82: The number of wins expected from the Orioles based on their run differential. The Orioles’ 93 wins means they outplayed their run differential by 11 games.

74.5: The number of wins expected from the Orioles based on their Wins Above Replacement. The Orioles’ 93 wins was 18.5 more than their WAR Wins.

0: The number of days the O’s record was below .500 during the 2012 season.

16-2: The Orioles’ regular season record in extra innings.

29-9: The Orioles’ regular season record in one-run games.

74-0: The Orioles’ regular season record when leading after 7 innings.

43-29: The Orioles’ regular season record against the American League.

11: The number of 2012 Orioles with playoff experience, despite this being the team’s first appearance in the playoffs since 1997.

1997: The last year the Orioles were in the ALDS.

1995: The last year a Rule 5 draft pick started in the playoffs immediately after being drafted. Ryan Flaherty did it for the Orioles.

1976: The last year the Orioles won at least six games in New York.

1952: The last time a rookie allowed one run or fewer in a post-season game against the Yankees since Joe Black. Miguel Gonzalez did it in Game 3 against the Yankees.

1900: The last year a team went an entire season without a walk-off loss.

2: The total number of postseason home runs by Oriole rookies in the history of the franchise. Manny Machado and Ryan Flaherty are the only rookies to homer in O’s history.

1: The number of players younger than Manny Machado who have homered in the post-season. Andruw Jones is the only player younger than Machado to homer in the postseason.

The post Orioles 2012 Season By the Numbers appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Again Friday, pitching was front and center.  Sabathia (2-0 in the series) completed the game, allowing just six baserunners (4H, 2BB), and was really only in trouble at one time.  The Orioles put together a promising looking rally in the eighth, loading the bases with just one out.

Matt Wieters led off with a single, moved to second on a Manny Machado walk, and scored one out later on a single from Lew Ford.  When Robert Andino reached on a comebacker that Sabathia was indecisive about, the bases were filled with Orioles.  Then, Sabathia became Sabathia.

Nate McLouth struck out swinging for out number two, and JJ Hardy continued his offensive misery (just .136 in the series) with a slow bounce out to Derek Jeter.

Of course, by the time we reached the eighth, the Yankees already led 3-0.  It didn’t appear that would be the case early on.  O’s starter Jason Hammel (L, 0-1) was again terrific, taking a perfect game into the fifth.  Mark Teixeira broke it up with a single to right leading off inning number five.  With Mark Reynolds not holding him and Jason Hammel not paying much attention to him, Teixeira stole second base.  It was a surprising move for Teixeira, already slow afoot, AND hobble by a calf injury.  But it would turn out to be an enormous play.

Next up, Raul Ibanez’s roller toward second found its way past the diving Andino and into center for a hit, scoring Teixeira for a 1-0 Yankees lead.  Hammel got Nick Swisher on a big 6-4-3 double play, though, and what looked like the start of a big inning was minimized to just the one run.

The O’s though they’d tied it in the sixth.  With two outs, McLouth blasted a 3-1, 93 MPH fastball deep into right field, directly down the line.  The ball was initially ruled foul, but Buck Showalter came out to argue, asking the umpires to review the call.  They did, and the play stood as called.  Replays showed the ball definitely coming down on the foul side of the foul pole, but there was some question as to whether or not the ball hit clipped the pole.  As it turned out, it was simply a long, loud strike, making the count full.  McLouth swung through a tough slider next, striking out for out number three.

With one out in the bottom of the bottom of the sixth, Hammel walked Jeter.  Next, Ichiro ripped the first pitch of his at-bat, a 91 MPH fastball in a poor location, off the wall in right center.  Jeter scored, making it 2-0.  Hammel got Robinson Cano on strikes, intentionally walked Teixeira, and was lifted for Troy Patton.  The move set up a lefty-lefty matchup against the Yankees hottest hitter in Ibanez.  Patton won the battle, getting Ibanez to chase a 77 MPH curve in the dirt.  But the Yankees would not allow the O’s lefty to leave without a big blemish.

Patton fanned Swisher to start the seventh.  Next up, it was another lefthanded hitter in the struggling Curtis Granderson.  Patton hung an 81 MPH slider on a 2-1 pitch, and Granderson turned on it, parking a long home run into the second deck for his first homer of the series.  The lead grew to 3-0, and all of Orioles Nation had to know, with Sabathia on the hill facing an ice-cold offense, it was going to be tough to come back.  The Orioles were in a spot where they had to score at least three runs before the big lefty recorded six outs.  It did not come to pass.

So the magical season, which began with a Jake Arrieta win over Minnesota, and featured so many amazing feats (a 16-game season from Nolan Reimold, who looked like the league MVP in those two-plus weeks; a win out of the bullpen for Chris Davis in a 17-inning affair in Boston; the breakthrough season for Adam Jones, who was rewarded with a long term deal; dramatic late inning heroics from everyone from Jones to Taylor Tegarden;  a 51-save season from Jim Johnson, anchoring an absolutely shut-down bullpen; 16 extra-inning wins in a row, etc, etc, etc), all combining to give the Baltimore Orioles their first playoff appearance—heck, their first winning season—since 1997, is over.  What an amazing, incredible, unthinkable ride.  Anyone else wishing 2013 could start next week?

The post O’s Season Ends in 3-1 Loss in New York appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Joe Saunders, who pitched the birds into the ALDS with a dominant performance in Texas last week, got the ball with the season on the line, and he was again sensational.  Saunders threw 5.2 innings, giving up just 3 hits.  He was a bit wild, walking four, but he fanned 5 Yankees, including striking out the side in the third following a leadoff double from Jayson Nix.

The Orioles appeared ready to give Saunders a lead several times.  They put two on with none out in the first, but couldn’t push anything across.  In the third, the Orioles had runners on second and third with nobody out, but again, came up empty.  Runners on first and third with two outs in the fourth, and nothing. Finally, leading off the fifth, the Orioles called on the long ball to get on the board.

Nate McLouth blasted a 1-2, 91 MPH fastball deep into the right field seats for a 1-0 lead, a lead that would stand for an inning and a half.  In the Yankees sixth, the Bronx Bombers manufactured a run.  Derek Jeter led off against Saunders with a double.  An Ichiro sac bunt mover Jeter to third.  Saunders walked Mark Teixeira, and got Robinson Cano on a force out.  Jeter scored on the play, and it was 1-1.  Saunders was lifted for Tommy Hunter.  Hunter blew away the struggling Alex Rodriguez, fanning the Yankees third baseman on a 97 MPH heater.

Hunter was the first of seven Orioles relievers on the night, with all contributing big outs.  He was lifted for Troy Patton after an error by Ryan Flaherty.  Patton was replaced gave way to Luis Ayala one out and one hit later.  With runners on first and second, Ayala struck out Jeter looking.  Buck Showalter decided to let Ayala start the eighth.  Ichiro led off with a single, and moved to second on a Teixeira hit.

Brian Matusz came on, and got Cano on a grounder that advanced the runners.  On came Darren O’Day for his most impressive performance, possibly all season.  O’Day struck out ARod, and got Nick Swisher on a fly out to right.  The potential disaster, late in the game, was averted.

O’Day stayed on in the ninth, getting the Yankees—including Wednesday night’s villain Raul Ibanez—1, 2, 3.  O’Day stayed on through a blemish-free tenth.  Buck reached deeper into the pen in the eleventh, plucking out forgotten man Pedro Strop, who’s performance was far from forgettable.

Strop’s very first pitch was a nasty slider that caused Alex Rodriguez to buckle a bit, for a called strike.  It seemed to feed the enigmatic right hander’s confidence, which had been sorely lacking from Strop for the better part of a month.  Strop set the Yankees down in order with one strikeout in the eleventh.  He gave up a hit in the twelfth, but nothing else.

The Orioles would break through in the top of the thirteenth inning.  Manny Machado led off with a liner over Cano and into the right-center field gap for a double.  McLouth’s ground out moved Machado to third.  Then JJ Hardy broke out, driving a double to the left field wall.  Macahdo scored, and it was 2-1.  But Chris Davis and Adam Jones left Hardy at second, and the O’s went into a save situation with their slumping closer.

Jim Johnson struck out Mark Teixeira looking on a big curve ball for the first out.  Next, Cano lined out to McLouth in left.  And for a second straight night, Yanks manager Joe Girardi pinch hit for ARod, this time with Eric Chavez.  On the sixth pitch of the at-bat, Chavez lined out to third for out number three, and a 2-2 series tie.

