Orioles Beat Down the Red Sox

The Orioles made the Red Sox look like a bunch of chumps last night. Well, the Red Sox are a bunch of chumps, so it had to happen, but it was nice to see anyways. There is no team I love to see my Orioles destroy more than the Boston Red Sox. That Red Sox nation is the most annoying nonsense in sports. Time for that to be nipped right about now. The final score was 7-1. That is a beatdown. Good pitching, good hitting, good everything.

The offensive charge was led by.....Mark Reynolds. Wait, is that right? I am still in disbelief. Reynolds seemed to have found his power stroke last night. If he can start doing this kind of thing about once a week, we are going to be tough to beat. I really hope he found his stroke. Reynolds hit 2 home runs last night. The two bombs brought Reynolds total up to 11 for the season. He is over 30 most seasons, so to get to that number he has to get incredibly hot. This certainly is a good start with two homers in one night though. The Orioles needed those homers as they helped the O's stay atop the wild card standings. In fact, Baltimore is tied with Tampa Bay atop the wild card standings now. No more being the second wild card. They are 6 games behind the Yankees, who they hope to catch by the end of the season.

Another big bat came from the unexpected source a couple weeks ago, but expected now. That's right, Omar Quintanilla hit another massive homer onto Eutaw Street. On the bounce, it actually hit the warehouse. This guy is a playmaker! It was Quintanilla's 3rd Oriole home run already. This guy is a keeper. DD picked him up for scraps. Great pickup DD!

Chris Davis was also 2-3 with an RBI and Matt Wieters had an RBI. These guys provided the rest of the offense, past Reynolds and Quintanilla.

The pitching staff was again terriffic. Last night's starter was the great Wei Yin Chen. Chen made a quality start and looked impressive in the process. 6 innings with only one run given up. Very impressive from Chen. This guy certainly looks to be our #1 starter in the postseason if we finish this thing and make it.

Darren O'Day was especially impressive today and continues to show how valuable he is. Not only did he extend his scoreless innings streak and look impressive, but he was absolutely dominant. O'Day struck out 3 in his innings. 3 outs all strikeouts. That is quite impressive out of the pen. O'Day now has an ERA of 2.45. This guy may be the most underrated player on the team. He has just been lights out lately. As a fan personally, I love the sidearm action. Chad Bradford was my favorite bullpen arm when he is here and O'Day is my favorite outside the big 2.

The big 2 didn't pitch yesterday, but another Duquette acquistion did. Matt Lindstrom pitched a scoreless 9th and lowered his ERA to 2.43. That Guthrie trade is looking better everyday.

JC Romero made his Oriole debut last night as well. He gave up one hit and no runs in 1 innings to finish with an ERA of 0.00. I wonder how long it will stay there. Very solid debut for Romero. Romero was brought in because Troy Patton had to go to the DL. Steve Johnson was also recalled in place of Miguel Socolovich. No word yet on when Johnson's next start will be.

-Noland

Make That 3 In A Row

Three straight quality starts, three straight wins. Left for dead not to long ago, the Orioles remain a half game out of the wild card race, and dare I say it, Miguel Gonzalez looks in the rotation to stay. Gonzalez had another terrific performance last night. Gonzalez pitched 6 2/3 and only gave up 2 runs to the Indians. He improved to (2-1) with the 10-2 victory. Now that is how I like to win the game. For once the O's hammered somebody. Miguel also had 5 strikeouts in his terrific performance. His ERA now sits at 2.61.

Gonzalez was replaced by Lindstrom. Matt Lindstrom was dealing, but unfortunately ran into some bad luck. Lindstrom got through a full inning and lowered his ERA to 2.42. The unfortunate part was that Johnny Damon hit a shot off of Lindstrom and injured the pitcher. I must say though that Damon checked on Lindstrom in a very classy move. Nice job by Damon there. All of us Orioles fans hope Lindstrom is ok. We definitely missed him the 1st time he got hurt.

Lindstrom was replaced by Kevin Gregg. I have to say that Gregg has certainly increased his trade value recently. Perhaps somebody actually wants this guy now. He finished the game pitching 1 1/3 scoreless innings. His ERA now sits at 3.72. To top it off, he had 2 strikeouts and didn't allow a baserunner. I sure hope we trade him now that his value is at an all-time high.

