Baltimore Orioles: Trey Mancini homers in Birds’ win over Tampa

The Baltimore Orioles entered today’s game against Tampa at Ed Smith Stadium looking what’s called a bullpen game (during the regular season) square in the face. Cesar Valdez got the start, although I wouldn’t expect him to be in contention for a rotation spot come the regular season. However that aside, he pitched a decent outing. Valdez’s line: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 3 K.

Tampa got on the board first on an RBI-single by Weddle in the first inning. And as is indicated by the above stat line, that was the only run Valdez surrendered. For his money, Valdez just wants to be on the roster, and is willing to be in whatever role the team needs (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports, by way of team translator):

If they come to me and specify a role for me, that would be great. I’ll be happy and I’ll roll with it and try to do my job the best I can. All I need is the opportunity to pitch.

However with a runner on in the last of the third, Trey Mancini came to bat. Mancini of course is still in his return to glory mode so to speak, following his cancer last year. And he put the O’s in the lead with a two-run homer. Mancini continues his excellent spring, where he’s hitting .342.

But the O’s weren’t done yet in the third. Following a base hit, Maikel Franco came to bat. He also followed with a two-run homer, putting the Orioles on top. 4-1. Tampa would net runs in the fourth on an RBI-double and a fielder’s choice, however Oriole pitching held strong the rest of the afternoon, leading to a 4-3 win.

Before the game the Orioles announced plans to build a 22.5-acre facility in the Dominican Republic – Guerra, D.R. This should help the Orioles in Latin America in terms of finding and signing players, and construction should begin in the coming months. The facility should be completed within 12-16 months.

Tomorrow evening the O’s head to Fort Myers to take on the Boston Red Sox at Jet Blue Park (Fenway South). Dean Kremer gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Boston’s Nathan Eovaldi. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.

Baltimore Orioles lacking in fundamentals in loss

The Baltimore Orioles sent John Means to the mound this afternoon in Bradenton against Pittsburgh. Means produced mixed results; while he walked the leadoff hitter in each inning. He also struck out the final two batters he faced. Means’ line: 3.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 3 K.

I’ve said before that often times pitchers go into spring outings looking to work on specific pitches. For Means, today that appeared to be breaking pitches. He threw a heavy amount of them (curves and sliders), causing him to get into some deep counts (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports:

Yeah, I liked my curveball. I like the break. I thought I was stealing some strikes with it. Threw some better two-strike ones. Break is there, it’s just execution right now. But I feel pretty positive with it.

Pittsburgh jumped out to an early 1-0 lead on a sac fly-RBI by Evans. But the Birds came right back and tied it at one on an RBI-single by Freddy Galvis in the second inning. This only to have Evans seize the lead back for Pittsburgh again an inning later with an RBI-single. A bloop RBI-single.

For awhile there (in terms of scoring) it was the Evans and Galvis show. Because Freddy Galvis’ fourth inning RBI-double tied the score at four. The O’s also got RBI-doubles in the fourth from Pedro Severino, and Cedric Mullins, to take a 4-3 lead.

However fundamentals in baseball played a huge role in the final score of the game. Pitcher Jay Flaa walked a batter in the last of the fifth. The runner would advance on an error, and then score on a passed ball, tying the game at four. Those are the sorts of things you have to keep tabs on. Teams get fat and happy on your mistakes.

Gonzalez’s two-RBI double in the sixth would give Pittsburgh a 6-4 lead. The teams agreed before the game to end it after the eighth inning, so the eighth was going to be the final inning one way or the other. And the Birds were able to get to within one in that eighth inning, on Rio Ruiz‘s RBI-double with nobody down.

That should have put the Birds in good shape. The tying run should have been at second base with nobody out. However Ruiz tried to extend it into a triple, and was thrown out at third base. That of course breaks a cardinal rule in that you aren’t supposed to make the first or last out of the inning at third.

That’s a fundamental error on Ruiz’s part as well. Granted you want to be aggressive, and granted if you’re going to make that mistake you’d like it to be in a spring training game. However very soon the games are going to count. And that’s going to be a huge lapse in judgement if it occurs in a regular season game. Fundamentals can win or lose games.

