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.

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.

The post Flipped Script Reflipped, O’s Power Past Yankees appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Miguel Gonzalez was on the mound, trying to build on the momentum of his last start Friday night in New York—a seven inning, four hit, zero run outing.  Instead, the Blue Jays got to the Orioles rookie for five earned runs on seven hits through 6.1 innings.

The O’s spotted Gonzalez a 2-0 lead in the second.  Adam Jones began the inning with his 27th home run off Jays’ starter Brandon Morrow.  Three walks and one force out later, it was 2-0.  The Jays got one back on an RBI double from Kelly Johnson in the second.  Rajai Davis homered off Gonzalez (L, 6-4) in the third to tie things at 2.

Gonzalez then settled down, retiring 11 of the next 12 Blue Jays before hitting a wall in the seventh.  Yunel Escobar hit Gonzalez’s first pitch of the inning into right for a bloop double.  A bunt single from Johnson moved Escobar up to third.  One out later, Adeiny Hechavarria dropped a safety squeeze that plated Escobar for a 3-2 Toronto lead, and the night was over for Gonzalez.

Luis Ayala entered, and, as has been an issue for him more so than most of the O’s bullpen this season, both his inherited runners would come in to score.  Speedy Anthony Gose tapped one to JJ Hardy, but the O’s shortstop couldn’t handle it.  The infield single loaded the bases for Rajai Davis.  Ayala’s 1-0, 90 MPH fastball in was sent back up the middle by Davis, finding its way into center field.  Johnson and Hechavarria scored, and Gose was awarded home plate on a throwing error by Adam Jones, who bounced on past Manny Machado at third base.

The O’s would get a couple of other shots.  Down 6-2 in the eighth, the O’s had Machado on second and Hardy on first with one out.  With Jays lefty Darren Oliver pitching, Buck Showalter went to his bench, giving Lew Ford a pinch hitting at-bat for Nate McLouth.  After hitting a fly ball that was ruled foul (it was—barely) down the left field line, Ford smashed one hard, but right to third, for a 5-4-3 double play.

Mark Reynolds tacked on a two-run homer (17) in the ninth to pull things close, but the next batter, Omar Quintanilla, was called out on strikes to end the game.

The Orioles head back home to take on the Yankees in a four-game weekend set beginning Thursday night.  Jason Hammel (8-6, 3.54) makes his return from the DL for the O’s, vs. David Phelps (3-4, 3.13) for New York.  First pitch is 7:05, but before that the O’s will honor Cal Ripken with the unveiling of his statue in the legends series.

The GOOD:

• Jones:  2-3, HR, RBI.
• Machado:  2-3, 2B, RBI.
• Brian Matusz: .2IP, 2K, 1BB.
• Tommy Hunter:  1 perfect inning in relief.

The BAD:

• O’s were 0-6 with RISP.
• Chris Davis:  0/3, 1BB, 3K.
• Nick Markakis:  0/4, 4LOB.
• The Yankees win.  The Yanks are a game up on the O’s in the AL East.  And, don’t look now, but here come the Angels.  They beat the A’s Wednesday, which may not be the worst thing in the world, but the Angels have now won 8 of 9, and are just 2.5 games behind in the wild card race.

The post Jays 6-4 Over O’s appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

The one thing that did remain consistent throughout the night for the O’s was the pitching.  Led by starter Zach Britton (W, 5-1), three Orioles pitchers combined for a four-hit shutout.  The Jays picked up just four hits (three singles) and two walks.  They struck out ten times, and never made it past second base.

A close, scoreless game turned into something altogether different in the Orioles fifth.  Adam Jones led off with his 31st double of the year.  One out later, Chris Davis walked, and then Mark Reynolds kept up his long-ball assault with a towering, three-run jack over the left field wall (17).

A Nick Markakis single, JJ Hardy double, and Nate McLouth sac fly added one more in the sixth to make it 4-0.  In the seventh, a leadoff hit from Davis, a one-out double from Manny Machado, sac fly from Robert Andino, double from Markakis, single from Hardy, and a Blue Jays balk gave the Orioles three more.

The O’s sent ten men to the plate in the eighth, picking up five singles and two doubles.  Throw one Jays error into the mix, and the Orioles had a five spot in inning number eight, and a 12-0 lead.

The Orioles—tied for first in the AL East now, take on the Blue Jays again Wednesday night.  Brandon Morrow (8-5, 2.93) goes for Toronto in the 7:05 contest.  The Orioles counter with Miguel Gonzalez (6-3, 3.31).

The GOOD:

• Britton’s line:  7IP, 0R, 4H, 2BB, 8K.  His ERA falls to 4.15.
• O’s pitching retired 16 of the final 17 Blue Jays to come to the plate.
• Every Oriole starter had at least one hit or one RBI.
• Three hits each for Markakis, Davis, Reynolds, and Machado.
• Seven extra-base hits for the O’s, who went 7/14 with RISP.
• The win, combined with another Yankees loss in Tampa, ties the Orioles atop the American League East for the first time, this late in a season, since 1997.

The BAD:

• Andino:  0/4, 1RBI, 1K, 4LOB.  His average in now down to .219.  Take away his hot April (.311), and he is at .192 for the year.

The post O’s Thump Jays, Tie Yankees For AL East Lead appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Saunders (W, 1-1/7-11) received an early boost from the offense.  Manny Machado led off the second inning with a shot down the right field line.  Jays right fielder Moises Sierra came a long way after the ball, then went into a slide and missed it.  Machado wound up at third on a play that was ruled a three-base error by Sierra, but which could have very easily gone down as a triple.  On the very next pitch, Nate McLouth dropped a safety squeeze towards first.  Jays starter J. A. Happ (L, 3-2/10-11) made a nice pick up, but went for the sure out at first despite Machado getting a late break from third, and the Orioles were up 1-0.

Saunders’ new teammates also flashed a little leather behind him.  In the bottom of the second, Yunel Escobar tried to bunt his way in.  Machado raced in at third, barehanded the ball, and fired across his body.  At first, Mark Reynolds made the diving stretch he’s becoming famous for, casting balance aside and lunging after the ball, with the tip of his big toe still in contact with the bag.  This grab was even more difficult that most, though, in that it was his left foot on the bag, AND the throw actually took him towards the home plate side of first.

1-0 it remained until the O’s fifth.  Robert Andino led off with a single.  He scored on a double down the left field line from Nick Markakis.  JJ Hardy followed with a double to left of his own, and the O’s were up 3-0.

Into the Jays sixth.  Saunders retired Sierra and Jeff Mathis, and remained perfect in the game.  But rookie Adeiny Hechavarria broke up the bid with a hump back liner that landed in between Andino at second and Jones in center.  Pitching from the stretch for the first time all day, Saunders walked Rajai Davis, but came back to strikeout Colby Rasmus.

Another RBI hit from Hardy in the eighth gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead, and the first of the three-game series in Toronto.

Zach Britton (4-1, 4.80) takes the hill for the O’s Tuesday night, vs. Carlos Villanueva (7-4, 3.10).  First pitch is 7:05.

The GOOD:

• This was as dominant as any Orioles’ starter has looked all year.  Saunders’ line:  6.1IP, 0R, 3H, 2BB, 2K.
• The O’s bullpen was very good on this day:  2.2IP, 0R, 0H, 0BB, 4K.
• Hardy: 2/5, 1 double, 2RBI.

The BAD:

• Reynolds:  0/4, 3K, 7LOB.  He did walk once, and made a couple of very good plays.

The post Saunders Dominates Jays in 4-0 O’s Win appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

This win doesn’t come without its toll.  Chris Tillman, arguably the best pitcher on the staff over the last six weeks, left the game with elbow tightness after three innings.  And, while in the game, it was apparent he was not himself.

In the first, he issued a five-pitch walk to leadoff man Derek Jeter.  He also unleashed a wild pitch in the inning, but the Yankees could not take advantage.  Inning number two featured a walk to Russell Martin, and a screaming line drive homer to right by Chris Dickerson (1).  With two outs, Jason Nix doubled to right.  But Tillman wiggled out of it by fanning Jeter, and the O’s were down 2-0 after two.

Tillman completed a three-up, three-down third, but he could go no further.  In the fourth, Randy Wolf (W, 1-0/4-10) made his Orioles debut, and retired the side in order.

All the while, the Orioles offense was spinning its wheels.  Manny Machado picked up the forst O’s hit in the third, but was stranded.  In the Orioles’ fourth, Nate McLouth singled with one away.  But Yankees starter Phil Hughes (L, 13-12) got Adam Jones and Matt Wieters to retire the side.

