were on their way to their latest victory.
Mountcastle hit Nos. 9 and 10 as the Orioles beat the Blue Jays 10-1 to improve to 39-20. They have won five of six and 10 of their past 12 games. They are now 18-8 on the road.
Since being swept three straight in St. Louis, they are 10-2, scoring 75 runs.
The Orioles have now gone 20 straight American League East series without losing one as they will at least split this four-game set after winning the last two nights. Their outstanding record in the division is now 13-4.
This game also featured the first major league hit and homer of Connor Norby's career. Playing his second big league game and having gone 0-for-6 in the bigs to that point, he hit a two-run shot to left in the eighth off right-hander Nate Pearson for a 10-1 lead.
TORONTO – In going 6-1 at Toronto’s Rogers Centre last year, the Orioles batted .293 as a team and had an OPS of .808 against the Blue Jays.
But over those seven games, they hit just eight homers. Last night, in beating Toronto again at Rogers Centre by a 7-2 score, they mashed four home runs.
That tied an O’s season high and they did it for the second time in three games after also hitting four on April 11 at Boston.
The Orioles are now 12-4 this year versus American League East teams, going 5-1 versus the Red Sox, 3-1 against the Yankees, 2-1 versus the Blue Jays and 2-1 against the Rays.
The Orioles have gone 4-0-1 in five AL East series and they are 5-1 in the series-opening games against the division after Monday’s win.
TORONTO – For a team that has sent five starting pitchers to the injured list already this year and just recently lost both John Means and Tyler Wells for the season, seeing TBA listed as the Orioles' starters Wednesday and Thursday in this series presented some intrigue.
But today, O’s manager Brandon Hyde told reporters that right-hander Albert Suárez (2-0, 1.57 ERA) will start tomorrow against the Blue Jays and righty Kyle Bradish (1-0, 3.18 ERA) could go on Thursday.
“We are still TBA for Thursday. Probably announce that sometime tomorrow. But Suárez for tomorrow,” said Hyde.
Hyde was asked if there are any health concerns with Bradish.
“No, we’re considering giving him an extra day (of rest) or two," he said. "Just kind of from how he is feeling. But we are just monitoring it daily. So we are keeping that TBA right now."
Connor Norby stays at second base tonight and moves up to eighth in the order as the Orioles try to guarantee at least a split of their four-game series in Toronto.
James McCann is catching and batting ninth.
Colton Cowser remains in center field, putting Cedric Mullins on the bench. Austin Hays stays in left field.
Hays hit his first two home runs last night since Sept. 19.
Adley Rutschman is the designated hitter. Ryan O’Hearn moves to the bench.
Running low on starting pitching, the Orioles are bringing back a veteran who didn’t make the team out of spring training.
The club is on the verge of signing Julio Teheran to another minor league deal, according to a source. The sides are "close."
Teheran, 33, agreed to a minor league deal on Feb. 28 that would have paid $2 million if he pitched in the majors. He allowed five runs and nine hits with seven walks and 10 strikeouts in 13 1/3 innings and was granted his release.
The Mets signed Teheran on April 5 and he became a free agent again six days later after making one start and allowing four runs and six hits in 2 2/3 innings in Atlanta.
The Cubs signed Teheran on April 18 and released him Saturday after another opt-out. He posted an 8.82 ERA and 1.806 WHIP in eight starts with Triple-A Iowa.
TORONTO – Maybe this had nothing to do with the Orioles getting swept three straight in St. Louis and is just about the ups and downs of the season. And the Orioles offense is having an up for a stretch right now.
But since losing those three games and scoring eight total runs at Busch Stadium, the Orioles are 9-2 and scoring 5.9 runs per game.
The team in the last 11 games has scored five or more runs seven times, with 21 doubles, 19 homers, a .282 batting average and .833 OPS.
Last night they tied a season high with four homers in beating Toronto 7-2. They are 25-3 this year when hitting two or more homers.
For the Orioles, homers lead to runs and runs lead to wins.
Anthony Santander saw the board and an opportunity.
But who would play?