The O’s return home to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota tomorrow to take on the Tampa Rays. Cesar Valdez gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Trevor Richards. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Ryan Mountcastle impressive in loss

The Baltimore Orioles sent Jorge Lopez to the hill at Ed Smith Stadium this afternoon against Minnesota, and if numbers mean anything he left a lot to be desired. Granted this was a game that was a bit wayward in terms of runs and how they were scored, and only three of those seven runs were earned. Lopez’s line: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 7 R (3 earned), 2 BB, 3 K.

After his outing Lopez said that he left pitches up in the third inning, which is part of what caused him issues (quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNSports)

I felt everything was working really good. Sinker, four-seam, but just a little bit up in the third. I left everything up. Fastball away, it should be little more up to a lefty, but with a righty, should be down and away and it was more middle up. That’s when I get hurt. Sometimes I try to take advantage of a better sinker and sometimes it doesn’t move like I want it.

The O’s actually took the lead first in the game. Pedro Severino smacked a solo homer in the last of the second. Then the aforementioned third inning rolled around. Minnesota tied the game on Riddle’s solo homer, and then took the lead on Garlick’s two-run homer. Later in the inning Kirilloff would reach on an error, and a three-run homer by Astudillo would close out the inning.

When the smoke cleared, Minnesota led 7-1. One of the main ideas of pitching is to stay out of the big inning. Jorge Lopez and the Orioles didn’t do that today. But the good news was that the Birds tried to gnaw away at the lead.

Maikel Franco made his Orioles debut today, and immediately made an impact. His two-RBI double in the last of the third brought the Birds to within 7-3. He would later score on Ryan Mountcastle‘s RBI-double. Chance Sisco added an RBI-groundout, and the O’s closed the third at within 7-5.

This is a team that isn’t going to give up. Odds are they’re going to lose a bunch of games. But they won’t give up and they’ll be fun to watch. The goal for this year is for the nose for winning start to grow.

Mountcastle would also get the Birds to within one. His fifth inning solo homer got them to within 7-6. But within one run was as close as they’d get. Minnesota would extend their lead to 8-6 on an RBI-single in the sixth, and the O’s again would come back. Richie Martin would also make his debut today, and he got them back to within one with a sixth inning RBI-single.

By way of wind-aided homers, Minnesota would tack on some insurance runs and close out a 12-7 victory. Tack the pitching into the needs improvement category. But the bats came alive today for sure. Especially Ryan Mountcastle’s.

Tomorrow the Birds head back to Bradenton to take on the Pittsburgh Pirates. John Means gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Mitch Keller. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Cedric Mullins’ homer wins a wild one for the Birds

It took heroics from Cedric Mullins to win perhaps the worst defended game of all time for the Baltimore Orioles in Bradenton tonight against Pittsburgh. The teams combined for nine errors in the game, many of which led to runs. Which didn’t help Orioles’ starter Dean Kremer. Kremer’s line: 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K.

Anthony Santander‘s RBI-groundout and Ryan Mountcastle‘s RBI-single in the top of the first game the Birds a 2-0 lead. Austin Hays, who’s having a great spring (hitting .387), added an RBI-single in the second, running the score to 3-0.

Later on, in the third, Pedro Severino would run it to 4-0 with an RBI-double, and Yolmer Sanchez’s 5-0 with an RBI-single. The Birds appeared on their way to a big win.

However Pittsburgh chipped away in the last of the third, a sequence that included a Frazier two-run homer which cut the Birds’ lead to 5-3. Trey Mancini‘s solo homer in the fourth padded that lead at 6-3, however that’s when a lot of Oriole errors began. Guys misplaying balls missing cut offs, etc. Letting hitters reach base without nary even trying.

And the thing is that when you have guys on base things start to happen. I’ve covered this before on this column. When traffic starts to get onto the base paths, guys trickle home little by little. Pittsburgh would put five runs on the board in the fifth, allowing them to take an 8-6 lead.