The O’s got on the board in the fifth, courtesy of first baseman Mark Reynolds.  On the sixth pitch of a 2-2 at-bat leading off, Reynolds blasted a 91 MPH, high fastball very deep into the stands in left for his 15th homer of the season, and his third in the series.  The Orioles would pick up two more hits in the inning from Chris Davis and Nick Markakis, but could not push another run across.

The Yanks answered in the bottom half of the fifth, with a lead off hit, a sac bunt, and a Nick Swisher RBI, making it 3-1.

But the Orioles mugged Hughes in the sixth.  McLouth walked.  Jones singled him to second, and Wieters singled him home.  Up stepped Reynolds.  Hughes’ second pitch was a hanging, 74 MPH curve, and Reynolds jumped on it.  Another towering home run deep into the seats in left (16) gave the Orioles a 5-3 lead, and completely turned this game on a dime.

The O’s piled on in the eighth.  Wieters led off with a walk against Yankees reliever Joba Chamberlin.  Reynolds’ third hit of the game—a single—moved Wieters to second.  One out later, and with Derek Lowe on in relief, Machado singled to load the bases.  Next up was Robert Andino, who produced a run without ever lifting the bat from his shoulder.  A five-pitch walk made it 6-3.  Again, Joe Girardi went to his bullpen, this time for Boone Logan.  The lefty-lefty matchup against Nick Markakis did not work out well for New York, with Markakis smacking a sharp grounder into right for a two-run single for their 8-3 final margin.

The Orioles head north to Toronto next.  Monday’s game time is 1:05, and features Joe Saunders (0-1/6-11) in his second start as an Oriole.  Left hander J. A. Happ (10-10, 4.77) pitches for the Blue Jays.

The GOOD:

• The Orioles are 15 games over .500, just 2 games behind the Yankees in the AL East chase, and currently hold the lead for the number 2 wild card spot.
• Randy Wolf’s Orioles debut:  3.1IP, 3H, 1R, 1BB, 1K, and 1W.
• Bullpen overall (including Wolf, Luis Ayala, Brian Matusz, and Darren O’Day):  6IP, 3H, 1R, 2BB, 2K.  And 1W.
• Reynolds:  3/5, 3R, 2HR, 4RBI, 0K
• Multi-hit efforts from Markakis and Machado.
• Offense:  4/10 with RISP

The BAD:

• The expansion of rosters may make his loss easier to handle, but losing Tillman long-term would be a shame, both for him and for the Orioles.  There is no question.  Tillman has turned a major corner.  The Orioles will find out more in the next couple of days.  Tillman will undergo an MRI in Baltimore Monday.

The post O’s Earn Series Win In New York appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Neither rust from 11 days off, nerves from pitching in Yankee Stadium, or the challenge of becoming the first O’s pitcher to throw a meaningful game in New York this late in the season since Scott Kamieniecki in 1997 would slow the O’s rookie.  Through five innings, Gonzalez retired 15 of 16 batters he faced.  By the time he ran into some trouble in the sixth, he was pitching with a 4-0 lead.  The Orioles got to Yanks starter Hiroki Kuroda (L, 12-10) in the second.

Adam Jones and Matt Wieters started tings with back-to-back singles to right, putting runners at the corners with no outs.  Chris Davis was given the chance to make a productive out, and he did, plating Jones with a sac fly to Raul Ibanez in right.  The next batter, Mark Reynolds, blasted a 2-0 fastball into the second deck in left field for a two-run homer (13), and a 3-0 Orioles lead.  A solo homer from JJ Hardy in the sixth made it 4-0.

Things looked like they were about to go downhill for Gonzalez in the bottom of the sixth.  Ichiro led off with a hit and moved to second on a wild pitch.  Lance Nix walked, and with two on and no outs, the top of the order was coming up.  But Gonzalez got Derek Jeter on a force out, Nick Swisher on a strikeout, and Robinson Cano on a foul out to third baseman Manny Machado.  The rookie, staked to a lead in New York, slammed the door on at least on future Hall-of-Famer, one All-Star, and one superstar…a spectacular performance.

In the seventh, running out of gas, Gonzalez wiggled out of a two-on, two-out jam, by getting another future Hall-of-Famer—this time, Ichiro—to tap out to short.

The birds added two insurance runs in the top of the ninth.  With two outs and none on, Mark Reynolds hit his second homer of the game and 14th of the year off of reliever Derek Lowe.  Robert Andino and Machado followed that with consecutive hits, and Andino scored on Nick Markakis’ base hit.

Brian Matusz relieved Darren O’Day in the ninth, and gave up a one-out, solo homer to Curtis Granderson to break up the shutout.

The Orioles send Wei-Yin Chen (12-7, 3.78) against Freddy Garcia (7-5, 4.90) for the Yankees Saturday.  Game time is 1:05.

The GOOD:

• Gonzalez was extremely pitch-efficient, throwing just 55 pitches through 5.  He was in total control in this game, even the few times the Yankees were able to get runners on.
• Reynolds’ overall game was one of his best as an Oriole.  Two big homers, and a pair of gold glove caliber plays defensively.
• Machado and Markakis with multi-hit games.
• The Yankees’ Nick Swisher:  0/4, 4K, 2LOB.
• If the Orioles are going to continue to beat the Yankees, they will have to continue playing solid fundamental baseball.  Reynolds’ homer will grab all the highlights from the O’s three-run second, and he deserves it.  But look what happened prior:  Jones went first-to-third on Wieters’ single to right.  Then Davis hit an RBI sac fly, and on Ibanez’s throw home, Wieters took the extra base, going to second.  For a team so reliant on the long ball, a little small ball heading into September can go a long way.
• The Rays lost in Toronto 2-1, in a game that ended with the Rays’ would-be tying run thrown out at the plate.

The BAD:

• Being relegated to rooting for the Red Sox just feels icky.  Boston is playing Oakland out west this weekend.  Well, they’re IN Oakland.  Whether they’re actually playing is debatable.  The A’s beat the Sox Friday night 20-2.  The Tigers beat the White Sox, and the Angels beat Seattle.

The post Big (Apple) Win Courtesy of Gonzalez and Reynolds appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Britton’s sinker wasn’t sinking early on, and in the second, the Sox were hitting everything hard against him.  Alex Rios grounded a single to center to lead off the inning.  He was replaced on the bases by A.J. Pierzynski, who hit into a force out.  Dayan Viciedo singled Pierzynski up to second, and with one out, Alexei Ramirez ripped a high fastball into center for a hit.  Sox third base coach Joe McEwing waved Pierzynski around third.  Four factors played into the Orioles’ favor at this point:  1-Jones fielded the ball in shallow center.  2-The O’s center fielder  has a great throwing arm, and he displayed it.  3-Pierzynski is too slow to have been sent by McEwing.  And, 4-Pierzynski gave absolutely no indication that he was all that concerned with scoring.  The Sox catcher was in a position to either run over O’s catcher Taylor Teagarden and try to separate him from the baseball, or at the very least, give a fade-away slide to the first base side of the plate.  Instead, he came in upright, with very little effort to even avoid Teagarden’s tag.

Pierzynski was tagged out, and in the second inning, the Orioles had a game-changing play.  The next batter, Gordon Beckham, lined a single to center, scoring Viciedo for the game’s first run.  But Britton fanned Dewayne Wise for a huge out number three, stranding Sox at first and third.

Heading into the bottom of the third, Sox starter Jose Quintana had retired all six Orioles he’d faced.  He made it eight in a row, getting Manny Machado and Robert Andino to start the inning.  But the Orioles unleashed a two-out barrage on the young lefty, starting with Teagarden.  Quintana (L, 5-3) started Teagarden with two fastballs out of the strike zone.  On the 2-0 pitch to the O’s catcher, Quintana worked to the outside of the plate, and Teagarden belted it over the scoreboard in right for a solo home run (2).

Nick Markakis and JJ Hardy drilled back-to-back doubles, making it 2-1 Baltimore.  Then, Quintana learned what happens when you miss your spot with Adam Jones at the plate.  Pierzynski set up for a 2-1 pitch on the outside part of the plate.  The ball ended up down and in, and Jones absolutely crushed it, deep into the empty seats in left for a two-run homer (26), and a 4-1 O’s lead.

Meanwhile, Britton was settling in for one of the best performances of his life.  He retired 16 of 17 before Jose Lopez picked up a single with two outs in the eighth.  By then, the O’s lead was 5-1, thanks to an RBI double from Teagarden in the fourth.