Game five features Jason Hammel for the Orioles against CC Sabathia for the Yankees.  First pitch is at 5pm.

The GOOD:

• The pitching:  8 Orioles pitchers combined to go 13 innings, giving up just 1 run on 7 hits, 5 walks, and 11 strikeouts.  They held the Yankees to 0/9 with RISP.

The BAD:

• The offense:  1/11 with RISP.
• Davis:  0/6, 3K, 5LOB
• Jones: 0/6, 2K, 5LOB.  Jones is now hitting .105 in the ALDS.

The post Orioles Stay Alive With 13 Inning 2-1 Win Forcing Game 5 appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Three rookies had the Orioles out in front of the Yankees through 8.5 innings.  Ryan Flaherty blasted a one-out homer in the third, giving the Orioles a 1-0 lead.  Manny Machado broke a 1-1 tie with a homer into the Orioles bullpen in the fifth.  And rookie righthander Miguel Gonzalez held the potent Yankees offense at bay, striking out eight, walking none, giving up just one run on five hits through seven innings.

In fact, Gonzalez’s numbers SHOULD HAVE been much better.  Given the lead on Flaherty’s homer, Gonzalez opened the bottom of the third by striking out Curtis Granderson.  Next, Russell Martin doubled to left.  Eric Chavez grounded to first, moving Martin to third with two outs.  Derek Jeter, longtime Oriole killer, strode to the plate.  But instead of Jeter killing the O’s in this at-bat, the Orioles did it themselves.

Jeter picked on a fastball up and in.  He put his trademark inside-out swing on it, and drove it to deep right center.  Adam Jones, who was playing shallow, did not get a great break on the ball, and never really seemed too concerned that he may not reach it.  At the last moment, Jones reached up for the ball, only to have it sail over his glove.  It went for an RBI triple, but it was a badly misplayed ball that Jones usually makes the play on.  And, in the end, it was extremely costly.

Machado’s home run gave the O’s the lead in the middle innings, and that lead lasted into the late innings.  Darren O’Day pitched a perfect eighth in relief of Gonzalez.  The Orioles offense was stagnant in the ninth, as it had been since Machado’s fifth inning home run.  In fact, the Orioles would only pick up two more hits the rest of the way after Machado’s shot.

Into the bottom of the ninth we went.  Jim Johnson, who’d imploded in game one, and set the Yankees down in order in game two, was called in to save the 2-1 lead.  And he did not get it done.  Batter one-Ichiro-put a charge into one, driving left fielder Nate McLouth deep for the catch, and out number one.  Next, Joe Girardi pulled a shocker, lifting the struggling Alex Rodriguez for pinch-hitter Raul Ibanez.  Yes, it was a bold move.  Yes, it worked out pretty well for the Yankees.

Ibanez turned on a thigh-high, 94 MPH fastball, and blasted a no-doubt-about-it shot into the right field seats, tying things at 2.  For Johnson, it was a horrible pitch at a time where there was absolutely no room for error.  The Orioles, just two outs away from a 2-1 series lead, were now headed to extra innings.  And, yes, that has been a strength for this team, statistically to a mind-blowing extent.  But these games are playoff games.  And playoff games are different, especially in The Bronx.

Robert Andino led off the tenth with a single to left.  One out later, though, he was caught leaning off the bag at second on what would turn into an unassisted double play on a sharp line drive from McLouth.  The birds went three-up, three-down in the eleventh.  In the bottom of the eleventh, Brian Matusz came on in relief of Jim Jihnson.  Matusz got the Yankees in order.  In the O’s twelfth, a two-out hit from Mark Reynolds went undelivered.  And Matusz headed back to the hill in the bottom of the twelfth, facing a pair of left handed hitters to start things.  Actually, he never made it past the first lefty.

Matusz’s first pitch to Raul Ibanez missed its spot.  Matt Wieters set up for a pitch down and away.  Matusz’s 91 MPH fastball was up, and Ibanez launched it—a second-deck, walk-off home run to win it for the Yankees, 3-2.

The O’s will be playing for their lives Thursday night in New York.  Phil Hughes (16-13, 4.23) goes for the Yankees.  Joe Saunders (3-3, 3.63) gets the Game 4 assignment for Baltimore.  Gametime is 7:30.

The GOOD:

• Rookies Flaherty, Machado, and Gonzalez led the way.  If only the veterans would have followed.

The BAD:

• The O’s fourth inning opportunity (two on, none out…bases loaded, two outs) was totally missed.
• Jones:  1/5, 1K, 1LOB, 1 huge misplay in center.
• Jim Thome:  0/5, 2LOB.  JJ Hardy:  0/5.
• Jim Johnson:  13.50 ERA, 1.80 WHIP in the ALDS.

The post O’s Choke On The Big Apple, Down 2-1 in ALDS appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Joe Saunders took the ball for the birds, sporting a lifetime record and ERA against Texas that led sent shivers up the collective spine of Orioles Nation.  For Texas, Yu Darvish took the hill.  The Orioles had never faced the Rangers’ ace.

The Orioles got on the board first, in the first.  Leadoff man Nate McLouth reached on an error, stole second, and scored on a JJ Hardy base hit.  The birds had their first run in the playoffs before they’d gotten out in the playoffs.

The Rangers answered in the first, though, scoring on a double play ground out from Josh Hamilton.  The game was tied at one in the first, and it looked like a game where the Orioles may have to outslug the hard hitting Rangers.  This was certainly NOT the O’s gameplan going in.  But both Saunders and Darvish settled down, and the 1-1 tie became a pitcher’s duel into the sixth.

JJ Hardy and Chris Davis opened the sixth with back-to-back hits.  With runners on first and third, Adam Jones put an inside-out swing on a slider down and in, and lifted a sac fly to right.  Hardy scored, and the O’s had a 2-1 lead.

In the seventh, Ryan Flaherty picked up a one-out hit.  Pinch runner Robert Andino moved to second on Manny Machado’s sac bunt, and moved to third on a wild pitch from reliever Derek Holland.  McLouth’s bloop single to left plated Andino for a 3-1 lead.

The birds picked up two huge insurance runs in the ninth, with Machado and McLouth delivering RBIs.  Major League saves leader Jim Johnson got into a bases loaded jam in the ninth, but escaped unscathed, and the birds of Baltimore advance to take on the Yankees in the ALDS Sunday.  Game one of the series gets underway Sunday at 6, with CC Sabathia pitching for New York.  The Orioles have yet to announce their starter.

The GOOD:

• BRING ON THE YANKEES!
• The O’s turned three double plays to support superb pitching from Saunders, Darren O’Day, Brian Matusz, and Johnson.

The BAD:

• Two errors.

The post O’s Slay AL Champs, Advance To ALDS vs Yankees appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Cobb (W, 11-9) gave up just one run on two hits through seven innings, outpitching O’s lefty Wei-Yin Chen (L, 12-11), who hasn’t won since August 19.

Chen, for his part, pitched very well through most of his 6.2 innings.  Ben Zobrist touched him for a solo homer leading off the fourth (20), and, through six, that was the only run the Rays would score.  Chen had given up just three hits until running into trouble in the seventh.  By then, Matt Wieters had tied things at one with his 23rd home run, an opposite field drive down the left field line.

In the seventh, Evan Longoria led off by reaching on an error from Manny Machado.  It was a big error by the kid who, without a doubt, has otherwise solidified the defense at the hot corner.  Jeff Keppinger singled to right, moving Longoria to third.  A Ben Francisco sac fly made it 2-1 Tampa.

Next, Sam Fuld picked up an artificial turf hit, a high chopper that bounced over first baseman Mark Reynolds glove.  One out later, Rays catcher Chris Giminez delivered a killer, two-run double that knocked Chen from the game, and gave Tampa a 4-1 lead.

Tampa Bay scored another run in the eighth, and it was 5-1.  But the Orioles had some fight left.

JJ Hardy led off the ninth with a single off of reliever Kyle Farnsworth.  Next, Chris Davis hit a bomb that hit the catwalk on the roof at the Trop, for a ground-rule home run (32).  Rays’ closer Fernando Rodney came on and gave up hits to Adam Jones and Wieters, before striking out Jim Thome and Mark Reynolds, then getting pinch-hitter Endy Chavez on a comebacker.

The O’s, who will be in the playoffs, again battle the Rays, who still have a slim shot at postseason play, Tuesday night at 7:10.  James Shields (15-9, 3.62) goes for Tampa, vs. Baltimore’s Miguel Gonzalez (8-4, 3.45).

