Orioles Beat Yanks Again!!!!

Nick Markakis is the Orioles best player, just go ahead and join the bandwagon. Markakis went 3-5 last night, raising his average to .292. He has been hitting other worldly since returning from the DL. The right fielder also picked up 2 RBIs and 2 runs scored. Oh, and there was that home run he hit as well. This guy is putting us on his back and seeing how far he can take us.

Despite Nick though this one was not easy. Chris Tillman thought it was a good idea to spot the Yankees 5 runs. Good thing for Tillman is that he was lights out after that. I do not like his path to the victory, but I will take it. 5 innings pitched, 5 runs, 4 earned, 8 hits, and 3 strikeouts. Hey, when you look at the fact that he was able to give us 5 innings after that horrible first, good for Tillman. He is now (4-1) and has won 3 straight starts. Look at his ERA too, 2.70. Still, after giving up 5 in 5, Tillman's ERA is at 2.70. Could he be in Baltimore to stay?

Obviously, with Tillman's struggles early, the bats needed to be very active. So, who picked up the slack besides Nick? Chris Davis did for one. Davis hit a crucial grand slam. The slam was Davis's 18th homer of the season. It could not have come at a better time.

Other than Davis, the next best last night was....Omar Quintanilla. The new 2nd baseman continues to impress me. He picked up two more RBIs last night and scored a run. Actually, Betemit was better than Quintanilla with the bat. Betemit was 3-4 with 2 RBIs. Great night with the bats for the Orioles. I guess it has to be in an 11-5 victory though.

-Noland

Orioles 5 Yankees 4

Sometimes the best way to start off a conversation is to say the score of an important game. Well, guess what? The Orioles beat the Yankees! Go O's! Now see how it happened...

Miguel Gonzalez pitched a pretty fantastic game. Buck may have left him in too long, but Gonzo grinded it out. He gave up back to back homers in the 7th to keep the Yankees close, but he was strong through 6 2/3. Including the homers, he gave up 4 runs in those 6 2/3 innings. Not bad against the Yankees, especially considering if Buck had taken him out a little sooner it would have been 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings. Gonzo also managed to have 8 huge strikeouts. That makes 20 strikeouts by Oriole starters in 2 games. Pretty fantastic.

The bullpen was great for their 2 1/3. Perhaps the biggest strength for the Orioles this year, the bullpen came through again. Darren O'Day started the charge for the Orioles as he ended the seventh. O'Day picked up his 8th hold and lowered his ERA to 2.88. As I have said numerous times, the 8th inning is the best time for the Orioles. Our secret weapon enters the game at that time, Pedro Strop. Once again, Strop was brilliant in the 8th. Strop lowered his ERA to 1.34 and picked up his 17th hold. This guy is awesome. Then comes the 9th, which is of course, Jimmy time! Jim Johnson did not disappoint. He delivered again. Johnson is now at 31 saves on the season. He looks like he might get that record. We will see of course.

The pitching wasn't the only thing working for the O's last night. They got some key hits as well. Nick Markakis led the charge from his leadoff spot again. Markakis is hitting .364 since coming off the DL and leading off. After last night, he raised his season average to .286. I'd say Orioles MVP is between him, Jones, and Strop. I would vote Markakis, Strop, Jones personally. Why Markakis #1? He sets the tone for this team. Last night, he was 3-4. Markakis also drove in 2 and scored once. This guy makes the Orioles a much better team. Wilson Betemit also picked up multiple hits. He was 2-4 including his 12th home run of the season. Very huge game from Betemit who also scored twice.

Finally, Omar Quintanilla came through again with the bat. Quintanilla was 1-2 with an RBI and a run scored. He is doing a fantastic job getting on base and having quality at bats. Very impressed so far with 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

The Recent News From Birdland

Sorry I have been gone for a few days. I had a long drive back from VA and didn't really post when I was there, except about the Orioles game. Then, as soon as we got back, we had to finish packing everything up and move. We finally got internet in our new place, so here I am.

Anyways, a lot has happened since my last post with the Orioles.

Before we get to the other news, I want to congratulate Jim Johnson, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters on making the all-star team. This is the first time since 2005 that the Orioles will have multiple all-stars. 3 all-stars is great, but 4 is better, so vote Hammel for that final spot. Personally, I voted for the BeltwaysBallot.