Britton was lifted after the eighth, sporting a new career-high, 10 strikeouts.  His fastball, which had been elevated early on, became nasty in the middle and late innings.  He gave up seven hits, but only three after the second.  He didn’t walk a batter at all.

In the ninth, Pedro Strop came on in a non-save situation, and made things interesting.  After getting Paul Konerko to lead off, Strop gave up back-to-back singles.  Suddenly, a save was in order, and Jim Johnson was called upon to deliver it.  He did, but not before what was once interesting became down right frightening.  The Sox runners advanced to second and third on a tapper back to the mound.  They scored on another hit by Ramirez, who jumped all over a 95 MPH fastball with no movement.

Representing the potential tying run, Beckham fouled off a couple of tough pitches from Johnson, before swinging and missing at a curve for out number three, win number 72 on the season for the Orioles, and save number 41 for Johnson.

The next “Biggest Series Of The Year” kicks off Friday night, as the Orioles, 7-3 in their last 10 games, 19-8 in August,and just three games behind New York for first place in the AL East, travel to the Big Apple.  The O’s throw Miguel Gonzalez (5-3, 3.66), who hasn’t started since giving up 8 hits and 4 earned runs in 5 innings at Texas August 20.  For the Yankees, it’s Hiroki Kuroda (12-9, 2.98), who has seen his Yankees win 9 of his last 12 starts.  Kuroda’s ERA in that span is 2.39.  In his lone start against the Orioles this year, he went 7 innings, giving up just 1 run on 4 hits for the W.  Game time in 7:05.

The GOOD:

• Zach Britton is BACK!  His ERA over his last 3 outings is 1.25.  Since he was shelled in New York August 1, he has lowered his ERA from 8.35 to 4.80.  What a turn around.  For those of us who were calling for his immediate ouster from the rotation after the Yankees debacle, it shows what we know.
• Britton’s battery mate, Taylor Teagarden:  2-3 with a homer and a double and 2 RBIs.

The BAD:

• Zach Britton is BACK?  In Norfolk, that is.  He was sent down to make room on the roster for Randy Wolf.  Seems a bit crazy, but, again, what do we know?

The post Battery Energizes O’s To 5-3 Win Over ChiSox appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Acquired over the weekend from Arizona for reliever Matt Lindstrom, Saunders’ honeymoon lasted exactly one pitch, the first of the game.  On the 0-1 to White Sox leadoff man Dewayne Wise, Saunders gave up his first hit as an Oriole.  He would give up a walk, a double, and two more singles in a four-run first inning that the Orioles never recovered from, as the White Sox won game three of this four-game series, 8-1.

At no point in time was Saunders NOT in some kind of trouble.  He gave up hits in each of his 5.1 innings of work.  His new teammates helped him out defensively in the second and third with double plays after leadoff base hits.  But in the fourth, his new battery mate let him down, as Matt Wieters dropped a foul pop.  That play gave Tyler Flowers new life, and he made a productive out with it.  Alexei Ramirez, who had singled, moved to second on Flowers’ tap out to Saunders.  Gordon Beckham then doubled off the left field wall, plating Ramirez with Sox run number five.

Saunders would be pulled with one out and runners on second and third in the sixth.  Kevin Gregg allowed the inherited runners to score against the first batter he faced.  Again it was Beckham doing the damage, with a two-run single to center.  Gregg’s outing was certainly less than stellar, allowing five of the seven batters he faced to get on base, and giving up a run of his own in the seventh.

The lone Orioles run scored on a sac fly from Carlos Quintanilla in the fourth, making it a 5-1 game.  The Orioles were never really in this one, as Sox starter Dylan Axelrod (W, 2-2), just back from Triple-A, gave up just one run on three hits and four walks through 7.1 innings.

The birds and Sox wrap up their four game set Thursday afternoon at 12:35.  Coming off back-to-back good outings, Zach Britton (3-1, 5.59) goes for the Orioles, against Chicago left hander Jose Quintana (5-2, 2.86).

The GOOD:

• Things could’ve been worse, and likely, would have been had the O’s not turned three double plays.
• Two perfect innings in relief at the end of the game.  Luis Ayala and Steve Johnson combined to deliver those two innings, striking out three in the process.

The BAD:

• Saunders:  5.1IP, 10H, 7R, 6ER, 2BB, 4K.  Over his last 10 games, Saunders has yielded 73 hits and 14 walks in just over 60 innings.  He is 2-7 with a 5.67 ERA in that time.
• Gregg:  1.1IP, 2H, 1ER, 3BB, 0K, 2 inherited runners scored.  Over his last 10 games, Gregg has given up 18 hits and 7 walks in 11.1 innings.  He has struck out 9, but has pitched to an ERA of 6.35.
• Wieters’ error was his 10th!
• Only three Orioles had hits:  Wieters, Chris Davis, and Nick Markakis.

The post Saunders Lit Up In O’s Debut appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Nick Markakis’ clutch, two-out, three-run double in the second would be all the O’s needed offensively, but not all they’d get.  Lew Ford hit a solo home run for the second straight night in the fourth, picking on a two-out, 1-0 fastball below the knees, and lining it into the left field seats.  Manny Machado drove in Mark Reynolds with a sac fly in the sixth, making it 5-0.  And in the seventh, Adam Jones snapped a career-high, 110 at-bat homerless streak.  Jones picked on Sox reliever Philip Humber’s eighth pitch of the at-bat, and drove it just over the scoreboard in right for his 25th home run of the year, and 100th of his career.

As plentiful as the offense was, the true story was Tillman.  He didn’t give up his first hit until Dayan Viciedo led off the fifth with an infield hit.  He walked the next batter, for his fourth walk of the night.  But then, he rediscovered his grove, setting down the trio of Gordon Beckham, Dewayne Wise, and Kevin Youkilis.  Then, he retired six more in a row, before turning things over to Brian Matusz , for two scoreless relief innings.

Having taken the first two games of this very big, four-game series, The Orioles roll out their latest import Wednesday.  Joe Saunders, acquired from Arizona over the weekend, will make his O’s debut at Camden Yards against Chicago.  Game time is 7:05.

The GOOD:

• Tillman’s line:  7IP, 0R, 1H, 4BB, 5K.
• Matusz:  2IP, 0R, 1H, 0BB, 2K.  24 pitches for Matusz, 19 of which were strikes.
• Numbers 7,8,9 in the order (McLouth, Machado, Andino) combined:  5/9, 3R, 2BB, 1RBI, 2SB.

The BAD:

• Only 12,841 at Camden Yards after about 10,000 Monday night.  School being back in session in most places doesn’t help, but…

The post Tillman Dominates White Sox In 6-0 Shutout appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

The Orioles picked up another dramatic victory, this time getting two big home runs.  The first was off the bat of Lew Ford, his first in major league play since 2007.  The other—a two-run shot in the bottom of the eighth from Nate McLouth—leapfrogged the Sox, and gave the O’s the 4-3 win.  Before you re-read this paragraph, you should probably look outside your window to make sure the monkeys from the Wizard of Oz aren’t out there.

Wait.  Just wait one minute.  The Orioles…13 games OVER .500 at 70-57, in late AUGUST?  The Orioles, with one more win before September than they had in ALL of 2011?  The BALTIMORE ORIOLES…tied for the top wildcard spot in the American league, and ALONE in second place in the AL East, just 3.5 games behind the New York Yankees?  On August 28?  Weren’t these the guys who were supposed to fade away after dropping 6 of 7, then 5 of 6, just last month?  Isn’t this the team that national sports “experts” said would, “fold in June, bless their hearts.”  The Orioles??  Just who do these guys think they are?

They are Lew Ford.  They are Nate McLouth.  Every bit as much as they are Adam Jones and Matt Wieters and Nick Markakis.

Wei-Yin Chen took the mound for the birds, making his first start since giving up five runs on seven hits in a five-inning win against Detroit August 19.  Monday, he was far better, but he hurt himself with a big error, contributing to his no-decision.  Up 1-0 (courtesy of Ford’s homer) in the sixth, Chen got White Sox leadoff man Dewayne Wise to tap to first.  Mark Reynolds made a terrific diving stop, but his toss to Chen was a touch low and a tad behind the lefty.  It was a catchable ball, but it appeared to handcuff Chen, who dropped it for the E-1.