The GOOD:

• Wieters and Hady:  2 hits each.  Wieters homered.
• Nice life shown by the Orioles in the ninth, including Davis’ homer, his sixth in the last five games.

The BAD:

• Pedro Strop, who may be pitching himself off the playoff roster, and Troy Patton, did not pitch well in relief.
• Numbers 6-9 in the order:  a combined 0/14 with one walk, 6 strikeouts, and 8 LOB.
• The Yankees beat Boston 10-2, and the O’s fall out of the first place tie atop the AL East.

The post O’s Lose Grip On First, Fall In Tampa appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

There are four games left in the regular season, and the Baltimore Orioles are tied for first place in the American League East.  Go ahead.  Read it again.  We’ll wait…

That’s four games LEFT, not four games IN.  September 29, and the Orioles are in the penthouse.  In 2012.

Before the game Saturday night, the Orioles honored Brooks Robinson with the unveiling of his statue.  There was a sell out crowd.  The Orioles also found out before the game that the Toronto Blue Jays had beaten the first place New York Yankees for the second time in three days.  With a win over Boston, the Orioles would slide back into a tie for first.

Rookie Steve Johnson took the mound for the O’s, carrying a 4-0 record with an ERA well under two. He set the Sox down in order on the first, but ran into some trouble in the second, giving up a walk and a hit.  But he was helped out when Matt Wieters caught Cody Ross trying to steal.  A strikeout and foul out later, and the threat was over.

In the O’s second, Manny Machado smoked a single to center, scoring Chris Davis for a 1-0 Orioles lead.  In the fourth, Orioles star center fielder Adam Jones, who has played ever single game this year (including the All-Star Game) generated a run with his ever-present hustle.

On a grounder to short, Boston’s Mike Aviles fielded and threw high to first.  First baseman Mauro Gomez leaped, grabbed the throw, and came back down on the bag.  But Jones, as he always does, busted it down the line.  Running full speed all the way, Jones crossed the first place bag before Gomez came down.  As it turned out, this play was enormous.  One out later, Chris Davis launched another homer, his fourth in the current homestand and 30th on the season.  Jones’ hustle turned what would have been a solo home run into a two-run shot, and a 3-0 lead.

In the Sox fifth, Johnson gave up a two-run homer to Jarrod Saltalamacchia, and the lead was quickly back down to just one.  After Johnson gave up a leadoff hit to Jacoby Ellsbury and a walk to Scott Podsednick in the sixth, Buck Showalter went to the bullpen for Tommy Hunter (W, 7-8).  A ground out and sac fly later, the Sox had tied the score at three.

But in the bottom of the seventh, Orioles rookie provided the game’s big blow.  Machado ripped a 1-1, 92 MPH fastball just over the left field wall for home run number seven, and a 4-3 lead.

Brian Matusz and Darren O’Day provided the O’s with a shut down eighth inning, and Jim Johnson set the Sox down in order in the ninth for his 49th save, and the 4-3 win.

The Orioles will hope to finish off the sweep of the Red Sox Sunday at 1:35.  Joe Saunders (2-3, 3.62/8-13. 4.08) pitches for the O’s, vs. Zach Stewart (0-1, 27.00/1-3, 7.91) for Boston.

The GOOD:

• On the night the Orioles honored Brooks Robinson, the defense came to play.  Manny Machado started a brilliant 5-4-3 double play with a fine, backhanded pickup on a short hop.  Fading into foul ground off balance, he spun and delivered a perfect throw to Robert Andino at second, who fired to Mark Reynolds at first for two.  Reynolds himself too over the fifrth, with a diving, double-saving stop and put out, followed by a spectacular catch in foul ground that actually saw him end up pinned between the tarp and the stands, and Endy Chavez made a great diving catch in right.
• Bullpen of Hunter, Matusz, O’Day, J. Johnson:  4IP, 1H, 0R, 1k, 1 inherted runner scored.
• Davis:  2/3, 2R, 1HR, 2RBI.
• Machado:  2/3, 1R, 1HR, 2RBI.

The BAD:

• JJ Hardy looked very bad against Sox starter Felix Doubront (L, 11-10).  0/4, 1K, 3LOB.
• Andino:  0/2, 2K, 1LOB

The post Machado and Davis Lead O’s Past Sox, Back Into 1st Place Tie appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

If you want an idea of what the starting rotation is going to look like, obviously, you don’t even need to pick up a copy of the Opening  Day roster.  Brian Matusz?  He’s in the ‘pen.  Tommy Hunter?  He’ll be in the ‘pen also, IF he makes it.  Jason Hammel?  If he’s healthy, you’ve got to believe he’s in.  Jake Arrieta?  He won’t be on the post season roster.  Wei-Yin Chen has a September ERA of over 5, but he MUST be in the rotation.  Right?

So we’ve got Hammel (maybe) and Chen.  Who else?  Joe Saunders?  Probably.  He’s a veteran who’s been there.  And starter #4 will come down to two guys who didn’t break camp with the Orioles this spring.  Miguel Gonzalez, who pitched in Wednesday’s 12-2 win over Toronto. And then, there’s Friday night’s starter.

Chris Tillman, like Gonzalez, has been a savior for this team.  Since he joined the club just before the All-Star break, who’s been better?  No one on this staff.  Tillman improved to 9-2 on the season with Friday night’s dominating performance in the O’s 9-1 win over the Red Sox.  Tillman surrendered just one hit—a bunt single on the game’s second pitch to Scott Podsednick.  Podsednick went to second on a throwing error by Ryan Flaherty.  One out later, he scored on a sac fly from Dustin Pedroia, and the Sox had a 1-0 lead.

Tillman would walk Daniel Nava in the third, and that was it.  The Sox went in order after that, 14-up, 14-down, and Tillman, provided plenty of run support by the suddenly sizzling offense, thre eight innings, giving up just the one unearned run on just the one bunt hit.  He fanned four, and walked one—a stifling performance.

Back to that offense.  Down 1-0, the Orioles got right to work against Red Sox starter Aaron Cook (L, 4-11).  Nate McLouth singled on Cook’s first pitch.  One out later, Chris Davis, who’d homered twice Wednesday against the Blue Jays, Hammered a line drive home run (29) into the right field seats, for a 2-1 Orioles lead.

One out later, Jim Thome singled.   Mark Reynolds walked,  Manny Machado singled, and he bases were loaded for Ryan Flaherty.

Flaherty jumped on a low, 2-1 fastball and drove it deep into the right field seats for his first career grand slam (6).  The Orioles led 6-1, and the game was essentially over.

Back-to-back-to-back doubles from Reynolds, Machado, and Flaherty plated two more O’s runs in the fifth, and Taylor Teagarden’s single scored Flaherty for the 9-1 win.

The Orioles will send Steve Johnson (4-0, 1.62) to the mound Saturday vs. Boston’s Felix Doubront (11-9, 4.91).  First pitch:  7:05.

The GOOD:

• Tillman is, right now, the ace of this staff.  How crazy is that, for a playoff-bound squad?
• Flaherty:  2/4, 2R, 1HR, 5RBI.
• Multi hit efforts from Thome (3/4) and Machado (2/4), as well as Flaherty.

The BAD:

• Flaherty’s error, though he certainly made up for it.

The post Tillman and Flaherty The Heroes in 9-1 O’s Win Over Boston appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Forget about the lopsided final.  Before the barrage of bombs, this was a nail-biter.  The Jays actually struck first, in the first, with a homer of their own.  Edwin Encarnacion blasted his 42nd home run for a 1-0 lead.  Nate McLouth answered, leading off the O’s first with his 6th homer, tying things at one.

There it stayed until the fifth.  Anthony Gose picked up an RBI single off of Gonzalez, and it was 2-1 Toronto.  But the Orioles had 15 more outs to play with (though they only needed 12), and they got the absolute most of them.

In the O’s fifth, Jim Thome ripped his 3rd Orioles homer (8th overall) just over the out-of-town scoreboard in right, and we were tied at 2.  Two outs later, Manny Machado again displayed what the buzz is all about with him.  On a 2-1 changeup on the inside from Carlos Villanueva (L, 7-7), Machado somehow managed to collapse his arms, draw his hands tight to his body, and meet the ball with the barrel of the bat.  Somehow, someway, on an 81 MPH changeup, with his hands against his buttons, looking more like he was tied up by the pitch, Machado generated enough bat speed to line a shot into the Orioles bullpen in left center.  Machado’s 5th home run gave the Orioles a 3-2 lead.  And the Orioles were just getting started.

