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Saturday, September 24, 2016
Game Stories: Orioles recap: Mark Trumbo homer in 12th completes 3-2 comeback win over Diamondbacks The Sun 9/23 On the Mark! O's keep pace on Trumbo's walk-off HR MLB.com 9/24 Orioles win in 12 innings on Trumbo’s walk-off home run MASNsports.com 9/23 O’s get walk-off win on Trumbo’s home run MASNsports.com 9/23 Trumbo's 12th-inning homer leads Orioles over D-backs 3-2 AP 9/24 Trumbo's 12th Inning Homer Gives Orioles Much Needed Win CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/24
Columns: Oliver Drake caps stellar night for Orioles bullpen with his first major league win The Sun 9/24 Orioles offense awakens at right moment to beat Diamondbacks, keep pace in playoff race The Sun 9/23 Orioles notebook: Kevin Gausman feeling better, expected to start Tuesday or Wednesday The Sun 9/23 Manny Machado honored to be named Most Valuable Oriole The Sun 9/23 Bullpen's sweet relief sets stage for clutch blasts MLB.com 9/24 Wieters' blast latest in line of big hits MLB.com 9/24 Machado voted 2016 Most Valuable Oriole MLB.com 9/24 Miley faces D-backs as O's aim to build off dramatic win MLB.com 9/24 Machado's lack of steals are deceiving MLB.com 9/23 About last night ... MASNsports.com 9/24 Wrapping up a 3-2 12-inning win MASNsports.com 9/24 Meetings and Machado (free baseball) MASNsports.com 9/23 Early notes from Camden Yards MASNsports.com 9/23 Manny Machado named Most Valuable Oriole MASNsports.com 9/23 A look at the recent strong performance by the Orioles bullpen MASNsports.com 9/24 Orioles hosting Birdland Experience Weekend for disability community MASNsports.com 9/24 Orioles hope Friday's win provides momentum STATS, LLC. 9/24 Manny Machado Says Most Valuable Oriole Is Nice, World Series Better CSN Mid- Atlantic 9/23 Adam Jones Ignores Steve Clevenger Tweets, Focused On Winning CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/23 Manny Machado Voted 2016 Most Valuable Oriole CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/23 September Games Have Major Impact On MLB Standings PressBoxOnline.com 9/23 Local Paralympic Gold Medalists Will Throw First Pitches This Weekend CBS Baltimore 9/23 Friday Replay: Where are the O's Fans? Baltimore Magazine 9/23 Myriad O’s thoughts: Fans embracing Kim; Manny as MVO; Drake gets win; Gausman update BaltimoreBaseball.com 9/24 Trumbo on walkoff win: ‘A real gut punch if it goes the other way’ BaltimoreBaseball.com 9/24 Jones and Showalter talk about Baltimore native Clevenger’s tweets BaltimoreBaseball.com 9/23 Orioles honor bus driver for rescuing students from fire in College Park FOX Baltimore 9/23 Final Home Orioles Series Of 2016 Has Giveaways, Special Events WBAL Radio 9/23
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-recap-birds-diamondbacks- 20160923-story.html
Orioles recap: Mark Trumbo homer in 12th completes 3-2 comeback win over Diamondbacks
By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun September 23, 2016
For seven innings Friday night, it looked like the Orioles had already packed up their bats for the winter.
They had floundered for six innings against one of the most ineffective starters in the National League and appeared dead in the water against one of the losingest teams in baseball. It had reached the point that the announced crowd of 37,815 was just happy to be going home with those cool Hyun Soo Kim Korean-language T-shirts.
Then something almost miraculous happened. The Orioles rediscovered their power stroke just in the nick of time. They hit two late-inning homers to send the game into overtime and major league home run leader Mark Trumbo launched his 44th of the year in the 12th inning to finish a dramatic 3-2 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camden Yards.
The way the power-packed lineup had struggled during the disastrous four-game series against the Boston Red Sox, it was starting to look like there might be no turning back. But the Orioles clawed back with a solo homer by Pedro Alvarez in the eighth inning and a leadoff homer by Matt Wieters in the ninth to rejuvenate the dormant offense.