The very next pitch was Chen’s worst of the night.  Kevin Youkilis launched a 91 MPH fastball down the middle into the left field seats, giving Chicago a 2-1 lead.  Chen would finish out the inning, and did not return.

It looked like the Orioles may still reward their ace with a win in their half of the sixth, though.  Wieters walked, and took third on another hit from Ford.  The White Sox went to the bullpen for Jesse Crain, who walked Reynolds to load the bases with no one out.  Next, McLouth worked a full count against Crain, before taking a borderline pitch for ball four.  It was a terrific at-bat by McLouth, who actually ducked the final pitch, perhaps making it appear higher than it actually was.  That walk forced Wieters home, and the birds still had the bases loaded (with good speed on), and no one out.

But Manny Machado tapped out on a force, third to home.  Robert Andino struck out, and Markakis’ bid for a squib-job infield hit was robbed on a nice play by Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez.  The O’s twice loaded the bases with no outs, but could score only one time.

In the eighth with the score still tied at two, Buck Showalter went to Pedro Strop (W, 5-2).  Wise led off against the O’s power arm with a single to left.  Youkilis singled to right, moving Wise to third.  Next up, Adam Dunn hit a slow trickling roller to Andino at second, whose only play was to first.  Or, at least, it would have been, had first baseman Mark Reynolds been anywhere near where he was supposed to be, which was on the bag.  Reynolds, in another of the blackout moments he’s prone to, committed to trying to field the grounder.  By the time he realized it was Andino’s ball all the way, he was in no-man’s land.  Wise scored, Youkilis moved to second, Dunn to first, and the White Sox led 3-2 with no outs.

Strop thew three straight, 97 MPH fastballs to Paul Konerko, who bounced into a big double play.  He then struck out Alex Rios on five pitches—all sliders—and the O’s were out of the mess, albeit down one.

Reliever Brett Myers (L, 2-6) got Ford to start the bottom of the eighth, but then he walked Reynolds.  Up stepped McLouth, who laid into a 91 MPH fastball up and over the plate.  McLouth’s second O’s homer gave the Orioles the lead, which closer Jim Johnson, despite giving up a hit and throwing a wild pitch, was able to hold.

The O’s and White Sox battle again Tuesday night, with Chris Tillman (6-2, 3.71) going against Chris Sale (15-4, 2.65).  First pitch is slated for 7:05.

The GOOD:

• Chen:  6IP, 4H, 2R, 1ER, 1BB, 8K, 1HR.
• 3 RBIs for McLouth.  2H for Ford.  Each with a home run.  By the way, am I the only one who sees Brady Anderson every time McLouth puts a good swing on the ball?  The stances are different, but the follow throughs are remarkably similar.  And McLouth wearing Anderson’s old number 9 doesn’t hurt either.
• The Orioles struck out just five times.  They walked seven times.  Meanwhile, Orioles pitching struck out 12 White Sox, and walked only 1.
• Jim Johnson with save #40.  What a season the Orioles closer is having.
• The Orioles have won 13 straight one-run games, tying a team record.

The BAD:

• 0-4 with RISP.  8 men left on base.

The post Late Homer By McLouth Brings O’s 4-3 Win appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Up went Jason Berken. Down came Tommy Hunter.  Down came Berken, up went Dana Eveland.  Up went Stu Pomeranz, down came Eveland.  Joel Pineiro was signed, and talk the talk centered around his future role in Baltimore.  And the transactions kept coming.  Matusz, down.  Hunter back up.  Hunter back down, Miguel Gonzalez up.  Zach Phillips, up.  And down.

He had an out clause in his contract, stipulating that if he was not a member of the 40 man roster at one point, he could opt out and become a free agent.  The Orioles were apparently willing to take that risk, but when Johnson alerted told the team he was going to walk, the Orioles blinked.  Thankfully.  He got his spot on the 40 man, but still had to wait for the actual call.

The call came on July 2, as the Orioles added him as insurance.  Two days later (and still having not made his ML debut), he was back on a flight to Norfolk, trading roster spots with Chris Tillman.  And the roster moves in Baltimore continued…Matusz, back down.  Arrieta, down.  Miguel Socolovich.  Zach Britton.  And Hunter again.  Jason Hammel went on the DL July 15, and Johnson was called back up.  And the next day, he was sent back down.  And Eveland came again.  And Eveland went again.

Now, it’s hard to argue any single one of the transactions made by the Orioles this year.  How Dan Duquette and Buck Showalter have been able to sweat the resources to keep this team in contention all season long is well beyond most baseball folks.  But, for someone like Johnson, who’s paid his dues in the minors since 2005, and who in many ways was putting up the best numbers he ever has this season, being a spectator—and a travelling one at that—has HAD to take its toll.

Saturday night, he finally made his second big league start, 17 days after his first one.  Forget the fact that his first start in the bigs—a six-inning, nine-strikeout, two-earned run win—warranted far more than a two-plus week rotation removal.  Life isn’t fair.  Johnson, we can say with some certainty, has figured this out.

Johnson (W, 2-0) got into early trouble, giving up a long, two-run home run to Edwin Encarnacion (34) in the first.  But he gave up no more runs and just two more hits for the rest of his six innings.  He struck out seven, walked two, and relied heavily on battery mate Matt Wieters to do the rest, both with the bat, and behind the plate.

Wieters nailed all three Blue Jays trying to steal on him.  Offensively, while he did strike out three times, Wieters delivered a sac fly and an RBI single, Joining Adam Jones and JJ Hardy as O’s with a pair of RBIs apiece.  Hardy’s RBIs came on a home run (17) that just did elude Jays’ outfielder Rajai Davis’ leaping attempt at the wall in the fifth.  That shot was one of three hits for Hardy on the day, and gave the Orioles a 6-2 lead.

In relief of Johnson, Luis Ayala threw two shutout innings, and Kevin Gregg struck out the side in order in the ninth.

The O’s will go for the sweep of Toronto Sunday at 1:05.  Chris Tillman (6-2, 3.71) pitches for the Orioles, against Toronto’s Henderson Alvarez (7-11, 4.84).

The GOOD:

• The one thing you have to like about Johnson is his composure.  To a certain extent, he does wear his emotions. But he also carries with him an outwardly obvious “I got this” air.  He pitches with poise and confidence.  Now, he’s pitched in five games total, throwing good starts at Toronto and Seattle, and a good relief appearance against Boston.  When he’s faced good teams, pitching in relief against Detroit and Texas, he hasn’t fared as well.  It’s a very small sampling, so the jury is still out, but you have to be impressed with the tenacity.
• JJ Hardy has a five-game hitting streak, and is now 5 for his last 9.
• Manny Machado, Mark Reynolds, and Nick Markakis chipped in multi-hit games.
• One has to wonder when the league is going to learn NOT to run on Matt Wieters.  Until then, by all means, they should have at it.

The BAD:

• The birds left nine runners on base.

The post Johnson Pitches O’s Past Jays appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Hunter (L, 4-8) cruised early (“early” in a three-inning start means “in the first inning.”  All things are relative).   But leading off the second, Rangers third baseman Adrian Beltre started what would be a career night.  On a 3-2 pitch, Hunter threw a 94 MPH cut fastball that didn’t cut much, and Beltre smoked a line drive over the center field fence for a home run (20), and a 1-0 Rangers lead.

After the Orioles tied it at 1 on a Nick Markakis single in the third, Hunter again retired the side in the home half of inning number three.  But in the fourth, Hunter’s former teammates took batting practice against him.

Josh Hamilton singled to start the nightmare, and set the stage for Beltre.  Hunter served up a 1-0, nothing slider.  It was belt-high, and Beltre just clobbered it, deep into the seats in left for his second homer of the night, 21st of the year, and a 3-1 Texas lead.  And the Rangers were just getting started.

Nelson Cruz singled.  Michael Young singled.  David Murphy doubled Cruz home, and it was 4-1.  Geovany Soto walked on four pitches, and with two in and no outs, the bases were loaded for Rangers first baseman Mitch Moreland.

Hunter, on 0-1, broke off another slider.  Again, it stayed belt-high.  Again, it landed in the seats.  Moreland’s 13th home run was also his first career grand slam, and it turned this one into a laugher, at 8-1.  Hunter faced one more batter, in second baseman Ian Kinsler.  He singled to left, and Buck Showalter, finally showing Hunter a little mercy, yanked him.  On came Kevin Gregg, and in one pitch, he did what Tommy Hunter couldn’t get done in 22 pitches in the fourth—get an out.  Actually, Gregg got two, as Elvis Andrus hit into the 1-6-3 double play.