Next, McLouth singled to left.  JJ Hardy singled to left, and up stepped Chris Davis, with 7 home runs against Toronto this year.  Davis jumped all over a hanging, 0-2 slider, launching a blast that was as high as it was deep, for a three-run homer (27).  The Orioles had a 6-2 lead, and the Blue Jays were visibly beaten.  And still, the O’s were just getting started.

Mark Reynolds’ two run homer (23) in the sixth made it 8-2.  In the seventh, Davis added another homer (28), a two-run shot, for a 10-2 lead.  Machado hit his second homer of the night (6) in the 8th, for the final runs in a 12-2 win.

The O’s return to action in a very, very big weekend set with the Red Sox beginning Friday.  The last regular season home series gets underway at 7:05.

The GOOD:

• Great game from Gozalez:  7IP, 2R, 5H, 1BB, 1K, 1HR.  When an Orioles starter goes 7 or more innings, the Orioles are 35-2.
• Every O’s starter reached base.
• Multi-hit games from McLouth, Hardy, Davis, and Machado, with Davis and Machado hitting two homers each.  Of the O’s 12 hits, 8 went for extra bases (7 homers and a double).
• Just when you though Mark Reynolds was heading back to slumber, he wakes up with a very long, very high home run blast.  His bat carried this team for about two and a half weeks.  Oh, how nice it would be to see him go through another one of those stretches.
• Brian Matusz and Tommy Hunter combine for two scoreless innings of relief, giving up 2 hits (both by Hunter) and striking out 2 (both by Matusz).

The BAD:

• Randy Wolf is gone for the season and post season with an elbow injury.  Yes his ERA was in the 5’s, but he actually pitched pretty well and threw some very important innings for the O’s.
• The Jays now host the Yankees for 4 games.  Go Blue Jays!

The post Team Record 7 Home Runs Lift O’s Over Jays appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

When the Blue Jays came into Camden Yards Monday, they came in having dropped those tree games, plus three in a row over the weekend to Tampa Bay—six straight losses.  The Orioles were coming off a 6-3 road trip, having won 6 of the last 7 road games.  And yet, unlike the Yankee series, the Jays have opened in Baltimore, winning two of three games over two days.

The Jays beat Joe Saunders (L, 2-3/8-13) and the Orioles 4-0 Tuesday night, out hitting the O’s 13-6.

Jays starter Aaron Laffey (W, 4-6) threw 5.2 shutout innings on five hits, and the Jays bullpen pulled their best O’s-alike act, allowing just one hit the rest of the way.

Toronto scored one in the first on an RBI single from Yan Gomes.  They mounted a two-out rally off Saunders in the fourth in a Rajai Davis single and a double from Adieny Hechavarria.  In the seventh, A Colby Rasmus RBI hit knocked Saunders out of the game, and Luis Ayala promptly gave up an inherited run on a hit to Edwin Encarnacion.

The Orioles had a shot in the ninth.  With two outs and one on, Jays closer Casey Janssen walked both Manny Machado and Jim Thome.  Buck Showalter had a veteran on his bench in Endy Chavez, but decided to stick with Ryan Flaherty, a guy who could tie the game with one swing.  And one swing he took, at the very first pitch he saw—a hittable, 91 MPH fastball that Flaherty popped up to center.

The O’s and Jays wrap up their four-game set Wednesday night at Camden Yards.  Miguel Gonzalez (7-4, 3.52) goes for the Orioles, vs. Carlos Villanueva (7-6, 3.88) for Toronto.   First pitch is slated for 7:05.

The GOOD:

• L. J. Hoes makes his big league debut, pinch-running for Jim Thome in the ninth.
• Dylan Bundy’s Camden Yards debut:  1IP, 1H, 1BB, 0R
• Chris Davis made a couple of nice plays in right, including an outfield assist.  It’s hard to understand why he couldn’t handle first base for as well as he’s done in the outfield.
• The Minnesota Twins came back late on the Yankees, scoring 4 in the seventh on 3 singles, 2 walks, a double and a wild pitch…Twins 5, Yankees 4.  The Orioles remain just 1.5 out of first in the AL East.

The BAD:

• The 5-9 spots in the O’s order:  1/17, 3BB, 1K.
• O’s:  0/4 with RISP, 9 left on.
• Oakland won in Texas 3-2.  The Angels beat Seattle, 5-4.  And the Rays are making noise again, beating Boston, 5-2.  The Orioles own the top Wild Card spot, but they’re only half a game up on the A’s, 1.5 up on the Angels, and just 2.5 ahead of the Rays.  The birds have to start getting back to beating up on bad teams again.

The post O’s Bats Go To Sleep in 4-0 Loss to Jays appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Chris Tillman was very solid again, giving up one run on six hits and a walk in six innings.  Tillman struck out four Sox batters, and was hurt by a Robert Andino error on a would-be double play.  Andino bounced his relay throw to Mark Reynolds, allowing Cody Ross to score.

The O’s answered in the fifth.  Lew Ford led off with a single off Red Sox starter Felix Doubront.  Chris Davis’ double moved Ford up to third with no one out.  Manny Machado blooped one into shallow right.   Sox second baseman Pedro Ciriaco never got a good read on the ball, drifted into shallow right, and could not grab it.  Ford scored to tie it at 1, and the Orioles had runners on first and third with no one out.

Needing a fly ball, or even a double play grounder to score another run, the birds fell flat.  Andino was called out on strikes.  Nate McLouth struck out swinging.  And JJ Hardy grounded out to first.  The O’s, who’ve been doing a nice job of cashing in at opportune moments, let a golden opportunity get away.

Reliever Luis Ayala was touched for the losing run in the eighth.  Dustin Pedroia led off with a double to right, and scored on Cody Ross’ double high off the Green Monster, making it 2-1.  Brian Matusz came on and retired pinch-hitter Mauro Gomez.  Then, Buck Showalter went to the pen and ordered up the major league debut of 19 year old Dylan Bundy.

The top prospect got Ryan Lavarnway on a flyout to left, and Danny Valencia on a fly ball to right, to get the O’s back in the dugout.

In the ninth, the O’s again put themselves into a terrific position to steal the game.

On a 3-0 pitch, Matt Wieters thought Sox reliever Andrew Bailey had walked him with a pitch that appeared to be up and away.  It was called a strike.  On the next pitch, Wieters grounded out to second, for out number one.  Mark Reynolds singled to left, and Jim Thome, pinch-hitting for Lew Ford, ripped a ground-rule double down the right field line.  Bailey intentionally walked Davis, and the birds had the bases loaded with just one away.

But Machado hit a slow chopper to first, and Reynolds was forced out at the plate, for out number two.  Pinch-hitter Ryan Flaherty then took a called third strike to end the game.

The O’s head back home after their 6-3 road trip.  The O’s will face Toronto in a double header at Camden Yards Monday.  Steve Johnson (3-0, 1.91) and Wei-Yin Chen (12-9, 3.98) pitch for the O’s, with Johnson starting game one at 4:05.

The GOOD:

• Manny Machado’s defense was again on display.  In the seventh, Machado dove to his right to snare a grounder, sprang to his feet, and fired across the diamond to nail speedy fellow rookie Pedro Ciriaco.
• Davis:  2/3, 1BB.

The BAD:

• Buck Showalter’s decision to send Endy Chavez out to run for Jim Thome after Thome’s pinch double.  Now, Chavez is a better baserunner than Xavier Avery, but he’s not faster.  Pure speed matters a lot in that situation.  Not only that, but it forced Buck to then use Flaherty, the Rule 5 rookie, to pinch-hit for Andino.  If Avery runs for Thome, Chavez hits for Andino.  Easy to second guess, because things didn’t work out as they normally do.
• Speaking of Andino, he had a lousy game:  0/3, 3K, 4LOB, 1 very big error.
• Ayala (L, 5-5):  0.1 IP, 2H, 1R.

The post O’s Lose Opportunities, And Lose Boston Finale 2-1 appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Thome’s bomb to right with one out in the twelfth bounced on the warning track and over the short wall at Fenway, scoring Adam Jones (who’d led off with a double himself), breaking a 6-6 tie.  Thome’s blast was followed by an RBI hit by Endy Chavez, another by Manny Machado, and the Orioles’ record 47th save from Jim Johnson.  And while an extra-inning win is nothing unusual for the birds—this WAS their 16th in a row—how they got there was odd for this bunch.

The O’s built a 3-1 lead on Boston by the fourth, thanks to an RBI single from Manny Machado, sandwiched between an RBI groundout from Jones, and Mark Reynolds’ 22nd homer of the year.  In their half of the fourth, the Sox tied it up on a two-run Danny Valencia homer off O’s starter Randy Wolf.

