O's game blog: Looking for a series victory
O's game blog: Looking for a series victory
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The Orioles are 4-11 this season in rubber match games and they play one tonight against the National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers. Jonathan Villar hit a tiebreaking 443-foot three-run homer in the seventh inning last night as the O's won 7-3 to even the series at a win each. The Orioles (47-98) snapped a six-game losing streak as they matched the 2018 team win total. They are 23-51 at home and 30-27 when hitting multiple homers. The O's are 7-12 in interleague games and the...
Zimmerman producing - and playing - more than expected
Zimmerman producing - and playing - more than expected
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
MINNEAPOLIS - The Nationals had modest expectations for Ryan Zimmerman when he returned from the injured list 11 days ago. The veteran first baseman had played in only 33 games through the season's first five months, unable to keep himself active for any length of time due to plantar fasciitis in his right foot. Davey Martinez didn't sugarcoat his intentions for Zimmerman at that point. He'd start a few games, especially against left-handers, and be available off the bench to pinch-hit or...
Orioles notebook items on Martin, Hays and Kirby
Orioles notebook items on Martin, Hays and Kirby
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Orioles shortstop Richie Martin was out of the lineup last night as the Orioles proceeded with their series against the Dodgers. Will Martin be off the active roster in 2020? Too soon to know. Martin can ditch his Rule 5 status, which requires him to stay in the majors, as he's done since opening day. He's made the jump from the Double-A level and the Orioles have plenty of time to determine whether he's set to resume his platoon role next season or ticketed for Triple-A Norfolk. "I think...
Nationals score early, avoid drama late in victory (updated)
Nationals score early, avoid drama late in victory (updated)
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
MINNEAPOLIS - They got the early offense they've been seeking for most of the last week-plus. They got another quality, if a bit briefer than hoped, start from Stephen Strasburg. Now the Nationals needed three clean innings from their bullpen in order to beat a very good Twins club. That should be a nice, simple formula for success. But as anyone who has followed this team all season, it's never that nice or simple. Though they certainly came close to making it simple tonight. Getting nine...
Jonathan Villar crushes tiebreaking homer in seventh in O's win (with quotes)
Jonathan Villar crushes tiebreaking homer in seventh in O's win (with quotes)
Steve Melewski
Orioles
It was a home run to admire and Orioles shortstop Jonathan Villar did just that. He blasted a ball to left-center with two men on in the O's seventh and slowly took a few steps toward first as he admired his work. Villar crushed a three-run shot 443 feet as he turned a 2-2 game into a 5-2 O's lead. The O's won 7-3 over the newly-crowned National League West champion Los Angeles Dodgers to end a six-game losing streak. At 47-98, they match the win total of the 2018 Orioles. Villar's blast...
Means offers quality and Villar breaks tie in 7-3 win (updated)
Means offers quality and Villar breaks tie in 7-3 win (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
A sense of calm and comfort swept over Orioles manager Brandon Hyde today as he glanced at the bottom of his lineup card. Where the starting pitcher is listed. Left-hander John Means was assigned the task of getting the Orioles through the early innings, which hadn't been done lately. No more instant deficits and quick exits. No more sorting through an expanded bullpen to cover the majority of a game. The staff ace was back on the mound and still on a roll. It just slowed a little in the...
Hyde on Harvey, exit interviews and Dodgers (O's lead 5-2)
Hyde on Harvey, exit interviews and Dodgers (O's lead 5-2)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles aren't going to use reliever Hunter Harvey before the weekend, but they'll continue to downplay his absence as more of a precautionary measure with a reasonable explanation. Harvey said he's been bothered with some biceps soreness. He didn't have any issues during yesterday's bullpen session. "He hasn't thrown this much since 2014, so he's got some normal soreness that everybody else has and goes through in September," said manager Brandon Hyde. "He's never pitched in...
Piazza's post-9/11 moment still haunts Martinez (Nats up 5-2)
Piazza's post-9/11 moment still haunts Martinez (Nats up 5-2)
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
MINNEAPOLIS - Everyone has a 9/11 memory. Where they were. What they thought. How they felt afterward. And many post-9/11 memories involve baseball, which in many ways helped the United States heal through one of its darkest times and bring back some semblance of normalcy in the days and weeks after the terrorist attacks. Davey Martinez remembers all of it, because he lived through all of it. And he had a front row seat to one of that fall's defining baseball moments: Mike Piazza's dramatic...
O's Mike Elias talks offseason, 2020 rotation and more (Bowie wins)
O's Mike Elias talks offseason, 2020 rotation and more (Bowie wins)
Steve Melewski
Orioles
When the offseason begins for the Orioles soon, they'll have a general manager in place to hit the ground running for the fall and winter. O's executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias was hired last year on Nov. 16. So he was not here as the offseason began after 2018 and had to play catch-up. That is not true this year. A few days ago Ben McDonald and I interviewed Elias on the pregame show on the Orioles Radio Network. Here are a few of the questions and answers. What are...
O's game blog: Out to end a losing streak
O's game blog: Out to end a losing streak
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The Orioles' last win was in Game 1 of a doubleheader a week ago yesterday on the road against the Tampa Bay Rays by a 4-2 score. They have lost six in a row since. The last three of this streak, they've lost by a combined 26-11 score. In those three games the O's starters - Aaron Brooks, Asher Wojciechowski and Ty Blach - pitched a combined seven innings, allowing 21 hits and 17 runs (16 earned) along with three home runs. Meanwhile, O's batters have scored 11 runs over the past three...