Baltimore With The Comeback

As I said yesterday, nothing better than beating the Boston Red Sox and really upsetting Red Sox Nation. The Orioles were down 2-0 until the 6th inning, when they had a 5 run outburst to go ahead of Boston. They won this game 5-3. There were many key factors in the victory.

Let's start with the pitching. On the hill tonight was Miguel Gonzalez. Mr. Gonzalez picked up yet another quality start last night. He went 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs. Gonzalez lowered his ERA to 3.38 in the process which is quite respectable for a starter. In fact, compared to recent Oriole starters, you might even call it legendary. The rookie right hander moved to (5-2) on the season. If he keeps this up over the last month plus of the season he might get to double digit wins. This guy looks like the real deal. He was picked up from the Mexican League, great scouting by the Orioles on this one.

The next pitcher in line was the newbie, JC Romero. Romero was ok. His ERA still sits at 0.00 because he didn't give up an earned run. However, he did give up a run. There was an error that led to the run, but the error was committed by Romero. Not sure you should not get an earned run if you make the error, but it happened here. Ayala would finish the 7th after Romero pitched 2/3 of an inning. Ayala faced one batter and got him out.

After Ayala came the big dogs. First, Pedro Strop continuing to be filthy. This guy may be the best relief pitcher in baseball. Strop pitched the 8th inning scoreless again. He had 2 strikeouts, picked up his 20th hold and now has an ERA of 1.20. After Strop, comes Jim Johnson to lock it down. He did just that again. Johnson picked up his 35th save after pitching a scoreless 9th. Johnson had a strikeout in the performance and was dominant once again. If the starters can go 6 or 7 and have the lead, this team is awfully difficult to beat. The biggest reason for that all year has been Johnson and Strop. No more 6 million dollar closers that can't get the job done *cough* Gregg *cough*.

So, who led the offensive charge in the 6th inning surge. Well, would you believe me if I said Mark Reynolds again? He did it. Reynolds was the star for the second straight night. He had a huge double and drove in 2. Reynolds also walked in the game. I really hope this is a sign of what is to come out of Reynolds.

Matt Wieters also had a double, drove in one, and scored. It never stops amazing me how great Wieters is with this pitching staff and being an offensive force. This guy really does a fantastic job.

Manny Machado was 1-4, but no RBIs or anything. JJ Hardy was 1-4 with a run scored, but no RBIs.

Nick Markakis walked twice and scored, but didn't pick up a hit. Nate McLouth was 1-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Adam Jones was 1-4 with an RBI. Amazing how despite having off nights for them, the Orioles outfield all factored into a score apiece. McLouth was a part of two scores. This guy has been playing well for Baltimore and looks back in form. The Orioles still have one of the best outfields in baseball. We are lucky to get to watch these guys.

-Noland

Orioles 5 Royals 3

I know that my coverage lately has been about the Olympics, but I think I did a good job of keeping up with the birds during these games. The Orioles are played well during the Olympics. These guys would be in the playoffs if the season ended today. They are not as hot as the Rays who have won 6 straight, but we are only a half game behind them. Baltimore also controls the 2nd wild card spot currently. Have no fear O's fans, it looks like this team will in fact compete down to the wire.

The most recent surge by the Orioles has been led by their newest face. Manny Machado has been on fire with the Orioles. In just four games, Machado has an extra base hit in every game. He also now has 3 home runs after last night. 3 homers in 4 games is amazing from the youngster. With 4 straight games of getting extra base hits, Machado has tied a club record. This record was previously held by 3 Orioles, including Frank Robinson. Anytime you are mentioned in the same sentence as Frank Robinson, it is a positive thing. Good thing Duquette held onto this guy. Holy cow!

So the offensive charge was led by Machado, but he wasn't the best player yesterday. That title still belongs to Nick Markakis. The right fielder was 2-4 with a home run and an RBI. It was Markakis's 13th home run of the season. He raised his average to .288 after last night. His .351 OBP leads the team unless you count Machado of course. Actually McLouth is slightly higher in his short time as well. However, Markakis has been the key to this lineup since moving atop it. He is one player that we are sure glad is on our side.

