Walks and woozy bullpen team to topple Orioles 12-1 (updated)

Walks and woozy bullpen team to topple Orioles 12-1 (updated)
Manager Brandon Hyde can laugh now about the play Wednesday night that began as a blown call on a missed catch by left fielder Ryan McKenna and resulted in a run scoring and no outs recorded rather than the triple play that the Orioles thought might be possible. Catch a break? The Orioles are overdue, as Hyde noted. Anthony Santander slid into second base with an apparent double tonight leading off the fourth inning and removed his shin guard, an umpire signaled home run after the ball bounced...

Harvey still can't locate win, Orioles lose to Jays 10-2 (updated)

Harvey still can't locate win, Orioles lose to Jays 10-2 (updated)
Matt Harvey has pitched in some tough luck this season, as Orioles manager Brandon Hyde mentions with great frequency. Tonight, he pitched in confusion. Mark it on the Matt Harvey bingo card. Umpires ruled that left fielder Ryan McKenna made a diving catch of Vladimir Guerrero Jr.'s sinking liner after the first two batters reached. Marcus Semien was tagged after rounding third base, the call requiring him to go back to second, and two runners stood on first. A double play? A triple play? The...

Gutierrez among Orioles reserves for tonight's game

Gutierrez among Orioles reserves for tonight's game
The latest roster move made by the Orioles this afternoon occurred after they decided that Maikel Franco's day-to-day status was leaving them vulnerable. Franco hasn't played in a week due to a sprained right ankle and today went on the 10-day injured list retroactive to Sunday. Kelvin Gutierrez replaces him on the active roster and is on the bench for tonight's game against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. "Without an extra infielder ... he wasn't available in Anaheim, wasn't available...

Orioles and Astros lineups (with more notes)

Orioles and Astros lineups (with more notes)
The latest Orioles lineup combination tonight has Ryan McKenna batting fifth and playing left field, with Austin Hays in right field and Anthony Santander serving as the designated hitter. Domingo Leyba is playing second base and Maikel Franco returns to the lineup at third. Austin Wynns is catching. Meanwhile, with a marathon win last night, the Orioles summoned right-hander Conner Greene from Triple-A Norfolk and put him on the taxi squad. A fresh arm is close. Greene would become the 11th...

Orioles issue walks and score late runs in 9-7 win (updated)

Orioles issue walks and score late runs in 9-7 win (updated)
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde spun his lineup again tonight in an attempt to find the right combination. A group that can make plays in the field and generate runs. Perhaps run with an opportunity. Locating strike-throwers also is on the agenda. The shuffling in the rotation is happening now in the infield with the arrivals of Domingo Leyba and Ramón Urías. They started again tonight, with Urías at short and Leyba switching from second base to third base. Slumps and health factor into...

The waiting for Jahmai Jones is the hardest part

The waiting for Jahmai Jones is the hardest part
The calls for Jahmai Jones grew louder over the weekend after Freddy Galvis limped off the field Saturday afternoon, the severity of his quadriceps injury written on his face. The pain and anguish, the attempts to fight back tears as he rode a cart to the auxiliary tent and later was placed in a vehicle - needing assistance just to sit down - for the ride to a nearby hospital. Fans want Jones in the majors and they want him now. Armchair general managers spew insults from their foaming...

New faces can't keep O's from familiar place in 5-2 loss (updated)

New faces can't keep O's from familiar place in 5-2 loss (updated)
The roster churn that presents one of the defining qualities of the Orioles' 2021 season freshened the lineup this morning and expanded the bench. It could not, however, improve the won-lost record. Jorge López threw 100 pitches in 4 2/3 innings, the third time through the order bruising him in the fifth, and the Blue Jays won 5-2 in Buffalo to claim the series. The Orioles are 24-54 and have lost 22 of 23 road games as they board their flight to Houston. López was done after Cavan...

Galvis to miss one to two months with quad injury

Galvis to miss one to two months with quad injury
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde anticipates that shortstop Freddy Galvis will miss one to two months of the season with a strained right quadriceps muscle, an injury sustained yesterday in the second inning while running out a bunt single. Galvis was placed on the injured list within a flurry of roster activity earlier today. "It's in between a Grade 1 to a Grade 2, so more like a Grade 1-plus," Hyde said in his Zoom call with the media. "Hoping for the four to six weeks. Could be a little bit...

Orioles put Galvis on IL, option Wilkerson and Wade

Orioles put Galvis on IL, option Wilkerson and Wade
The Orioles placed shortstop Freddy Galvis on the 10-day injured list this morning with a right quadriceps strain. They also optioned pitcher Konner Wade and infielder Stevie Wilkerson to Norfolk and recalled outfielder Ryan McKenna and infielders Domingo Leyba and Ramón Urías, who are in Buffalo for the series finale against the Blue Jays. The Orioles selected Leyba off waivers from the Diamondback on June 4. He was 0-for-22 with two walks, leaving his career line at .149/.241/.234 in 54...

Orioles aren't done debuting players

Orioles aren't done debuting players
Knuckleballer Mickey Jannis, and the law states that he can't be referenced without his signature pitch proceeding his name, became the eighth Oriole on Wednesday to make his major league debut this season. Konner Wade was the ninth, and the 42nd player used by the club, when he replaced starter Keegan Akin yesterday and allowed six runs and seven hits in 1 2/3 innings. Alexander Wells became Nos. 10 and 43 when he replaced Wade in the seventh and tossed two scoreless innings. And it's only...