Chess ranks among Santander’s favorite hobbies and the Orioles’ clubhouse is equipped to satisfy it. However, he’s more likely to find teammates gathering at the pool or bumper pool tables. They weren’t inclined to take his cue, as it were, and trade in the rack for a rook.
The next move was to choose a partner.
Jorge Mateo has the most speed on the club and he’s also a fast study. He was introduced to the game a year ago and already developed the same passion for it as Santander.
TORONTO – The Orioles, who are 16-8 on the road this year and are 5-2-1 in road series, begin their latest road trip tonight at Rogers Centre facing the Toronto Blue Jays.
The Orioles (37-20) will play four games at Toronto and then four more in St. Petersburg, Fla. against the Tampa Bay Rays. The Birds took two of three from Tampa Bay over the weekend. They let a 3-0 lead get away Sunday and lost 4-3 to the Rays, missing the chance to sweep them.
The O’s 13 total runners left on base Sunday are a season high. Their 15 hits tie a season high, matching their total on April 20 at Kansas City. Sunday’s game marks the team’s first loss when outhitting an opponent in the 2024 season. and they are now 29-1 in those games.
Overall, the Orioles have won three of four and eight of their last 10 games, and they just completed a 4-2 homestand against Boston and Tampa Bay.
The Orioles are 11-4 (.733) versus American League East teams. This is their best 15-game start in division play since the 2017 Orioles also were 11-4.
The Orioles have made the following roster moves:
The Orioles’ 40-man roster currently has 39 players.
It has not reached triple digits, like the Orioles' sweepless streak in the regular season that finally ended at 106 straight in St. Louis. But it’s impressive in a different kind of way.
In an American League East division where the Orioles finished 48 games behind in 2021, 49 back in 2019 and were 61 games out at the end of the 2018 season, the Orioles suddenly don’t lose series.
Actually, it is not that sudden. But when the Orioles won the first two games of their series with the Tampa Bay Rays over the weekend at Oriole Park, it marked another division series that they had either won or tied (even though they lost to the Rays on Sunday).
When the 2023 season started, the O’s lost two of three games to both Boston and New York in their first two AL East series. They didn’t lose another one the rest of the year.
This season they are 4-0-1 in AL East series, so the streak of not losing one has reached 19 in a row with the Tampa Bay series. The Orioles have won 14 series and tied five. It is the longest streak in team history since division play began in 1969, per Elias Sports Bureau.
The May 8 game in D.C. seems so long ago. Worlds away for the closer with the fifth-most saves in baseball history.
Craig Kimbrel didn’t make it out of the ninth inning again for the fourth time in five tries. He allowed two runs with a hit and a pair of walks, and his ERA swelled to 4.73.
Manager Brandon Hyde spoke with him about a reset, with his next three appearances coming in non-save situations but remaining high leverage due to the club’s propensity for playing close games. A clean seventh inning on May 10 against the Diamondbacks, a win earned the following day with a scoreless 11th that included a hit batter, and a spotless seventh on May 13 against the Blue Jays.
Perhaps it’s sneaked up on a few people, but Kimbrel is in a dominant stretch with eight consecutive scoreless, hitless and walk-less outings, and he’s struck out 10. The last five have resulted in saves to push his season total to 13 and career mark to 430.
Opponents are hitless in 22 at-bats against him in these eight games.
Walking along Eutaw Street may require protective headgear. Anthony Santander launched a baseball over the flag court in right field yesterday and Gunnar Henderson splashed down this afternoon with his 19th home run and sixth leading off the first inning.
Zack Littell got a called strike with his sinker and regretted the slider that followed. Henderson pummeled it.
The Rays were taking a beating during their visit to Baltimore, but they became the aggressors in the eighth and finally broke a bullpen that amassed 12 1/3 scoreless innings in a row before today.
Dillon Tate returned after recording the last two outs in the seventh and surrendered back-to-back singles and Jose Siri’s two-run, go-ahead double, and the Orioles lost 4-3 before an announced crowd of 32,463 at Camden Yards.
The Orioles were unsuccessful in their bid for a fifth series sweep of at least three games and are 37-20 as they head to Toronto.
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