Homestand ends with a thud as Twins bomb O's, 10-4
After sweeping four from Texas heading into the All-Star break, the O's lost 10-4 to Minnesota Sunday afternoon to conclude a 2-8 homestand coming out of the break.
The homestand was marked by poor starting pitching and the fact the O's scored two runs or less six times vs. the Blue Jays, Rays and Twins.
Juan Samuel talks with the media after the Oriole's loss 10-4 to the Twins
Today, Jake Arrieta took the loss, falling to 3-3, 5.40. He was in trouble almost from the first pitch and gave...
Checking on some notes, quotes and stats while watching the Twins whip the O's today at the Yard as clouds roll in beyond the outfield fences.
*Did you see where the Delmarva Shorebirds played an 18-inning game Saturday night that actually ended just after midnight this morning.
Lakewood won 8-7 and it was the Shorebirds first 18-inning game since May 20, 2005. The losing pitcher was outfielder Levi Carolus, despite the fact he gave up just one hit over two innings. He did issue a...
Remove Jeremy Guthrie's two outings on this homestand, and Oriole starters have allowed 41 earned runs and 54 hits in 36 1/3 innings for a 10.10 ERA.
Jake Arrieta contributed to the ugliness today by allowing five runs and seven hits in four innings, with four walks and no strikeouts. He hit a batter and served up Jason Kubel's grand slam.
Interim manager Juan Samuel removed Arrieta after 87 pitches (51 for strikes).
Arrieta faced 23 batters, and 13 reached - including Delmon Young on...
The Twins haven't scored a run off Jake Arrieta over the first two innings.
It's not from a lack of effort.
Arrita gave up a single to Alexi Casilla and walked Jim Thome in the first, but Michael Cuddyer grounded out to end the inning.
Jason Kubel singled to lead off the second, but Danny Valencia grounded into a double play. Nick Punto walked with two outs, but Drew Butera flied to left.
Arrieta has thrown 33 pitches. The shutout is still alive.
It might have gone unnoticed, but...
When last seen on the field, Matt Wieters played on July 9th at Texas.
But he injured his right hamstring that night and has been on the DL since. That stint ends today as Wieters returns to the O's lineup batting seventh and catching.
"It's been hard these past couple of weeks sitting and watching. It will be good to be back on the field and get to play.
"I was able to get work in and be around the club, take BP and catch bullpens. I've been doing baseball activities, so the...
Interim manager Juan Samuel admitted that today's roster move wasn't an easy one. He didn't want to lose Craig Tatum, but the club knew that Jake Fox would get claimed on waivers and it couldn't go with a seven-man bullpen.
"Tatum has done a good job for us handling the pitching staff, and he's been great in that clubhouse," Samuel said. "He's probably done a lot better than what we anticipated coming out of spring training. He's come up with some big, big hits, and handling the...
O's president Andy MacPhail made the decision this morning to option Craig Tatum to Triple-A to make roster room for Matt Wieters, who comes off the DL today.
A few minutes ago, outside the manager's office, MacPhail talked about the decision to send Tatum out and also had some comments on the current trade market in baseball.
"All the time I've been in baseball, sometimes the hardest thing for players to really get their arms around is sometimes things happen to him that really don't...
The good news for Craig Tatum is he avoided the disabled list.
The bad news is he couldn't avoid the minors.
The Orioles optioned Tatum to Triple-A Norfolk this morning to make room for Matt Wieters.
Tatum, who's batting .271 in 32 games, met with president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail and interim manager Juan Samuel.
"They just said, 'Go down to Norfolk and we'll see when we can get you back,'" Tatum said. "Andy told me it wasn't from a lack of production or anything like...
For the Orioles:
Corey Patterson LF
Miguel Tejada 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Luke Scott 1B
Ty Wigginton DH
Felix Pie CF
Matt Wieters C
Julio Lugo 2B
Cesar Izturis SS
Jake Arrieta RHP
For the Twins:
Repko CF
Casilla 2B
Young LF
Thome DH
Cuddyer 1B
Kubel RF
Valencia 3B
Punto SS
Butera C
Slowey RHP
Interim manager Juan Samuel just called Craig Tatum into his office after he spoke with head athletic trainer Richie Bancells.
Craig Tatum has his right hand wrapped in ice, but he swung a bat and did some throwing earlier this morning and hopes to avoid a trip to the disabled list.
Tatum was hit by a foul tip last night and left the game.
"It's fine," he said. "It feels good. I threw and hit and it didn't really hurt. The swelling just disappeared overnight. It was really swollen last night, and I woke up this morning and it's gone.
"It's still sore, but not too bad."
The Orioles need to clear room on...
Brian Matusz hates questions about his previous starts. But he had to know someone would ask how he dealt with giving up 10 ER over 4 2/3 coming into this start tonight.
Was it a test for him mentally as he took the mound tonight vs. Minnesota, coming off those two outings?
"For me, I take one game at a time. If I have a bad game, I forget about it. But the media likes to put a lot on, you know, if he has a couple bad starts is he going down (to the minors) and you guys make a big deal...