Austin Hays would get a run back, following Pittsburgh enhancing it’s lead, in the top of the sixth. His RBI-double cut the lead to 9-7. But the Orioles took over from there. Mountcastle would smack a two-run homer in the sixth. Then Mullins comes up in the top of the seventh, with the game in the balance…

…and he delivers. A two-run homer gave the O’s an 11-9 lead. But the Orioles’ ‘pen held strong for the rest of the night. And the Birds help firm from there, and make no mistake that with their offensive struggles at times, this was a big spring training win.

The O’s tomorrow head to Tampa to take on the NY Yankees. Matt Harvey gets the start for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by NY’s Michael King. Game time is set for just after 6:30 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: John Means dominates in Birds’ victory

John Means turned in perhaps the best start of the spring this evening at Ed Smith Stadium against Atlanta. We saw, perhaps for the first time, Means return to his first half 2019 form, which netted him an all-star birth. Means’ line: 4.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Means indicated after his outing that he felt he was locating his non-breaking pitches well (Quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNSports):

I felt the fastball-changeup combination was good. I thought I was getting ahead and attacking the zone. Kind of felt in rhythm. I think body is recovering well and my arm feels good. Everything is working for the most part. Still probably need to throw a little bit more breaking balls, but other than that, I feel real good.

Means gave up a solo homer to Albies in the top of the fourth. And in terms of runs, that’s all he surrendered. Granted he only pitched four innings, but he put the team in a position to win the game. That’s all you can ask of a starter.

The O’s would tie the game at one in the last of the fifth on a sac fly/m-RBI by Cedric Mullins. Rio Ruiz would give them the lead an inning later on an RBI-double. Later in the inning Austin Hays would break the game wide open with a bases-clearing double, running the score to 5-1. Atlanta would tack a run on in the top of the fifth to close out the Birds’ 5-2 victory.

The other good news in this game (besides Means’ outing) was the clutch hitting of the likes of Mullins, Ruiz, and Hays. You have to have clutch hitting if you’re going to win games, and that shows that the Orioles have guys who know the situations in which they come up, and what they mean in terms of winning and losing.

The Orioles end this section of the schedule with a win. They’ll have an off day tomorrow, after which they’ll begin the “stretch run” of the spring so to speak. They won’t have another off day until March 30th, which will officially be after they break camp. Get your popcorn ready!

Baltimore Orioles: Felix Hernandez potentially injured in loss to Tampa (updated)

If it’s not one thing it’s another for the Baltimore Orioles. Felix Hernandez started this afternoon against Tampa in Port Charlotte, but was lifted after just one inning. Hernandez’s line: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K.

The immediate concern is that Hernandez left the game with an injury, but we just don’t know. It stands to reason that he was meant to pitch more than just one inning in today’s game. A potential injury to King Felix would certainly make for an interesting rest of camp regarding the battle for the starting rotation. But right now we just don’t know what’s happening.

Hernandez leaving the game so early threw the Orioles’ pitching plans for the game into flux. They only brought six pitchers over from Sarasota, and Hernandez not being able to go 3-4 innings framed the day’s rotation strangely.

Eric Hanhold replaced Hernandez, and didn’t have anywhere near the “success” Hernandez did in the first inning. Margot’s RBI-single in the last of the second gave Tampa a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning Brouseau would smack a two-RBI double, and Zunino a three-run homer. After two innings, Tampa held a 6-0 lead.

This is all a function of the Orioles’ pitching situation for this game being thrown into limbo. However it also illustrates why in any game, guys need to be ready to go in at any point of the game. If you’re on the roster, you should assume that you’re going in.

Diaz would add an RBI-single to close out the scoring in that second inning. However the Birds did get a run back in the last of the fifth in an RBI-single by Austin Wynns. Midway during the game it was announced that the game had been shortened to seven innings – potentially because of the Orioles’ pitching situation. So it goes as a shortened seven inning loss for the Birds.

The big concern of course is Hernandez, and what his condition might be. The Orioles have made no announcements as of the writing of this column. Hopefully it’s just one of those abundance of caution type of things. But that will probably be a story as we continue to go through these spring games.

Before the game the Birds placed P Hunter Harvey on the 60-day DL with a strained oblique. It wouldn’t shock me if Chris Davis doesn’t eventually become a candidate for that as well. Harvey can return to the active roster in May.