“Basically, [we had] four or five games where the runs were kind of hard to come by and you have all the faith in the world in the people in here," Trumbo said, “but eventually you’re going to have to actually execute it.”
The Orioles (83-71) came close to winning it in the ninth when Adam Jones delivered a one-out single with J.J. Hardy on second base. But Hardy was thrown out at the plate on a play that manager Buck Showalter challenged in case catcher Welington Castillo had illegally blocked home plate or missed the tag.
Until the eighth inning, it was the same old story. The Orioles could not get any offensive traction even on a night when the Diamondbacks sent a pitcher to the mound with a 2-12 record and a 6.90 ERA. Shelby Miller had not delivered a scoreless outing of any length this season, but he held the Orioles to just three harmless hits over six scoreless innings Friday. You figure it out.
Showalter always does the classy thing in these situations and gives the opposing pitcher the credit when the Orioles don’t show up at the plate. But that’s a hard sell now that the Orioles have scored three runs or fewer in seven straight games and 11 of their past 15 games.
Orioles starter Yovani Gallardo wasn’t overpowering, but you can bet that Showalter would have signed up in blood to get the performance he delivered. Gallardo allowed single runs in the first and second innings, then shut down the Diamondbacks until it was time to line up the short-relief crew.
"The past four days it was a little bit rough," Gallardo said, “but that’s how this team is. It never gives up, comes in day in and day out ready to play and it showed today, being down two runs throughout the game and then finding a way to get the victory. It’s exciting.”
If this were a week ago, Showalter would not have used his “win” relievers in a game that the Orioles were trailing, but they have run out of rope here. The Detroit Tigers have replaced them in the second wild-card slot and seemed poised to push them back another game with a lopsided victory over the Kansas City Royals.
Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Zach Britton, Tommy Hunter and Oliver Drake pitched scoreless innings to buy some time and the offense finally came to the rescue in a game the Orioles could not afford to lose.
“You know there’s not much margin for error," Showalter said. “We’ve been challenged scoring runs lately, but they kept passing the baton. We’ve had a lot of guys we’ve had to push because it’s the end of the season and they’ve handled it well. We’ve been able to keep the wolves at bay because of the job they’re doing.”
No pinch runner for Hardy? Showalter was asked after the game why he didn’t pinch run for Hardy in the ninth inning, which – in highsight – might have allowed the Orioles to win in the ninth.
“If it was 2-1, I would have," Showalter said. “In a tie game, I wouldn’t have. He just got a little slow read seeing that ball through. With two outs, he probably would have scored. Tempted, yeah, but it’s different at home than it is on the road. It’s different for me – doesn’t make me right or wrong. If it’s 2-1 it’s a little different dynamic.”
Opportunities lost: The Orioles loaded the bases with two outs in the first inning against Miller with a couple of walks and a single by Manny Machado, but Alvarez was caught looking. The inning also featured a towering fly ball by Chris Davis that might have been a home run if right fielder Yasmany Tomas had not had plenty of time to settle under it and reach up before it seemed destined to land on the roof of the grounds crew shed.
The Orioles also had runners at second and third with one out in the sixth inning before Alvarez and Jonathan Schoop popped out to end the inning.
Shaking things up: Showalter revised the lineup a bit, moving Kim into the leadoff spot for only the second time this season and putting Adam Jones in the No. 2 slot. Showalter continues to look for something that will give the offense a spark, but nothing has worked.
http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/202820010/trumbos-walk-off-hr-lifts-os-over-d-backs/
On the Mark! O's keep pace on Trumbo's walk-off HR
By Brittany Ghiroli and Jake Rill / MLB.com September 24, 2016
BALTIMORE -- As Orioles manager Buck Showalter likes to say: delayed, not denied.
Mark Trumbo's 12th-inning walkoff homer kept the Orioles right in the thick of the American League Wild Card race Friday night, leading Baltimore to a 3-2, 12-inning win over the D-backs in a four-hour series opener.