Tommy Hunter got mixed results as the starter and picked up a no decision after getting through 5. The bullpen once again was spectacular. Luis Ayala picked up the win to move to (4-3) after pitching a scoreless 6th. Ayala lowered his ERA to 2.56 and was very economical throwing only 8 pitches.

Ayala was aided by Patton, Strop, and Johnson. That trio all pitched a scoreless inning. Patton and Strop picked up holds and Johnson the save. It was Strop's 19th hold of the year. The dominant power arm also lowered his ERA to 1.22. Meanwhile, our closer Jim Johnson picked up his 34th save of the season. The back of the Oriole bullpen continues to dominate.

-Noland

Even With David Price Pitching the Orioles Win

The Orioles faced the best pitcher in baseball today. That's right they were up against David Price. For sure it would be a loss right? Wrong! It took extra innings and Price coming out of the game, but it happened. Baltimore 1 Tampa 0. Price pitched 8 innings and only allowed 2 hits. Another brilliant performance by the best.

How did the Orioles possibly win with Price on the hill? They got some terrific starting pitching of their own. Miguel Gonzalez was amazing. Gonzalez also gave up just 2 hits. He lasted 7 innings and lowered his ERA to 3.80. Gonzalez threw 104 pitches after it was all said and done. This performance was incredibly clutch. It sends a message to the rest of the league when you have Miguel Gonzalez dueling with David Price. Very pleased with this outing from Gonzo today.

Of course Gonzo wasn't alone. With a 1-0 victory in ten innings there were others that contributed to the shutout. By the way, this is the second consecutive shutout for the birds. 18 innings of shutout baseball. Tonights shutout was capped by Jim Johnson's 32nd save on the year. Once again, I will take Johnson over anybody. The guy is clutch.

Luis Ayala actually picked up the win in this wild game. Ayala worked the ninth inning in this victory. Troy Patton gave up a hit to his only batter and Ayala followed it with brilliance. Very impressed with how Ayala worked out of this one. Ayala's ERA now sits at 2.68. Darren O'Day worked the 8th in the victory recording a strikeout and also lowering his ERA to 2.68.

There were few offensive highlights as to be expected against Price, but other than the game winning hit, one player stood out. That player is Robert Andino. Andino managed to get on base 3 times tonight. He walked twice and also picked up a hit in the game. Mr. Smiley came through for the birds.

Now finally to how the Orioles won the game. Top of the 10th..Mark Reynolds is able to...draw a walk! Yes! Way to go Mark. Ok, so the automatic out is on base. It looks like the Orioles have a chance here. With 2 outs, Taylor Teagarden steps to the plate. All Teagarden does at that point is deliver a huge double! Teagarden at second and Reynolds scored! The Orioles lead and it is because Taylor Teagarden drove in Mark Reynolds. Are you kidding me? Anyone who didn't believe in miracles does now! Wow! Teagarden! This guy now has two HUGE extra inning game winning hits in his short time with Baltimore. Not bad for a #2 catcher who is a defensive specialist with no stick. That staff sure did look good today with Teagarden behind the dish. I like this guy!

-Noland

Did I Say 4? Well Now It's 5

So these Orioles guys must have some heart, eh? Make that 5 in a row after most people started writing off the Baltimore Orioles. 5 straight quality starts leading to 5 straight wins.

This particular brilliant pitching performance was delivered by Zach Britton. Today showed why Zach Britton is my favorite Oriole starter in quite some time. Hopefully, this start signified that Zach is finally healthy from all his injury issues. Britton picked up his 1st win of the season and moved to (1-0) in his second start of the year. He was rather effective for the birds giving them 6 strong innings. When he left the game, Cleveland still had a 0 on the board. Britton also recorded 5 strikeouts in his performance. His ERA now sits @ 3.60.