Ryan Flaherty plated a pair in the sixth with a triple, and it was 5-3.  Jones’ 31st home run of 2012 made it 6-3 in the seventh.  This is the point where the game is usually over.  The back end of the O’s bullpen has been bulletproof, and with a three run lead with nine outs to go, Orioles Nation was already celebrating.   Too soon?  Indeed.

Jake Arrieta, on in relief of Wolf, allowed the first three Red Sox to reach, then gave up back-to-back, run producing groundouts.  It was 6-5.

Pedro Strop came on in the eighth, looking to snap out of a funk.  He didn’t do that.  The Sox mounted a two-out rally, starting with Daniel Nava’s double to center.  Next up, Scott Podsednik hit a fly ball to left.  Nate McLouth, the one-time gold glove winning outfield who has absolutely solidified the O’s outfield defense, misplayed this one.

McLouth started to his left, but overran the ball.  Then, he leaped, thinking his back was against the wall.  In reality, McLouth had another stride left, and the ball hit in a very catch-able spot on the Monster.  Nava scored, and we were tied at 6.

The O’s did get some fine relief work from Luis Ayala and Brian Matusz before Tommy Hunter (W, 6-8) entered.  Hunter was dominant, setting the Sox down in order, and actually hitting 100 MPH on the Fenway radar gun.

The Orioles are going for the sweep of the Red Sox Sunday afternoon, with Chris Tillman (8-2, 3.22) taking the hill against Felix Doubront (11-9, 5.09).  Game time is 1:35.

The GOOD:

• Who knew in July that guys like Thome, Hunter, Matusz, Chavez, and Reynolds would be making such contributions?  Let alone Machado or McLouth…
• Multi-hit efforts from Matt Wieters and Machado (3 hits each), Jones, Chris Davis, and Ryan Flaherty (2).  For Flaherty, the hits were his first big league double, and his first triple in the majos.
• Reynolds vs. Boston this year:   6HR, 16RBIs.

The BAD:

• McLouth’s day was not good:  0/6, 1BB, 2K, 1SB (9), 6LOB, and the misplay in left.
• Hardy:  0/6, 1K, 4LOB. So the 1-2 hitters for the Orioles combined for an 0/12 night with 3 K’s and a combined 10 left on base.
• The Yankees won in 14 over the A’s.

The post Overtime is Orioles Time: Birds Beat Boston in 12 appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Miguel Gonzalez (W, 7-4) threw 6.1 innings, giving up both Red Sox runs on seven hits and a walk.  Gonzalez struck out three, and threw 72 of his 101 pitches for strikes.  The Sox did strike first, however, on an RBI double from Pedro Ciriaco.

The birds plated two in the fourth on a Matt Wieters single.  The Sox rallied with three straight, two-out hits off of Gonzalez in the fifth, tying things at two.

Wieters added an RBI double down the left field line in the sixth, plating Adam Jones for a 3-2 O’s lead.  An RBI single off Mark Reynolds’ bat followed, and the Orioles were up 4-2.

Darren O’Day was outstanding in relief, bridging the gap between Gonzalez and closer Jim Johnson.  O’Day threw 1.2 innings of perfect relief.

The O’s got a scare in the top of the ninth, as Red Sox reliever Mark Melancon drilled Robert Andino in the helmet with a fastball.  Andino actually started toward the mound before making his way to first base.  He was lifted for a pinch-runner and sent to the hospital for testing, the results from which will come Saturday.

In the bottom of the ninth, Johnson slammed the door on the Sox, giving up one hit in so doing.

The O’s and Sox do battle again Saturday at 1:10.  Randy Wolf (2-0, 5.23/5-10, 5.66) goes for the Orioles, vs. Boston’s Aaron Cook (4-10, 4.93).

The GOOD:

• Johnson’s save was his 46th, a new Orioles record.
• Wieters:  2/4, 1 2b, 1R, 3RBI
• Jones:  2/3, 1 2b, 2R, 1BB
• Andino:  2/2. 1BB, 1HBP

The BAD:

• Nate McLouth, JJ Hardy, and Manny Machado:  3LOB
• The Orioles hit into three double plays.

The post Typical 2012 O’s Win, 4-2 Over BoSox appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Nate McLouth’s leadoff home run in the first started the offensive barrage.  Mariners’ starter Hector Neosi (L, 2-12) then retired JJ Hardy and Chris Davis, but Adam Jones walked.  Matt Wieters singles Jones to third, and Mark Reynolds singled him home.  A Manny Machado single made it 3-0 after one.

A walk, two singles, two doubles, and a Mariners error led to a four-run second for the birds, and a 7-0 lead.

Chris Tillman, starting for the first time since leaving the game September 2nd with elbow stiffness, made the early lead stand up.  Tillman (W, 8-2) threw 58 of his 91 pitches for strikes.  He gave up just one run on three hits and a walk.  Tillman struck out four, and was helped by terrific defense.  In the third, Machado ranged far to his left to snare a chopper from Dustin Ackley.  He spun and fired across the diamond.  Reynolds made his now famous flop-catch, stretching out onto the ground, holding onto the bag, for the out.

Wei-Yin Chen (12-9, 4.00) pitches Tuesday night for the Orioles against Seattle’s Erasmo Ramirez (1-2, 3.49).  First pitch is slated for 10:10.

The GOOD:

• Tillman:  4-0, 0.98 ERA career vs. his former team.
• Jones:  3/4, 1BB, 4R, 1RBI against his former team Monday.  What we REALLY loved, though, was how Jones hustled all the way down the line on a ground ball to short in the eighth.  The score at that time was 10-1.
• Matt Wieters stays hot:  3/5, 1HR (22), 3RBI, 2R.
• McLouth:  3/5, 1BB, 1HR (4), 2R, 1RBI.
• O’s:  8/15 RISP.
• The Yankees were off Monday.  The Rays lost.  The Orioles train the Yankees by half a game.  Tampa Bay is in third, 5.5 out.  In the Wild Card, the A’s own the top spot, the Orioles own the number 2 spot, 1.5 GB oakland.  Outside looking in are the Angels (3GB), Tampa (5), and Detroit (5.5).

The BAD:

• The bullpen combo of Zach Phillips and Luis Ayala:  2.2IP, 5H, 3R, 2BB, 2K, 2HR.
• Davis:  0/5, 3K, 4LOB.

The post O’s Open With An Offensive Explosion in 10-4 Win in Seattle appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Randy Wolf made his initial O’s start, and was roughed up in the very first inning.  Collin Cowgill led off with a double to center.  One out later, Josh Reddick blasted a two-run homer (29), and it looked like it was going to be another long day in Oakland.

But Wolf’s battery mate Matt Wieters hammered a one-out solo homer (20) in the second, making it 2-1.  The Orioles tied it in the third with some small-ball.  Endy Chavez led off with a hit.  Robert Andino’s sac bunt moved Chavez to second.  Chavez advanced to third on Nate McLouth’s ground out to second, and JJ Hardy picked up a base hit (though it could’ve been ruled an error) that A’s third baseman Josh Donaldson deflected into foul ground.

Wieters led off the fourth with another home run (21), and the birds had their first lead of the day.  In the fifth, the string of one-run innings continued for the O’s, thanks to A’s starter Dan Straily’s wildness.  The rally began with two outs and none on.  Chris Davis walked.  Adam Jones ripped his 34th double of the season, moving Davis to third.  Straily intentionally walked Wieters, bringing up Mark Reynolds.  The O’s first baseman worked a five-pitch walk, and the Orioles had a 4-2 lead, and had knocked Straily from the game.

The fourth was also Wolf’s last inning.  He settled down quite a bit after the first, and finished with just the two runs allowed on six hits.  He walked two and struck out four while throwing 45 of his 72 pitches for strikes.  Tommy Hunter came on for one inning of scoreless, if not spotless, relief.  He gave up a walk and a hit, but struck out the final two A’s in the inning.

On a day when the bullpen would have to shine, it was Brian Matusz (W, 6-10) who burned brightest.  Matusz pitched two perfect innings with a pair of stikeouts.  He was helped by a great diving catch from left fielder McLouth in the sixth.

In the O’s seventh, Wieters and Reynolds led off with back-to-back walks.  Manny Machado the delivered a double into the gap in left center, plating Wieters.  A chopper by Chavez found its way into center field, scoring both Reynolds and Machado, and the O’s were up 7-2.