Backed by six scoreless innings from the bullpen, the Orioles snapped a four-game losing streak and stayed one-half game behind Detroit for the AL's second Wild Card spot. It marked just their third victory in their last nine home games.
"Momentum is your next game, it really is. I'm glad our guys feel good about themselves for one night, they've been frustrated," Showalter said. "They've earned the right to play these meaningful games and I'm happy for them. What it means, like I said, momentum is usually your next starting pitcher."
Trumbo's blast, which came off Arizona reliever Matt Koch, led off the bottom of the 12th and was his 44th homer on the year. It also capped the O's rally effort, as homers by both Pedro Alvarez and Matt Wieters saw the Orioles scored three unanswered runs.
According to Statcast™, Trumbo's walkoff home run had an estimated distance of 408 feet with an exit velocity of 107 mph and a 20-degree launch angle.
Alvarez put the Orioles on the board with a two-out homer in the eighth off reliever Enrique Burgos with Wieters connecting for a game-tying solo blast in the ninth.
"All losses are tough, we've had a lot of them this year, so they've all been tough," D-backs manager Chip Hale said. "They did a great job of battling back and tying the game and we did a great job of stopping them from winning the game a couple of times."
Fresh off a four-game sweep by the Red Sox, the O's were held scoreless by D-backs righty Shelby Miller, who entered the game 2-12 with a 6.90 ERA. Miller allowed three hits and three walks over his six innings, turning in his first scoreless outing of the season. Baltimore starter Yovani Gallardo also went six innings, allowing two runs -- on doubles by Jake Lamb and Jean Segura.
MOMENTS THAT MATTERED
Wieters comes up clutch: Baltimore was handcuffed by Miller over the first six innings, but Alvarez and Wieters managed to even things up. Wieters' leadoff blast in the ninth off Daniel Hudson forced the game into extra innings and was one of several notable clutch hits for the catcher this season. He also singled to start the 11th.
"Just trying to get a good pitch to hit," Wieters said. "Got to 3-0, then he was able to even up to 3-2. I still knew he was going to try and come with the strikes, so it's just being ready to go."
That's more like it: Miller has largely been a disappointment this season, his first in Arizona. But he was in control in this one, navigating through jams and posting his best start of the year. The three hits allowed are the fewest he's allowed in a start that has lasted more than two innings. "That's a real step forward for him," Hale said. "He located the ball better, he just did a nice job."
Gallardo does his job: Coming off a 3 1/3-inning outing against Tampa Bay, Gallardo rebounded for his first quality start since Aug. 31. Working on eight days' rest, the righty struck out five and allowed two runs on six hits and two walks.
"You never want to have a start in that way, giving up a run in the first, giving up a run in each of the first two innings," Gallardo said. "It's going to happen. For myself, the thing to myself is to just leave it right there, to not allow any more runs and give the guys a chance to swing the bat and it happened. I've just got to find a way to put zeros up, make some pitches and get out of some jams when I have to."
D-backs' defense backs Miller: Several nice defensive plays helped Miller preserve an early lead. In the first, Chris Davis hit a towering fly ball to right, butYasmany Tomas made a nice jumping grab at the wall to rob the Baltimore first baseman of what likely would have been a three-run homer.
"Yas made a pretty good play on it. I think it possibly could've been gone if he wasn't there," Miller said. "He made extremely good plays tonight for me; a lot of guys in the outfield did."
That wasn't all, however, as Arizona shortstop Chris Owings made a tremendous off-balance throw from deep in the hole to rob Adam Jones of an infield hit for the final out of the fifth. After Miller left, left fielder Socrates Brito, a defensive replacement, gunned down J.J. Hardy at the plate for the second out of the ninth, preserving a 2-2 tie.
