Santander's tiebreaking homer pushes Orioles past Jays (updated)

Santander's tiebreaking homer pushes Orioles past Jays (updated)
The Orioles know exactly what's at stake. The importance of the remaining games for each opponent that's in a pennant race. Vying for a division title or the distinction of a wild card. A team buried in last place can wield plenty of influence. And the Orioles are going to take their biggest swings at it. Don't strive to be a spoiler but hope to succeed at it. Cedric Mullins and Ryan McKenna homered in the first inning tonight and rookie Chris Ellis grinded through the fifth before the Blue...

Orioles rally for nine runs in eighth inning and win 9-8 (updated)

Orioles rally for nine runs in eighth inning and win 9-8 (updated)
A quality start from Matt Harvey on Aug. 27 against the Rays has been followed by two failed attempts to complete the fifth inning. What's also going to follow are questions about his remaining time in a rotation that keeps getting younger and less experienced. The Orioles will figure it out. In the meantime, they seem to be getting more frisky. More confident in themselves. Less inclined to wait for something bad to happen to them. There's no reasonable way to question it. They made sure...

Mullins joins 25/25 club and O's rally for 8-7 win (updated)

Mullins joins 25/25 club and O's rally for 8-7 win (updated)
Nine consecutive four-seam fastballs to Gary Sánchez in the second inning today showed tremendous confidence in the pitch. But also with the obvious risks and other potential repercussions. Sánchez got the barrel on the ninth, with the bases loaded and the Orioles ahead by a run, and launched it into the second deck for a grand slam. The chance at a rare series win on the road seemed to disappear with the ball, but the Orioles kept clawing, kept putting runners on base and finally found...

Ellis gets start tonight for Orioles

Ellis gets start tonight for Orioles
The "mix and match" bullpen game that Orioles manager Brandon Hyde referenced late last night begins with right-hander Chris Ellis. The team announced that Ellis will start tonight against the Angels and two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani. Ellis becomes the 55th player used this season, three short of the club record set in 2019. A different record looms heavier over the organization. Two more losses and the Orioles will match the 21 straight to begin the 1988 season. Ellis, 28, is serving as an...

Orioles face big early deficit and lose 19th straight (updated)

Orioles face big early deficit and lose 19th straight (updated)
Multiple roster moves on Monday weren't intended to distract from an 18-game losing streak. They weren't designed to spare manager Brandon Hyde from the daily bombardment of questions about it. But he lasted the full seven minutes of today's media session without going into another deep dive. The closest he came was expanding on a suggestion that the jolt of energy provided by new second baseman Jahmai Jones could benefit a team that's beaten down. The streak doesn't care about any of it....

López removed early, O's losing streak at 15 games (updated)

López removed early, O's losing streak at 15 games (updated)
Jorge López walked to the mound today in the bottom of the second inning, still trying to process what happened in the first. Or perhaps wishing he could forget about it and treat his return as a fresh start. Something his teammates desperately need right now. What came next, most unfortunate for the Orioles, represented what's happening to them this month. There are no fresh starts or quality ones. Just more of the same, with the occasional sprinkling of intrigue. And for López, an...

Another promising start for Orioles leads to loss (updated)

Another promising start for Orioles leads to loss (updated)
Taking a lead has come easily to the Orioles over the past few games. It's holding the lead that's proven to be too difficult. The offense goes cold again, a price is paid for pitches that miss their marks and a losing streak refuses to die. Matt Harvey cruised into the fourth inning and by the fifth had allowed more than three runs for the only time since the All-Star break. Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Lowe homered off Harvey, who didn't complete the fifth. Brett Phillips had an...

Orioles swept for 14th time with 6-2 loss (updated)

Orioles swept for 14th time with 6-2 loss (updated)
The Orioles had their brief moment this afternoon. The early rally, the hit with a runner in scoring position, a lead against the Red Sox. Keegan Akin took his turn on the mound in the bottom of the first inning and surrendered a three-run homer to J.D. Martinez among his 22 pitches. The next three innings saw Akin bend but not break, keeping the Orioles in the game, unsure whether it keeps him in the rotation. But the losing streak is rolling into St. Petersburg, Fla., for the next stop on the...

O's game blog: Looking to end losing streak in series finale

O's game blog: Looking to end losing streak in series finale
With two losses this weekend at Boston and a riding 10-game losing streak, the Orioles are desperate for a win this afternoon at Fenway Park in the finale of this three-game series. The Orioles swept three from Boston at Fenway to begin the 2021 season, winning the games by a combined 18-5 score. But they have lost the first two games this weekend by a combined 24-3 score. Boston had 17 hits, bashed five homers and went 7-for-12 with runners in scoring position Saturday in pounding the Orioles...

Orioles add Abad and Wade to bullpen, plus lineups (updated)

Orioles add Abad and Wade to bullpen, plus lineups (updated)
The expected bullpen changes came today, with the Orioles designating Adam Plutko for assignment and optioning Dusten Knight to Triple-A Norfolk. In their place, the Orioles selected the contracts of Konner Wade and veteran left-hander Fernando Abad from Norfolk. They made room on the 40-man roster by transferring left-hander Bruce Zimmermann to the 60-day injured list. Plutko allowed home runs in a club-record six relief appearances in a row. He posted a 6.71 ERA and 1.633 WHIP in 38...