Luis Ayala entered the game for Britton and was also very good for 2 innings. Unfortunately for him, Buck left him in for a 3rd. In the bottom of the 9th inning, Ayala gave up a 2 run homer that made the game 4-2. Then he exited...

Who was there to clean up the mess? Well, Jim Johnson of course. Johnson did give up another run, but picked up a save in the 4-3 victory. That save gives Johnson 30 on the year! 30 saves for an Oriole pitcher in July! Amazing!

The offense didn't do too much, but it did enough. Nick Markakis continues to excel hitting from the leadoff spot. Markakis was 2-5 and is now hitting .276. He has brought life to a punchless offense since his return. I hope no Orioles fan sells Nick short again. This guy is the heart and soul of this team.

Markakis wasn't the only one to excel with the bat. Two Orioles hit huge home runs in this game. JJ Hardy was 2-5 tonight with his 14th HR. Hardy also had 3 huge RBIs. This was a great day for a struggling athlete. Hardy is still one of the best in the game. The other big HR was hit by Wilson Betemit. Betemit was 2-4 and raised his average to .255. The home run was Wilson's 11th on the season.

Let's keep the Oriole Magic going!

-Noland

Johnson Blows Save, but Orioles Still Win

Jim Johnson picked up the win in the 10th inning after blowing the save in the 9th and the Orioles defeated the Red Sox 8-6 on extras last night. It says a lot about Jim Johnson that he asked for the ball in the 10th after blowing the lead. He shut down the Sox in the 10th and helped preserve the victory.

The rest of the pitching was pretty darn good. Jason Hammel gave the Orioles five innings, which could be better, but during those 5 innings he only gave up 1 earned run. With the Orioles struggles in the rotation lately, it would be hard to believe Hammel's ERA. Hammel is pitching to a 2.97 ERA this season. If the Orioles are in 1st place at the break, then Hammel stands a pretty good shot at making the All-Star team after pitching like he has. This guy has to be near or maybe even at the top of the list for pleasant surprises this season. Unbelievable.

Ayala and Strop did their thing combining for 1 2/3 of scoreless baseball. Strop earned his 10th hold and Ayala his 6th. I continue to be amazed that we got Strop for Mike Gonzalez. Pedro Strop may just be the best pitcher we have on the roster.

Obviously, with an 8-6 victory you would expect to hear more about the hitting than the pitching though. The Orioles bats were on point last night. Every Oriole except Steve Tolleson that played last night got a hit. That included Ryan Flaherty who only got one at bat. Why Tolleson is playing over Flaherty is beyond me. Flaherty can actually contribute to this team's future and if we are going to keep him on the roster with so many people out, we might as well let him play. The way Tolleson is playing we might as well.

The top hitter last night may come as a surprise. Endy Chavez went 3-5 in the game with an RBI and 2 runs scored. New OF Steve Pearce was 1-3 with 2 RBIs. Pearce also had a high quality defensive play off the green monster that drew rave reviews from the coaching staff.

Robert Andino, Matt Wieters, and JJ Hardy had two hits apiece. Andino scored twice and leadoff for the Orioles. Wieters in Hardy each drove in a run and Wieters scored. Matt Wieters hit a double and JJ Hardy hit a triple. These were the only extra base hits on the night. Let's hope the O's get more timely hits tonight against the BoSox.

-Noland

Orioles Sweep Royals

Sure, it was only a two game series, but the Baltimore Orioles completed a sweep of the Kansas City Royals last night. Brian Matusz struggled early, but he settled down and improved to 3-4 on the season. The young left hander gave up 3 runs over 6 innings in the Oriole victory.  All three runs were given up in the 3rd inning. His recovery allowed Matusz to register a quality start which gets the Orioles pitching back on track with 3 straight quality starts.

The bullpen was once again lights out for the Orioles. They did not give up one run in the 5-3 victory. Luis Ayala pitched a scoreless inning, picking up his 4th hold on the year. Ayala is now pitching to an ERA of 1.77. My favorite non-Johnson bullpen arm, Pedro Strop, pitched a scoreless 8th for his 6th hold. Strop now has an ERA of 1.23. The incredible Jim Johnson picked up his 14th save. Johnson has an ERA of 0.48. He also has converted 14 straight saves this season and 20+ dating back to last season.

