Baltimore Orioles sweep Kansas City away behind Jeremy Hellickson

Jeremy Hellickson wasn’t a member of the Baltimore Orioles in 2014 when they were unceremoniously swept in the ALCS by Kansas City. However there had to be a few Orioles who were thinking about that last night as the Birds swept Kansas City behind a dominant effort by Hellickson in his  Orioles’ debut. Hellickson’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Sweeping a regular season series isn’t payback per se for a playoff sweep. But given that this is a Kansas City team that was often seen gesturing towards the Orioles’ dugout in a taunting anner in that series among other things, odds are a few Orioles thought back to that. Ultimately when you don’t yield any runs, there’s no chance of losing. That’s a truth that’s been proven in baseball time and time again.

The Orioles’ other new acquisition, Tim Beckham, got the scoring started in the last of the second with an RBI-double.A few moments later Caleb Joseph smacked a two-run homer, and the O’s led 3-0. However in the middle of the third a rain storm hit Camden Yards, sending the game into a rain delay.

The delay lasted all of 35 minutes, and was more of an annoyance than anything else. But it didn’t change how dominant Jeremy Hellickson was looking in his Orioles’ debut. He mowed Kansas City hitters down left and right, and the Orioles’ 3-0 lead seemed to stand up. He did run into some trouble in the sixth with two runners in scoring position and nobody out, however he pitched out of it.

The Birds would add to their lead in the last of the eighth, cementing the win and the sweep. Chris Davis‘ two-RBI double ran the score to 5-0, and Tim Beckham smacked an RBI-triple to run it to 6-0. Beckham’s looked well worth his price as well since coming to Baltimore. Granted he’s also gotten on base consistently which is good to see, however if there’s one thing that’s striking about him it’s his speed. With most other players that RBI-triple probably would have been a double. Not with Tim Beckham. He’s fast as the day is long – and the Orioles could use that type of speed.

Kansas City was pretty hot coming into the series, but the Orioles made them look pedestrian. And as we know, teams will go through bad spurts over the course of a season. They’ll hopefully also go through good spurts, which is what we’re now seeing out of the Birds. It’s up to them whether or not that continues, and for how long.

The Orioles will now open up a three-game ser with Detroit at Camden Yards. Chris Tillman gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Detroit’s Matthew Boyd. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Another quality start, another victory

Dylan Bundy gave the Baltimore Orioles another quality start last night against Kansas City, and the Birds certainly took advantage of it. Bundy’s line: 8.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R (0 earned), 1 BB, 5 K. It’s no coincidence that the O’s have won four straight games now, and the pitching has been solid. It begins and ends with starting pitching.

But you also rely on your offense to score you runs. If Oriole bats had remained silent last night and Bundy had turned in the same effort, the O’s would have lost 2-0. In fact that’s probably the type of game that Kansas City would have expected coming in. But it’s certainly not what they got.

The O’s jumped on it early as Jonathan Schoop smacked an RBI-single in the last of the first. Trey Mancini followed with an RBI-double, and the O’s led 2-0 right off the bat. However Kansas City cut that lead in half in the third with an RBI-single off the bat of Merrifield. Still, from the Orioles’ standpoint, no reason to worry.

Adam Jones, the birthday boy (who turned 32 yesterday), gave the O’s their two-run lead back an inning later with an RBI-single. Smith added a two-RBI single, and Castillo an additional RBI-single, both in the fifth. Smith would also add an additional run in the seventh, before Kansas City got one back in the ninth. However that came with two outs in the ninth, and the game long over.

This game seemed to roll the way that the Orioles were hoping a lot more of their games would go this year. Especially with Bundy on the mound, who seems to be coming into his own. And there’s nothing like a dominant eight-inning performance to cement that.

The win put Buck Showalter in sole possession of 24th place all-time for wins as a manager with 1,481. He passed none other than Orioles’ great, Earl Weaver, and he addressed this after the game (quote courtesy of Jeffrey Flanagan and Brittany Ghiroli, MLB.com):

One, it was way too short, but he loved the Orioles and he had time for me. He didn’t have to, believe me. Getting to take him around to some of our drills in [Spring Training in] Sarasota, he was so in his element. You could see some of the challenges we all get as we get older, but once he got in between the lines and around grass and around players, you could see there was a whole different comfort level.

Earl loved Baltimore, he loved the Orioles. Anybody who didn’t share that didn’t get along too well with him.