But with two outs, Gregg walked Hamilton, bring up Beltre.  Gregg got ahead of Beltre 0-2, and decided to try to get him to climb the ladder.  He threw a 91 MPH fastball eye-high, and Beltre blasted it deep into center, and just over the wall for a third home run on the night, and second in the inning.

Beltre would get two more cracks at joining teammate Hamilton as Rangers with four home runs in one game against the Orioles this season, but he grounded to third in the sixth, and hit into an inning-ending, 6-4-3 double play in the eighth.

The Rangers got a solid outing from lefty Derrick Holland (W, 8-6), who picked up his first win all month.  Holland allowed 3 earned runs on 5 hits through 7.  He struck out 5, and walked 2.

The birds get a day off to let this one sink in Thursday.  They welcome the Toronto Blue Jays to town for a weekend set starting Friday night at 7:05.  It’ll be Zach Britton (2-1, 6.23) vs. Carlos Villanueva (6-3, 3.10).

The GOOD:

• The O’s didn’t allow a fourth home run to Beltre.  It’ll be hard enough watching to SportsCenter after he hit three.  I think they just stopped talking about Hamilton’s 4-home run game in May, on Monday.
• Markakis:  3-4, 3RBI.

The BAD:

• Tommy Hunter’s real estate agent needs to teach him about location, location, location.  Everything at the belt was hit hard in this one.  When that happens, Hunter’s outfielders run OUT of real estate.  Hunter has now allowed 31 home runs, tops in baseball.
• Steve Johnson, surprisingly, wasn’t used in long relief.  Instead, he joined ‘pen mates Gregg, J.C. Romero, Luis Ayala, and Matt Lindstrom in tossing an inning each.  Of that crew, only Ayala and Lindstrom were unscored upon.
• A win by the A’s Wednesday knocks the O’s out of the top spot for the second Wild Card position, by 1/2 game.  The birds also had a chance to gain on the Yankees again, who were beaten by the White Sox, and in fact, swept by Chicago.

The post Rangers Get 3HR From Beltre in 12-3 Win Over O’s appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

It helps when, before he even strolls to the hill, a pitcher has a lead.  Tillman’s mates saw to it.  Rangers starter Scott Feldman (L, 6-9) retired both Nick Markakis and JJ Hardy in succession to start the game.  Then, Nate McLouth worked the right hander for a walk, coming back in the at-bat from down, 1-2.  McLouth stole second, and moved to third when Geovany Soto, trying to nail McLouth, threw it away.  Feldman then uncorked a wild pitch, and the Orioles, with plenty of help from the Rangers, had a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third, the Rangers got even when Ian Kinsler poked his 14th homer of the year, just clearing the wall in left.

The Orioles put together a four-run fifth inning that, offensively, was the difference in the game.  Manny Machado belted a one-out, RBI triple just out of the reach of center fielder Josh Hamilton, breaking the 1-1 tie.  One out later, Hardy reached out for a 91 MPH fastball away, and drove it down the right field line.  Hardy’s 21st double scored Machado, and gave the Orioles a 3-1 lead.  McLouth stepped in, and on Feldman’s third pitch to him—a 90 MPH fat fastball—he blasted his first Orioles home run.  The Orioles were on top 5-1.  But against this Texas Rangers team, with one of the most potent offenses in the game, at no time was it ever really a comfortable lead.

That wasn’t Tillman’s fault, though.  While he was far from dominant, Tillman (W, 6-2) was very good against Texas.  In the fifth, he gave up a two-out single to Mitch Moreland, and stranded him.  Adrian Beltre picked up a two-out double in the sixth, but stayed right there.  In the seventh, he was nearing the end.  David Murphy singled on a second consecutive changeup.  And with one out, a 94 MPH fastball caught too much of the plate, and Soto launched it into the first row of seats in left field for his second home run since joining the Rangers.  After striking out Moreland on his 101st pitch of the game, Tillman’s night was over.  His line:  6.2IP, 3ER, 6H, 2HR, 7K, 1BB.

Darren O’Day came on and got into immediate trouble against his former team.  Kinsler walked, and Elvis Andrus singled him to second.  Buck Showalter again went to the bullpen, this time for Pedro Strop.  The flame throwing righty, usually summoned in the eighth inning when the birds have a lead, would have to come on early, with Josh Hamilton up representing the potential go-ahead run.

Strop fell behind 2-0.  He was down in the count 3-1.  Then, a foul ball, for a full count.  With two outs, the runners would be off with the pitch.  Anything in the gaps would most certainly tie things at 5.  Of course, the balls in the gap aren’t the biggest things to fear with Hamilton up.  Pitch six of the at-bat…an 83 MPH slider…fouled off.  Then, on pitch seven, Strop snapped off another tight slider, breaking hard, down and in, and the All-Star center fielder waved at it and missed.  Strike three.  Out number three.

Strop tossed a less dramatic eighth inning, and Jim Johnson picked up save number 38 in a perfect ninth.

The O’s and Rangers wrap up the three-game series Wednesday.  Going for Texas is lefty Derrick Holland (7-6, 4.98), who hasn’t won since July 31.  Former Ranger Tommy Hunter (4-7. 5.49) goes for the Orioles.  First pitch is scheduled for 8:05.

The GOOD:

• Great rebound for Tillman, after back-to-back sub-par outings.
• Hits for all but two O’s starters (Wieters, Quintanilla).  Two hits for Manny Machado, a single and a triple.  He was actually called out trying to stretch his single into a double, but second base umpire Tony Randazzo missed the call.  They didn’t review it.
• Who is this year’s Orioles MVP?   There is no shortage of candidates, to be sure.  Adam Jones.  Jim Johnson.  Wei-Yin Chen.  Before the All-Star break, you’d have to give Jason Hammel some consideration.  One player it almost certainly won’t be is a guy without whom the Orioles would be nowhere near where they are now.  Pedro Strop is lights-out, throwing heat in the high-90s, and sliders that make some of the best hitters in the game look foolish.  But what he did Tuesday was special, even by his standards.  Not only was he facing, perhaps the most dangerous hitter in baseball…a guy who has murdered Orioles’ pitching…in Josh Hamilton.  He had to do it with inherited runners on, which is not usually his role.  He generally starts the eighth inning, with no one on and no one out.  There’s a little comfort in that situation, as opposed to the utter mess he was thrown into Tuesday.  Another amazing performance for Pedro Strop.

The BAD:

• The normally reliable O’Day was not:  2 Batters Faced.  1 hit.  1 walk.

The post Clutch Pitching Leads O’s Past Rangers appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Chen (W, 12-7) fell behind 5-0 before he could record his second out.  Omar Infante hit a one-out, solo home run (11) to start the trouble.  Chen walked Miguel Cabrera.  He gave up a single to Prince Fielder, and up stepped Jhonny Peralta.  Chen fell behind the Tigers shortstop 2-0 before serving a 91 MPH fastball on the outer half.  Peralta, not known as a power guy, showed plenty of pop, driving it deep to right center for a three-run homer (9), and a 4-0 Tigers lead.  Delmon Young followed the Peralta homer with a single to right, and scored on a Jeff Baker double, making it 5-0.

The Orioles certainly didn’t waste time feeling sorry for themselves.  In their half of the second, Chris Davis blasted a long home run (20) to the opposite field leading off, and it was 5-1.  Mark Reynolds singled, but Detroit starter Doug Fister (L, 7-8) struck out Manny Machado, and got Omar Quintanilla on a force out.  Taylor Teagarden, in what would turn out to be an enormous at-bat, drew a six-pitch walk, moving Quintanilla to second, and turning the lineup over to Nick Markakis.

The Orioles right fielder delivered his 23rd double of the year, scoring Quintanilla and sending Teagarden to third.  JJ Hardy was next.  Hardy has been doing a much better job recently of going with the outside pitches, especially the hard stuff.  But on 1-2, Fister lollipopped a curve on the outside, and Hardy went out and hooked it in to left for another Orioles double.  Teagarden and Markakis both scored, and the Orioles had closed the gap to just one, at 5-4.

That’s where things would stay until the top of the fourth.  Quintanilla and Teagarden both struck out to start the inning.  But the Orioles would pick up another crucial walk, from Markakis.  Then yet another, from Hardy.  That brought up Nate McLouth.

Fister, using offspeed stuff, picked up two quick strikes on the O’s left fielder.   Fister tried to get him with a curve down and away.  But McLouth reached out and drove it into the right-center field gap.  Markakis and Hardy both scored on the triple, giving the O’s their first lead of the day.  Two pitches later, McLouth trotted home on Adam Jones’ single to right, and the Orioles led 7-5.