QUOTABLE
"We all know what math is involved here. But if you dwell on that, you hope, this time of year you can't expect anything … you like being in this arena. That's why you do this. The players, that's what separates them. They don't want to watch the highlights on Sportscenter. They want to be a part of them. And that's the difference." -- Showalter, on his club's playoff push
"That's the million-dollar question. I hope so. I hope so. We're giving it everything we have and obviously we're gonna have to keep it going. We know what we have to do and we've got the guys to do it." -- Trumbo, on if Friday's win can turn the tide for the O's
SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS
Orioles reliever Oliver Drake, who had a quick 1-2-3 12th inning, picked up his first Major League win.
REPLAY REVIEW
The Orioles lost their manager's challenge on the second out in the ninth, as they challenged that Hardy was safe on Britos' throw from left field as he tried to score on Jones' single. The review, which took two minutes, would have ended the game had the call been reversed.
WHAT'S NEXT
D-backs: Robbie Ray makes his first career start against the Orioles when the series continues on Saturday at 4:05 p.m. MST. Ray (8-13, 4.66 ERA) is 1-1 with a 7.29 ERA in four starts this month. However, the left-hander continues to pile up strikeouts. He has 210 this season, averaging 11.39 per nine innings.
Orioles: Wade Miley will get the ball for the Orioles on Saturday at home against Arizona at 7:05 p.m. ET. The lefty, who left Sunday's start after four innings with a mild back strain, had allowed just one hit when he exited. Miley, who will go on the paternity list after Sunday's game, is 8-13 with a 5.65 ERA.
http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/09/orioles-win-in-12-innings-on-trumbo-walk- off-home-run.html
Orioles win in 12 innings on Trumbo’s walk-off home run
By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 23, 2016
Mark Trumbo wasn’t letting tonight’s game go past the 12th inning. Enough already.
Trumbo led off the inning with his 44th home run, a shot to left field off the Diamondbacks’ Matt Koch, and the Orioles gained a much-needed 3-2 win before 37,815 at Camden Yards.
They stranded 14 runners, but didn’t let the entire night go to waste.
The Orioles have their sixth walk-off win of the season. It’s the fifth walk-off home run of Trumbo’s career.
Oliver Drake retired the side in order in the top of the 12th for his first major league win.
The Orioles end a four-game losing streak and are 83-71 overall and 3-6 on the homestand. They remain a half-game behind the Tigers for the second wild card and, if anyone’s still checking the division race, seven games behind the Red Sox with eight to play.
The offense has generated three runs or fewer in seven consecutive games. Good starts are being wasted. Bad starts aren’t being covered. But, the Orioles made due tonight with three solo home runs.
Pedro Alvarez homered off Enrique Burgos with two outs in the eighth, his 22nd, to reduce the Arizona lead to 2-1, but Jonathan Schoop popped up on a 3-0 count to end the inning.
Matt Wieters homered in the ninth to tie the game and he led off the 11th with a single. Pinch- runner Drew Stubbs moved up on J.J. Hardy’s sacrifice and an error by reliever Zack Godley. Michael Bourn’s sacrifice bunt advanced both runners and Adam Jones was walked intentionally.
Manny Machado flied to shallow left field and Chris Davis flied to center on a 2-0 pitch, giving the Orioles 14 stranded runners.
With so many video tributes playing at Camden Yards over the final homestand, the Orioles didn’t need a replay of their season’s frustrations in the first inning.
Yovani Gallardo retired the first two batters he faced and gave up a run. Slow out of the gate, big two-out hits, a high pitch count. Where have we seen it before?
The Orioles loaded the bases in the bottom of the first and failed to score, a strikeout destroying the rally. Another player robbed of a home run. Where have we seen it before?
Few people have seen Shelby Miller control a lineup this season the way he did tonight, the Orioles’ anemic offense mastered again, but Wieters raised hopes and a fly ball leading off the bottom of the ninth that produced a game-tying home run off Daniel Hudson.
The magic was back. So was controversy.
Hardy followed Wieters’ home run with a single, pinch-hitter Bourn popped up a bunt, Hardy took second on a wild pitch and nearly scored on Jones’ single into left field. Catcher Welington Castillo applied the tag for the out and the Orioles’ challenge that he blocked the plate didn’t change the call.
Machado walked with two outs, but Davis struck out to force extra innings.