As for our hitters, everyone pretty much was on point because we scored 10 runs. However, three of them stood out from the rest in my opinion. First, Chris Davis went 2-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Davis improved his batting average to .264. The next person is Ryan Flaherty. No joke. Flaherty was awesome with the bat last night and has started improving of late. It will be interesting to see who stays up with a new 2nd baseman coming to town. Flaherty certainly has a stronger case after hitting a huge home run last night. He also had 3 RBIs. However, Flaherty is still just hitting .196. I still prefer Tolleson to Flaherty.

Finally, Jim Thome had an awesome night. Thome was 3-5 raising his batting average to .277 and his OBP to .370. Thome now has the highest on base percentage on the team. He also managed to pick up his 1st Oriole HR last night. That homer moved him past Sammy Sosa for sole possession of 7th place on the all time list. Great job by Thome hitting the shot. I still think we have too many 1B/DH types, but Thome is my favorite of that group. Great job last night Jim!

-Noland

Orioles Beat Rays

The Orioles somehow managed to pull out a victory tonight with Jeremy Hellickson on the mound for the Rays. Baltimore scored 3 runs off Hellickson which kept it a close game. After Hellickson came out, Nick Johnson hit a two run homer off of Peralta. Yes, Nick Johnson the guy who does not hit ever hit the go ahead homer against the Rays. Please keep hitting Nick.

Speaking of Nick, the other Nick also came up big today as well. Markakis was 2 for 4 with his 6th home run of the season. Markakis was not the only outfielder that came through though. Adam Jones hit his 10th home run. This guy is absolutely mashing the ball. I wouldn't mind talking extension with Jones at this point.

Another big reason for the win was that Eveland pitched well in his Oriole debut. Anybody that can match Hellickson's performance is ok with me. The guy pitched well today. Especially for just being placed on the roster today. The rest of the pitching staff did well with O'Day picking up the win. Jim Johnson picked up his 10th save for the birds.

The Orioles look to continue to beat the Rays. They now have a one game lead over the Rays in the AL East. Looking good.

The roster moves though, have not ceased. Matt Lindstrom was placed on the DL to make room for Eveland. He injured his right middle finger. To make room on the 40 man, Zelous Wheeler was designated for assignment. No big loss, but it is interesting that Roberts has not been placed on the 60 day DL...

-Noland

Orioles Win 17 Inning Thriller

Chris Davis picked up the most bizarre stat line ever in the Orioles win. Davis went 0-8 in this game, but he managed to be the hero. How is that? Davis picked up the win throwing two scoreless innings for the Orioles. Yes, Chris Davis pitched in this game and threw two scoreless innings. He has not pitched since High School, but managed to come through in the clutch. You got to give it up to Chris for coming through in a tough spot. The guy was a stud out there on the mound. Where did this come from?

Baltimore ran out of pitchers because Tommy Hunter had a horrible outing and couldn't get through the 5th. It did not help that the game went 17, but it all worked out in the end. I'd be ok with Hunter going down for a reliever for a few days. If someone in AAA took his turn in the Baltimore rotation, that would be ok. For now the bullpen needs an arm. We should be able to expect some sort of roster move in the next 24 hours.

The bullpen did a terrific job tonight. Even Kevin Gregg threw two scoreless innings. That was absolutely huge. Jim Johnson, Pedro Strop, and Matt Lindstrom also pitched two scoreless. Lindstrom and Johnson still are perfect on the year. These guys have been lights out, and Orioles fans hope it continues. Jim Johnson should be in line for an all-star appearance if he keeps this up.

This game was not only won by pitching. JJ Hardy had an absolutely huge game. Hardy was 5 for 8 with two home runs. He had 12 total bases in this game! Yes, 12! Hopefully, this is the beginning of a hot streak from Hardy.

Adam Jones also had an amazing game. Jones was 3 for 8 including his 8th home run on the season. That home run put the Orioles up for good in the 17th. Can't get much more clutch than a 3 run homer in the 17th. Once again, Jones is having a monster season for the Orioles. Robert Andino also homered for the Orioles. Andino continues to impress me with his effort and attitude.

What a game! Go O's!