Chen had settled in, but high pitch counts early meant his stay in the game would not be deep.  He was pulled after five innings, with—considering his first inning struggles—a pretty good line:  7H, 5ER, 2BB, 4K, 2HR.  The bullpen, as usual, slammed the door, with four shutout innings.  Luis Ayala, Darren O’Day, Pedro Strop, and Jim Johnson combined to allow two hits, and strike out three.  Johnson picked up his 37th save.  While his inning was perfect, it was not without drama.

With two outs, Infante stepped to the plate.  He worked Johnson into a 3-1 count, with O’s killer Miguel Cabrera on deck, and Prince Fielder behind him.  Johnson, Buck Showalter, heck, ALL of Orioles Nation wanted no part of Cabrera, who would have represented the tying run, given the chance to bat in the ninth.  But Johnson came back strong in the at-bat, getting a called strike two, before retiring Infante on a bouncer to Machado at third.

The O’s head to Texas to battle the Rangers in a three-game series starting Monday night.  Miguel Gonzalez (5-2, 3.38) takes on Ryan Dempster (6-6, 3.12 overall.  1-1, 8.31 since coming to Texas from the Cubs.  First pitch:  8:05.

The GOOD:

• The Orioles put together a terrific series after dropping game 1 in Detroit.  They now move 2 games up on the Tigers in the wildcard hunt.
• Chen continues to impress.  Even after the Tigers put up a five spot on him, he kept his composure and kept his team in it.
• O’s pitching held the killer combo of Cabrera and Fielder to 1/6, 2R, 2BB, 2K, 6LOB.
• Markakis, McLouth, and Reynolds each picked up two hits.  Markakis and Reynolds were on base three times.
• Davis’ homer to left is another good sign.  When he makes contact, the ball jumps off of his bat, maybe more so than any of his teammates.  The homer Sunday was another example of a ball that just never seemed to want to land.

The BAD:

• Numbers 7, 8 and 9 in the order—Machado, Quintanilla, Andino (who pinch hit for Quintanilla), and Teagarden were a combined 0/10.

The post For O’s, a Huge Detroit Comeback appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

The lefty was in trouble early and often, but gave a sluggish offense seven shutout innings.  He was aided by three double plays and one caught stealing, and one smooth swing of Chris Davis’ bat late in the game.

In the home half of the first, the Tigers mounted a one-out threat.  Omar Infante and Miguel Cabrera picked up back-to-back hits.  After seeing the Tigers’ first baseman blast Detroit to a victory over the Orioles Friday, one could hardly blame Britton for walking Prince Fielder on four pitches next, even if it did load the bases.  With just one out, Britton got exactly what he needed.  On an 0-2 pitch, he got Jhonny Peralta to bounce into a 6-4-3 double play, ending the inning.

Delmon Young’s leadoff single in the Tigers’ second was followed up with another 6-4-3, this time from Alex Avila.  Austin Jackson led off the third with a double.  One out later, Britton (W, 2-1) intentionally walked Cabrera.  Britton ran the count full to Fielder before striking him out.  Next, Peralta lined out to Adam Jones in center, and another potentially big inning was averted.

While Britton was busy walking a thin line, his mound opponent, Rick Porcello (L, 9-8) was doing his own tap dance, albeit with a little less drama.  He stranded Nick Markakis, who’d led off with a walk, in the first.  Davis’s one-out single to left in the second netted no runs.  Singles from Robert Andino and Markakis leading off the third went for naught, thanks in large part to Andino being gunned down trying to steal third.

By the fourth, both pitchers had settled down, Porcello even more so than Britton.  The Tigers’ starter had retired eleven in a row, when the Orioles finally got to him in the seventh.  Jones and Matt Wieters started the inning off with two straight hits.  Davis stepped in, already 1-2 on the night.  On an 0-2 pitch down and away, Davis went and put a beautiful, effortless-looking swing on it.  He lifted a fly ball to deep left field, and as so many of his shots seem to do, it just kept going.  Davis’ 19th home run gave the O’s a 3-0 lead late in the game, which, for the Orioles, usually means a win.

Pedro Strop entered in the eighth, pitching to a 1.18 ERA on the season.  He’d been all but automatic on the season in bridging the gap between starter/middle inning reliever-to-closer Jim Johnson.  But the Tigers set out to conquer that bridge.  Austin Jackson led off with a hit to right on a 98 MPH, 0-2 fastball.   One out later, Strop hit Cabrera with a pitch, putting runners at first and second, and bringing Prince Fielder to the plate with the potential tying run.  Sound familiar?

But after launching the game’s tying—and winning—two run home runs Friday night, The Orioles were able to get the better of him Saturday.  Strop got Fielder swinging on a nasty slider, for out number one.  Up stepped Peralta, and again the Tigers had the tying run at the dish.  Strop uncorked a wild pitch on 0-1, moving Jackson and Cabrera up to second and third.  On the very next pitch, Peralta singled to right, plating both of them.  Peralta, seeing Markakis throw toward the plate, broke for second.  But Markakis’ throw perfectly hit cut-off man Mark Reynolds, and the O’s nailed Peralta in a rundown for the third out.

Jim Johnson came on in the ninth, setting the Tigers down in order for his 36th save, and evening the series in Detroit at a game each.

The three-game set wraps Sunday afternoon at 1:05.  Detroit sends Doug Fister (7-7, 3.24) to the hill.  The O’s counter with Wei-Yin Chen (11-7, 3.70).

The GOOD:

• Britton made the big pitch when he had to, and that was the difference between Saturday’s start, and his past several.
• O’s pitchers handled Cabrera and Fielder.  Combined, the Tigers’ 3-4 hitters went 2-4 with 1 run, 3 walks, 1 HBP, 2 strikeouts, and 4 left on base, 0 RBIs.  Now, that’s not exactly stopping them in their tracks, but it sure beats Friday’s numbers for the pair:  4/6, 5R, 2BB, 1K, 0LOB, 3HR, 5RBI.
• Davis and Markakis each had multiple hit games.

The BAD:

• Strop faced three batters, allowed three to reach, and two to score.
• Andino being nailed trying to swipe third in the third was a bad play.  Anytime a base runner is caught stealing third, it’s a bad play.

The post Britton And Davis Lead The Way As O’s Topple Tigers appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

The O’s put together a nice, two-run first when Nick Markakis and JJ Hardy led off the inning with singles.  A Nate McLouth gound out moved them up 90 feet each, and Adam Jones, on a great piece of hitting, grounded a double down the right field line to score them both.  Scott Podsednik was able to tap a soft line drive just past the dive of Hardy with two outs in the second, scoring Nick Punto, and the Sox trimmed the Orioles lead to one at 2-1.

The Orioles opened the second inning like they were never going to make another out.  Clay Buchholz’s first pitch to Mark Reynolds was drilled into the seats in right center.  Reynolds’ 12th home run made it 3-1 Orioles.  Next up, Manny Machado doubled to left.  When Omar Quintanilla took a four-pitch walk, it looked like the Orioles had Buchholz fighting for his life.  None out, two on, one already in, and Nick Markakis, who’d already picked up one hit, was set to step in.  With 24 outs left to give, this would be the offensive turning point for the Orioles.

Markakis has been the Orioles leadoff man since his return from wrist surgery.  He’s excelled in this role, which was handed to him for the first time in his life.  But let’s not fool ourselves.  With runners on first and second, Markakis’ role reverts back to run producer.  He‘s not exactly a punch-and-judy hitter.  He’s not a slap hitter.  Nick Markakis, while not a power hitter, drives the ball.  He hits line drives in the gaps.  He hits doubles.  Markakis, in this situation, is up there to get a run in, at least.  Instead, on Buchholz’s first pitch, Nick Markakis squared to bunt.

Now, Buchholz did him a favor.  Markakis got the perfect ball to bunt (not that Nick, who’s not an accomplished bunter, would necessarily know what that is by experience)—a slow, 75-MPH curve ball, down.  Markakis totally deadened it right in front of the plate.  Thinking perhaps it was a foul ball, Markakis made matters worse by becoming a spectator, watching as Sox catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia picked it up and fired to third baseman Nick Punto for the force on Machado.  Punto then gunned across to first to easily double up Markakis, who never quite got around to hustling on the play.  The huge double play played a large part in keeping Buchholz and the Red Sox in this game.  Two pitches later, it looked like the cards were stacked against the Orioles on this night despite their early lead.