The O’s will go for the series sweep tonight at Camden Yards in the series finale. Jeremy Hellickson will make his Orioles’ debut on the mound tonight, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Jason Vargas. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez with a gem in walk off win

You aren’t going to see Ubaldo Jimenez pitch better than he did for the Baltimore Orioles last night. You just aren’t. This was the second consecutive start in which the Orioles’ beleaguered right hander put the Birds in a spot to win. The difference is that this time around he didn’t end up a hard-luck loser. Jimenez’s line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K.

Few people would have thought that the Orioles would have gotten into a pitcher’s duel with Jimenez on the mound against Kansas City – and won. Admittedly, the game started somwhat inauspicious for the O’s. Jimenez allowed a base runner early, and Hosmer’s RBI-double gave Kansas City a 1-0 lead in the first. However Jimenez pitched out of it, and mimized the damage to just that one run.

Other than that, Jimenez was flawless. While it’s understandable that some fans wanted him DFA’d long ago, it’s also worth throwing in that last night wouldn’t have been possible without Jimenez. The Orioles still would have paid him for last night’s game, but he wouldn’t have been playing. And the effort the team got out of him last night wouldn’t have happened.

That 1-0 for Kansas City stood up until the last of the fifth when Jonathan Schoop‘s RBI-single tied the game up. And on we played. In fairness, Kansas City’s pitching was equally as good. This is an Orioles team that put up ten runs in Texas on Sunday. For the most part they were stymied last night.

With the game tied at one in the last of the ninth and Joseph on first, Ruben Tejada broke an 0-for-19 string with a base hit. It also sent the winnin run to second base in the form of Joseph. But could the Orioles close it out with the bottom of the order up?

You can’t look at it that way in that situation. You have to look at it from the perspective of all you need is a base hit. And luckily for the O’s, Craig Gentry came through. His RBI-single up the middle scored Joseph and walked the Orioles off winners, 2-1. The victory brought them within three games of .500, and started the home stand off right.

The Orioles’ bullpen was used a bit more than they would have liked on Sunday, and the effort that Jimenez gave the team last night really freshened up a few arms in the ‘pen. It’s just a shame that he couldn’t get the win, which instead went to closer Zach Britton. But them’s the breaks. The O’s were only in a spot to win the game because of Ubaldo Jimenez’s effort to begin with.

The series continues this evening at Camden Yards. Dylan Bundy gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Ian Kennedy. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles keep Zach Britton, acquire Tim Beckham

Zach Britton wasn’t traded by the Baltimore Orioles today as the trade deadline came and went. The rumors were out there, as were the suitors – Cleveland, Houston, and the Los Angeles Dodgers were all rumored to be interested in Britton. As apparently were the Washington Nationals, however according to one national writer the O’s wanted double from D.C. what they would have hoped to get from anyone else.

With that said, did the Orioles make a mistake? Los Angeles settled on Pittsburgh’s Tony Watson as opposed to Britton, as an example. No doubt that the price on Watson was lower than it would have been on Britton – and the O’s were intent on the idea of getting a haul for Britton. But again, was that a mistake?

I still say no. If you’re going to trade someone away, you’d better get what he’s worth. The Orioles are 100% right in keeping a guy as good and as talented as Britton, if they weren’t getting the right deal. That’s what a lot of fans can’t quite grasp. You can’t allow other teams to de-value your players. To their credit, the O’s didn’t do that.

This isn’t to say that they didn’t make a move this afternoon, however. They acquired infielder Tim Beckham from the Tampa Rays in exchange for a minor league pitcher. Beckham, 27, is hitting .259 on the year, and can play both second base and shortstop. If twitter is any indicator, this is not a popular move. Needless to say, it does make one scratch their head.

However all they gave up was minor league pitcher Tobias Myers (formerly of Aberdeen), and this is also an upgrade in the infield in the absence of Hardy. Is it the ideal and perfect move? No. However it does give the Orioles some added depth in the infield. Furthermore Beckham could in theory be the Orioles’ shortstop of the future. He’s under team control until 2020.

So there you have it – the Orioles at the trade deadline. The Britton non-move was spot on if they weren’t going to get what they wanted in return. And the Beckham move is somewhat interesting in a sense, however we’ll just have to wait and see what the future brings. But for now, the O’s have a game to play against Kansas City tonight, and my recommendation to the fans would be to concentrate on that!

