Another day brings another roster move

Another day brings another roster move
The Orioles are poised to make another roster move after using seven relievers in yesterday's doubleheader against the White Sox. Are they really poised to face their third opponent in three days? The Orioles beat the Astros on Wednesday to take the series and split with the White Sox yesterday. The Rays are in town for a three-game series because the Orioles simply don't play them enough. As for the roster, the Orioles had a pitcher nearby in case Tyler Wilson made a hasty exit in his first...

Wrapping up a 5-2 loss

Wrapping up a 5-2 loss
MIAMI - The Orioles return home tonight after dropping two of three games to the Marlins, including today's 5-2 loss. They're now 2-13 when the series shifts to Miami. The roof stayed closed. So did the offense, which went 19 consecutive innings without scoring a run. "Hitting is contagious," said center fielder Adam Jones. "The only person who is really hitting the ball is (Jimmy) Paredes. So I think everybody needs to go hover around him, grab his bats and rub his bats against everybody...

Missed scoring chances hurt O's in 5-2 loss at Miami as Marlins take series

Missed scoring chances hurt O's in 5-2 loss at Miami as Marlins take series
It was another frustrating day for the Orioles. They fell behind early, scored just two runs and lost a series to a team that had a seven-game losing streak when they got to town. After being shut out over 13 innings last night, they didn't score today until the sixth inning in a 5-2 loss to Miami. The Orioles fall to 19-22 on the year and to 7-20 all-time against the Marlins, including a 2-13 mark in Miami. Right-hander Tom Koehler retired the first 13 Orioles he faced today. To that point,...

O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound in Miami series finale

O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound in Miami series finale
After a very frustrating Saturday night that ended in a 1-0 loss in 13 innings, the Orioles will need a win today to avoid losing the series to Miami. The Orioles are now 7-19 all-time against the Marlins in interleague games and are just 2-12 in Miami. The O's have lost seven of the eight series the teams have played all-time. Miami is 17-27 and ended an eight-game losing streak Saturday night. It was just the second win in the last 13 games for the Marlins. The Orioles were shut out for the...

Orioles-Marlins lineups for finale

Orioles-Marlins lineups for finale
MIAMI - The Orioles will send right-hander Miguel Gonzalez to the mound for today's finale of a three-game series against the Marlins. The right-hander is 5-2 with a 3.24 ERA and his five victories lead the staff. He's worked at least six innings in five of his eight starts, and has pitched seven or more innings three times in his last four outings.David Lough gets the start in left field, Everth Cabrera starts in place of J.J. Hardy at shortstop and Ryan Lavarnway will be behind the...

Looking back and ahead

Looking back and ahead
MIAMI - The Orioles were discussing late last night whether to rush a pitcher from Triple-A Norfolk to Marlins Park for today's series finale. They're fortunate that Oliver Drake ate up three innings in his major league debut, but he doesn't figure to be available for the next few days. And who knows what's happening to Brian Matusz, who was ejected for having a sticky substance on his right arm and could be facing a suspension? Marlins manager Dan Jennings probably should avoid swinging by...

Jimmy Paredes on his latest big game, plus other clubhouse quotes

Jimmy Paredes on his latest big game, plus other clubhouse quotes
Some of the pregame talk centered on Nelson Cruz and his return to Baltimore. By the postgame interviews, there was more talk about Jimmy Paredes and another big night for him at the plate. He went 2-for-5 and drove in a career-high four runs as the Orioles beat Seattle 9-4. Paredes delivered a two-run single in the fourth, which tied the game at 4-4, and a two-run homer in the sixth that gave the O's a 7-4 lead. "Feels great," he said, after raising his average to .346. "(Cruz is) a big...

Wrapping up a 9-4 win

Wrapping up a 9-4 win
Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed tonight that Chris Tillman will start Thursday afternoon's series finale against the Mariners at Camden Yards, and Ubaldo Jimenez and Mike Wright will start the first two games against the Marlins in Miami. Tillman played catch today and his back is fine. Orioles starters have gone seven or more innings in five straight games, with Miguel Gonzalez becoming the latest tonight. He rebounded nicely after Nelson Cruz's three-run homer in the third. "He...

Jimmy Paredes drives in career-high four runs as O's beat M's in series opener

Jimmy Paredes drives in career-high four runs as O's beat M's in series opener
The bottom of the order did its part and Jimmy Paredes, batting second, made sure the top of the order did as well. Paredes homered and recroded a career-high four RBIs as the Orioles beat Seattle 9-4 in the opener of a three-game series. The Orioles improved to 17-19 for the season and to 4-3 on a nine-game homestand. Former Oriole Nelson Cruz came back to Camden Yards and got quite a few cheers, but he silenced the crowd with a three-run homer in the third - his 16th this season - for a 4-1...

Gonzalez gives up homer, Cruz receives ovation (O's win 9-4)

Gonzalez gives up homer, Cruz receives ovation (O's win 9-4)
Seth Smith hit his second career leadoff home run tonight to give the Mariners a quick 1-0 lead over the Orioles. Smith lined Miguel Gonzalez's fourth pitch onto the flag court in right field. Gonzalez struck out the next two batters to bring former Orioles outfielder Nelson Cruz to the plate. Fans cheered loudly for Cruz, some of them standing. A few yelled "Cruuuz." It's a sparse crowd tonight, but it made a lot of noise before Cruz lined an 0-2 pitch into center field for a...

