Will Orioles finally play Marlins tonight?

Will Orioles finally play Marlins tonight?
The Orioles have a fresher bullpen today and renewed concerns about the Marlins arriving at their ballpark. Whether or not they'd admit to it. They're trusting the extensive safety measures that have reduced the level of worry beyond how a team forced to shut down due to a COVID-19 outbreak could compromise them. Welcome to Camden Yards. Just don't touch anything. The Marlins are piecing together their roster via waiver claims and trades after a bus transported the quarantined group from...

Schedule set this week for Orioles-Marlins games at Camden Yards

Schedule set this week for Orioles-Marlins games at Camden Yards
The weather may have the final word this week, but the Orioles learned when they're supposed to play the Marlins at Camden Yards. This is pure 2020. The games on Tuesday and Thursday will begin at 7:35 p.m. However, the Orioles will be the home team for the first and the Marlins for the last. In between are a pair of seven-inning games in a Wednesday doubleheader. Its first game starts at 5:05 p.m. and the nightcap begins approximately 30 minutes after the last out. Here's where it gets...

Orioles get group effort in 6-3 win (Bleier traded to Marlins)

Orioles get group effort in 6-3 win (Bleier traded to Marlins)
Alex Cobb thought he had a strikeout tonight to close the top of the first inning. He took a couple of steps toward the dugout and catcher Pedro Severino stood to join him. But plate umpire Ryan Additon said the split-changeup missed high, an opinion that replays and pitch charts disputed, and Yoshi Tsutsugo lined the next offering into the gap for a run-scoring double. The Orioles put two runners in scoring position with no outs in the bottom of the first and stranded them. These are the times...

Home runs hurt Orioles again in home opener (updated)

Home runs hurt Orioles again in home opener (updated)
The orange carpet wasn't unrolled tonight at Camden Yards. Players walked out of the dugouts and lined up sans the traditional introductions. The only bunting used was intended to advance a runner. The Orioles held their home opener in understated fashion, adapting to the new policies implemented because of the coronavirus pandemic. A video played at 7:12 p.m. celebrating baseball's return but also calling for an end to racial injustice and reminding everyone of the importance of wearing...

O's allow three homers, lose home opener to New York

O's allow three homers, lose home opener to New York
The Orioles, who went 2-17 against the New York Yankees last year, extended two long losing streaks against them tonight. They could not get to right-hander Gerrit Cole until late in the night and New York enjoyed more longballs at Oriole Park. O's right-hander Asher Wojciechowski looked like he had some decent stuff - he fanned seven in five innings and got 18 swings and misses - but he also gave up three homers that were not exactly crushed. But that was enough to do him in. The Yankees...

Davis: "I would say I'm definitely a little bit more concerned"

Davis: "I would say I'm definitely a little bit more concerned"
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde was able to joke tonight about his experience Monday at the team hotel in Miami, how he ordered a delicious cheeseburger for lunch with a side of sweet potato fries. He definitely recommends the fries. Hyde was preparing for a game but instructed his players to stay near their phones. Don't leave their rooms. And take advantage of the 24-hour food service. Guys are trying to keep it light, but the last few days have been unsettling. The reports on the positive...

Orioles left playing waiting game rather than Marlins

Orioles left playing waiting game rather than Marlins
Safety comes first. Before a winning series, before the standings, before anything relating to balls and strikes. The Orioles were stuck in their hotel in Miami yesterday unsure whether they'd play the following night or receive clearance to fly back to Baltimore. Less than a week into a truncated season that offers little flexibility, they had gone from summer training camp to the danger zone. The team boarded a charter flight last night and left the state of Florida, one of the pandemic hot...

Notes on Harvey, lineup trend, bullpen, Cobb and more

Notes on Harvey, lineup trend, bullpen, Cobb and more
Orioles reliever Hunter Harvey won't come off the 10-day injured list when he's eligible on Thursday, with manager Brandon Hyde noting that the right-hander is improving but still facing a number of tests. Players on the injured list, including John Means and Dillon Tate, have moved to the alternate camp site in Bowie. Harvey is shelved with a right forearm strain that's been described as arm fatigue. "He's still in a progression," said Orioles manager Brandon Hyde. "He's going to start...

Notes on rotation, taxi squad, opening day, Davis' outlook and more

Notes on rotation, taxi squad, opening day, Davis' outlook and more
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde is trying to set up the rest of his rotation without No 1. starter John Means, who's on the injured list with left shoulder fatigue. He appears to have made decisions through the first road trip. Alex Cobb and Wade LeBlanc start the last two games in Boston and Asher Wojciechowki gets the ball for Monday night's series opener against the Marlins in Miami. Hyde is leaning toward using Kohl Stewart the following night before the Orioles head back to Baltimore. The...

Orioles skillfully maneuver 40-man roster

Orioles skillfully maneuver 40-man roster
The Orioles demonstrated yesterday how they're able to do the 40-man roster dance without tripping over their own feet. It was an impressive feat. They had one open spot and a lengthy list of non-roster players competing for jobs, though Stevie Wilkerson dropped out due to a broken finger on his left hand. That's a lot of traffic and the potential for a massive pileup. But utility player Pat Valaika was the lone addition, pretty much winning a job in spring training prior to the shutdown. He...