First, we start with the new addition to birdland. Jim Thome, 41, has joined the Orioles via trade. For a team in desperate need of offense that is barely clinging to a playoff spot, Thome is a welcome addition. Thome provides punch to an offense that has little right now. Unfortunately he does not upgrade the defense or the starting pitching, which may be bigger issues at this point. I am ok with the prospects given up to obtain Thome so we will wait and see what happens here. Hopefully, this shifts Mark Reynolds out the door quick.

Unfortunately, to add Thome to the 25 man roster, the Orioles for some strange reason demoted Xavier Avery again. That demotion gives the Orioles one true OF on the 25 man roster. The decision was insane. Avery was providing good defense with a solid bat. He is not the problem. Leave him up at least until Cakes gets back unless a better player is acquired. Avery is the 2nd best OF we have available right now. This thing boggles my mind. He hit his 1st home run in the last week as well. At this blog, we are big supporters of Xavier. He is Jenna's 2nd favorite player. Thome does look good in orange and black though. Too bad its about 10 years later than everybody wanted it.

Once again Mark Reynolds has got to go.

The offense is stone cold right now and needs to bust out. They have had one good game lately and it was when Avery hit the bomb. Have been horrible on offense of late.

Once again Mark Reynolds has got to go.

Matusz and Hunter were demoted recently. Eveland took Hunter's turn and Matusz's turn doesn't come up again until Friday. Chris Tillman is expected to come up and pitch in Hunter's spot on Thursday. About time! Tillman was scratched tonight from his start in Norfolk. Tillman has allowed 2 runs or fewer in 8 of his last 11 Norfolk starts. Given how horrible Hunter, Matusz, and Arrieta have been, it is just time for Tillman.

The Orioles best pitcher last year, Zach Britton, appears ready now and will likely take the ball Friday for the Orioles. With Britton and Tillman likely joining the rotation, the Orioles hope to have at least four good starters in the rotation. Chen and Hammel have been carrying the rotation thus far.

Dontrelle Willis has retired.

Taylor Teagarden started his rehab assignment today!

Wilson Betemit has an 11 game hit streak.

The Orioles have made 10 moves to the 25 man roster in 6 days and more appear to be coming. The trade deadline is upon us. This should be an interesting one for the O's. oh and...

Mark Reynolds has got to go.

-Noland

Orioles Beat Pirates

Before I get into the Orioles beating the Pirates in back to back games, I want to say that I will get to Matt Cain's perfect game at some point today. It may be part of the all-star post, if Cain makes my NL Squad for pitchers. However, as always the Orioles come first here at RAN.

Brian Matusz was injured from the batting cage incident the other day, so he had to have his start moved back a day. That change called for a new starter last night. Therefore, Jake Arrieta who was working on normal rest was re-inserted into the starting rotation after being moved to the bullpen following his last start. Based on how he was pitching lately, we should have expected disaster. We actually got brilliance for Arrieta though. Arrieta got a quality start as he went 7 innings and only gave up one run. The performance also got Arrieta a win and raised his record to (3-8). His ERA is still an awful 5.89, but he did earn another start. Hopefully, this is the start of a big change for Jake.

Pedro Strop also pitched well in this one. Strop pitched a scoreless ninth for the birds. That lowered Strop's ERA to 1.44. You might see Strop on my list of all-stars later today as well.

Brian Roberts went hitless in the 7-1 victory, but his average is still .333. JJ Hardy was 3-4 with 3 runs scored. Chris Davis was 3-4 with 3 RBIs. Davis also hit his 12th home run of the season and is now hitting .305. If 1st base in the AL wasn't so stacked, Davis would have a real shot at the all-star game. He may make it still. New OF Steve Pearce was 2-4 with an RBI. Pearce is hitting .286 since joining the Orioles. Not to shabby, Steve. Finally, the star of the night offensively was Wilson Betemit. He was 3-3 with 3 RBIs. Betemit also had his 8th home run of the season. Some may not like what Wilson provides and may liken him to Vlad, but Wilson has provided solid production for the Orioles. Are there other players I would rather have? Of course, but Wilson gets the job done.

-Noland

Jim Johnson Bounces Back

Orioles closer Jim Johnson has bounced back and picked up his 18th save of the season. This happened Orioles beat the Red Sox again last night and remained in 1st place. Johnson, had blown a save the previous game, but managed to win that game and pick up the save in this one. All Star?

The Orioles won 2-1 behind Johnson's performance. That means that other pitchers were very very good. Leading this charge was Pedro Strop. Strop picked up his 11th hold and lowered his ERA to 1.23. All Star?