Hardy picked up his second single to right field on the night.  But Red Sox right fielder Cody Ross made a strong throw in to Saltalamacchia, whose sweep tag beat Quintanilla sliding into home, for out number three.  The Orioles, in the second inning, sent five men to the plate.  Four of them reached, one on a walk, one on a single, one on a double, and one with a homer.  They were 3-4 with a walk and home run in the inning, and they scored just one run.  There’s your ballgame.

O’s starter Chris Tillman was simply not sharp in this one.  He nibbled.  He battled command issues.  He could not overcome.  Laboring into the fifth, Tillman yielded a one-out hit to Carl Crawford, then a double to Dustin Pedroia.  With Adrian Gonzalez batting, Tillman bounced a curve that got away from Matt Wieters for a wild pitch.  Crawford scored, Pedroia moved up to third.  Gonzalez then delivered a sac fly, and the Sox had tied things.  Buck Showalter lifted Tillman after 4.2 innings.  He gave up three earned runs on six hits, struck out five and walked two.  Kevin Gregg, needing just one out to escape the fifth, took three batters to do it, but did so with no further damage.

Luis Ayala entered in the sixth.  With one out, Podsednik doubled.  Ellsbury drew a walk, and Crawford hit into a force, putting runners on the corners with two outs.  Crawford stole second.  On a 2-2 pitch, Ayala threw a 91 MPH fastball down.  Pedroia tapped it slowly toward third baseman Manny Machado, who could not glove it.  Even had the rookie picked it cleanly, there are no guarantees he’d have gotten Pedroia.  The infield hit gave the Sox their first lead, at 4-3.  Next up, Gonzalez picked on a fat fastball and lined an RBI hit to right.  Cody Ross ripped a shot to left on the very next pitch, scoring Pedroia.  Gonzalez was thrown out heading to third after the run scored for the final out.  The Sox, with two outs, had scored three runs on three straight Ayala (L, 4-4) pitches, and led 6-3.

Here on shark week, Buchholz attacked the Orioles in their half of the sixth like a great white to chum.  Adam Jones:  called strike, swinging strike, called strike—one out.  Matt Wieters:  foul ball, swinging strike, called strike—out number two.  Chris Davis:  foul ball, foul ball, swing and a miss—three outs…on nine pitches.

Buchholtz (W, 11-3) was outstanding after escaping that second inning jam.  On the night, he gave up eight hits, but only two after the second.  Buchholtz struck out eight, walked three, and surrendered just 3 runs.  He was also pretty pitch-efficient, throwing 107 pitches over eight.  Chris Tillman threw 110 in just 4.2 innings.  Alfredo Aceves came on and struck out the side in the ninth (though it took him more than 9 pitches to do so).

The Orioles wrap up the homestand with a 7-3 record, and now hit the road for some crucial matchups.  Friday night, the O’s open a weekend set in Detroit.  Tommy Hunter (4-7, 5.54) throws for the Orioles.  Justin Verlander (12-7, 2.46) goes for the Tigers.  Game time is 7:05.

The GOOD:

• Mark Reynolds with another homer and  2-hit game.  Also a pair of hits from Hardy, both to right field which is good to see.

The BAD:

• Everything after Markakis’ bunt attempt, really.  Chris Davis had another one of THESE nights:  0/4, 3K, 3LOB
• Steve Johnson had been scheduled to start Saturday at Detroit, but he pitched two innings in relief in this one.  It was a good outing, but now, what happens Saturday?
• Wilson Betemit heads to the DL with wrist issues.  With the glove, he’s a butcher.  But when he’s on offensively, he’s a big contributor.  Especially now with Chris Davis missing more than he hits again, Betemit’s bat will be missed.

The post Sox Top O’s In Series Finale appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

The offensive explosion came seemingly out of nowhere.  Cook had thrown just 53 pitches entering the sixth.  His Sox had given him the lead with two runs off Orioles starter—and former Red Sox farmhand—Miguel Gonzalez (W, 5-2) in the fifth.  Cook even retired Omar Quintanilla on a two-pitch ground out to start the sixth.  But then he walked Nick Markakis on five pitches, and on a 1-0 pitch to JJ Hardy, the O’s shortstop broke the ice with a single to left.  It was as if Hardy had taught his teammates how to ride a bike in that one swing.  After that, for just one inning, it got easy.

Nate McLouth lined a single to right center, scoring Markakis, moving Hardy to third, and making it 2-1 Boston.  Next up, Adam Jones hit a sharp comebacker to the mound for what looked like an easy, inning-ending double play.  But Cook fired the ball into center field.  Hardy scored to tie things at two, and McLouth wound up at third.

Matt Wieters followed that with an opposite field double to left, scoring McLouth for a 3-2 O’s lead.  One out later, Mark Reynolds, Tuesday’s offensive hero, tacked on two enormous insurance runs with his own two bagger, this one off reliever Junizi Tazawa.  The Orioles, having come into the inning without a hit through 15 outs, had scored five times before the Red Sox could get the next three outs.

The Sox added a run in the seventh, aided by a throwing error from reliever J.C. Romero.  But the combination of Luis Ayala, Pedro Strop, and Jim Johnson, who picked up his 35th save, slammed the door, getting the last 7 outs in order.  Sox first baseman Adrian Gonzalez and manager Bobby Valentine were also tossed in the eighth, after Gonzalez, who’d grounded out, argued with home plate umpire Mike Everitt while trotting back to the Sox’s dugout.  Word is, Gonzalez thought Strop had quick-pitched him.

The O’s and Red Sox wrap up their three game series Thursday night at Camden Yards.  First pitch is slated for 7:05, with the Sox sending Clay Buchholtz (10-3, 4.24) to the mound.  For the Orioles, Chris Tillman (5-2, 3.40) will try to bounce back from a poor outing Saturday against the Royals.

The GOOD:

• Miguel Gonzalez…VERY good against his former team:  6IP, 6H, 2ER, 2K, 1BB.  You look at the Red Sox pitching staff right now and you have to wonder how they let THIS guy get away.
• Manny Machado picked up a hit, and made a pair of outstanding plays.  In the fifth, the Sox had already scored two and had Jacoby Ellsbury on third base.  Dustin Padroia hit a bouncer down the third base line.  Machado ranged far to his right and got down to pick the ball.  With his momentum carrying him well into foul ground, Machado fired across his body with that great arm.  Mark Reynolds handled a tough hop on the other end of the play for the final out of the inning, saving a run.  Then Machado made a diving catch on a soft liner to his right off the bat of Nick Punto to end the game.
• The Orioles are 11 over .500 for the first time in nearly two months.
• Sox fans who’d come out to Camden Yards were making some noise as Cook flirted with a no-no.  There wasn’t much to cheer about for them after the sixth, though.

The BAD:

• Omar Quintanilla was one of three Orioles without a hit.  He gets singled out for making two outs in one inning.  In the five-run sixth, Quintanilla made both the first and the last out.  That said, what a huge pick up Quintanilla has been for this team.

The post Big Inning Lifts Birds Past Sox, 5-3 appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

The birds got to Royals starter Bruce Chen (L, 8-10) in the second inning.  Mark Reynolds worked Chen for an eight-pitch walk, bringing up the talk of the town, rookie Manny Machado.  Chen, the veteran, crafty junkballer, started the 20-year old rookie with two quick strikes.  He tried to tempt Machado with a couple of pitches out of the strike zone, but the kid would have neither of them.  Chen played with the rookie’s anxiety, tossing over to first base a few times when Reynolds clearly wasn’t looking to swipe a base.

Finally, on the sixth pitch of the at-bat, with a 2-2 count, Chen left an 86 MPH fastball up and over the plate.  Machado went out after it and drove it over the right-center field fence.  The ball hit beyond the fence and ricocheted back onto the playing field.  Royals center fielder Lorenzo Cain played it as it the ball was still in play, and actually sold it to the umpires.  But after a brief review of the replay, the umpiring crew got the call right:  home run, Manny Machado, and the Orioles were up, 2-0.

KC answered in the fourth.  Mike Moustakas led off against O’s starter Tommy Hunter with his 18th home run, and the 27th surrendered by Hunter this year.  Billy Butler singled. Cain flew out to right.  Then Jeff Francoeur singled, and Eric Hosmer drew a walk—working back from an 0-2 count.  That , loaded the bases with just one away for catcher Brayan Pena.

