NEWS
By Dan Connolly | October 7, 2009
Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman pitched to catcher Matt Wieters during the 2008 season at Double-A Bowie. He threw to him again this season at Triple-A Norfolk. And when Tillman debuted for the Orioles in July, Wieters, the franchise's most hyped phenom in two decades, had already been in the major leagues for two months. Yet, the quiet Wieters who Tillman knew so well in the minors dissipated with each big league game, replaced by a more confident, more vocal force behind the plate.
NEWS
By Jeff Zrebiec | October 1, 2009
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - -Nearly two months since his last pitch of a promising rookie season was lined off his left shin, Brad Bergesen still hasn't been able to run. He no longer walks with a limp, but on certain days when he spends a lot of time on his feet, he feels some minor soreness in his leg. "I know the difference between pain and injury," Bergesen said in a phone interview late last week. "Most players have some type of pain, something that just hangs around that they can play through.
NEWS
By Dan Connolly | September 24, 2009
TORONTO - -In another season of consistent failure, the Orioles hit a new low Wednesday night by reaching a season high with their 7-3 loss to the Toronto Blue Jays. It marked their seventh consecutive defeat, their worst skid in a 2009 season that has been futile for months. The Orioles (60-92) have been swept twice this year in a three-game series by the Blue Jays (69-83) and finish the season 1-8 at Rogers Centre. They must win at least three of their final 10 games to avoid their first 100-loss season since 1988.
NEWS
By Dan Connolly | September 18, 2009
Officially, the Orioles played nine innings against the Tampa Bay Rays and their rookie right-hander Wade Davis in a 3-0 defeat Thursday night. The first inning, though, was the only one that mattered. Davis, a heralded prospect making just the third start of his major league career, loaded the bases with no outs in the first, but the Orioles couldn't get the ball out of the infield and failed to score. They never had much of a chance after that as Davis retired 25 of the final 28 batters he faced on his way to a shutout that doubled as his first big league win. He allowed three base runners to start the night and three more for the rest of the game.
NEWS
By Jeff Zrebiec | August 29, 2009
It's starting to appear that Brad Bergesen's promising rookie season will come to a premature end. Bergesen, who hasn't pitched since taking a line drive off his left shin July 30, still hasn't progressed to throwing off a mound, and it now looks doubtful he'll be able to cover enough ground to return to the Orioles' rotation before late next month. That will force the Orioles to decide whether it's worth it to have Bergesen (7-5, 3.43 ERA) come back to make just one or two starts. "The throwing program got delayed, and the calendar is starting to work against us right now," president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail said.
NEWS
By Kevin Van Valkenburg | August 28, 2009
Seconds before Orioles closer Jim Johnson reared back to throw a ninth-inning, two-out fastball that would undo an entire night's worth of hard work, Melvin Mora had one thought running through his head: Call timeout! Mora noticed that Cleveland Indians first baseman Andy Marte had opened his stance just a hair and was going to try to crank the next pitch over the left-field fence. In that instant, Mora wanted to freeze frame his pitcher and walk to the mound. He would tell Johnson to relax, take a deep breath and bust Marte inside.
NEWS
By Jeff Zrebiec | August 27, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS -- Chris Ray's return to effective late-inning relief started with his getting healthy again. It continued with the realization that he could no longer blow fastballs by everybody. "When I was in college and my early years of pro ball, I was able just to throw it by guys," said Ray, the Orioles' closer before he had ligament-reconstruction surgery on his right elbow in August 2007. "Now, I'm working more on pitching to contact. I'm not trying to go out there and strike everybody out like I had been in the past.
NEWS
By Jeff Zrebiec | August 27, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS - -There might not be enough time left in the season for Jeremy Guthrie to achieve the number of wins he had hoped for before the year began, or to get his ERA down to a number with which he can be satisfied. But if Guthrie continues over the next month to pitch the way he has in his past two outings, the Orioles will feel much better about their 2010 rotation and the right-hander's position near the top of it. Guthrie held the Minnesota Twins to just a run over seven innings, and the Orioles salvaged one game of the three-game set with a 5-1 victory Wednesday in front of an announced 28,446 at the Metrodome.
NEWS
By Jeff Zrebiec | August 25, 2009
MINNEAPOLIS - -His back still sore, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was unavailable for Monday night's game against the Minnesota Twins, and it's possible he might not play in the series. "My back hurts, so I've just got to deal with it," said Jones, who had mild mid-back spasms and was pulled from Sunday's 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox before the bottom of the first inning. Jones saw a doctor and received treatment Monday, and he was in no mood to discuss his condition. He did say he felt considerably better and estimated he would be out of the lineup "for a couple of days, probably."
NEWS
By Dan Connolly | August 12, 2009
When the Orioles' rotation of the future is considered, David Hernandez is usually forgotten. The right-hander with the mid-90s fastball is perceived as a back-end starter at best and, oftentimes, he's penciled in as a reliever on the Orioles' eventual dream team. Yet on a balmy night at Camden Yards, with thousands wearing free T-shirts bearing the name of Brad Bergesen, another of the club's rookie starters, it was Hernandez who delivered a key, convincing performance in a 3-2 win over the Oakland Athletics and their heralded young right-hander Trevor Cahill.