As Santander continues to rake, will rest of O's keep up?

As Santander continues to rake, will rest of O's keep up?
In the big picture, the Orioles are 12-12 to start a 60-game season and contending for a playoff berth. They have shown much improvement on offense and in their bullpen. But in the smaller, most recent slice of the season they've gone 1-5 in six games and contributed to their own demise a couple of times. Baserunning mistakes late in the game Tuesday and in the first inning Wednesday were costly. They went 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position in the first two innings yesterday. They had a...

O's overcome deficit, 15 strikeouts to beat Phillies (quotes added)

O's overcome deficit, 15 strikeouts to beat Phillies (quotes added)
On a night the Orioles got a short outing from their starter, struck out 15 times and fell behind 3-1 in the third, they still managed to win. The strong start of the 2020 Orioles continued tonight at Philadelphia. Chance Sisco produced a clutch two-out, two-run single in the fourth and Rio Ruiz hit a go-ahead solo home run in the fifth as the Orioles beat Philadelphia 5-4. The 9-7 Orioles have won four in a row and taken the first two games in this series. They improved to 6-1 on the road and...

That escalated quickly: Eighth-inning homer barrage for the win

That escalated quickly: Eighth-inning homer barrage for the win
It happened fast for the Orioles. In a stunning three-home-run eighth inning, their dormant offense came to life big-time tonight and they rallied to beat the defending World Series champion Washington Nationals 5-3. They did it against their top late-inning relievers who played key roles in their 2019 championship run. All it took was two pinch-hit homers and an "Earl" - a three-run homer that former skipper Earl Weaver loved. The late comeback puts the Orioles back at the .500 mark at 7-7...

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...

Updating Means, exhibition pitchers and more

Updating Means, exhibition pitchers and more
The Orioles remain uncertain about John Means' status for opening day, though there's been improvement in the condition of his left arm. Manager Brandon Hyde said the club remains in day-to-day mode with Means. "He felt a lot better today," Hyde said during his Zoom conference call with the media. "Has done a lot of treatment today. We haven't made a decision on that yet, but obviously we need to do that here in the next couple days." The Orioles won't use a starter on short rest if...

Delays for Santander and Smith could mean starts for Stewart

Delays for Santander and Smith could mean starts for Stewart
Rio Ruiz's fly ball was slicing toward the left field line. DJ Stewart was racing to it. Could have been a double, could have been an out with flair. Could have been an injury to Stewart, who made a sensational diving catch and really felt it. Stewart rose to his feet and bent forward for a couple of seconds. He straightened, reached for his right ribcage and motioned to center fielder Andrew Velazquez that he was fine. The first intrasquad game featuring crowd noise piped into the ballpark...

The draft could be the first event of a 2020 MLB season

The draft could be the first event of a 2020 MLB season
If there is a baseball season this year, we may still see one major event take place before any games do. That would be the First-Year Player Draft. A draft that was once 50 rounds and then reduced to 40 could be as few as five rounds later this year. It now appears that the draft will start on June 10, the date which was set to begin the draft all along. Previously there were reports the draft could be moved to late June or July. An earlier negotiation between Major League Baseball and the MLB...

How would an all-time Orioles team fare in simulation?

How would an all-time Orioles team fare in simulation?
How would an all-time Orioles team do against all-time teams from the rest of Major League Baseball? We're about to find out through the magic of game simulation. Obviously, they can't actually take the field! MLB, in conjunction with Out of the Park Baseball, on Thursday unveiled the MLB Dream Bracket with the tournament to begin Monday and Tuesday. The MLB Dream Bracket is a 32-team best-of-seven simulation featuring all-time teams for each of the 30 current MLB franchises, as well as teams...

How it might look in 2020: O's outfield

How it might look in 2020: O's outfield
Over the next few weeks, let's take a look at some aspects of the Orioles and how they were shaping up at the time that spring training was halted. Today, a look at the outfield. Earlier, I made my projection for the five-man rotation in this entry and an infield with a roster of seven in this entry. While we may see rosters larger than 26 players when baseball does start this year, we are going with a roster of 26 for this exercise. So with five in the rotation and eight in the bullpen...