Orioles must make decision on Means

Orioles must make decision on Means
The Orioles should know later today whether left-hander John Means is making the opening night start at Fenway Park. They can't wait any longer because he'll need to throw for a couple of days without any arm discomfort. Has to prove that he can do it. A dose of good news would lift their spirits. This team is crawling to the starting line. Contingency plans are in place in case Means can't pitch. The Orioles have been prepping for his absence since last week. Withholding Wade LeBlanc from...

Means scratched from Sunday exhibition with arm fatigue

Means scratched from Sunday exhibition with arm fatigue
Just as the Orioles managed to fill out their summer camp roster with outfielders Anthony Santander and Dwight Smith Jr. returning to Camden Yards this week, they've become unsure about the availability of their No. 1 starter on opening day. Left-hander John Means has been scratched from Sunday night's exhibition game against the Phillies at Citizens Bank Park due to a fatigued arm. Thomas Eshelman will make the start. Manager Brandon Hyde announced the switch this afternoon in his Zoom...

Valdez impressive in intrasquad (MASN airing two exhibitions)

Valdez impressive in intrasquad (MASN airing two exhibitions)
Asher Wojciechowski made his latest bid tonight to stay in the Orioles rotation by starting for the orange team, designated as the hosts, in the penultimate intrasquad game at Camden Yards. Never read too much into a scrimmage, whether or not it's accompanied by recorded crowd noise and walkup music, but Wojciechowski is lined up to serve as the No. 4 starter behind John Means, Alex Cobb and Wade LeBlanc. Dilson Herrera didn't care. He lined a two-run homer into the left field seats in the...

Wojciechowski on camp, the rotation and his message

Wojciechowski on camp, the rotation and his message
As Orioles starter Asher Wojciechowski increases his innings and pitch count in camp, he'd also like to tear down the stigma of a rebuilding club and the narrative that he perceives as following it through the summer. He can stomach the lowered expectations within the industry. But don't question the heart. "We all believe in ourselves," he said today in a Zoom conference call with the media. "To be honest with you, I get really tired with people saying, 'Oh, they're rebuilding, they're...

Orioles select contracts of LeBlanc and Milone

Orioles select contracts of LeBlanc and Milone
The Orioles appear to have made a couple of important roster decisions as they approach opening day. The club announced tonight that it purchased the contracts of left-handers Wade LeBlanc and Tommy Milone, who are likely to be included on the pitching staff that breaks summer training camp. LeBlanc is in line to be the No. 3 starter after signing a minor league deal on Feb. 1. Milone could be slotted as the fourth or fifth starter or be used in a long relief/swingman role. Either way, he also...

Mountcastle gets more work in left field, Milone retires 15 of 16

Mountcastle gets more work in left field, Milone retires 15 of 16
Ryan Mountcastle was given another look in left field tonight for the "visiting" Orioles in their intrasquad game at Camden Yards. Use him before they lose him. Both teams had a full outfield, which in itself is a noteworthy achievement. Mountcastle, Andrew Velazquez and Mason Williams for the team wearing white. DJ Stewart, Austin Hays and Cedric Mullins for the team in orange. Both lineups held 10 players. The Orioles suddenly are overflowing - though still minus outfielders Dwight Smith...

Martin and Blach to undergo surgery (plus other notes)

Martin and Blach to undergo surgery (plus other notes)
Orioles infielder Richie Martin and pitcher Ty Blach are scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday after suffering injuries last week in summer training camp. The truncated 2020 season will go on without them. Martin is having a procedure to repair a fractured bone in his right wrist. Blach is slated for Tommy John surgery after receiving a second opinion on his sore left elbow. Manager Brandon Hyde said the timetable on Martin's recovery is two to three months. The regular season ends on...

Aiming for a mightier 'pen and other notes

Aiming for a mightier 'pen and other notes
The Orioles have certainly tried to build a better bullpen. Since the end of the 2019 season, they've added some new pitchers, and some holdovers have made changes that they hope will prove significant. Some talented young pitchers such as Hunter Harvey and Dillon Tate, who is injured currently, could be with the team for most of the 2020 season. O's pitching coach Doug Brocail presented Harvey as a closer option during a Zoom interview Sunday morning. No one is committing to the kid in that...

Roster reductions out of team's control, Stewart's rotation candidacy

Roster reductions out of team's control, Stewart's rotation candidacy
Camp reductions aren't supposed to happen due to injury. The Orioles would prefer maintaining control of the process, but it keeps slipping from their grasp. Forty-five players in the pool are supposed to be competing for spots on the 30-man roster for opening day. The rest are headed to the alternate camp in Bowie, with the Orioles having the freedom to call upon them. They were counting on Anthony Santander and Dwight Smith Jr. being at Fenway Park for the opener, but the odds keep shrinking...

Martin has broken bone in wrist, three spots in rotation appear set

Martin has broken bone in wrist, three spots in rotation appear set
The utility competition in the Orioles' summer training camp no longer includes Richie Martin, who's been lost in an unexpected manner. Martin underwent X-rays yesterday afternoon that revealed a fractured bone in his right wrist, an injury that occurred after he collided with first baseman Chris Davis while diving back into the bag during Friday night's intrasquad game. The former Rule 5 pick held his left hand while walking off the field, the discomfort caused by a torn fingernail and...