Both Darren O’Day and Pedro Strop struggled in relief.  Strop’s issues led to a cheap, one-out save for Jim Johnson (43), and the Orioles escaped Oakland with one win in the three game set.

The birds head up the coast to Seattle for a three game set with the Mariners starting Monday.  Hector Neosi  (2-11, 5.54) starts for Seattle against former Mariner Chris Tillman (7-2, 3.39), making his first start since September 2.  Game time is 10:05.

The GOOD:

• Wieters:  2/3, 2HR, 2RBI, 2BB, 3R.
• Chavez:  4/4, 1BB, 2RBI, 2R.
• Robert Andino and JJ Hardy:  2 hits each.  Reynolds drew 3 walks
• Who DIDN’T have trepidation about Brian Matusz coming on as Troy Patton’s left handed replacement in the bullpen?  But like so many other moves the mad geniuses in the Warehouse and Dugout have made, this one has had better results than anyone could have possibly imagined.  As a stater, Matusz was awful:  5-10, 5.47 ERA.  But out of the ‘pen?  1-0, 1.93.  In just over 9 relief innings, Matusz has struck out 13, walked 1 (intentionally), and given up just 3 hits.  He’s a different guy.

The BAD:

• O’Day:  1IP, 2R, 2H, 1HR, 3K.
• Strop:  0.2IP, 1R, 2H, 1K, 1BB.
• Jones:  1/6, 1K, 6LOB.

The post O’s Pull Out Of Oakland With 9-5 Win appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

His teammates gave O’s starter Zach Britton a 2-0 lead on a Mark Reynolds double in the second, and a solo homer from NateMcLouth (3) in the third.  But Britton (L, 5-3) could not hold the edge.  In the third, Britton coughed it up, and then some.

Stephen Drew, hitting .200 coming in, led off with his 4th home run.  One out later, Britton walked Coco Crisp.  Jonny Gomes was hit by a pitch.  Josh Reddick and Yoenis Cespedes delivered back-to-back singles, and Chris Carter doubled, making it 5-2.

The Orioles would have other chances.  Down three, Adam Jones was thrown out at the plate by Cespedes on a fourth-inning double from Chris Davis.  The birds also put two on in the ninth against A’s closer Grant Balfour, but could do no further damage.

The O’s and A’s wrap up the three-game set Sunday.  Dan Straily (2-0, 3.42) goes for Oakland.  Randy Wolf (5-10/2-0, 5.68) makes hos first start for the Orioles.

The GOOD:

• Two hits each from McLouth, Davis, Jones, and Mark Reynolds.
• Steve Johnson:  3IP, 0R, 1H, 3BB, 4K,

The BAD:

• Britton.  Very bad, in the fourth.
• O’s:  1/6 with RISP.
• The 7,8,9 hitters (Manny Machado, Endy Chavez, and Robert Andino):  Combined 0/11 with 10 left on.

The post Britton, O’s Drop Early Lead In Loss To A’s appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

And Wednesday’s 3-2 win wasn’t just ANY win.  This was a victory Orioles Nation has been waiting 14 years for.  This was the Ding-Dong win, the one that killed the witch.  It was win number 81 for the 2012 Orioles, the one that clinches the Orioles’ first non losing record since 1997.  If you’re going to slay that kind of dragon…if the monkey you’re chasing from your back is King Kong…you should probably do it with a 14-inning, walk off win, delivered by the representative of the future of the franchise.  And so, the Orioles did.

Yes, being Manny Machado is good.  The 20 year old once (and future?) shortstop played a starring role in Tuesday night’s walk off win, both in the field and at the plate.  Wednesday would be similar, though it certainly didn’t start out that way.  In his first at-bat, after Chris Davis doubled in the second, he struck out swinging.  At-bat number two can following a walk to Adam Jones and a Davis single.  With one out, Manny hit into a 4-6-3 double play.  In the seventh, Manny led off by reaching on an error.  Taylor Teagarden would chase him home, but we’ll get to that…

More on Manny:  In the eighth, Lew Ford led off with a hit.  One out later, Davis reached again on a single to right.  Endy Chavez came on to run for Davis, and Manny stepped in with runners on first and third.  But after falling behind Manny 2-0, reliever Joel Paralta got nasty in a hurry, throwing three straight stikes to set the kid down, again leaving runners on.

On to the tenth.  With two outs, Chavez picked up a hit.  But Tampa closer Fernando Rodney, one of the game’s very best, got Manny on a force out.  In the thirteenth inning, Manny came up second.  After Chavez walked, Manny dropped a nice sac bunt, and wound up on first on a throwing error by Rays pitcher Chris Archer (L, 0-3).  Mark Reynolds followed that with a bloop hit, and the Orioles loaded the bases with no one out.  But in one of the most frustrating series of at-bats this year, the O’s simply refused to take what the Rays nearly insisted on giving them.

Rays manager Joe Maddon pulled one of his outfielders, replacing Sam Fuld with Reid Bignac, a fifth infielder.  Robert Andino stepped up, and hit directly into the new defense.  Second baseman Elliot Johnson fired to Catcher Jose Molina for the force on Chavez.  One out, but the bases were still loaded.

Matt Wieters pinch-hit for Teagarden, whose hit in the seventh SHOULD’VE been the game winner, but for Teagarden himself.  But, I promise, we’ll get to that…

Archer’s first three pitches to Wieters were all well off their mark.  But just when it looked like the Rays would walk in the walk-off, Archer started pitching again:  Called strike one…called strike two…foul ball.  Then, on the at-bat’s seventh pitch, an elevated, 93 MPH fastball (just what Wieters needed for a game-winning sac fly, really), Archer got Wieters swinging.  Next, Tuesday night’s other hero, Nate McLouth, struck out swinging.  From bases loaded and none out in the bottom of the thirteenth tied at 2, the Orioles could score no runs.

In the bottom of the fourteenth, JJ Hardy and Lew Ford went two-up, two down.  Then, Adam Jones drew a walk.  Endy Chavez singled to left, and up stepped the kid.  Manny Machado, with the winning run on second, was 0/5 on the day with 6 runners left on base.  He had played a nice third base, but offensively, he’d seemed overmatched all day by four different Rays pitchers.

Like he did with Wieters the inning before, Archer started Manny off with three straight balls.  Pitch number four was out of the strike zone, too.  But Manny took a hack at the 91 MPH fastball up and in anyway.  He blooped it down the left field line, just out of the reach of Matt Joyce on the dive.  Jones flew around third with the winning run, and the Orioles had their second walk-off win in a row, and the historic 81st win in the 2012 season.

If all goes well, there will never again be a string of 14 straight losing seasons.  In a perfect world, there won’t be one more losing season—not one more—for at least another 14.  If so, Manny’s fourteenth inning swing, to snap to 14 straight losing seasons, will be an image that will go down in the annals of team lore.  Think Brooks leaping into the arms of Dave McNally after the final out of the ’66 World Series.  Think Earl Weaver’s sendoff after the final game of ’82.  Think Eddie Murray blasting two homers off the scoreboard at Veteran’s Stadium in Philadelphia to help clinch the ’83 Series.  Think about the goodbye party thrown by the Orioles—similar to none previous, but so often duplicated now—to bid farewell to Memorial Stadium.  Think of a record-setting night in September, 1995, when the city of Baltimore invited the world to look in as she honored her favorite son and begged him to take a victory lap for breaking The Unbreakable Record.

While goal number one–or should we say, FAN’S goal number one—has been achieved,  O’s goal number one…Buck’s goal number one…is still being chased.  The Orioles will continue that chase out west, beginning with a crucial, three-game series in Oakland starting Friday night.  For the Orioles,  it’ll be Joe Saunders (8-11, 4.22/2-1, 4.24) on the mound.  Oakland counters with Tommy Milone (12-10, 3.90).  First pitch is 10:05.

The GOOD:

• Starter Wei Yin Chen:  7.1 IP, 8H (only 1 of which was hit hard), 2ER, 1BB, 7K.  He deserved far, far better.
• The bullpen was spectacular.  Darren O’Day, Luis Ayala, Jim Johnson, Tommy Hunter, Brian Matusz, and finally, Randy Wolf (W, 5-10, 5.69/2-0, 5.68) combined to go 6.2 innings, 0R, 4H, 9K, 1BB.  As it would happen, Wolf, the winning pitcher in a 14 inning game, threw just 4 pitches.
• Welcome back to Baltimore, Endy Chavez:  2/2, 1BB, 1SB.
• Chris Davis (the guy Chavez entered for):  3/4, 1 2b.
• Taylor Teagarden’s big, 2-run double in the seventh with one out and two on was another clutch hit from the O’s backup catcher.  It put the Orioles on top 2-1, and may have won the game but for…

The BAD:

• …A passed ball by Taylor Teagarden.  It was big.  With Desmond Jennings on first, it allowed him to get to second.  Jennings then stole third, and scored on Ben Zobrist’s 38-foot screamer down the third base line.  That tied the game, and got the hook for Chen.
• Orioles:  3/14 with RISP, 16 left on.
• The 1-4 spots in the Orioles lineup:  combined 3/25, 1R, 3BB, 8K, 12 LOB.