O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound in series opener with Seattle

O's game blog: Miguel Gonzalez on the mound in series opener with Seattle
Tonight, the Orioles host Seattle in Game 1 of a three-game series to end a nine-game homestand. The Orioles are 16-19 for the season, 3-3 on the homestand and 9-7 at Camden Yards for the season. They are 14-15 in games against an American League East opponent and 2-4 when playing outside the division. Like the Orioles, the Mariners are three games under .500 at 17-20. They just completed a 6-3 homestand, which ended with a four-game series split against Boston. The Mariners' starting pitchers...

Gonzalez tries to keep the rotation rolling

Gonzalez tries to keep the rotation rolling
The Orioles didn't announce any changes to their rotation last night besides Bud Norris' placement on the disabled list, leaving us to assume that Miguel Gonzalez is starting tonight's series opener against the Mariners at Camden Yards. Manager Buck Showalter confirmed on Sunday that Gonzalez would get the assignment, followed by left-hander Wei-Yin Chen on Wednesday. Chris Tillman figures to start Thursday afternoon now that his back has improved. The Mariners are sending Taijuan Walker,...

O's rotation gets on a roll and a take on Mike Wright's debut

O's rotation gets on a roll and a take on Mike Wright's debut
Don't look now, but Orioles starting pitchers are starting to get on a roll. Mike Wright's Sunday outing was outstanding, but it was only the latest in a series of pretty strong starts by the rotation. Here are the updated rotation numbers through Sunday: * Four consecutive quality starts with a rotation ERA of 1.24. * Six quality starts in the last eight games with an ERA of 2.72. * Thirteen quality starts the last 18 games with an ERA of 3.10. O's starters have now pitched seven innings or...

Slump breaker: Alejandro De Aza has two hits in O's win over Toronto, plus other notes

Slump breaker: Alejandro De Aza has two hits in O's win over Toronto, plus other notes
After batting .293 in 20 games for the Orioles last season after they acquired him Aug. 30, outfielder Alejandro De Aza got off to a fast start this year. He hit safely in his first six games of the season, batting .333. But his bat soon trailed off and he came into last night's game batting just .211 for the year, and just .122 (5-for-41) over his last 12 games. But De Aza's bat finally got going a bit in last night's 6-1 win over Toronto. He went 2-for-3 with a run scored and an RBI...

Gonzalez and Joseph on the pitching, Navarro on his first big league homer

Gonzalez and Joseph on the pitching, Navarro on his first big league homer
Against a Toronto team averaging 7.4 runs per game against the Orioles this year, Miguel Gonzalez stepped up big time tonight. He shut out Toronto on 75 pitches through his first seven innings, and gave up just one unearned run and three hits over 7 2/3 innings in the Orioles' 6-1 win. "Just being aggressive in the zone the whole time and not trying to do too much," Gonzalez said of his pitch efficiency. "My last outing wasn't the greatest, but this time around I worked hard and it paid...

Gonzalez with a gem as O's beat Toronto to win the series

Gonzalez with a gem as O's beat Toronto to win the series
Given a chance to gain a win and begin to erase the memory of last night's poor performance, the Orioles accepted the challenge tonight. Miguel Gonzalez led the way. Gonzalez buzzed through the Toronto lineup without allowing a run over the first seven innings on just 75 pitches. He pitched the Orioles to a 6-1 win and a series victory tonight in front of 24,654 at Camden Yards. He was replaced in the eighth but went 7 2/3 innings, allowing just three hits and one unearned run. He walked three...

Orioles race out to early lead (O's win 6-1)

Orioles race out to early lead (O's win 6-1)
The game time temperature at Camden Yards tonight was 66 degrees, 20 fewer than last night. The Orioles came out hot, anyway. Caleb Joseph had a two-run double in the second inning and scored on Manny Machado's double. Machado scored on Alejandro De Aza's double. If Blue Jays starter Aaron Sanchez is forced to leave the game, it may be due to a case of double vision. De Aza moved to third base on a wild pitch and scored on Jimmy Paredes' infield hit to complete a five-run inning. Paredes...

O's game blog: Orioles look for series victory over Toronto

O's game blog: Orioles look for series victory over Toronto
The Orioles can begin to erase the bad feelings about last night's 10-2 loss to Toronto with a win tonight, which would give them their first series win this year against the Blue Jays. The Orioles are 2-6 versus Toronto, 0-2 in two series, and have been outscored 59-40 on the season series. The O's staff has an ERA of 7.17. Toronto batters are hitting .295 with an OPS of .886 against the Orioles with 27 doubles and 12 homers in the eight games. The Orioles are 4-3-1 this season in series...

Miguel Gonzalez tries to end losing streak

Miguel Gonzalez tries to end losing streak
NEW YORK - Miguel Gonzalez is getting his second look at the Yankees tonight. He's hoping the view hasn't changed. Gonzalez allowed one run over seven innings on April 14, with one walk and a career-high 10 strikeouts. The current group of Yankees is batting .193 against him, going 21-for-109. Maybe he's the right guy to play stopper and end a three-game losing streak. Gonzalez is 3-1 with a 2.59 ERA this season and has allowed one run or fewer in three of his five starts. He's 3-3 with a...

Frustrating loss: O's one run short at Yankee Stadium as losing streak reaches three

Frustrating loss: O's one run short at Yankee Stadium as losing streak reaches three
The Orioles switched ballparks but suffered yet another frustrating loss in New York tonight. Alex Rodriguez hit career homer No. 661 to move to fourth on the all-time list, and Chris Tillman gave up four runs and 10 hits as the Yankees beat the Orioles 4-3 at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles fell to two games under .500 for the season at 12-14. They are now 6-10 on the road, 2-2 against the Yankees, 3-5 in one-run games and 2-8 in series-opening games. This back-and-forth game saw the O's lead 1-0...