Should Hyun Soo Kim have been allowed to hit instead of the Bourn bunt? Should Hardy have been removed for a pinch-runner? Does Major League Baseball need to figure out exactly what constitutes blocking the plate?
Gallardo allowed two runs and six hits in six innings, with two walks and five strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches, 59 for strikes.
Gallardo threw 24 pitches in the first, retiring the first two batters before walking Paul Goldschmidt and allowing a single to Castillo and RBI bloop double to Jake Lamb.
The first inning continues to bite Gallardo, who’s allowed 22 runs in 22 starts.
Gallardo’s pitch count grew to 47 through two innings after a leadoff double by Brandon Drury and a two-out double by Jean Segura on a fly ball to right field that Trumbo failed to catch at the wall.
Yes, another two-out RBI hit. The Orioles must lead the universe in surrendering them.
Meanwhile, Kim drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the first, Machado singled with one out and Trumbo singled with two down. Bases loaded for Alvarez, who struck out looking. Davis appeared to hit a three-run homer to right field, but Yasmany Tomas reached above the grounds crew shed and made the catch. Because so little has been going right for the Orioles.
Miller has been abysmal this season with his 2-12 record and 6.90 ERA, but he retired 12 of 13 batters after Wieters’ single with one out in the second inning. Davis walked and Trumbo doubled with one out in the sixth to put two runners in scoring position, but Alvarez popped up and Schoop flied out on the next pitch.
Fans booed as the Orioles increased their total of stranded runners to seven.
The Orioles could have used that Alvarez home run earlier in the game.
Miller turned in his first scoreless start of the year, holding the Orioles to three hits over six innings.
Randall Delgado walked Kim and hit Jones with two outs in the seventh, but Machado struck out. Nine runners stranded. And the total grew to 11 in the ninth.
Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Zach Britton, Tommy Hunter and Drake combined for four scoreless innings. Hunter stranded two in the 11th. They kept the Orioles engaged, as manager Buck Showalter likes to say.
They weren’t married to the idea of losing tonight.
http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2016/09/os-game-blog-the-orioles-are-2-6-on- current-homestand.html
O’s get walk-off win on Trumbo’s home run
By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com September 23, 2016
On a night they failed repeatedly with runners in scoring position, the Orioles got an important win thanks to two team strengths - power and their bullpen.
Mark Trumbo led off the last of the 12th with a solo homer to left to give the Orioles a 3-2, walk- off win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Orioles (83-71) needed to win as the two teams ahead of them in the wild card race had posted wins also. They stay a 1/2-game behind Detroit for the second wild card and 1 1/2 games back of Toronto for the first wild-card spot.
Trumbo hit his 44th homer on a 1-2 pitch from Arizona’s Matt Koch. It was the Orioles’ third solo homer of the night. They trailed 2-0 in the eighth, but Pedro Alvarez homered that inning to make it 2-1. Matt Wieters’ homer leading off in the ninth tied it 2-2.
After starter Yovani Gallardo gave up two runs over the first six innings, the Orioles’ bullpen combined to post six scoreless innings from six different pitchers. The last was Oliver Drake, who pitched the 12th to pick up his first major league win.
The Orioles went 1-for-9 tonight with runners in scoring position and left 14 men on base, but in the end they had one more run than Arizona to pick up one important win.
Tonight’s game blog: After getting swept four in a row by the Red Sox, the Orioles welcome the Diamondbacks to Baltimore tonight to begin a three-game interleague series.
The Orioles (82-71) are 2-6 on an 11-game homestand and they are 47-31 at home on the season. But the Orioles have a record of just 8-14 in their last three homestands since mid-August, going 3-5 on one stand, 3-3 on another and 2-6 on this current run of home games.
In the wild card race, the Orioles begin play tonight 1 1/2 games behind Toronto for the first wild card berth and a 1/2 game behind Detroit for the second one. The Orioles are one game ahead of Houston in the wild-card chase and 1 ½ games ahead of Seattle. There are six teams separated by four games in the wild card battle.