Additionally, Wei Yin Chen had a quality start. Actually, a brilliant start. Chen only gave up 1 run in 7 innings of work. Chen is now 5-2 and lowered his ERA to 3.49 in the process. He is one of the few bright spots in the rotation. Hopefully, he keeps having outings like this.

Only a couple of Orioles had hits, but they had enough. The Orioles had 5 hits, including RBIs from Robert Andino and Endy Chavez. The runs were scored by Betemit and Flaherty. I keep saying let's see what the Flaherty kid can do with regular playing time. We have 2 outfielders and Brob out, and he should play everyday at least until Brob gets back. I'll take whatever I can get out of Chavez too, but I wouldn't lead him off. Let's see if the birds can keep up this momentum for the time being.

-Noland

Orioles Beat Red Sox, Roberts to Return Soon

Brian Matusz pitched perhaps his best game of the season as the Orioles beat the Red Sox 4-1 last night. Matusz improved to (4-4) behind another quality start. The guy had 9 strikeouts yesterday. When was the last time you remember Matusz having 9 strikeouts? I sure don't remember it. He only gave up 2 hits and one run over 6 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA to 4.86. The Orioles can win with this guy pitching this well.

 The bullpen was once again spectacular. Darren O'Day followed Matusz and pitched 2/3 of an inning. In that 2/3 of an inning, O'Day struck out both batters he faced. O'Day lowered his ERA to 1.23. Following Darren, was Pedro Strop. Strop lowered his ERA to 1.09 in a scoreless outing. The flamethrower picked up his 8th hold and got a strikeout in the process. Then, came the great Jim Johnson. Johnson recorded his 16th save with another amazing outing. The closer lowered his ERA to 0.87. He has been the leader of an absolutely amazing bullpen.

Nick Markakis was the only Oriole with multiple hits last night. The right fielder went 2 for 4 and raised his average to .264. Wilson Betemit hit a clutch 2 run home run. The homer came off of Matt Albers, and was Betemit's 7th on the year. Betemit doesn't play that often so the fact that he has 7 home runs is quite impressive. Very solid role player for the Orioles this season. Youngster Steve Tolleson had a big game himself. Tolleson was 1-3 with a homer, raising his average to .313. He also has one of the best on base percentages on the team at .353. Given it is a small sample size, but Tolleson has done a great job thus far. Speaking of high on base percentages, what about Bill Hall? Hall, entered the game as a pinch runner for Chris Davis and managed to get a hit in his only at bat. He now has an on base percentage of .545. Again, small sample size, but impressive.

More good news: B-Rob is almost back. The second baseman will begin his rehab assignment with Bowie tonight. He hasn't played since May 16, 2011 and is anxiously waiting a return. Position players get a maximum 20 days on a rehab assignment, and B-Rob is expected to take the full 20 days. After 20 days, the Orioles will have to make a decision on their roster. The clock on those 20 days starts today with Roberts first game. Roberts will play 2nd base at Bowie. I really wish Roberts all of the best.

-Noland

Orioles Win in 15

Adam Jones homered in the 15th inning to give the Orioles a 4-3 win over the Kansas City Royals last night. Jones' 12th homer on the season leads the team and keeps the Orioles in 1st place. It is amazing how much Jones is mashing this year. With 12 homers in 38 games, Adam Jones is currently on pace to hit 51 home runs on the season. That would be the most home runs by an Oriole since Brady Anderson had the magical 50 home run season in 1996. It would also make the price to extend Jones skyrocket. Let's see if they get some sort of extension done soon.

The pitching staff was the big story today as they only gave up three runs over 15 innings. Starter Tommy Hunter, only gave up 2 runs in 7 innings. Now the Orioles have 4 quality starts in 11 days and look to be rebounding from the stretch of poor pitching. Back to back quality starts is a good thing. Hunter obviously was not alone in his brilliance on the mound. Dana Eveland threw three scoreless innings for the birds, in the 10-12 innings to keep the score tied. The performance from Eveland was huge. After Eveland was the winning pitcher....Kevin Gregg. Yes, Kevin Gregg got the win last night. Gregg pitched well in one of his first appearances since the 17 inning marathon against Boston. The save went to the great Jim Johnson. Johnson recorded his 13th save of the year and looks to be headed to the all star game. Ironically, the all star game is going to be in Kansas City where the O's were last night. I will have my all star ballot posted sometime in the next week.