 

Baltimore Orioles hold on and defeat Texas

The Baltimore Orioles won a big game yesterday in Arlington, TX, and now head back home to open up a home stand. Wade Miley turned in a typical Wade Miley-type game, however this time it wasn’t several good innings and one bad one (which cost the Orioles the game). Miley’s line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 6 K.

Miley may have somewhat set the tone, however it was Oriole bats that won this game for the Birds. Trey Mancini‘s RBI-single in the fourth got them on the board, which was followed immediately by an RBI-single by Chris Davis, and another by Welington Castillo. Tejada would later reach on a fielder’s choice which scored another run, and before you knew it the O’s led 4-0 in the fourth. Texas however would tack on two in the bottom of the inning, just reminding the Orioles that they were still there.

And the O’s hadn’t forgotten, incidentally.They knew that they had to keep scoring. And they did just that in the fifth. Jonathan Schoop smacked a two-run homer, followed later in the inning by a three-run shot by Castillo. That broke the game wide open as the O’s opened up a 9-2 lead. One inning later Schoop would deliver once again with an RBI-single to run the lead to 10-2.

But Texas wasn’t done quite yet, and they still felt they had a run in them. Odor smacked a solo shot in the last of the sixth, and Mazara followed with a two-run bomb in the eighth. Still no biggie, right? The O’s still held a six-run lead in later innings. Odor came back up in that eighth inning, and added a two-run shot of his own.

The Orioles’ bullpen labored through those final two innings, and in the end they had to go to Britton to record the final two outs with two on in the last of the ninth. You’d rather not have to do that, however that’s what the O’s had to do to win the game. And win the game they did, 10-6.

So while the finale wasn’t as easy as it was cracked up to be at first, the O’s did take two-of-three in Texas. And they did so against a team that’s struggling perhaps as much as the Orioles at times. However that’s momentum that they need to take home with them if they’re going to make a run at a playoff spot. At the end of the day, you’d like to be able to point back at this game or this series as a catalyst.

The O’s now return home to open up a three-game set with Kansas City. Ubaldo Jimenez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Kansas City’s Danny Duffy. Game time is set for just after 7 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Kevin Gausman’s Saturday night delight

You aren’t going to get a better outing than what Kevin Gausman gave the Baltimore Orioles last night. It may well have been his best outing as a pro. And certainly it was what the Orioles thought and were hoping they’d be getting from Gausman all these years. Gausman’s line: 8.2 IP, 7 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 8 K.

Gausman was masterful, and he dominated a Texas lineup that had looked pretty darn potent the night before. But you’re only as good as your next day’s starter, and in this case that means the Orioles were good last night. And while they didn’t put up runs in bunches, they certainly put up enough to make Gausman a winner.

Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer in the second inning which put the Orioles on the board at 1-0. But wouldn’t you know it, the Orioles weren’t done – in that inning. Caleb Joseph‘s solo shot doubled the Orioles’ lead, and gave them a 2-0 advantage.

One inning later Mancini came up again and managed to yield a run by grounding into a force out. And Seth Smith added an RBI-single before the inning was out, to give the Birds a 4-0 lead. And that was your final.

But the story of the day was Gausman. Luckily for him the Orioles were able to put runs on the board, because you’d hate to waste an effort like that. Gausman did have just a bit of help in the last of the third when Texas tried to get back into the game. As Gallo sent a deep shot to straight away center field, Adam Jones reached over the wall and brought the ball back.

Buck Showalter spoke after the game, and seemed to want to allow Gausman to finish the game. However after putting two guys on base, that wasn’t an option (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports):

I think everybody did. Should have figured out a way to catch a pop up. Big double play. Manny (Machado) and Jon (Schoop), my gosh, they turned a couple tonight. That last one. They make them look easy, I hope everybody appreciates how hard that is. Those are hard. The one thing that Manny does that nobody else does, is the amount of velocity he can create on the ball from a lot of different angles. It’s like they tell the kids don’t try that at home. But he deserved to finish. Like to see him get that last out but he was in the area. We had 110 on him tonight and you know, just trying to create margin of error there with Zach (Britton) hadn’t pitched in a couple of days. It’s unfortunate. We got to figure out a way to catch that ball.

The O’s will attempt to take the series this afternoon in the finale. Wade Miley gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Martin Perez. Game time is set for 3 PM.

