Orioles begin final series by beating Red Sox 4-1 (updated)

Orioles begin final series by beating Red Sox 4-1 (updated)
BOSTON - The final series of the 2019 season came upon manager Brandon Hyde in quick fashion, the months since spring training gaining speed and distorting as if painted by Picasso. The only similarity to a work of art, though tonight's game had shades of a masterpiece. "It does seem like spring training was years (ago). I feel like the season did kind of fly by," Hyde said before tonight's 4-1 victory over the Red Sox at Fenway Park. "I remember being here early in the year, a little bit...

Hyde on Trumbo, Santander, Williams, Sisco, more (O's up 4-0)

Hyde on Trumbo, Santander, Williams, Sisco, more (O's up 4-0)
BOSTON - Orioles manager Brandon Hyde said he intends to put Mark Trumbo in Sunday's lineup to close out the season. Left unsaid is how the game also closes out Trumbo's career with the Orioles. He'll decide later whether to retire or pursue a contract with another team. Trumbo is 5-for-25 with three doubles this month since coming off the 60-day injured list. He didn't play in the three-game series in Toronto. Hyde spoke with Trumbo earlier today about the weekend. "He's going to be...

Orioles and Red Sox lineups

Orioles and Red Sox lineups
BOSTON - Anthony Santander remains out of the lineup tonight as the Orioles begin their final series of the 2019 season. Santander hasn't played since Monday. He's in a 1-for-23 slump. Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field and batting cleanup. DJ Stewart is in right field. Trey Mancini is playing first base and Chance Sisco is catching. Mancini has hit safely in 12 consecutive games at Fenway Park since May 19, 2018, posting a .340 average (16-for-47) during that stretch. He's slashed...

Dwight Smith Jr. on big game against his former team

Dwight Smith Jr. on big game against his former team
TORONTO - Orioles outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. calls the trade that sent him from Toronto to the Orioles on March 8 "the best thing that happened to me in my career." That is because the Orioles have given him a real shot in the majors this year. Over parts of 2017-18, he got a combined 104 plate appearances with Toronto. This season, he has gotten 384 with the Orioles. That number would probably be higher if not for two injuries. Smith got off to a hot start with the Orioles. Through May 12,...

Orioles and Blue Jays lineups

Orioles and Blue Jays lineups
Austin Wynns is behind the plate again tonight for the Orioles after hitting his first home run last night in Toronto. Austin Hays remains in center field and Chris Davis is playing first base. Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field after going 3-for-4 with a home run last night. Trey Mancini collected five hits last night and he's the designated hitter tonight as the Orioles close out the series. Mancini is batting .353/.412/.600 this month, with six doubles, five home runs and 19 RBIs. He has 30...

Notes and some thoughts on Hays and Phillips

Notes and some thoughts on Hays and Phillips
If Austin Hays stays healthy - and it's been a challenge over the past few seasons - he's going to be the Orioles' opening day starter in 2020. Period. End of discussion. OK, there's more. Manager Brandon Hyde isn't prepared to make that declaration. He's just trying to navigate his team through the last road trip. He's busy conducting exit interviews with players and figuring out how to manipulate the bullpen in the middle and late innings. The rotation no longer requires his attention....

Bundy throws a gem, Mancini has five hits as O's win big (updated)

Bundy throws a gem, Mancini has five hits as O's win big (updated)
TORONTO - A night after the Orioles allowed 11 runs, 13 hits and five homers, some pitching order was restored as they handily beat the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. Right-hander Dylan Bundy was dealin' Dylan, pitching the Orioles to a win in Game 2 of this series. Bundy went seven strong innings, the Orioles hit three homers and Trey Mancini went 5-for-5 in an 11-4 win over Toronto. Mancini doubled in the first and third and added three singles in setting a new career high for hits and...

New Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays

New Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays
The Orioles have made multiple changes to tonight's lineup in Toronto. The Blue Jays scratched their starting pitcher. Write down everything in pencil. In an apparent response to the hosts replacing left-hander Anthony Kay with left-hander Thomas Pannone, if that makes sense, the Orioles have removed shortstop Richie Martin, third baseman Hanser Alberto and right fielder Anthony Santander from their lineup with less than two hours remaining before first pitch. Jonathan Villar moves from second...

Orioles and Mariners lineups

Orioles and Mariners lineups
The Orioles will begin their final home game this afternoon with Austin Hays moving up to second in the order. Renato Núñez is playing third base and Chris Davis is across the diamond. Mark Trumbo is the designated hitter in his final home game with the Orioles. He becomes a free agent after the season and likely won't be re-signed. He also could choose to retire. Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field and DJ Stewart in right. Trey Mancini and Anthony Santander are out of the lineup. John...

When healthy, Dwight Smith Jr. tried to run with his opportunity

When healthy, Dwight Smith Jr. tried to run with his opportunity
On March 8, outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. got traded from the Blue Jays to the Orioles for international bonus money. He was about to leave the only organization he knew. The one that drafted him 53rd overall in 2011. He had played over 700 games in seven seasons on the Blue Jays' farm and briefly in the majors for Toronto in 2017 and 2018. And now he wondered how it would all turn out upon being traded. "I was just thinking, 'What's next?' " he recalled yesterday in the O's clubhouse. "I...