There were other Oriole hitters that came through last night. JJ Hardy went 3-6 with a double, raising his average to .261. Nick Markakis went 2-7 and also had a double. Wilson Betemit went 2-7 with a home run and a double. Chris Davis also had multiple hits as he went 2-4. This is the most notable Davis news since he got the win last week. Finally, Xavier Avery was 2-6 last night. Avery had two singles and also had a sacrifice bunt. Seeing how poor the Orioles have been at bunting lately, it was nice to see Avery lay one down. This guy can play.

-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 Beat Red Sox in 13

Last night, the Orioles played the Red Sox in a wild 13 inning game. However, the Orioles did score 2 in the 13th to win 6-4. The Orioles had a big lineup shuffle last night to accompany the victory. Robert Andino led off the game and went 1 for 4. Andino's average now sits at .337 which is best on the team. Wieters went 2 for 4 as the DH and managed to hit a triple. The ball must have been hit really hard for Wieters to leg out a triple. The normal Orioles catcher also scored 2 runs. Wilson Betemit was in left last night and hit 6th. He got a hit, drove in one, scored once, and walked 3 times. Chris Davis hit in his normal spot and went 2 for 6.

None of those stories are the biggest at the plate though. Mark Reynolds had by far his best game hitting. Reynolds finally hit his first home run. Reynolds also went 2 for 4 with 2 RBIs. Unfortunately, for the Orioles he also had a costly error that helped put them in extras. I say once again, hitting only for Reynolds.

Wei Yin Chen did not have his best pitching performance, but the bullpen was spectacular. Lindstrom, Strop, Ayala, Patton, and Johnson each pitched at least a perfect inning. Strop, Ayala, and Patton each went two innings perfect. Patton ended up getting the win and Jim Johnson picked up his 8th save on the season. What a tremendous job the bullpen has done thus far. An amazing change of pace from the O's.

Additional notes: Nolan Reimold was officially placed on the DL which is why Andino led off the game and why Betemit was in left. The Orioles decided to bring up catcher Luis Exposito who played a bit last night. Brian Roberts also appears to be coming along nicely. I recommend you check out the School of Roch for more information on him.

-Noland

Wilson Betemit With the Walk Off

The Orioles beat the A's again today behind a wild ninth inning rally capped by a Wilson Betemit homer. I gotta admit that I love Betemit at third base. This is one of the best additions the Orioles have made in a while, well other than Wei Yin Chen. Betemit was able to hit the 3 run walk off today and give the Orioles the 5-2 victory. Man I would have loved to be at that game. The guy is a gamer and he mashes, lets keep him. If we can somehow move Reynolds now I'd be down to have Betemit at third. Betemit is better than Reynolds defensively and offensively. Sure he has less power, but as we saw today he has enough. Video of the walk off and full story here.


Matt Wieters had a 2 RBI double right before the Betemit homer. Wieters is constantly proving that he is the best catcher in baseball. The guy does all this while still calling a heck of a game behind the plate. Oh and he is referred to as the best defensive catcher in baseball. This guy has to be an all-star.

Only one Oriole had multiple hits, and it was none other than the great Andino. Robert Andino was 2 for 3 and raised his average to .324. Does anyone still doubt that this guy is an everyday player?

The pitching was again spectacular and Pedro Strop got the win after a great relief effort. Strop now has 3 wins for the season. It looks as though Strop is establishing himself as Showalter's go to guy.

-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 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

Jim Johnson managed to pick up his fourth save as the Orioles beat the Blue Jays 6-4 earlier today. I like Johnson as closer much better than Gonzalez and Gregg. I'd like to see Jim Johnson stay an Oriole for a very long time. So far the Orioles have 5 wins and Johnson has saves in 4 of them, the guy is good.

Jason Hammel had his second good outing and makes me hate the Guthrie deal slightly less. I still do not like the deal though. Guthrie was one of my personal favorites, but I am not as frustrated by the fact that he is gone. Let's hope that Hammel can make me a believer. We will see in his next start, but it is early. He has had one heck of a start.

Chris Davis had a monster game going 3 for 4 with his homer on the season. Davis is now hitting .304 on the season and will probably stay in the lineup if he is hitting that well. Wilson Betemit also continues to hit in the clutch and he got his first Oriole home run today. Neither one of these guys had the big hit on the day though.

Orioles Left Fielder Nolan Reimold had a crucial 9th inning home run to give the team a victory. The home run was hit off Francisco Cordero and broke a 4-4 tie and put the O's up 2. Reimold's shot landed in the second deck as Reimold showed off his tremendous power. Gotta love it.

-Noland