Flores on Martin and the positive influence of Iglesias

Flores on Martin and the positive influence of Iglesias
The Orioles hadn't made a final decision on shortstop Richie Martin prior to baseball's shutdown in spring training. He remained on the camp roster, which is frozen at 50 players. The club could have placed him in a utility role or, more likely, assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk in an attempt to further develop his skills. They had the freedom to go in any direction with Martin no longer holding Rule 5 status. Now what? The minor league season is expected to be canceled due to the coronavirus...

Bowie comes up with a big win in playoff opener

Bowie comes up with a big win in playoff opener
BOWIE, Md. - It's Baltimore against Washington in the Eastern League playoffs, and last night the Orioles' affiliate, Double-A Bowie, beat the Nats' Harrisburg team 5-3 to open the playoffs. Bowie leads the best-of-five series 1-0. The winner advances to the EL Championship Series. The Baysox scored three runs in the eighth to break a 2-2 tie, and the bottom of the order ignited the rally. Batting No. 8, Preston Palmeiro tripled in the go-ahead run and scored for a 4-2 lead when No. 9 batter...

Ripken reflects on 1989's "Why Not?" season

Ripken reflects on 1989's "Why Not?" season
The slogan came late to the future Hall of Famer. One of the most detail-oriented players in baseball history, so precise that he wore a watch during batting practice and infield drills, somehow missed it. Cal Ripken Jr. can laugh about it now. A collection of players from the 1989 "Why Not?" Orioles are gathering this weekend at Camden Yards to celebrate the 30th anniversary of one of the most beloved teams in franchise history. An all-time favorite, tipping the popularity scale, in spite of...

Dalton Hoiles trying to make a name for himself

Dalton Hoiles trying to make a name for himself
The name carries a certain amount of weight. But it won't break Dalton Hoiles. He knows that it's a magnet for attention. The oldest son of former Orioles catcher Chris Hoiles playing in the same organization. Wearing the same No. 23. It isn't quite on par with being Ryan Ripken or Preston Palmeiro, who are teammates at Double-A Bowie, but there's still a level of expectation that could make him uncomfortable if he allowed it. Maybe it helps that Dalton Hoiles plays the outfield at...

Nationals pull away from Orioles in 8-1 win (updated)

Nationals pull away from Orioles in 8-1 win (updated)
The Orioles missed Nationals ace and perennial Cy Young Award candidate Max Scherzer, who's on the injured list. They missed Stephen Strasburg, who's pushed back to Thursday and keeps alive his streak of never pitching in Baltimore. Tonight's matchup between right-handers Asher Wojciechowski and Austin Voth didn't necessarily send shivers up and down the spine, but the Orioles are trying to plug holes in their rotation and the Nats are doing some temporary tinkering. Wojciechowski gave the...

Núñez, Pérez and Palmeiro homer as O's split-squad loses to Phillies

Núñez, Pérez and Palmeiro homer as O's split-squad loses to Phillies
CLEARWATER, Fla. - It was a spring training game that will be long forgotten very soon and maybe this one should be. The Orioles allowed 18 hits and made three early errors as a Baltimore split-squad lost 11-4 to the Philadelphia Phillies in front of a sellout crowd of 8,349 at Spectrum Field in Clearwater. The Orioles are 0-5-1 over their last six games. The rest of their squad played in Sarasota today and tied 1-1 with the Pirates. After both games this afternoon, the O's record is 12-16-3...

A few leftovers from yesterday's win

A few leftovers from yesterday's win
SARASOTA, Fla. - Cody Carroll was handed the ball and a two-run lead yesterday and retired the side in order to close out a 7-5 win over the Tigers. All it took were three fly balls - from Kody Clemens, Héctor Sánchez and Wenceel Perez - to get the save. Carroll struck out three batters in his previous outing on Thursday, also in the ninth inning, but a fly ball from the Phillies' Darick Hall carried over the right field fence for a game-tying two-run homer. Saves come and go. "You just...

O's game blog: David Hess on mound in road trip opener

O's game blog: David Hess on mound in road trip opener
After Thursday's off day, the Orioles begin a two-city, six-game road trip tonight in Cleveland. The Orioles split two games earlier this week at home against the New York Mets. They won 6-3 Tuesday and lost 16-5 on Wednesday. The Orioles (36-85) have lost six of seven, 10 of 13, and 26 of their last 38 games. They are 15-45 in road games and 3-14-2 in road series. Cleveland (69-51) is leading the American League Central by 12 games over Minnesota. The Indians have won five in a row, 12 of...

O's game blog: Bundy faces Wright in homestand opener

O's game blog: Bundy faces Wright in homestand opener
After losing four straight at Toronto to complete a 2-4 road trip, the Orioles begin a six-game homestand tonight. They will host Boston for three games and Miami for three beginning Friday night. The Orioles (19-45) return home with the worst record in the majors. They have lost 11 of 13, 13 of 17 and 17 of their past 23. The Orioles are 1-6 against Boston but this is the first series the club have played at Oriole Park. The O's are 1-9 their past 10 games against the Red Sox. The Red Sox are...

It's time to take a longer look at David Hess

It's time to take a longer look at David Hess
He may have allowed five runs and three homers in 4 2/3 innings Sunday at Fenway Park, but here is one vote for right-hander David Hess to stay in the Orioles' rotation. He has gotten two big challenges to start his career. The first was making his MLB debut on three days' rest and overcoming allowing a three-run homer in the first. The second was facing Boston on the road on seven days' rest. Now maybe the Orioles will let the kid settle into an every five-day schedule, give him at least...