On the third pitch of the at-bat, Pena drove one to fairly deep left field.  Lew Ford made the catch, and fired a terrific throw in to the plate, with the pokey Butler chugging in from third.  The throw beat Butler, but came in to catcher Taylor Teagarden on a tough, in-between hop.  Teagarden could not come up with it, and Butler was in to tie the game at 2.

In the fifth, Alex Gordon led off with a hit for the Royals.  Alcides Escobar followed that with a base hit, and KC had Hunter in big trouble with runners were on the corners and no outs.  Hunter, the fly ball pitcher pitching in a home run ballpark, faced off against Moustakas again.  An inning earlier, the young Kansas City third baseman turned on a high fastball from Hunter, hitting it off the foul pole for a home run.  This time, Hunter would get exactly what he needed.

Moustakas pounded a 92 MPH fastball into the ground at second baseman Robert Andino, who started the 4-6-3 double play.  Gordon scored, and Kansas City took the lead, but the threat of a big inning, one of Hunter’s season-long nemeses, was gone.  Butler followed with a hit, and Hunter got Cain on a force out to end the inning.  The Royals sent five men to the plate in the fifth.  Three of them collected hits, but they could score only one run.

Chen was within one strike of getting out of the Orioles’ fifth unscathed, but on a two-out, 3-2 pitch to Nick Markakis, Chen missed his mark by about 8 inches, and Markakis made him pay.  Pena set up on the outside part of the plat, and Chen’s pitch was right down the heart of the dish.  Markakis launched the 84 MPH sinker (which stayed up) into the seats in right, tying things at 3.

Luis Ayala (W, 4-3) replaced Hunter in the sixth and set the side down in order for just the second time all day.  He would be rewarded by his ‘mates in the bottom half of the sixth.

With one out, Chen issued back-to-back walks to Adam Jones, and Ford.  Chen’s day was done, as manager Ned Yost called on Louis Coleman to face Reynolds.  Again, Reynolds went deep into the count, working Coleman for six pitches, and a 2-2 count.  On the sixth pitch, Reynolds picked on a high, 79 MPH slider and lined it for a hit to left.  Jones scored to give the O’s the lead again, at 4-3.

The birds tacked on an insurance run in the eighth on a walk, a single, a sac bunt and a passed ball.  Jim Johnson slammed the door on the Royals in a perfect ninth for his 34th save, and a 5-3 Orioles win.

The Orioles get to enjoy an off day at home Monday before welcoming the Boston Red Sox to Camden Yards for a three-game set starting Tuesday.  Yes, the Sox are struggling at 57-59, 5.5 games behind to Orioles.  But make no mistake, this will be a huge series.  If the Red Sox are going to climb back into it, they have to be thinking it will start with this upcoming series, and the series that follows for them, at Yankee Stadium.  The Sox are, of course, a veteran team.  This isn’t their first rodeo.  Expect them to come to play.  Wei-Yin Chen (10-7, 3.79) pitches Tuesday for the birds.  The Red Sox have made no announcement as to who may be on the mound for them.  Game time is 7:05.

The GOOD:

• So many things have gone right with these 2012 Orioles, but has anything gone more right than Manny Machado’s first series in the big leagues?  6/16 (.374), 5R, 1 double, 1 triple, 3HR, 7RBI.
• Great work again today from the bullpen.  Ayala, Troy Patton, Pedro Strop, and Johnson combined for 4IP, 0H, 1BB, 3K.  Total domination.
• Great job by Buck Showalter getting Hunter out when he did.  It may be tempting to run the starter back out after the offense tied things up in the fifth, looking to get the “W” for him.  But Hunter was clearly at the end of the tank.  7 of the last 12 batters Hunter faced had reached base.  It was time.  Also, a gutsy move in the ninth to get Jones, who’d made his first career start as the DH, into the field defensively in center field.  In a two-run game, Showalter cashed in his DH for that move, against a team that can hit.
• Reynolds, whose hit in the sixth was the decisive offensive play of the game, also made a huge play with the glove, ending the Royals’ fourth with a diving stop.  If he doesn’t make that play, at least one more run scores, and the Royals turn the order over to the top.

The BAD:

• 0-fer games from JJ Hardy, Teagarden, Andino and Ford.  Lew Ford is now just 4/27 with the Orioles.

The post Bullpen Shines In 5-3 O’s Win appeared first on Orioles-Nation.

Machado again paced the club offensively.  Again, he went 2-4, but both hits were home runs.  He drove in four, as the Orioles bounced back from an 8-2 loss on Thursday, to beat Kansas City 7-1 Friday.

Again, it was Kansas City who struck first.  Salvador Perez went after a 1-out, 92 MPH fastball up and away from Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez, and poked it onto the flag court for his 7th home run, and a 1-0 Royals lead.

The Orioles wasted no time coming back, though.  Wilson Betemit, who has apparently lost his job as the Orioles’ starting third baseman to Machado, instead got the start at first over Mark Reynolds Friday. He led off the bottom of the second with a double to right on an 0-2 pitch.  He moved to third when Nate McLouth grounded to second, for out number one.

Machado stepped in with a shot to knock in the first run of his career.  Instead, he bounced to short, with Betemit holding at third.  With two outs, Omar Quintanilla stepped in.  He worked Royals starter Luke Hochevar (L, 7-10) into a 3-1 count, then got a straight, 93 MPH, belt-high fastball, and blasted it just over the fence in right center for a 2-1 lead.

2-1 it remained until the top of the fifth.  Machado, leading off, worked the count—great to see from a young slugger leading off an inning.  It went to 3-1.  Hochevar got a 91 MPH fastball over for a called strike two.  Then, Machado made the KC righty pay for a big mistake.

Hochevar hung a slider over the inner portion of the plate, belt high.  Machado waited nicely on it, then burst the head of the bat through the hitting zone, lifting it high and deep…into the left field seats.  The Orioles had a 3-1 lead on Manny Machado’s first major league home run.  There wasn’t a soul at Camden Yards who believed it would be Machado’s last major league homer, but there probably weren’t many at the park who could have predicted just how soon the next one would come.  How about, before 6 more outs were recorded?

With one out in the sixth, Matt Wieters drew a walk and Betemit was hit by a pitch.  Nate McLouth drove a double to the left-center field gap, scoring Wieters for a 4-1 O’s lead.  With runners on second and third and one away, Machado dug in.

Hochevar got ahead 0-2.  Then 1-2.  And on pitch four of the at-bat, Hochevar again hung one for Manny to blast.  This one was a curve, 78 MPH, a bit more out over the plate than the pitch Manny hit for his first homer.  It, too, was belt high.  It, too, was drilled into the left field seats, where, in fact, the same 15 year old who’d retrieved Manny’s first big league homer, could also retrieve this one.  A second home run for Manny.  Four RBIs total in the game, and a 7-1 lead, which eventually became a 7-1 win.

Tempting as it may be to lay all the credit at the feet of the 20-year old rookie, we cannot overlook the efforts of the 28-year old rookie who took care of business on the hill.  Gonzalez (W, 4-2) was terrific again for the Orioles, striking out five and giving up just the one run on six hits and a walk through 8 innings.  Pedro Strop pitched a perfect ningh, striking out two Royals in the process.

Game three of the series pits Kansas City’s Luis Mendoza (5-8, 4.36) against Chris Tillman for the Orioles (5-1, 2.38) for the Orioles, with first pitch slated for 7:05.

The GOOD:

• One thing easily overlooked in Machado’s first two games:  His performance with two strikes.  He is 4-6 with two strikes against him.
• Gonzalez has now given up just one run on eight hits in hs last two games (15 innings).
• Let’s not forget about the contributions of Quintanilla in this game:  3-4 with a homer and two RBIs.  McLouth also picked up a pair of hits.  In fact, the Orioles’ 6,7,8,and 9 hitters combined to go 8-15.  They scored 6 or the Orioles 7 runs, and knocked in all 7.
• Despite another O’s error, the birds also flashed some leather, particularly in the seventh.  Right after Nick Markakis dropped a foul pop, Riyals right fielder Jeff Francoeur lined a ball up the gap in right center,  Adam Jones hustled after it and fired in to JJ Hardy, who’s relay throw nailed Francoeur at third.  Why Francouer was heading to third base with one out in the seventh, down 7-1 is anyone’s guess.

The BAD:

• 1-5 in the O’s order…3-18.
• Another rough night for Chris Davis…0-4 with 3Ks.

The post Machadon’t Stop! Rookies Lead O’s Over Royals appeared first on Orioles-Nation.