The post O’s Walk-Off Again, This Time With Win 81 appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Not enough pressure?  How about this:  The Rays leadoff man, the red-hot B.J. Upton, smacked O’s starter Miguel Gonzalez’s second pitch into the left field stands, for a 1-0 Rays lead.  Unfazed, the Orioles would answer in their half of the first, and then some.

New Orioles leadoff man Nate McLouth started what would be an enormous night with a single to Upton in center.   Tuesday night’s hero, JJ Hardy, singled to left.  Then Adam Jones smashed a liner to left center.  Upton made a nice leaping catch on it, for one out.  Then Matt Wieters hit a soft liner to left to score McLouth, tying the score.  On Rays’ starter Alex Cobb’s very next pitch, Wilson Betemit doubled to the gap in right center, and it was 2-1 Orioles.  When Chris Davis walked one out later, the Orioles had Cobb on the ropes, but with two away.

But Cobb was able to get O’s rookie Manny Machado to bounce to short to end the inning.  It would be the first of a few opportunities the Orioles would not be able to cash in on, but Machado would get his revenge.

Meanwhile, Gonzalez was not having an easy time of it himself.  He issued a walk and gave up a single in the second, but was bailed out when Jose Molina bounced into a 5-4-3 double play.  In the third, Gonzalez gave up a couple of softly hit singles.  Ben Francisco then ripped a double to left, and we were tied at two.

Gonzalez would settle down after that hit, retiring seven in a row.  Into the sixth with the score still knotted at two, Francisco hit a one-out single.  Gonzalez walked Carlos Pena, then balked the runners up to second and third, with just one out.  Gonzalez, with his start, and more importantly, another BIG game on the line, got nasty.

He got Ryan Roberts looking at strike three.  He intentionally walked Matt Joyce to load the bases.  Due up next was Molina, hitting just .201. With the the likes of Luke Scott (who, granted, was hitting just .217) on the bench, Rays manager Joe Maddon decided to let Molina hit.  With the 26,076 in attendance all on their feet, Gonzalez got Molina on a grounder to Mark Reynolds at first.  It was Gonzalez’s last pitch of the night, and wrapped up a gutty effort that saw him shut the door on Tampa more often than not, even without his best stuff, even with no margin for error.

The O’s offense, however, was  struggling to gain any traction whatsoever.  Jake McGee replaced Cobb with two outs and two on in the fifth.  The hard throwing lefty struck out all four Orioles he faced.  Into the top of the seventh, and the ever-steady Darren O’Day came on for Gonzalez.  O’Day walked Upton leading off.  Opton then swiped his 30th base of the year, and with no one out, the go ahead run was in scoring position.  Gut-check time for O’Day.  And he, like Gonzalez before him, was up to the challenge.

He got Jeff Keppinger to pop out to first. Then, Ben Zobrist—hitting .667 lifetime against O’Day—popped to second.  With the 2/3 Francisco on deck, O’Day intentionally walked Evan Longoria.  But he was able to  get Francisco swinging.  We were STILL tied at two.

It stayed that way through the bottom of the seventh.  Pedro Strop came on in the eighth, gave up one hit, but no walks or runs.  In the bottom of the eighth, Wieters ripped a one-out double down the right field line, but ended up staying right there.  And it was on to the ninth, still tied at two.

In every season, good or bad, there are defining moments.  These are the moments that we’ll look back on and point to a representative of the essential qualities of these 2012 Baltimore Orioles. The late inning heroics of a new leadoff man named Nolan Reimold back in April.  The other new leadoff guy named Nick Markakis providing a spark after returning from injury, despite being inserted to a spot in the lineup he’d never before filled.  A win for pitcher…yes, PITCHER Chris Davis in a 17 inning game at Fenway.  The walkoff heroics of guys like Adam Jones and Wilson Betemit and, yes, Taylor Teagarden.  There have been numerous, wonderful defining moments from these Orioles.  In the ninth inning Wednesday night, they provided another.

Closer Jim Johnson (W, 2-1) entered, and got Upton on a grounder to short.  Keppinger, though, singled back through the middle.  Long time veteran minor leaguer Rich Thompson, called up to provide speed off the bench for the Rays, came in to pinch run.  Next up, Ben Zobrist flew out, for out number two.  Longoria stepped in.  Thompson stole second on a very close play that Buck Showalter actually came out to briefly argue over.

On a 3-2 pitch, Longoria nubbed a dribbler down the third base line.  Young Manny Machado, playing just his 30th major league ballgame at 20 years old, and—it’s easy to forget—learning a new position at the major league level, raced in.  He made a nice barehanded pickup, but had no chance to get Longoria at first.  But with Thompson racing toward third, Machado did his best Joe Flacco pump fake of the throw to first.  He spun back toward third, where he immediately noticed two people:  ONE-Thompson, who’d rounded third, and TWO-JJ Hardy, who trailed Thompson to the bag, and was there waiting for the quick toss from Machado.  Hardy got that toss, ran Thompson toward Wieters at the plate, who then tagged him out.  It was a remarkable, instinctual-yet-heady play by a kid who really cannot possibly fathom what he has meant to this team defensively.

Speaking of that kid, he led off the ninth, now facing veteran Kyle Farnsworth, and he did so with a single off the end of his bat into left field.  Next, Robert Andino executed a perfect sacrifice bunt, moving Manny to second.  Up stepped Nate McLouth.

On Farnsworth’s second pitch to him, McLouth hammered a liner down the right field line.  The question, immediately off the bat, was “Fair or Foul?”  The liner hit about two-thirds of the way up the out of town scoreboard in right, just inches to the fair side of the line, for a game-winning, walk-off single.  Machado trotted home with the winning run, and the O’s sealed another one-run victory, at 3-2.

The O’s and Rays get right back to it Thursday afternoon.  Wei-Yin Chen (12-9, 4.06) battles Jeramy Hellickson (8-10, 3.33).  First pitch is 12:35.

The GOOD:

• Just how big is this win?  The Orioles a guaranteed the series win.  More importantly, they are now 3 games up on Tampa.  They will leave Baltimore for the west coast road trip no worse than 2 up on the Rays, and possibly up 4.  And, by they way, next up for Tampa is a trip to New York to take on the Yankees.  Yes, this was a HUGE win.
• How can you NOT love Miguel Gonzalez?  A great effort in this one from the 28-year old rookie:  6IP, 2ER, 6H, 5BB, 4K, 1HR.
• O’s bullpen combo of O’Day, Strop, and Johnson:  3IP, 0R, 3H, 1K, 2BB
• Every O’s starter had a hit except Mark Reynolds.  McLouth (2/5, 1R, game winning hit) and Wieters (2/3, 1RBI, 1BB) had multi-hit efforts.

The BAD:

• 9 runners left on.
• Reynolds:  0/3, 3K, 1BB, 2LOB.

The post O-mazing 9th Gives Orioles Another Walk-Off Win appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

In a scoreless game, Chen hit Nick Swisher with a pitch leading off the fourth.  He then walked Robinson Cano on four pitches, and suddenly, Wei-Yin Chen was doing a fine Pedro Strop imitation.  One out later, Chen threw a brutal, 85 MPH, above-the-belt changeup to Russell Martin.  The Yankees catcher deposited it into the left field seats, and the Yankees were up 3-0.  One out later, Andruw Jones singled, bringing up Steve Pearce.

To say the man who started at first base for the Yankees Friday night has had a bizarre season is to say political ads sometimes aren’t truthful.  Pearce signed with the Twins this past offseason, and was cut loose before Opening Day.  Pearce began the season in Scranton, the Yankees Triple-A club.  The Yankees picked him up, but shipped him to Baltimore in early June.  He contributed as an Oriole, too, hitting .254 with 3 homers and 14 RBI in 28 games.  On July 21, the day after acquiring Omar Quintanilla from the Mets, the Orioles designated Pearce for assignment.  The Houston Astros picked Pearce off the scrap heap seven days later, and after 21 games and a .254 average there, on August 27 (the same day Mark Teixeira last played), the Yankees bought him from Houston.  For guys who live life as the 25th man, it’s best to sign short-term leases.

