Taking advantage of Toronto's mistake (w-update)
The Orioles came up with three straight hits with two outs in the sixth inning today to take a 2-1 lead at Toronto.
They took advantage of a mental error by Blue Jays left fielder Fred Lewis. First, Cesar Izturis hit a two-out double to right and Julio Lugo singled to left to tie the game, 1-1. On Lugo's single, Lewis made the wrong decision and threw home where he had no chance to get Izturis.
His throw was not only well off line, but missed the cutoff man allowing Lugo to run to second...
Third baseman Miguel Tejada fielded Aaron Hill's blistering ground ball with one out in the third, tapped his glove twice and threw to second for the force.
That's fine, but what about the double play?
Julio Lugo threw late to first, extending the inning and tacking two more pitches on Chris Tillman's line, raising the right-hander's total to 50.
Adam Lind grounded out, so no damage was done, but it appeared that Tejada lost track of the outs and thought he only needed the force. It...
There are several things that can frustrate you when you watch the Orioles hitters:
*The lack of production, an obvious one.
*The fact they swing at so many pitches that are not strikes.
*The fact they can't seem to adjust to a pitcher as the game wears on.
*The fact that some players recognition of pitches is poor and they chase so many breaking balls.
It would almost be better for the Orioles to face a 96 mile per hour flamethrower without good off-speed stuff. At least they could sit...
Toronto leadoff hitter Fred Lewis jumped on Chris Tillman's first pitch, an 88 mph fastball, and doubled to center field.
Lewis was sitting on the fastball and Tillman gave him one. And it only registered 88.
That was a bad sign, but it also was the last one.
Tillman struck out the side, freezing Aaron Hill with a 94 mph fastball and Adam Lind with a 93 mph fastball, and getting Vernon Wells to swing through another heater that ended a 10-pitch battle.
Tillman needs to throw his curveball...
The Orioles don't have an extra-base hit since Garrett Atkins homered on Wednesday.
It's time to raise the singles bar. Make mine a double.
Brian Roberts took live batting practice from both sides of the plate earlier today in Sarasota. Those baseball-related activities are increasing. So are the chances that he'll get back in the lineup in a few weeks.
The Orioles aren't completely ruling out June 9, the date Roberts is eligible to come off the disabled list, but he might need a little...
Julio Lugo 2B
Nick Markakis RF
Ty Wigginton 1B
Miguel Tejada 3B
Luke Scott LF
Adam Jones CF
Garrett Atkins DH
Craig Tatum C
Cesar Izturis SS
Chris Tillman RHP
Feeling good about this one?
Jones went 0-for-4 last night to snap his career-best 13-game hitting streak. I tried to come up with a "detained" joke and couldn't do it.
The Orioles haven't won a road series since Sept. 11-13 in New York. They're 0-10-1 since taking down the Yankees. They're also 7-29 in their last 36 road...
Over the winter he was considered likely to begin the 2010 season in the Orioles starting rotation. But that didn't happen and now today, 22-year-old right-hander Chris Tillman makes his first Major League start of the year.
Tillman was having a real solid year at Triple-A, highlighted by his no-hitter on April 28 at Gwinnett. That outing seemed to turn his season around. Tillman was only 1-3, 6.11 when he took the mound that night vs. the Braves affiliate.
Over ten starts with Norfolk,...
Just to recap:
The Orioles didn't score a run for Kevin Millwood.
They officially recalled Chris Tillman from Triple-A Norfolk to make tomorrow's start in Toronto.
They optioned reliever Cla Meredith to Norfolk to make room for Tillman on the 25-man roster.
Pretty slow night.
Meredith took the news about like you'd expect. He wasn't happy and mentioned his uneven use and how he only works here, but I outlined earlier today why the Orioles needed to make a decision on him.
He's been...
During a season of poor performances, the Orioles may have actually raised the bar on poor on Friday night in a 5-0 loss at Toronto. They made physical and mental errors in the first inning, failed to score or record an extra-base hit and basically looked flat, disinterested and just plain bad.
Here are more notes from the latest O's loss:
Roster move: After the game, the Orioles officially recalled Chris Tillman from Norfolk to make Saturday's start. Reliever Cla Meredith was optioned...
While the Orioles have not yet made it official that Chris Tillman will make Saturday's start vs. Toronto, it is, of course, all but official and expected that the right-hander will take the mound Saturday vs. the Jays.
For now, the O's will not move a pitcher up from Double-A to take Tillman's spot in the rotation, although that could change.
Right-hander Armando Gabino will start on Sunday or Monday for Norfolk, when Tillman's turn next comes up.
The Orioles appear to be open to moving...
Happy Memorial Day everyone! And welcome back to the Orioles Buzz for another weekly 'Where in the Yard?'
Most of you know the drill, but as usual, we'll give you a refresher. Simply take a look at the photo below and let us know what the item is and where it's located in or around Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
Also don't forget that you can earn bonus points for being the first O's fan to guess correctly or for throwing out some extra trivia knowledge or posting a photo of yourself with...