Arizona is 64-88 and has won four of six games. But since Sept. 5, the Diamondbacks are 6-10. They are 4-9 versus the American League East, going 2-1 against New York, 1-2 versus Tampa Bay, 1-3 against Toronto and 0-3 versus Boston.
Arizona, which is 34-40 in road games and 26-36 in the second half, features the youngest team in the majors with an average age of 26.3. Arizona is 12-3 all-time against the Orioles. They have not played at Camden Yards since they swept a three-game series June 15-17, 2007.
The Orioles have not gotten a single quality start from a starting pitcher on this homestand. The starters have an ERA of 6.10 over the eight games and have produced just one quality start the last 11 games. During about that same stretch, the O’s bullpen has an ERA of 0.94 the last 10 games.
The Orioles starter tonight is right-hander Yovani Gallardo (5-8, 5.77 ERA). He is making his 22nd start of the year, but just his second since Sept. 7. His last start was Sept. 15 against Tampa Bay. Pitching on eight days rest, he allowed seven hits and six runs over 3 1/3 innings. Tonight’s start comes on seven days rest.
Gallardo has gone 1-0 with 4.86 ERA in three interleague starts this season. He last faced a National League opponent on July 25 versus Colorado. Gallardo is 9-10 with a 3.72 ERA in 27 career interleague starts with 15 quality starts.
In his career against Arizona, he is 7-2 with a 2.32 ERA and eight quality starts in 12 career outings. He last faced the D-backs on July 7, 2015 with Texas. Over 5 2/3 innings, he allowed eight hits and three earned runs.
Right-hander Shelby Miller (2-12, 6.90 ERA) makes his 19th start of the season for Arizona. He has a WHIP of 1.744 and just three quality starts. Miller allows 11.9 hits per nine innings and yields a .322 batting average to opponent hitters.
An All-Star in 2015, Miller is 0-6 with an ERA of 7.65 over his past seven starts. The Diamondbacks are 5-13 in his 18 starts this year.
http://scores.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameId=360923101
Trumbo's 12th-inning homer leads Orioles over D-backs 3-2
Associated Press / ESPN.com September 24, 2016
BALTIMORE -- Mark Trumbo breathed some life into the Baltimore Orioles' postseason hopes.
Trumbo led off the 12th inning with his major league-leading 44th home run, and the Orioles rallied from a late two-run deficit to beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 3-2 on Friday night.
After getting swept in a four-game series by Boston, the Orioles remained a half-game behind Detroit for the AL's second wild card.
"This is the type of game you definitely want to win because it can be a real gut punch if it goes the other way," Trumbo said.
Baltimore trailed 2-0 before Pedro Alvarez homered in the eighth off Enrique Burgos and Matt Wieters homered against Daniel Hudson leading off the ninth.
Oliver Drake (1-0) pitched a scoreless 12th for his first big league win. Matt Koch (1-1) relieved to start the bottom half and Trumbo sent his first pitch over the left-field fence, setting off a celebration. It was Baltimore's sixth walk-off home run this season.
"They did a great job of battling back and tying the game and we did a great job of stopping them from winning the game a couple of times," Diamondbacks manager Chip Hale said. "We had some great plays. We left a ball up there in the middle of the plate for Trumbo and we know what he can do with it. We've seen it before."
Baltimore, which stranded 14 runners, nearly won the game in the ninth. J.J. Hardy tried to score from second on Adam Jones' single but was called out after the throw from left fielder Brandon Drury to catcher Welington Castillo, a play upheld by video review.
"I thought he was safe," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "The only thing they could have possibly said that they weren't sure J.J. got there. The guy tagged him with the glove and had the ball in his throwing hand. You've got to help me with that one. I'm sure you all saw the same thing we did. Another head-shaker. We've had quite a few of them this year."
Arizona built a lead against Yovani Gallardo on RBI doubles by Jake Lamb in the first and Jean Segura in the second. Gallardo has allowed 22 runs in the first inning this season.
"You never want to have a start in that way, giving up a run in the first, giving up a run in each of the first two innings," Gallardo said. "It's going to happen."