Orioles win in 10 innings to end road losing streak at 20 (updated)

Orioles win in 10 innings to end road losing streak at 20 (updated)
The pitch count didn't present an issue tonight for Matt Harvey. No inning so taxing that he became fatigued by the midpoint, which happened again in his last start. Harvey made it through the fifth inning for the first time in his last 10 starts, though two solo homers put him behind twice, letdowns that have been deadly with the Orioles unable to siphon runs out of a game. The offense wasn't on mute tonight, rare noise coming from a four-run eighth that created a tie. Harvey wouldn't...

Checking back on Orioles 2022 roster

Checking back on Orioles 2022 roster
Three years ago, the staff at Baseball America took a shot at projecting the Orioles lineup, rotation and closer for the 2022 season. Let's just say the publication didn't bat 1.000. OK, let's say more. It's virtually impossible to hit on any team because of the variables that blow up predictions. The lists ran in October, after the Orioles began dismantling the team over the summer. The teardown started with the trades of Manny Machado, Zack Britton, Jonathan Schoop, Brad Brach, Kevin...

A look at how Bowie moved to the top of its league in offense

A look at how Bowie moved to the top of its league in offense
Players for the Double-A Bowie Baysox this year can go hitless, yet still get praise from the coaching staff for their hitting. And not just because they may have made a productive out. It's all about the swing decisions they make. They are graded both on the pitches they do swing at and those they do not. The goal is to get a very hittable pitch and drive it. Let almost everything else go. Even borderline strikes are sometimes spit on while a hitter waits for a better pitch. Sometimes, even...

Jorge López allows three homers as road losing streak continues

Jorge López allows three homers as road losing streak continues
As they tried to end a couple of losing streaks today, the Orioles fell into a three-run hole in the first inning at Cleveland this afternoon. They got close mid-game, but when Cleveland opened up a four-run lead in the sixth the Indians were on their way to a 10-3 win, and they swept a four-game series from the Orioles. The Orioles started this road trip to St. Petersburg, Fla., and Cleveland by scoring 12 runs in the first five games of the trip. But in the last three losses to the Indians...

More on Harvey and the Orioles rotation

More on Harvey and the Orioles rotation
The Orioles resume their season tonight after yesterday's break and reset following a 14-1 loss to the Mets, now faced with a stretch of playing 20 days or nights in a row. Seriously, who's responsible for a schedule that keeps lumping off-days together and then withholding them as if the commissioner's office is hoarding? The latest off-day had to be savored, and it allowed the bullpen to recover after Matt Harvey worked just three innings Wednesday night. Manager Brandon Hyde said...

Orioles option McKenna to Triple-A Norfolk (updated)

Orioles option McKenna to Triple-A Norfolk (updated)
Outfielder Austin Hays isn't in Triple-A Norfolk's lineup for tonight's game in Jacksonville. The Orioles just announced that they optioned outfielder Ryan McKenna to the Tides. The dots seem fairly easy to connect unless a curve is thrown while the outfield picture is adjusted. Hays has been on an injury rehab assignment after his left hamstring healed. He strained it during a May 23 game in D.C. This is the second appearance for Hays on the injured list. He suffered a strained right...

Lineup produces top to bottom, O's sweep on the farm

Lineup produces top to bottom, O's sweep on the farm
It's fun to win and so it was fun around Birdland last night, as the Orioles and their four minor league teams combined for another perfect 5-0 night. The Orioles beat the Mets 10-3 and again got contributions throughout the lineup, which was great to see. As the O's have gotten their core hitters in the middle of the order back healthy and hitting in Trey Mancini, Ryan Mountcastle and Anthony Santander, with a big push at the top, of course, from center fielder Cedric Mullins, it takes some...

Hits keep coming for Orioles in 10-3 win (updated)

Hits keep coming for Orioles in 10-3 win (updated)
The Orioles have reached the 60-game mark in their season, the same point where they packed up and headed home last fall while the playoffs unfolded. There's nothing truncated in 2021 besides a manager's patience if the losses mount and mistakes aren't corrected. The praise, however, can be expanded to cover pretty much everyone during the good times. A 4-1 start to the month brought a sense of relief and plenty of smiles, and the arrival yesterday of the first-place Mets didn't change the...

Orioles greet bad news on Means with 18-5 rout of Tribe (updated)

Orioles greet bad news on Means with 18-5 rout of Tribe (updated)
How would the Orioles respond this afternoon to the latest trunk load of adversity? A possibility of another long losing streak after their staff ace landed on the injured list? The uncertainty that lies ahead with a rotation that's already been in a fragile state? Manager Brandon Hyde got his answer. By taking out every ounce of frustration on the Indians. From the top of the lineup to the bottom. Cedric Mullins stayed on his remarkable tear and the Orioles hit and ran the bases at an elite...

Orioles evaluating players while trying to stop their losing streak

Orioles evaluating players while trying to stop their losing streak
As the Orioles tried unsuccessfully yesterday to close out their road trip with a victory and slam the brakes on a losing streak that grew to 13 games, unable to make the flight home a little more enjoyable, some of the organization's top pitching prospects were given starts at the upper levels of the farm system. Kyle Bradish was handed the ball at Triple-A Norfolk, with Dean Kremer and Zac Lowther on the mound for the next two games in Durham. Mike Baumann and DL Hall started for Double-A...