The Orioles also finalized a contract with free agent third baseman Maikel Franco earlier this morning. The terms of the contract aren’t yet known, but Franco passed his physical with the team. They’ll presumably have to make a corresponding move on the 40-man roster. When Franco will be reporting to camp and start appearing in spring games remains to be seen.

The Orioles will return home to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota tomorrow night to take on the Atlanta Braves on St. Patrick’s Day. John Means gets the call for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Atlanta’s Charlie Morton. Game time is set for just after 6 PM.

Update: Felix Hernandez left today’s game with elbow soreness.

Baltimore Orioles defeat Pittsburgh with five-run seventh

Matt Harvey made a very productive start for the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota today. He was able to keep Pittsburgh runners off base for the most part, thus solidifying his potential spot with the Orioles and in the rotation. Harvey’s line: 4.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K.

Harvey got off to an inauspicious start, however. He gave up a solo homer to Hays in the first inning with one out. But the O’s came right back. Austin Hays smacked a first inning home run as well. And wouldn’t you know it, the Birds decided to go back-to-back in the home run department. Freddy Galvis followed Hays, and smacked one out as well.

But in his second at-bat, in the third, Hays tied the game up for Pittsburgh. His RBI-single matched the Birds at two. However yesterday I said that the O’s needed to stop letting other teams nose their way past. And they took that advice to heart, with Anthony Santander smacking an RBI-double in the last of the fifth, giving the Orioles a 3-2 lead.

And the O’s weren’t finished. Gunnar Henderson came in for his first at-bat in the last of the seventh with two runners in scoring positions. And Henderson delivered with a two-RBI single up the middle. Later in the inning Jahmai Jones‘ three-run homergave the O’s an 8-2 lead. The Birds would put an additional four runs on the board in the eighth, and Pittsburgh would get one back in the ninth, leading to a 12-2 Orioles’ victory over Pittsburgh at Ed Smith Stadium.

There is some concern for pitcher Hunter Harvey, who left a game last week with an oblique injury. Manager Brandon Hyde said before the game that we wouldn’t see Harvey for awhile (Quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports:

He’s going to miss some time. How much time, we’re not sure, just because obliques are tricky. But it’s an injury. The oblique is super sore.

“I just talked to him five minutes ago. He feels a lot better today, but that’s just going to be, we’re going to have to give it time and see how it goes.

There are also rumors that the Orioles are finalizing an agreement with free agent third baseman Maikel Franco. The deal isn’t official yet, but it appears the two sides are committed to one another. A native of the Dominican Republic, this will be Franco’s eighth major league season. He hit .278 last year with eight homers over sixty games. Both Franco and Freddy Galvis are former Philadelphia Phillies, so that would play to his advantage in that a familiar face is already in the clubhouse.

The O’s head to Charlotte Sports Park tomorrow to take on the Tampa Rays. Felix Hernandez gets the start for the Orioles, and he’ll be opposed by Tampa’s Ryan Yarbrough. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Dean Kremer with a solid outing in loss

Dean Kremer pitched to his second consecutive positive outing for the Baltimore Orioles this afternoon. Unfortunately it came in another losing effort. Opposing teams are making it their personal business to defeat the O’s thus far in the spring. For Birds’ sake, you have to hope that’s a trend that stays in Florida. Kremer’s line: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 4 K.

However the final score isn’t the story in these games. The story is the stats and how guys look. And Kremer was strong this afternoon. Kremer when asked how he felt about whether he was getting to where he needs to be (quote courtesy of Roch Kubatko, MASNsports):

Definitely getting there. Still got a couple of kinks, like everyone else. But I feel good. Feel ready to take on some strength.

Bruce Zimmerman followed Kremer, and pitched four scoreless innings. The Orioles just need to work on putting together pitching and hitting in the same game. Today the story was pitching.

Kremer‘s lone run surrendered was in the second inning on Jones’ RBI-groundout. However the Birds came right back and tied the game in the third. Ramón Urias‘ ground rule RBI-double tied the score at one.