Santander homers again, Cabrera hits 499th in O's loss

Santander homers again, Cabrera hits 499th in O's loss
Matt Harvey's right knee appears to be fine. His survival tactics were in pretty good shape tonight until the fifth inning. Harvey steered out of a couple jams but hung a curveball to Miguel Cabrera, whose 499th career home run broke a scoreless tie in the fifth inning. Niko Goodrum added a two-run double and exited with a left groin strain, the Orioles were quiet offensively until Anthony Santander homered again in the eighth and the losing streak reached seven games. The Orioles kept their...

Wondering how holes could be filled if trades go down

Wondering how holes could be filled if trades go down
To keep the activity in its proper order, discussions about filling vacancies on the Orioles roster should be tabled until trades are consummated. But who said anything about being proper? The Orioles are receiving interest in left-handed relievers Paul Fry and Tanner Scott, and removing one likely leads to a promotion from Triple-A Norfolk. They are the only southpaws in the bullpen. This could open the door for veteran Fernando Abad, who has spent the entire season with Norfolk. The 5.23 ERA...

Because You Asked - The Recycler

Because You Asked - The Recycler
The questions are piling up again. They'd thin out a little if my original answers stuck, but you know how this works. You know why the sequels exist. How many times must we go over this? You ask, I answer, someone else asks the same thing, I tweak or completely change my response to see if anyone notices or cares. It's probably a desperate cry for attention. My therapist thinks so. The only time there's crying in baseball. Here's what I won't do, and you have my word: Edit for length,...

Elias on bullpen changes, pitching plans and the draft

Elias on bullpen changes, pitching plans and the draft
Trey Mancini hopped on a Zoom call after a recent loss and spoke about the frustrating nature of a team that can't get "synced up." His words coming after the Orioles scored six runs and allowed 13. Plenty of offense and no pitching to support it. It also works in reverse. Starter Jorge López completed six innings yesterday for the first time since Sept. 19, 2020. A quality start produced by someone besides John Means. Relievers Shawn Armstrong and Tanner Scott combined to retire all six...

López falters in fifth and offense late to fire up in 4-2 loss (updated)

López falters in fifth and offense late to fire up in 4-2 loss (updated)
The Orioles gambled today by leaving their tired bullpen intact and counting on Jorge López to provide some length. But they didn't necessarily bypass an obvious solution. The pitching staff at Triple-A Norfolk isn't loaded with 40-man options. Hard decisions are pending, with Hunter Harvey's return from the 60-day injured list, perhaps by early June, just one of them. Manager Brandon Hyde wasn't going to use a couple of his relievers tonight after an exhausting homestand. Finding a hot...

Orioles claim Waddell off waivers and DFA Flaa

Orioles claim Waddell off waivers and DFA Flaa
Less than two weeks after making his major league debut, right-hander Jay Flaa has been designated for assignment and removed from the Orioles' 40-man roster. Space was required this afternoon after the Orioles claimed left-hander Brandon Waddell off waivers from the Twins and assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk. Waddell, 26, was a Pirates fifth-round selection in the 2015 draft out of the University of Virginia. He's made six relief appearances over the past two seasons and allowed six earned...

Notes on Hays, Hanhold, Abad and Fry

Notes on Hays, Hanhold, Abad and Fry
A roster move is pending for the Orioles, with outfielder Austin Hays appearing ready to be activated Tuesday in Miami. Exactly how it was expected to happen. Hays felt fine after playing seven innings Friday afternoon against the Nationals in Fredericksburg, Va., and he was back in left field yesterday for four innings in an intrasquad game at the alternate training site in Bowie. I heard that he looked good again at the plate and in the field. What's left now is a recovery day with camp...

Updating Austin Hays' quest to come off the injured list

Updating Austin Hays' quest to come off the injured list
The progression that's supposed to return Austin Hays to the Orioles put him in Fredericksburg, Va., yesterday for a secondary training site game against the Nationals. Not quite the majors, but four important at-bats in a more intense environment than simulated action. Hays played seven innings in left field, and his most impressive swing drove a ball to the wall in right-center. The Orioles will check on him today and decide whether he starts in a four-inning intrasquad game in Bowie. The...

Sanders sees sufficient strides from Mountcastle in left field

Sanders sees sufficient strides from Mountcastle in left field
Former Orioles manager Johnny Oates always insisted on putting his best defensive outfielder in left at Camden Yards, which is why Brady Anderson did most of his early work in the corner, though the three-time All-Star is mostly identified as playing center in Baltimore. There was the angle, and fans in the first row of seats who easily could reach out and interfere with fly balls or attempts to catch them. Oates wanted Anderson guarding that area. The Orioles want Ryan Mountcastle, a player...

Jorge López makes strong case (O's win with Hyde quotes)

Jorge López makes strong case (O's win with Hyde quotes)
It was a night when the Orioles rotation competition got reduced by one pitcher. Meanwhile, another stated his case, pitching very well against an American League East rival. Lefty Keegan Akin was optioned to Triple-A during a game where right-hander Jorge López was mowing down the New York Yankees in Tampa with pretty solid regularity. López threw five scoreless innings, his best outing of a good spring, allowing just two hits, and he matched Yankees ace Gerrit Cole in a scoreless duel...