Baltimore Orioles fall in Texas, acquire Jeremy Hellickson

Jeremy Hellickson is now a member of the Baltimore Orioles. But more on that later. Chris Tillman was ineffective for the Orioles last night in the Texas heat. Tillman’s line: 4.1 IP, 9 H, 8 R, 2 BB, 6 K.

Texas jumped all over Tillman from the beginning, mainly by putting runners on base. Mazara’s two-RBI double in the first inning gave them an early 2-0 lead. Two innings later they led 4-0 after a two-run homer by Andrus. Needless to say, it wasn’t looking like Tillman’s day.

Beltre’s RBI-single would run the score to 5-0, and he would add a second RBI-single in the fifth. Gomez would add an RBI-single as well, and the Birds trailed 8-0 after five. They would get a solo homer by Schoop in the sixth and an RBI-single by Davis in the eighth, however that was all they could muster in an 8-2 loss.

However it was after the game that we found out the O’s had made some news. They consummated a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies which sent the aforementioned Jeremy Hellickson to the O’s. The Orioles gave up outfielder Hyun-Soo Kim, and minor league pitcher Garret Cleavinger. Philadelphia also got international bonus money, and cash.

On the surface, this appears to be a “ho-hum” type of deal. And odds are it is. Hellickson’s 6-5 on the year with a 4.73 ERA. Now will he be an upgrade from the Jimenez’s or Miley’s of the world? Odds are he will be. However there’s a hidden benefit in this trade as well for the Orioles.

For unknown reasons, Kim fell out of favor with the team in terms of playing time. He’s rode the bench most of the season. So this trade sends him somewhere where first off he can probably get on the field a bit more. However it also gives the O’s some roster flexibility. And that could help them big time.

But I suspect they aren’t done with their moves in advance of Monday’s trade deadline. We know they’ve been looking to potentially deal relievers, and in acquiring an additional starter it’s possible that either Jimenez or Miley is going to end up in the bullpen at some point. Either way, I highly doubt that the Orioles would be going with six starters.

The series in Texas continues tonight. Kevin Gausman heads to the mound for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Austin Bibens-Dirkx. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Do you just take what you can get?

Earlier this week we heard that the Baltimore Orioles were seeing that the trade market around closer Zach Britton wasn’t exactly forming up the way that the Birds thought it would. Translated, that means the Orioles aren’t getting the offers they feel Britton’s worth. So the question at hand is what do the Orioles do – lower the price or stand firm?

First off, how do I know that teams aren’t offering up with Dan Duquette wants in return? Am I privy to those conversations? Of course not. But…is it possible that teams truly just aren’t interested? Sure, I suppose it’s always possible. But…

…Britton’s saved 55 straight games. There’s no question that he’s the best closer in baseball right now, and has been for the past 2-3 years. Are you really telling me that there’s no market for this guy? There’s nobody out there that’s interested? Now really, does that make sense?!

I didn’t think so. Thus, teams are trying to play hardball with the Orioles. There might also be one other factor at play. In the past week two major starters in the NL have gone on the DL in Strasburg and Kershaw. The L.A. Dodgers were one of the teams that were heavy into Britton. It’s possible that their needs have now changed, as perhaps they look to pick up an additional starter as well.

However that aside, the question is whether or not the Orioles are actually the ones being unreasonable. Keep in mind that the trade deadline is Monday at 4 PM. So there will be a flurry of activity this weekend, as well as Monday.

Without actually knowing, odds are that the negotiations with teams is going as follows: Duquette’s asking for ABC and telling teams that Britton’s the best closer in baseball, 55 straight saves, etc. Teams are saying we don’t want to give anything more up than CBA for a guy who only pitches one inning. And in fact that could be a somwhat fair point – for a pedestrian closer, that is.

A lot of fans have told me that you get whatever you can get for players. So in theory that means that you yourself are undervaluing your players if you take that view. This sounds a bit out there, but what if the best you can do is a low level single-A prospect? Are you really willing to trade the best closer in baseball for that?

Teams are going to try to get your players for as cheaply as they can. It’s up to you to make sure that they aren’t getting undervalued. Again, I say that it doesn’t pay for the Orioles to trade Britton or anyone if they aren’t getting a haul in return.

The Orioles are in Texas this evening to open up a three-game set. Chris Tillman heads to the mound for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Texas’ Andrew Cashner. Game time is set for just after 8 PM.