Arizona's Shelby Miller allowed just three hits in six innings and remained winless since June 20.
"Against a lineup like that, in a tough ballpark to pitch in, it's always tough to throw zeroes," Miller said. "And to get a good outing like that against that team . really the biggest thing was we made a lot of good plays on defense.
DOMINANT BULLPEN
Six Orioles relievers -- Darren O'Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Zach Britton, Tommy Hunter and Oliver Drake -- each threw one scoreless inning.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: RHP Zack Greinke did not travel with the team because of shoulder stiffness. He is expected to have an MRI.
Orioles: RHP Kevin Gausman will likely start Tuesday or Wednesday in Toronto after being pushed back because of soreness in an oblique.
UP NEXT
Diamondbacks: RHP Robbie Ray (8-13, 4.66 ERA), scheduled to start Saturday, entered the weekend fifth in the NL with 210 strikeouts. He is making his first career start against Baltimore.
Orioles: LHP Wade Miley (8-13, 5.65 ERA) returns after leaving in the fifth inning Sept. 18 against Boston with a strained back muscle. Miley, selected by Arizona in the first round of the 2008 amateur draft, is facing his former team for the first time.
http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/baltimore-orioles/trumbos-12th-inning-homer-gives-orioles- much-needed-win
Trumbo's 12th Inning Homer Gives Orioles Much Needed Win
By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic September 24, 2016
BALTIMORE-–Mark Trumbo knew what was at stake. The Orioles had played for four hours, and they had to break their four-game losing streak. They couldn’t fall any farther behind in the wild-card race.
Trumbo hit a 1-2 pitch from Arizona Diamondbacks right-hander Matt Koch into the left field stands, and the Orioles had a 3-2 win in 12 innings before 37,815 at Oriole Park on Friday night.
Trumbo’s 44th home run, his fifth career game-ending home run came after the Orioles had lost four straight to the first place Boston Red Sox and fallen behind 2-0 to a team that had already lost 88 games this season.
“We’ll take it, especially after having a few chances. This is the type of game you definitely want to win because it can be a real gut punch if it goes the other way,” Trumbo said. “It would be a tough one to stomach. Fighting really hard in the thick of things, and then to have a couple chances… the effort’s there, but someone’s got to get that big hit eventually.”
The Orioles had the bases loaded in the first, second and third with one out in the sixth, but couldn’t score against Shelby Miller.
Koch (1-1) was the eighth pitcher for Arizona (64-89).
Oliver Drake (1-0) got his first major league win with a scoreless 12th.
“That was an awesome, awesome time for the first win. You know, every game counts right now, so it’s huge. So hopefully, we can take some momentum in and build on it,” Drake said.
With the win, the Orioles (83-71) remain a half-game behind Detroit for the second wild-card spot. The Orioles hope they’ll play much more loosely, thanks to the win.
“That’s the million-dollar question. I hope so. I hope so. We’re giving it everything we have and obviously we’re gonna have to keep it going. We know what we have to do and we’ve got the guys to do it,” Trumbo said.
Yovani Gallardo gave up runs in the first and second, but completed six innings to keep the Orioles in contact.
“The thing to myself is to just leave it right there, to not allow any more runs and give the guys a chance to swing the bat and it happened. I’ve just got to find a way to put zeros up, make some pitches and get out of some jams when I have to,” Gallardo said.
Pedro Alvarez’s 22nd home run in the eighth put the Orioles within 2-1, and Matt Wieters led off the ninth with his 15th home run to tie the game at 2.
“We were focused. I think this was a game where we kind of knew it didn’t matter what the situation was, what we were down by. We were going to have to find a way to win this game. It was actually really fun to play like that. It was sort of quiet, understated, we’re going to find a way to do this,” Wieters said.
J.J. Hardy followed with a single, and after Michael Bourn popped out on a bunt attempt, Hardy tried to score on Adam Jones’ single, but was called out at the plate.
Showalter challenged the call, and was sure the game would be over.
