Caleb Joseph on return to Baltimore, plus other notes

Caleb Joseph on return to Baltimore, plus other notes
It is a very familiar sight but in an unfamiliar uniform. Catcher Caleb Joseph, the Orioles' seventh-round draft pick in 2008 who spent five seasons with the big league club, returned to Baltimore this week. He's on the Toronto Blue Jays' taxi squad after spending last season with the Arizona Diamondbacks. After spending a few years wondering if he would ever move past Double-A Bowie on the farm - he played there parts of four seasons - Joseph finally broke into the majors in 2014. At the...

Mistakes in 10th doom O's to a gut punch loss

Mistakes in 10th doom O's to a gut punch loss
That was a huge gut punch loss for the Orioles tonight, 8-7 in 10 innings against Toronto. In the top of the 10th, a play that was ruled a throwing error on defensive replacement Chris Davis from first base put Toronto ahead 8-7. He made a diving stop with runners on second and third and one out, and from the ground threw home. The ball bounced to catcher Pedro Severino, who could not handle the throw that would have led to an out. In the last of the 10th, Cedric Mullins singled on the eighth...

Santander's two homers still leave Orioles short in 8-7 loss (updated)

Santander's two homers still leave Orioles short in 8-7 loss (updated)
The pose has become familiar. He just needs paparazzi to capture the moment. Anthony Santander unloads on another ball and admires its flight, tosses his bat and beings a slow trot to first base. He'll glance at the dugout and gesture to teammates. A pointed finger, a few words. A celebration after crossing home plate with fists and elbows sometimes touching only air. The hard contact's already been made. Santander extended his hitting streak to a career-high 13 games tonight with a two-run...

O's game blog: Another chance to bounce back

O's game blog: Another chance to bounce back
They were held to five hits last night in a 7-2 loss to Toronto. The Orioles (12-10) host the Blue Jays (8-11) again tonight in the second of a three-game series. Toronto's four-run third inning against right-hander Alex Cobb was highlighted by Randal Grichuk's three-run homer. Grichuk has 28 extra-base hits in 28 career games against the Orioles. He is a career .342/.383/.792 batter against Baltimore with 15 doubles, 13 homers and 30 RBIs. He had a bloop RBI single in the seventh for a...

Orioles place Iglesias on injured list (plus Orioles lineup)

Orioles place Iglesias on injured list (plus Orioles lineup)
The Orioles have placed shortstop José Iglesias on the 10-day injured list today and recalled infielder Ramón Urías from the alternate camp site in Bowie. Iglesias is dealing with a left quadriceps strain and has been limited to sporadic appearances in the lineup and in the field due to his injury. Manager Brandon Hyde suggested yesterday that the IL had become a consideration, though the Orioles hate to lose a bat that's been extremely productive. They're left with no choice. Signed...

Orioles praising 'pen while also searching for more substantial starts

Orioles praising 'pen while also searching for more substantial starts
The glass is half full or half empty. The viewpoint is up for debate. An Orioles bullpen providing outstanding coverage in games and a rotation unable to work beyond the middle innings. One is lauded, the other lectured. Relievers tossed four scoreless innings Saturday night against the Nationals to seal a 7-3 win, after Asher Wojciechowski threw one pitch in the sixth and watched the ball sail over the left field fence. Jorge López made his Orioles debut yesterday and walked off the mound...

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...

Orioles lineup vs. Phillies

Orioles lineup vs. Phillies
José Iglesias has returned to the Orioles' lineup tonight in Philadelphia as they try to extend their winning streak to four games. And perhaps do it in regulation and without any rain-related madness. Chris Davis stays in the eighth spot and Chance Sisco is catching and batting ninth. Hanser Alberto and Anthony Santander remain one-two in the order. Wade LeBlanc is trying to rebound from Thursday night's start against the Marlins, when he surrendered six runs and seven hits in 3 1/3...

More on rotation, Urías, Iglesias, winning and chemistry

More on rotation, Urías, Iglesias, winning and chemistry
The roster manipulation by the Orioles yesterday was minimal. One player on the taxi squad for the trip to Philadelphia. Nothing else to report. Left-hander John Means joined right-hander Jorge López on the injury list in a pair of procedural moves. They can be placed on the active roster after undergoing COVID-19 intake testing and the team has the results. Keegan Akin remained in the bullpen last night, still unsure how long he's going to stay in the majors. He gives the Orioles an extra...

Orioles and Phillies lineups

Orioles and Phillies lineups
José Iglesias was given a planned day off Sunday in D.C., but he remains out of the lineup tonight in Philadelphia. Pat Valaika is the starting shortstop to open the series. Iglesias is 3-for-6 with a double against Phillies starter Zack Wheeler and 15-for-37 (.405) this season with seven doubles and seven RBIs. Pedro Severino is behind the plate and batting fifth after sitting out Sunday's suspended game with a sore left wrist and hand. Austin Hays is batting seventh and Chris Davis...