Castro surrenders slam to Grichuk in 11-10 loss (Harvey shut down)

Castro surrenders slam to Grichuk in 11-10 loss (Harvey shut down)
Orioles manager Brandon Hyde bumped back Dylan Bundy in the rotation to provide a little extra rest as the season moved into the third week of September. A sound plan, except that Bundy threw 31 pitches tonight in the first inning and 20 more in the second. A heavy load threatening to cancel out the benefits of a slightly fresher arm. Bundy pushed through five innings while tying his career high with five walks, the bats produced five doubles and two home runs in the first four innings and the...

Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays

Orioles lineup vs. Blue Jays
Stevie Wilkerson is starting at second base tonight against the Blue Jays. The Orioles have Trey Mancini at first base and Anthony Santander in right field. Austin Hays is in center field. DJ Stewart is the designated hitter. Dwight Smith Jr. is in left. Dylan Bundy has allowed three runs in 12 innings this season in his two starts against the Blue Jays. He owns a career 3.24 ERA and 1.063 WHIP in 13 career games against them. Bundy has a 5.52 ERA and 1.466 WHIP in 11 starts since the All-Star...

Orioles and Tigers lineups

Orioles and Tigers lineups
DETROIT - Anthony Santander is playing center field today as the Orioles continue their series against the Tigers. Trey Mancini is playing first base with Chris Davis staying on the bench. Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field and DJ Stewart is in right. Chance Sisco is catching. Asher Wojciechowski has never faced the Tigers. Edwin Jackson has pitched for 14 teams, including the Tigers twice. He's registered an 8.51 ERA and 1.891 WHIP this season in seven starts. Jackson is 7-1 with a 3.11 ERA...

Orioles ignore race talk in Motor City with 6-2 win (updated)

Orioles ignore race talk in Motor City with 6-2 win (updated)
DETROIT - The pennant races have an evil twin. Sort of like fight club. Not supposed to talk about it. Clubs tanking in order to earn the first draft pick. Some fans are upset if their team wins, as if screwing up the master plan. Rooting in reverse is trendy. The Orioles and Tigers began their four-game series tonight, the two worst records in baseball colliding like a couple of rusted-out Ford Pintos. But don't believe for a second that players in the visiting clubhouse cared an ounce about...

Orioles and Tigers lineups

Orioles and Tigers lineups
DETROIT - Mason Williams is in center field and batting second tonight for the Orioles in their series opener against the Tigers at Comerica Park. Dwight Smith Jr. is in left field and batting cleanup and Stevie Wilkerson is at second base. Trey Mancini is playing first base and Mark Trumbo is the designated hitter. DJ Stewart is in right field. Aaron Brooks, who starts tonight, allowed three runs in one relief inning against the Tigers earlier this season while pitching for the Athletics....

O's game blog: Looking for a series victory

O's game blog: Looking for a series victory
The Orioles are 4-11 this season in rubber match games and they play one tonight against the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Jonathan Villar hit a tiebreaking 443-foot three-run homer in the seventh inning last night as the O's won 7-3 to even the series at a win each. The Orioles (47-98) snapped a six-game losing streak as they matched the 2018 team win total. They are 23-51 at home and 30-27 when hitting multiple homers. The O's are 7-12 in interleague games and the...

Means offers quality and Villar breaks tie in 7-3 win (updated)

Means offers quality and Villar breaks tie in 7-3 win (updated)
A sense of calm and comfort swept over Orioles manager Brandon Hyde today as he glanced at the bottom of his lineup card. Where the starting pitcher is listed. Left-hander John Means was assigned the task of getting the Orioles through the early innings, which hadn't been done lately. No more instant deficits and quick exits. No more sorting through an expanded bullpen to cover the majority of a game. The staff ace was back on the mound and still on a roll. It just slowed a little in the...

Orioles lineup vs. Dodgers

Orioles lineup vs. Dodgers
Stevie Wilkerson gets this third start tonight at second base as the Orioles try again to pick up their 47th win and match last year's total. Jonathan Villar is leading off and Hanser Alberto is batting second. Trey Mancini is in right field and the cleanup spot. Dwight Smith Jr. is the designated hitter tonight. Chris Davis is at first base and Austin Hays is in center field. Left-hander John Means has allowed two earned runs or fewer in his last four starts over 25 2/3 innings. None of the...

Six-run first inning puts Orioles in inescapable hole (updated)

Six-run first inning puts Orioles in inescapable hole (updated)
Aaron Brooks got called third strikes on Delino DeShields and Ronald Guzman tonight in the top of the first inning and the crowd erupted. Jeff Mathis went down swinging for the final out, but the reaction was a bit more subdued. The fans must have been running low on sarcasm. Brooks wasn't fooled, of course. He understood the reasoning behind the enthusiastic response. Six runs already had scored and 31 pitches were thrown before the first out. Forty-one were needed for Brooks to make it back...

Brandon Hyde on today's roster additions (postgame quotes)

Brandon Hyde on today's roster additions (postgame quotes)
KANSAS CITY - The Orioles today added four players as major league rosters can expand to as many as 40 players on Sept. 1. The club has reinstated right-handed Shawn Armstrong from the 10-day injured list, and recalled right-hander Branden Kline, lefty Tanner Scott and outfielder Dwight Smith Jr. from Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles are expected to have more roster additions during the upcoming Tampa Bay series, which begins Monday. Mark Trumbo is expected to meet the Orioles in Tampa Bay. He has...