I'll let you guess who paced the offense. Did you guess? That is correct, it was Adam Jones. Jones hit another home run last night. The center fielder is up to 13 on the season. His average now stands at .296. Jones also drove in 2 and had a walk.

Two other Orioles had multiple hits and played great last night. Nick Markakis went 2 for 4 and scored a run. Chris Davis was great going 3 for 4 and also scoring a run. Davis raised his average to .296.

In other Orioles news, the two players that were placed on waivers found out where they were going today. Matt Antonelli who was taken off the roster to clear room for Xavier Avery on the 40 man. Unfortunately for him he did not stay in the organization. The Yankees needed him more than the O's, and he is now on the Yankee 40 man. Antonelli will likely be sent to the Yankee triple A affiliate. The other Oriole that was taken off the 40 man was Brad Bergessen. He cleared waivers and will be assigned to AAA Norfolk. It does not seem likely that Bergessen will regain his old form and be a solid major leaguer again. I would love to see it happen though.

-Noland

It Is Finally Good To Be An O's Fan

This team is just awesome. I just love to watch them right now. So much effort. Love the guys they are bringing in, especially the baby birds. Bill Hall comes up and in his first Orioles game goes yard. If you know anything about Bill Hall's track record, he is an animal on Mother's Day. Baltimore took down the Rays again tonight increasing their AL East lead to 2 games.

The Orioles had two more players get extra base hits in this game as well. My new favorite Oriole, Robert Andino, hit a double and so did Steve Tolleson. These roster moves that the Orioles have made lately have all turned to gold. This stuff is insane. The other Oriole that was a stud again was...Adam Jones. This is not really surprising as Adam Jones continues to tear the cover off of the ball. This guy needs to be an all-star starter. Absolute stud right now.

Brian Matusz solidified his role on this team with a solid performance tonight. Matusz went 5 2/3 innings and left with a 4-3 Oriole lead. He picked up the win, improving to 2-4 on the season. He appears to be in Baltimore for the time being. The biggest reason for his victory was the continued dominance by the bullpen tonight.

Luis Ayala took over for Matusz and got his third hold. Ayala pitched a scoreless inning plus and now has an ERA of 1.04. Following Ayala was the brilliant Pedro Strop. Strop got his ERA down to 1.35 while picking up his 4th hold. Finally, was the great Jim Johnson. Johnson finished off the scoreless bullpen effort with his 11th save. Great job by the Orioles pen.

To make room on the 40 man roster for Bill Hall, the Orioles designated Brad Bergesen for assignment. This would make it pretty clear that Bergesen is down the Oriole pecking order. The Orioles also need to make room for Xavier Avery on the 25 and 40 man rosters as Avery will be up for tomorrow's game. That move will not be officially announced until tomorrow, but I welcome Avery to Baltimore. I have said it makes little sense that he is not the guy up so they call up him and Bill Hall, which are both great moves. Mark Reynolds being on the DL does not bother me too much. I mean I hate to see the guy hurt, but this is a solid 25 man roster while Reimold is out. My wife and I are big Xavier Avery fans. Love having Bill Hall on board as well as I said earlier in this post. Should be a fun ride the rest of this year.

-Noland

Orioles Finally Beat Yankees

Not only did the Orioles beat the Yankees, but Nick Johnson finally got a hit and Brian Matusz was pitching for the O's. We can only hope that Matusz is back on the right track and this will continue. Back to back good starts from Matusz is certainly an encouraging sign. He went 6 1/3 today and I am thrilled with how he shut down the Yankee lineup.

The offense was paced by Chris Davis. Davis went 3 for 4 raising his average to .333. The first baseman also scored three runs and hit his 5th home run on the year. Chris Davis is off to an amazing smart and is making the Koji trade look better by the day.

Nick Markakis was 2 for 5 and appears to be breaking out of his slump. If we can get Markakis going this is going to be a fantastic season.