Baltimore Orioles waste Ubaldo Jimenez’s quality start

Ubaldo Jimenez gave the Baltimore Orioles a quality start yesterday afternoon in Tampa. Yet he ended up what they all a hard luck loser. That’s a situation in which Jimenez hasn’t found himself often, but it happened yesterday. In essence, Jimenez threw a couple of bad pitches, and lost the game. Jimenez’s line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 9 K.

The nine strikeouts is really impressive. And in fact, Jimenez was incredibly crisp out on the mound yesterday. And that wasn’t lost on manager Buck Showalter (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Ubaldo did his part, too. That was impressive. Got off to a little bit of a rocky start. He was 3-2 on the first, it seemed like, four or five hitters, and all of a sudden really was able to use his pitches. Played good defense behind him, too.

The Orioles took the lead in the game in the fourth inning on a homer by Schoop. But that only lasted for two innings, as Longoria smacked a two-run shot in the sixth. And that came on a pitch that split the plate, and Longoria jumped on it. Souza would add a solo homer in the seventh, which was the last run Jimenez gave up.

Tampa would also add on an RBI-single by Morrison in the eighth, and they’d score again later in the inning when Souza grounded into a force out which yielded a run. But with the exception of the Schoop homer, Oriole bats remained silent on this day. And that’s sad because they wasted an incredible outing by the constantly beleaguered Ubaldo Jimenez.

All you have to do is look at his stat line and see nine strikeouts to know that Jimenez was dealing yesterday. And it’s really a shame that as well as he pitched, the bats couldn’t propel him to victory. Hopefully for his sake he has a better fate next time out.

After the very early game, the fact that the trade market on the likes of Zach Britton hasn’t developed as the Orioles expected. Translated, this means that teams feel the Orioles are asking too much. Buck Showalter has said on numerous occasions that they aren’t ever going to allow other teams to de-value their players.

I’ve said this before, but there’s a mentality out there amongst a lot of people which says just get whatever you can for [insert player name]. That’s an incredibly dangerous way of looking at trades, because if the Orioles made it known that they’d expect nothing more than a single-A prospect for Britton, do we think that the market would continue to be slow?

Am I suggesting that the Orioles continue to play hardball? Yes, I am. Their attitude should be if you want our player(s) you’re going to pay our price. In the mean time, the Birds have an off day today in Texas. For their sake, I hope they use it wisely!

Baltimore Orioles: Only as good as your next day’s starter

The Baltimore Orioles and every other MLB team is only as good as their next day’s starter. In last night’s case, that was Wade Miley. And last night Miley wasn’t very good – in one inning. And that’s all it took. Miley’s line: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 3 BB, 4 K.

Out of six innings pitched, Miley struggled in the second. But he struggle just enough to where Tampa pounced. And that’s all it took. Tampa used three singles in the second inning to load the bases with one out. They then got on the board with an RBI-single by Smith, and a sac fly-RBI by Sucre.

The death blow however was a three-run homer by Beckham, which busted the game wide open at 5-0. However Miley settled down after that. But the damage was done. Although, the Orioles were able to make a game of it.

They got on the board in the fifth on a sac fly-RBI by Machado. One inning later Trey Mancini smacked a solo homer, and suddenly the Birds were within three at 5-2. In the eighth Welington Castillo‘s two-RBI single brought the Orioles to within one at 5-4.

The O’s had the tying run at third in the ninth inning, but were unable to capitalize. And while it begins and ends with starting pitching, the Orioles also left nine on base – many of which were in scoring position. You have to capitalize when you get guys on base.

And that’s really how Tampa won this game. They got a boat load of guys on base in that second inning, and they were able to bring them home. Now in fairness the Orioles did capitalize on soe guys on base later in the game. They just didn’t do it enough times to win.

Save for that one inning, the Birds seemed to hold Tampa in Check fairly well. But that also shows you that all it really takes is a couple of misplaced pitches or even bad bounces to lose games. With the exception of that second inning, Miley probably pitched well enough for the Orioles to win the game.

But that’s a tough sell because you can’t just remove the second inning from the conversation. That’s not really how it works. All you can really do is move forward into this afternoon’s series finale and try to take two-of-three.

The aforementioned series finale is early this afternoon at Tropicana Field. Ubaldo Jimenez will get the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Alex Cobb. Game time is set for just after 12 PM.