Fourteen games into season, O's have plenty to feel good about

Fourteen games into season, O's have plenty to feel good about
Tarp follies or not, the Orioles have plenty to feel good about after a weekend of solid baseball in Washington, D.C. They outscored the Nationals 21-5 and were a few innings away from an 8-7 start to the 60-game season. During a year when 16 teams will get in the playoffs, a final regular season record of 32-28 will likely be good enough. Now we have to see if the final 77 percent of the season can go as well. The team has gotten decent pitching from a rotation that had produced eight starts...

Hyde sits Severino with sore wrist and hand

Hyde sits Severino with sore wrist and hand
Pedro Severino is on the bench this afternoon after being hit last night on the left wrist by a pitch from Nationals reliever Ryne Harper. Manager Brandon Hyde intended to start Severino until checking on him this morning. "Sevie's wrist is sore, his hand, from being hit last night, so he was going to play today, but I talked to him this morning and he's pretty sore from getting hit last night," Hyde said today in his Zoom conference call with the media. Bryan Holaday gets his first start...

After tough series, when will be the right time to tap into Bowie group?

After tough series, when will be the right time to tap into Bowie group?
If you are trying to get a handle on how the Orioles will do this year and you watched them play the last week, you might be very confused. They swept three straight from a Tampa Bay team that won 96 games last year. Then they played the depleted Miami Marlins, who restarted their season after about a week's stay in the hotel and with little prep for this series, and they lost four straight. The Birds have now played in three straight series ending in sweeps. They lost two in a row to the...

Defensive shortcomings for O's contribute to series sweep (updated)

Defensive shortcomings for O's contribute to series sweep (updated)
The bats came out of the rack. They made some loud noises. The threat of another shutout was obliterated like the pitch Renato Núñez launched into the left field seats to open the top of the second inning. If the Orioles were going to lose again tonight, at least they'd go down swinging. A problem is fixed and the ship springs two other leaks. And the solution wasn't to keep plugging away. Wade LeBlanc lasted only 3 1/3 innings, the defense collapsed behind him and an offensive rush...

Orioles and Marlins lineups

Orioles and Marlins lineups
José Iglesias is getting the start at shortstop tonight rather than kept as the designated hitter or a pinch-hitter. Rio Ruiz, however, isn't ready to return to third base while dealing with a sore right shoulder. Ruiz is 7-for-22 (.318) with three home runs and a 1.112 OPS. Iglesias is 11-for-24 (.458) with six doubles and a 1.188 OPS. The Orioles need both of them with their offense in a major funk. An offense that's totaled one run and 10 hits in three losses in the series. Ruiz could...

Seeing some individual player improvement during a 5-3 start

Seeing some individual player improvement during a 5-3 start
Their pitchers - starters and bullpen - are coming off a solid weekend. Their batters are putting more balls in play and coming through at times in big spots. They are making more consistent contact, even against some tough opponents including Gerrit Cole, Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow. Their 5-3 record was third-best in the American League heading into Monday night's action, and 6-2 was easily within their grasp in the second Yankees game in the ninth. The Orioles' strong start is surprising...

Orioles win in 11 innings on Valaika single (updated)

Orioles win in 11 innings on Valaika single (updated)
The Orioles almost made it through tonight's game without committing an error, perhaps because they've gotten so good at handling everything thrown at them. Players are lost to injury or trade. Opponents change unexpectedly and games are rearranged like furniture. Manager Brandon Hyde puts out fires and jokes about dressing for the part. This team is only interested in staying hot. The Rays scored three runs in the top of the eighth inning to tie the game, taking advantage of Shawn...

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...

Notes on Davis, Iglesias, rotation and more

Notes on Davis, Iglesias, rotation and more
First baseman Chris Davis remains away from the Orioles as they finish their two-game series against the Yankees at Camden Yards. He also was absent from the ballpark last night. Manager Brandon Hyde isn't allowed to provide specific information on Davis, who's likely under COVID-19 protocol. The Orioles haven't replaced him on the active roster. "C.D. is still unavailable today," Hyde said during his Zoom conference call. "I'm going to leave it at that." Davis worked out with the team...

This, that and the other

This, that and the other
Orioles reliever Hunter Harvey left the alternate camp site in Bowie yesterday and joined his teammates at Camden Yards for the home opener. He arrived at the ballpark around 3 p.m. and headed through the gate reserved for players. Harvey was placed on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm strain and won't be activated today. However, left-hander John Means is coming off the IL and making the start against the Yankees. Manager Brandon Hyde already knew that Harvey and reliever Dillon...