And Urías is also quietly having a great spring as well. Which is good for the Birds, as it makes their decision about who to keep where much tougher. He may well play himself onto the team.

But two eighth inning home runs did the O’s in on this day Short smacked a three/m-run shot to give Detroit a 4-1 lead. And Badoo a solo shot? Running it to 5-1. Well pitched game overall for the Birds, just not indicated in the final score.

The Orioles return home to Ed Smith Stadium tomorrow afternoon against Pittsburgh. Matt Harvey gets the call for the O’s, and he’ll be opposed by Pittsburgh’s Tyler Anderson. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Concern over Felix Hernandez?

Feliz Hernandez had another rough outing this afternoon for the Baltimore Orioles. Hernandez’s fastball once again topped out in the mid-80’s, which was concerning. Granted he’ll have other opportunities to show what he has, but that probably isn’t going to cut it in regular season play. Hernandez’s line: 2.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R (3 earned), 0 BB, 1 K.

The zero walks is a good sign. That means he was locating his pitches well. There just wasn’t the velocity that he would have liked. Despite the results, Hernandez was encouraged by this outing:

It was better (this time). I was throwing a lot of strikes and attacking the zone. I felt really good. The results were not what I want, but I felt good.

Quote courtesy of Steve Melewski, MASNsports

It’s good that Hernandez felt better this time out. But he’s going to need to get some velocity on his fastballs, and quick.

The O’s took an early 1-0 lead in the first inning when Yolmer Sanchez smacked an RBI-single to center. However Pittsburgh immediately tied the game back up at one in the last of the first on Frazier’s RBI-double. One inning later Alford’s two-run homer gave them a 3-1 lead.

But the good news is that Oriole bats came alive today, and the Birds fought back. Ryan Mountcastle‘s RBI-double in the third tied the game at three. Pat Valaika added an RBI-single, and Ramon Urias an RBI-double later in the inning. And the Orioles actually held a 5-3 lead in the game.

But Pittsburgh chipped away. Stallings’ RBI-single chased Felix Hernandez in the last of the third. One inning later Alford would score on a wild pitch, tying the game. Pittsburgh would take the lead in the seventh on a Craig solo homer, and a Pabst RBI-double. And the Birds fell on this day, 7-5.

The Orioles return to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota tomorrow to take on the Philadelphia Phillies. John Means gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Philadelphia’s Zach Wheeler. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.

Baltimore Orioles: Well-pitched loss

Following an off day, the Baltimore Orioles sent Dean Kremer to the mound against Minnesota this afternoon in Fort Myers. And Kremer seemed to have ironed out many of his wrinkles that we saw in his last start. Kremer’s line: 3.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K.

Minnesota hitters squared up a couple of pitches on Kremer, however they either went foul or were caught. But no matter how you spin it, one hit and one walk over three innings of work isn’t bad (and three strikeouts). And the fact that Kremer pitched three innings is also noteworthy. To this point starters have gone a maximum of two innings. Now it appears they’re being stretched out a bit.

Baltimore native Bruce Zimmerman also had an outstanding outing this afternoon. Zimmerman pitched three plus scoreless innings, and has had a good camp thus far. He truly has a good shot at making the team in some capacity. And I’m rooting for him given that he’s a local product. In an industry where guys play all over the country and far away from home, the act of a guy catching on with his hometown team is far too unsung. But time will tell.

This was another one of those shortened games that I don’t like. Beforehand both teams agreed to only play seven innings. And it was very much a pitchers’ duel. The Orioles had a chance to score in the game, putting two runners in scoring position in the top of the sixth. But Minnesota pitched out of it, ending the threat. However Cano’s RBI-double in the seventh gave Minnesota a 1-0 lead, which by default was a 1-0 victory.

But the story was Kremer and Zimmerman, both of whom posted outstanding outings. The bats are going to need to come alive at some point, and they will. But the story today was certainly the pitching.

The O’s return home to Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota tomorrow to take on the Toronto Blue Jays. Keegan Akin gets the start for the Birds, and he’ll be opposed by Toronto’s Ross Stripling. Game time is set for just after 1 PM.