SPORTS
By Eduardo A. Encina, The Baltimore Sun | May 21, 2013
Orioles closer Jim Johnson can be depended on to always be at his locker to answer questions anytime he becomes a focal point of a game following a blown save. Those times have been rare, until recently, as Johnson has blown three consecutive ninth-inning leads that all ended in losses.Following the Orioles' 6-4 loss to the New York Yankees in the 10th inning on Monday at Camden Yards, Johnson put the team's season-high six-game losing streak in perspective. “Well, three of them are my fault,” Johnson said.
SPORTS
By Eduardo A. Encina and The Baltimore Sun | May 21, 2013
Chris Dickerson received the start in center field Tuesday night against the Yankees, and through his first two at-bats, he's making the most out of the opportunity. Dickerson has hit two solo homers off Yankees starter Phil Hughes for his first multi-homer game of his major league career. Dickerson spent the past two seasons with the Yankees, hitting just three homers in a 64 at-bats. Now he has three homers -- all in his past three starts -- in 33 at bats with the Orioles this season In the third inning, Dickerson took a 3-2 fastball over the outer half of the plate into the center field bleachers.
SPORTS
By Eduardo A. Encina and The Baltimore Sun | May 20, 2013
Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy, who has spent the entire season hitting in the sixth and seventh spots in the lineup, is batting third tonight against the Yankees. Hardy had his 13-game hitting streak snapped Sunday, but he's still hitting .333 (18-for-54) with two doubles, five homers, eight runs and 10 RBIs over his past 14 games. He is also 9-for-28 (.321) with one homer and five RBIs in his career against Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia. Second baseman Alexi Casilla, who is 14-for-24 (.583)
SPORTS
By Dan Connolly | May 20, 2013
Miguel Gonzalez, who has been on the disabled list since May 9 (retroactive to May 4) with a blister on his right thumb, will start against the Yankees on Tuesday. He said it's been difficult to not be able to pitch in a game while not really being injured. “I've been telling the guys that it is frustrating not to be out there because of a blister,” said Gonzalez, who is 2-2 with a 4.58 ERA in six starts this season. “And it's not an injury or anything like that. You just have to sit down and wait for it to heal.” Since he threw 80-plus pitches in a simulated game Friday and the blister appears to be healed, Gonzalez said he believes he'll be able to pitch as long as he is needed on Tuesday.
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By Eduardo A. Encina and The Baltimore Sun | April 19, 2013
Dodgers manager Don Mattingly first met Orioles manager Buck Showalter 22 years ago as 20-year-old minor leaguer. They were teammates for the Yankees' Double-A team in Nashville. Tonight, they will manage against each other for the first time in the opener of this weekend's interleague series at Camden Yards. Mattingly said he noticed Showalter's ability to gauge talent once Showalter became a coach and eventually managed Mattingly with the Yankees from 1993-95. “You really see it as a manager,” Mattingly said.
SPORTS
By Eduardo A. Encina, The Baltimore Sun | April 15, 2013
The Orioles' success of last year earned them a spot on the national stage at Yankee Stadium, the team's first nationally televised Sunday Night Baseball game since 2008. Being the only game on the schedule at that time, the baseball world was watching. But the spotlight did nothing to warm the Orioles' bats, which went cold in a 3-0 loss to the Yankees on a chilly night in the Bronx. In their first game on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball since the last game at the old Yankee Stadium five seasons ago, the Orioles managed just five hits - all singles - against Yankees right-hander Hiroki Kuroda, who recorded the first complete-game shutout against Baltimore since the Mets' R.A. Dickey tossed a one-hit complete game shutout last June.