Chen’s first pitch to his one-time teammate was a 91 MPH fastball, thigh-high, at the center of the plate.  Pearce hammered it deep to left.  Left fielder Nate McLouth tracked the high fly back to the wall, using tiny, choppy steps just before a perfectly timed leap.  His effort came up short, and Pearce had two runs worth of revenge, giving the Yanks a 5-0 lead.

Chen left after yielding another homer—a two-run shot to Alex Rodriguez—in the fifth, with the Orioles down 7-0.  But the birds would show life.

In the bottom of the sixth, JJ Hardy reached on an error.  Nate McLouth, already 2/2 on the day, just missed a home run to right.  The ball hit the top of the out-of-town scoreboard, and McLouth dove into second with his 2nd double of the game.  Yanks starter Phil Hughes (W, 14-12) then saw his 92 MPH first pitch to Adam Jones turned around, with Jones sending it deep into left center for home run number 29.  It was 7-3.

Cody Epply replaced Hughes to start the seventh, and got Manny Machado for out number one.  But Robert Andino ripped a flat, 88 MPH fastball way back into the left field seats for a homer (7), and it was 7-4.

Both the Yanks and Orioles scored one each in the ninth, the O’s on Machado’s fourth home run, and the Yankees moved up into sole possession of first place in the AL East, 1 up on the Orioles, with the 8-5 win.

Series game three happens at 7:05 Saturday night.  Joe Saunders (7-11/1-1, 4.26/4.63) faces C.C. Sabathia (13-4, 3.42).

The GOOD:

• Steve Johnson stepped in and gave the Orioles offense a chance to get back in the game:  3IP, 1H, 3K, 0ER.
• McLouth:  3-4, 2 2b, 1R.
• Machado:  2/4, 1HR, 1R, 1RBI.

The BAD:

• Weird how Chen suddenly hit a wall.  His final line:  4.2IP, 6H, 3HR, 7ER, 4K, 1BB.
• The O’s offense missed a golden, first-inning opportunity.  McLouth’s first double moved Hardy to third with one out, but Jones popped to second, and Wieters lined to center, and Hughes escaped trouble.

The post Yanks Win Homer-fest Over Chen and O’s appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

OK.  Now, how many times has a story with such an opening, had SUCH a happy ending as Thursday night’s fairy tale at Camden Yards?

The O’s honored Cal Ripken with the unveiling of his statue before the game.  Jason Hammel, the Orioles’ best pitcher before a knee injury sidelined him in July, returned to the mound.  A sellout crowd, a VERY large majority of which was actually root-root-rooting for the home team, crammed into the ballpark to see the O’s and Yankees.  And the Orioles were in position, with a win, to claim a share of the AL East lead.

Hammel began things with a ten-pitch, three-up, three-down first.  The Orioles offense would not be as accommodating to Yankees starter David Phelps.

Robby Cano robbed Nick Markakis of a leadoff hit with a diving stop and throw to first for out number one.  JJ Hardy and Mate McLouth followed with singles, and advanced to second and third on a balk by Phelps.  Next, Adam Jones started a big night for him with a RBI hit to center, trapped by Yankees center fielder Curtis Granderson.

On Phelps’ very next pitch, catcher Matt Wieters drove one just over the left field wall for a three-run homer (19), and a 4-0 Orioles lead.

Hammel made sure it stayed right there until the fourth.  The inning started with a liner from Cano that nailed Hammel in the right elbow, and ricocheted into left field.  Here was Hammel, pitching in the bigs for the first time since July 13, and pitching a shutout, and he got drilled.  Hammel threw some practice pitches during an injury delay, and decided he could continue.  Two outs later, though, Granderson singled to center, scoring Cano, and making it 4-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Orioles hammered the ball off of Phelps, though not always with success.  Chris Davis drove Granderson to the deepest part of the ballpark.  The Yankees center fielder jumped up just before the 410’ marker, and made the catch for out number one.  Next, Manny Machado drove one to deep right center.  Granderson made a nice running catch against the wall, for out number two.  That brought up Robert Andino.

The Orioles second baseman worked the count to 3-1, then got a pitch he could handle.  Andino hammered it into the Orioles bullpen in deep left center for his 6th home run—his first since July—and a 5-1 lead.

O’s pitchers (Hammel through five innings plus one batter, then Randy Wolf) kept it 5-1 through the top of the sixth.  In the bottom half of the sixth, Mark Reynolds led off with yet another home run (19), and it was 6-1.  The Orioles were in total control, up by five, with just nine outs to go.

An uneventful seventh, and the Orioles were six outs away.  But just as O’s fans thought it was going to be just that easy, it got hard.

Wolf retired Derek Jeter leading off the eighth.  Nick Swisher walked.  Cano flied out.  The Orioles were just four outs away from the easy, 6-1 win.

But Alex Rodriguez doubled into the gap in left center, scoring Swisher. Wolf walked Eric Chavez, putting runners on first and second, and out popped Buck Showalter.  It was a good time to go to Pedro Strop.  The set up man has struggled recently, but needing just one more out in the inning, this game was certainly already in the bag.  Right?

Well…

Granderson singled to center, scoring ARod, and it was 6-3.  Strop crossed up Wieters, allowing Chavez and Granderson to advance to second and third.  Strop walked Russell Martin, and the bases were loaded.  Darren O’Day began to loosen in the Orioles ‘pen, but Buck stuck with Strop.

Pinch hitter Chris Dickerson walked on four pitches, forcing in a run, and making it 6-4.  Strop was visably upset with himself.  The go-ahead run was now on first with the bases loaded.  O’Day was in the ‘pen, ready to go, but Buck stuck with Strop.

Next, Ichiro Suzuki rolled one into right field, scoring Granderson and Martin.  The game was tied.  Strop was beside himself.  The go-ahead run was now on third base.  Jeter, long-time O’s killer and future Hall-of-Famer, was coming up.  And in the bullpen, O’Day was just waiting for the call.  And Buck…went to him.  It took O’Day (W, 7-1) two pitches to get Jeter on a pop out to second.  The damage was done, though.  The Yankees, turning back to a page from 1998 (or 1999, or 2000, or…well, you know), had taken the wind out of the Orioles sail, taken a crowd of 46,000+ fans out of the game, and flipped the momentum of the contest.  Or, so we may have thought.  But THESE…are the 2012 Orioles.

David Robertson(L, 1-6) entered in the bottom of the eighth in relief for the Yankees.  Catcher Martin called for his 1-2 pitch to be upstairs.  It was not, and Adam Jones blasted a home run (28) deep into the left field seats for a 7-6 lead.  Wieters singled to right, bringing up Reynolds.  On Robertson’s sixth pitch in a 3-2 at-bat, Reynolds blasted one deep to left.  The shot, like many of Reynolds’ latest, was as high as it was deep, and it was deep enough to get out of the yard.  His second homer of the night, 20th of the year, and eighth in the last seven games, made it 9-6.  Joe Girardi made the move to the bullpen, getting Boone Logan to go after Davis in the lefty-lefty matchup.  That…would be a fail.  Logan’s first pitch, an 81 MPH hanging slider, was blasted onto the flag court in right for a homer (24), and the Orioles led 10-6.

Needing some work, Jim Johnson came on and slammed the door on the Yankees in a non-save situation in the ninth, wrapping up one of the most exciting wins of 2012.

The Orioles and Yanks do battle again Friday night, and first place is on the line.  Wei-Yin Chen (12-8, 3.79) goes for the Orioles, vs. Phil Hughes (13-12, 4.18).  First pitch comes at 7:05.

The GOOD:

• 46,298 at Camden Yards.  Black and Orange all around, with LOTS to cheer about.
• Hammel’s return:  5-plus IP, 6H, 1ER, 2BB, 6K.  A super effort after nearly three months off.
• A season-high six home runs for the O’s, the most they’ve hit in one game since 2007.
• Jones:  2/4, 1HR, 2R, 2RBI.  Wieters:  2/4, 1HR, 2R, 3RBI.  Reynolds:  2/3, 2HR, 2R, 3RBI, 1BB.
• O’Day with a two-pitch win.

The BAD:

• Obviously, Strop is really in a funk at a very bad time.  In his last five outings, Strop has given up 5ER, 7H, 4BB in 2.1IP (19.31 ERA).  And that doesn’t count inherited runners.

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