Tillman trying for back-to-back victories

Tillman trying for back-to-back victories
The Orioles will find out tonight whether Chris Tillman's last start was a sign or a tease. Whether his success was based more on the opponent or ... The second question may go unanswered because Tillman is 3-0 with a 2.84 ERA in six career outings against the Angels. He's 7-1 with a 2.79 ERA in 11 starts against the Tigers. Manager Buck Showalter lined him up properly. Didn't skip him after the rainout. Everyone was pushed back a day and Tillman got the ball. In two starts at Angel Stadium,...

That was wild: A few takes on the O's 14-inning win in the Bronx

That was wild: A few takes on the O's 14-inning win in the Bronx
Some days there is no reason to complain that a lot of the Orioles offense comes from the longball. Like last night, when they hit four homers in the marathon 7-3 win over the Yankees in 14 innings. All of last year the Orioles won two games at Yankee Stadium. This year they have two wins there nine days into the season. Manny Machado hit two solo homers - both shots over 400 feet - for his first two homers of the season. It was his 15th career multi-homer game and he went 4-for-5. Chris Davis...

Leftovers for breakfast

Leftovers for breakfast
There's something almost sinful about wasting a quality start from Ubaldo Jiménez, who's registered five of them this season among his 16 outings. It's like the canteen scene in "Three Amigos" with Chevy Chase gargling and spitting out his water and dumping the rest in the desert sand while Steve Martin and Martin Short are practically dying of thirst. (YouTube it if the reference is lost on you. Martin's expression is priceless.) Jiménez made one bad pitch or none yesterday,...

Chris Davis finishes rehab assignment and is ready to rejoin O's

Chris Davis finishes rehab assignment and is ready to rejoin O's
SALISBURY, Md. - Chris Davis completed his brief injury rehab assignment tonight with four at-bats with the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds of the South Atlantic League. Serving as the designated hitter and batting second, Davis struck out swinging in the first inning, grounded into a 4-6-3 double play to end the third inning, bounced to second base leading off the sixth and bounced to first base in the eighth. Davis played first base Monday afternoon at high Single-A Frederick and went 1-for-4...

Another loss mixed with some facts and opinions

Another loss mixed with some facts and opinions
The latest Orioles game just produced more frustration for players and fans alike. Now at 40-45 after falling 6-4 at Minnesota, the Orioles are tied for fourth and fifth in the American League East with Toronto. So that means they are tied for last place. They have lost four in a row and six of seven. They are 18-35 since May 9, when they were 22-10 and had the best record in Major League Baseball. The team since then has seldom looked like a good team, much less a winning team. They are...

O's add Tim Raines Jr. as Aberdeen's hitting coach, plus other notes

O's add Tim Raines Jr. as Aberdeen's hitting coach, plus other notes
The Orioles have hired Tim Raines Jr. to be the hitting coach at short-season, Single-A Aberdeen. Raines Jr. is the son of new Major League Baseball Hall of Famer Tim Raines Sr. Raines Jr. played for the Orioles in 2001 and again in 2003-2004. On Oct. 4, 2001, father and son played in a game together for the Orioles against Boston, with Raines Jr. in center field and Raines Sr. in left. They became the second father-son combo to play for the same team in the same major league game after Ken...

O's game blog: A look at the O's pursuit of home run records

O's game blog: A look at the O's pursuit of home run records
With 28 games remaining in the regular season, the 2016 Orioles' 213 homers already rank sixth among all clubs in team history. The Orioles are on a pace to hit 257 homers, which would tie the team record set in 1996. That total is tied for third-most in major league history. The O's all-time single-season homer leaders: 257 - 1996 217 - 2015 214 - 1985, 1998, 2012 213 - 2016 212 - 2013 As you can see, the Orioles' next homer will be No. 214 and tie this club for the third-most in club...

All in the family: Preston Palmeiro brings familiar swing to Aberdeen

All in the family: Preston Palmeiro brings familiar swing to Aberdeen
ABERDEEN, Md. - When it was time for the second day of the 2016 First Year Player Draft on June 10, N.C. State first baseman Preston Palmeiro was in front of his computer to watch every pick unfold. He said that went against all the advice he had gotten. "I didn't really do a lot to help myself," Palmeiro said Wednesday at Aberdeen's Ripken Stadium. "I watched the whole draft. Everybody told me to avoid doing that and I did the opposite and watched it all. I just sat there for a few hours...

Bundy "really excited" to start Sunday (plus other notes)

Bundy "really excited" to start Sunday (plus other notes)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles are nearing a decision on reliever Darren O'Day, who threw a bullpen session during Thursday's workout and performed fielding drills this afternoon. O'Day will throw off a mound again Saturday and could be cleared to pitch in simulated games. The Orioles would decide whether to include an injury rehab assignment or activate him from the disabled list. Hyun Soo Kim ran yesterday and still felt some discomfort in his right hamstring. The Orioles could decide...

Orioles agree to terms with seventh-round pick Preston Palmeiro

Orioles agree to terms with seventh-round pick Preston Palmeiro
With less than two hours remaining before today's 5 p.m. deadline to sign 2016 draft picks, the Orioles reached an agreement with N.C. State first baseman Preston Palmeiro, their seventh-round pick. Palmeiro, the son of former Oriole Rafael Palmeiro, agreed to the slot bonus of $204,700 for that 211th pick. With this agreement, the Orioles have come to terms with their top 13 selections and with 23 of their 25 selections in the first 24 rounds. They have agreements with 33 total draft...