Building outfield depth for the Orioles

Building outfield depth for the Orioles
It's been coming for a few years. The Orioles are building some nice outfield depth. Will there be room for everyone? Will this position provide a surplus eventually they may trade from? Let's look at the eight players listed as outfielders on the 40-man roster. Trey Mancini: The Orioles are thrilled he's under team control for three more years. At some point, maybe after 2020, they could look to sign him long-term. He was the 2019 Most Valuable Oriole when he hit .291/.364/.535 with 35...

How Herrera could fit with Orioles

How Herrera could fit with Orioles
SAN DIEGO - The Orioles can't share their concrete plans for the 26-man roster until they're done finding players for it. One move might impact how they handle a separate position. The work won't be done this month or in January, given the organization's track record for late signings, trades and waiver claims. Reaching an agreement last week with infielder Dilson Herrera on a minor league contract enables the Orioles to lay out three possible scenarios for him. They could reassign him to...

Mancini's four-RBI night wasted in 8-5 loss (updated)

Mancini's four-RBI night wasted in 8-5 loss (updated)
The Orioles used their power tonight to take an early lead while attempting to win the first game of their series against the Blue Jays. They switched to a small ball approach to tie the score. Anything that might work for them. Don't live and die by one method. Trey Mancini proved again that he could handle both of them. But his work was wasted. Too many mistakes and one 95 mph fastball that was launched deep into the night. Disconsolate yesterday after striking out on three pitches to leave...

Surprising Orioles pitching stats plus farm scores and notes

Surprising Orioles pitching stats plus farm scores and notes
There is no doubt about the importance of pitching. The Orioles are 42-88 and a lack of quality pitching has been a big reason for that. But there are a few stats that show us that even a team with a record like the Orioles' won-loss mark can do well when it gets some solid pitching. First, the overall numbers. With a team ERA of 5.84 through Sunday's games, the Orioles ranked 15th and last in the American League and 30th in Major League Baseball. Their rotation ERA of 5.72 ranks 15th in the...

A look at the last Oriole with a "Maddux" and other notes

A look at the last Oriole with a "Maddux" and other notes
At a time when teams are scrambling to get their starting pitchers to complete six innings, a complete game is becoming very rare. And one on under 100 pitches sounds almost impossible. But it happened at Wrigley Field Friday when the Cubs beat their rival, the St. Louis Cardinals, 4-0. Right-hander Kyle Hendricks pitched a four-hitter on just 81 pitches. That is known in the game as a "Maddux," as in something Hall of Famer Greg Maddux, but not many others, could do. Throw a shutout on under...

Alex Cobb on his struggles and other notes after Friday's loss

Alex Cobb on his struggles and other notes after Friday's loss
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Twins went 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position last night. But it didn't matter, because the Twins hit five homers and got a solid starting pitching performance. The Orioles didn't homer and right-hander Alex Cobb struggled again. Cobb said he felt fine physically. That was even after he took a spill on the mound trying to field a grounder up the middle in the last of the first. But after that spill, Minnesota hit three straight homers off him to start the...

David Hess throws 6 1/3 no-hit innings in win at Toronto

David Hess throws 6 1/3 no-hit innings in win at Toronto
TORONTO - Last year the Orioles did not record a single win at Rogers Centre in Toronto. Tonight, right-hander David Hess made sure that would not happen this season as the Orioles beat the Blue Jays 6-5. Showing the best fastball velocity we've seen in his brief major league career, Hess was rolling from the start. He retired the first nine batters on 28 pitches, throwing nine in the first, seven in the second and 12 in the third. He took a no-hitter into the seventh with a 6-0 lead at 74...

Some impressions from the first game of 2019

Some impressions from the first game of 2019
For the first time since the 2010 season, the Orioles lost on opening day. In their first opening day game in the Bronx since 1962, the New York Yankees scored three runs in the first inning and beat the Orioles 7-2. That snapped Baltimore's eight-game win streak in openers. A few impressions from Game 1 of 162. The defense was solid: This will need to stay this way with a lineup that appears will struggle to score runs. Run prevention will be big and the O's can't give away as many outs as...