Mountcastle homers, Wells was dealing as O's take series
Mountcastle homers, Wells was dealing as O's take series
Steve Melewski
Orioles
Well, this was somewhat unexpected. An Orioles team with the worst rotation ERA in baseball facing the Boston Red Sox. When this series began, Boston led the majors in doubles and extra-base hits, were second in slugging, third in OPS and fourth with 5.15 runs per game. They had posted wins over the Orioles this year by scores of 14-9, 11-6, 8-1 and 16-2. And then they got shut down pretty well by three O's rookie left-handers. First it was Bruce Zimmermann going four innings Tuesday. Then Zac...
Elias on coaching staff, starting pitching, free agents and more
Elias on coaching staff, starting pitching, free agents and more
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Orioles executive vice president/general manager Mike Elias spent 20 minutes in the dugout today fielding questions from the media. The typical season-ender with the club down to its last home game, followed by three in Toronto. Elias believes the organization is in "a very healthy spot right now" with "a ton of young talent" in the system, plus the advances made in analytics and international scouting. But he also knows the on-field product must be upgraded without compromising the rebuild...
Orioles and Red Sox lineups (plus notes)
Orioles and Red Sox lineups (plus notes)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
The Orioles' final home game of the 2021 season will begin with rookie Alexander Wells making his 11th major league appearance and eighth start. Wells has a 7.61 ERA and 1.745 WHIP in 36 2/3 innings. He's averaging 12.3 hits, 3.4 walks, 5.9 strikeouts and 2.2 home runs per nine innings. Wells has completed five innings in his last two starts, allowing eight runs and 11 hits. He faced the Red Sox on Sept. 19 and surrendered five runs and six hits, with J.D. Martinez hitting a solo...
O's game blog: Looking for a series win against Red Sox
O's game blog: Looking for a series win against Red Sox
Steve Melewski
Orioles
The Orioles would love to win their final home game of the 2021 season. Tonight, they get their chance when they host the Boston Red Sox in the series and homestand finale. The O's have a chance to win this series after they won 4-2 Tuesday night but lost 6-0 last night, shut out for the 10th time this season. The Orioles (51-107) fell to 26-54 through 80 home games with last night's loss, where they were held to four hits in 32 at-bats and went 0-for-8 with runners in scoring position. They...
Lowther's strong outing and the multiple MVO winners
Lowther's strong outing and the multiple MVO winners
Steve Melewski
Orioles
On an otherwise not-so-great night in Birdland - in a 6-0 loss to Boston with the Orioles held to four hits - the best development of the night for the O's was the pitching of 25-year-old lefty Zac Lowther. It has been a tough year in some respects for Lowther, who began the 2021 season ranked as the Orioles' No. 11 prospect, per MLBPipeline.com, and No. 19 via Baseball America. He had a strong resume on the O's farm coming into this season, one that included his leading all O's minor...
Thursday morning Nats Q&A
Thursday morning Nats Q&A
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
Well, we've reached the final leg of a long and often painful season. The Nationals flew home from Denver late Wednesday night after a long and painful, 10-5 loss to the Rockies. And now after a well-earned day off, they'll face the Red Sox over the weekend to wrap things up in 2021. There are some compelling storylines to come over the next 72 hours, from Ryan Zimmerman's potential final games to Juan Soto's attempt to finish hot and win either the batting title or the National League MVP...
Krehbiel keeps impressing since joining Orioles
Krehbiel keeps impressing since joining Orioles
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Reliever Joey Krehbiel is looking at a postseason race from both sides now. With the Rays, winners of the American League East. With the Orioles, who claimed him off waivers and are cast as spoilers, beginning last night with the second-worst record in the majors. Only one team valued him down the stretch. Krehbiel, 28, was designated for assignment after tossing a scoreless inning and striking out two batters for the Rays on Sept. 18. He's made three appearances with the Orioles and...
Orioles shut out in penultimate home game of 2021 (updated)
Orioles shut out in penultimate home game of 2021 (updated)
Roch Kubatko
Orioles
Zac Lowther turned to watch the ball and slapped his glove against his leg. Knowing where it would land and the implications. Perhaps also knowing that one run might be too much for the Orioles to overcome against Nathan Eovaldi. J.D. Martinez's 28th homer of the season, a solo shot to center field with one out in the second inning, was the only run surrendered by the rookie left-hander through the fifth. Plenty of hard-hit line drives, but nothing to influence the score. That happened in the...
Nats fall to Rockies in rain-delayed marathon road finale (updated)
Nats fall to Rockies in rain-delayed marathon road finale (updated)
Mark Zuckerman
Nationals
They played two-plus innings in a little more than an hour before the heavy rain arrived in Colorado, then waited through a two-hour delay before taking the field again. They then played 6 1/2 more innings across nearly three more hours, each team using up most of its expanded bullpen, all in a vain attempt simply to complete this 159th game of a season that long ago was lost by both participants. And when it finally ended, when the Nationals lost 10-5 some 5 hours and 57 minutes after Rockies...
O's game blog: Orioles look for two in a row over Red Sox
O's game blog: Orioles look for two in a row over Red Sox
Steve Melewski
Orioles
After a night where their pitching shut down the Boston Red Sox, holding one of baseball's best offenses to two runs on 3-for-30 hitting, the Orioles look for another win tonight at home versus their American League East rival. The O's 4-2 win last night snapped a six-game losing streak against Boston. The Orioles began the year sweeping three games in Boston in April and then lost 12 of the next 13 between the teams before taking Tuesday's series opener. The Orioles (51-106) improved to...