-Noland

Jason Hammel Picks Up 4th Win

Jason Hammel was fantastic again as the Orioles beat the Red Sox this afternoon. Hammel won his 4th start out of 5 and now has an ERA of 2.09. The starter picked up 8 more strikeouts this afternoon. This guy has to be the most pleasant surprise of the year thus far.

Hammel was not the only pitcher throwing bullets today. The other pitchers did not give up a single run. Even Kevin Gregg pitched well today. Gregg threw a scoreless inning (trade him quick). Darren O'Day didn't give up a run once again and now has an ERA of .68. Matt Lindstrom only pitched 1/3 of an inning, but he didn't give up anything. Lindstrom still hasn't given up a run on the season.

The Orioles' hitters also had a big day. Baltimore had 7 runs in the 3rd inning and 8 for the game. That 3rd inning explosion allowed Hammel to pitch with a huge lead. The explosion was led in part by Adam Jones who continues to dominate offensively. Jones had his 7th home run of the season and 2 RBIs. Wilson Betemit did amazing again as DH and went 2 for 3. I really like this pickup that the Orioles had in the off-season. Chris Davis again had multiple hits and is now hitting .326. Mark Reynolds had his second homer tonight and multiple hits today. Reynolds finished with 3 RBIs today and certainly increased his trade value.

Great job all around by the birds.

-Noland

Orioles Shut Out Blue Jays

Nolan Reimold was out of the game again, but it did not matter as the Orioles beat the Blue Jays to move to 11-7 on the year. Jason Hammel was again impressive and I think I have come around. It appears that Duquette knew what he was doing. The guy has pitched well. Hammel went seven strong and lowered his ERA to 1.73 in his impressive outing. Lindstrom (the other guy in the Guthrie deal) was next and continued the shutout. The power throwing righty reliever has 0 earned runs this season.

It was all closed down by Pedro Strop yet again. The other power throwing righty looked impressive in Johnson's spot once again. Whether Johnson gets back soon will be an interesting answer. At least we got Strop as backup though. Strop is lights out. Always remember we got him for Mike Gonzalez.

How about the hitters? Adam Jones continued his solid season by hitting a double and he is currently batting .306. Mark Reynolds got 2 hits and hopefully is breaking out of his slump. More importantly though, Chris Davis hit a bomb and is now hitting .286. Wilson Betemit was at 3B tonight and also hit a home run. Each home run was that player's second on the season. The Orioles continue to mash the ball.

-Noland

Orioles Win Again, Pelzer Released

Jason Hammel won his start to move to 2-0 as the Baltimore Orioles once again beat the Chicago White Sox. Hammel went 6 innings strong getting another quality start in the process. The starter was able to record 10 strikeouts in his outing. I am beginning to come around to Hammel. Lets hope his strong starts continue.

The rest of the pitching staff was also strong. Lindstrom continues to have a 0.00 ERA. He had two strikeouts in an inning of work. The other pitcher obtained in the Guthrie trade is having a heck of a season thus far. Pedro Strop gave up a run, but had a solid outing and hit 99 on the gun. Strop is a good one and will be a very solid piece out of the pen this season. Jim Johnson recorded his 6th save in the win. We got a good closer O's fans.

Adam Jones is having an absolutely monster season so far. He hit his 5th home run today. Jones is absolutely mashing the ball. Today he went 2 for 4 and is currently hitting .321. His hitting streak dates back to last season. Hopefully his hitting streak goes much longer and he continues to carry the offense.

Robert Andino continues to be an awesome baseball player. Andino went 2 for 4 today and is hitting .319. The second baseman is absolutely crushing the ball. Keep it up Andino.

It was not all good news though as Nick Johnson is still hitless for the year. Mark Reynolds and JJ Hardy both also went hitless and are still below .200. This offense still manages to be productive despite these players having a lack of offensive output.

The Orioles also released Wynn Pelzer today. Pelzer, acquired in the second Tejada trade was with the Bowie Baysox. He only appeared in three games this year, but was at one time one of the Orioles top prospects. Baseball America had Pelzer as the #6 prospect in the organization recently and projected him as the team's future closer. The prospect obviously fell out of favor with the Orioles since that 2010 rating from Baseball America. You win some you lose some, looked like a great deal at the time and still was for what we gave up.

-Noland