Robert Andino was 1 for 2 and is still hitting over .300. Andino's average sits at .316. He also walked twice and scored a run. Once again, the guy is a gamer. Do you remember how we got Andino? Hayden Penn ring a bell? If it doesn't check out the picture on the left. This is looking like one of the best trades in recent club history. If not the best trade in recent history.

O'Day and Ayala were amazing again in relief. Neither reliever gave up a run. I sure am liking this bullpen other than Gregg. It sure is nice to see Orioles 7, Yankees 1 after the game. Maybe the O's can do this again tomorrow night.

-Noland

Orioles Destroy Oakland

Last night the Orioles beat the Oakland A's 10-1 to move into a first place tie with Tampa Bay. The two AL East leaders are both 13-8. This has been a great start for the Orioles and the best one since 2005. Hopefully, the Birds can keep up this outstanding performance. If they continue to play like they did last night, this could be a pretty long run.

Of course with any victory where you give up less than 2 runs most of the accolades should go to the starting pitcher for the game. This game is no exception as start Wei Yin Chen pitched an amazing game. Chen only gave up one run in 7 innings to lower his ERA to 2.22. These starters have been lights out, and if they continue this I like our chances against anybody.

Chen was not the only phenomenal pitcher last night. Luis Ayala pitched two more scoreless frames in the victory. Ayala still does not have an earned run for the season and has been brilliant out of the pen. Him, O'Day, Strop, and Johnson are another big reason for the O's being in first place.

The offense finally exploded last night as well. Chris Davis lead the charge for the Orioles last night offensively. Davis was 3 for 4 including 4 RBIs while raising his average to .313. The 1st baseman also absolutely crushed a ball onto Eutaw Street for his 4th home run of the year. There is a baseball plaque coming to Eutaw Street with Chris Davis's name on it. Awesome display of power Chris.

Other notable offensive performances happened last night. Adam Jones went 3 for 4 and scored 3 runs. Jones raised his average to .333. Wilson Betemit went 2 for 4 with a double and continues to give the Orioles solid production while in the lineup for Reynolds (cough, cough). Robert Andino was the other Oriole with multiple hits as he also went 3 for 4. Andino raises his average to .309. Great production by those hitters so far in April.

-Noland

Orioles Beat Blue Jays, AGAIN!

The Toronto Blue Jays have not fared well against the Orioles this season. Baltimore did another fantastic job last night beating the Jays 5-2. Reimold returned to the lineup and Matusz finally had a solid start.

Nolan Reimold went 1 for 5 in his return and is now hitting .353. Nick Markakis went 3 for 4 and really played a terrific all around game. Markakis also scored a run. Adam Jones finished off the solid night for the outfield with a home run in a 2 for 4 performance from him. Jones is now hitting .316. Chris Davis also went 1 for 3 as he added to his home run total. The story was not the bats though, it was the pitching.

Brian Matusz got his first quality start of the season. Matusz went 6 innings and gave up 2 runs. He actually gave the Orioles a chance to win. While he did not get the win, You could say that he deserved a win and say it with a straight face. Neither of the runs Matusz gave up were earned and one of them came because of a really bad play by Nick Johnson.

Darren O'Day picked up the win for the Orioles moving to 2-0 on the season. O'Day has been a terrific pickup for the Orioles and lowered his ERA to 0.90. Luis Ayala was not to be outdone as he picked up the save and continues his solid pitching. Ayala has an ERA of 0.00. Hopefully the bullpen keeps it up because this is fantastic.

More good news comes in the form of Jim Johnson and Robert Andino. Andino is expected back today and Johnson shortly thereafter. The corresponding roster move is not necessarily Jason Berken going back to Norfolk, it could be a DL move for Kevin Gregg. Who wouldn't love that?

Nick Johnson continues to disappoint for the Orioles. The critical error last night and another 0 for 3 performance. Johnson and Gregg are really holding this team back right now. If they continue to be dead weight, this can't go on much longer.

-Noland