“I thought he was safe. I don’t know. The only thing they could have possibly said that they weren’t sure J.J. got there. The guy tagged him with the glove and had the ball in his throwing hand. You’ve got to help me with that one,” Showalter said. “Another head-shaker.”
Jones moved to second on the throw and Manny Machado walked, but Chris Davis struck out to send the game to the 10th.
The Orioles nearly won the game in the 11th when they loaded the bases with one out, but Machado and Davis flied out.
After Gallardo left, Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Zach Britton, Tommy Hunter and Drake each pitched a scoreless inning.
Trumbo’s 44th home run gives him the sixth most home runs in any Orioles season, but this was his biggest yet—especially with his team searching for runs.
“Most guys were fairly loose. But basically it’s been four or five games in a row where the runs are really hard to come by. You have all the faith in the world in the people in here but eventually we’re going to have to execute it,” Trumbo said.
“I’m glad our guys feel good about themselves for one night, they’ve been frustrated. They’ve earned the right to play these meaningful games and I’m happy for them,” Showalter said. “You like being in this arena. That’s why you do this. The players, that’s what separates them. They don’t want to watch the highlights on SportsCenter. They want to be a part of them.”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-oliver-drake-caps-stellar-night-for-orioles- bullpen-with-his-first-major-league-win-20160923-story.html
Oliver Drake caps stellar night for Orioles bullpen with his first major league win
By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun September 24, 2016
Before Mark Trumbo ended the Orioles’ 3-2 victory with one swing in the bottom of the 12th inning Friday night, it was the bullpen that kept the team in the game.
Six relievers combined for six scoreless innings, holding the Arizona Diamondbacks lineup at bay as the Orioles batting order went through some long but unproductive innings.
The win was highlighted by right-hander Oliver Drake, who quickly retired the Diamondbacks in order on just eight pitches in the top of the 12th to set the stage for Trumbo’s walk-off heroics.
“Tremendous effort,” Trumbo said. “That’s what fuels us, especially Drake going out there and throwing a clean inning, getting the momentum on our side, the crowd on our side and that can be a real boost.”
The Orioles had used all of their late-inning lockdown arms with Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Zach Britton and Tommy Hunter each pitching a scoreless inning before Drake, a Naval Academy product, entered the game in the 12th. Drake retired all three batters he faced and earned his first major league win.
“That’s huge, being able to go out there … retire them in order and get the offense back out there because they can do damage whenever,” Drake said.
Even though the Orioles are just 3-6 on this homestand, the bullpen has been nearly flawless, with a 0.91 ERA (four earned runs over 39 2/3 innings).
On Friday night, the relievers kept the Orioles’ playoff hopes alive until the offense could rally from a 2-0 deficit and eventually win in 12 innings.
“It’s big because it gives our offense a chance to know, ‘OK, if we keep getting zeroes, eventually somebody’s going to run into one and we’re going to get a barrel and get some momentum going,’” said catcher Matt Wieters, whose solo homer in the ninth sent the game to extra innings. “It’s big. The bullpen has been great for us all year.”
Since Drake was recalled on Aug. 28, he has posted a 1.64 ERA, allowing just two earned runs in 11 innings over eight outings. He has also held opposing hitters to a .105 batting average, and is beginning to give manager Buck Showalter another late-inning option down the stretch.
“That was an awesome, awesome time for the first win,” Drake said. “You know, every game counts right now, so it’s huge. So hopefully, we can take some momentum in and build on it. … All the guys [in the bullpen], you know, kind of feed off each other. When one guy goes out there, and puts up a zero, the next guy wants to go do it. We just kind feed off it and it’s exciting to go out there and do it.”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-orioles-offense-awakens-at-right-moment-to- beat-diamondbacks-keep-pace-in-playoff-race-20160923-story.html
Orioles offense awakens at right moment to beat Diamondbacks, keep pace in playoff race
By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun September 23, 2016
The Orioles were running out of excuses, and running out of time. If anyone was going to save their playoff chances, and reverse a slide as sudden as it was stupefying, they had to do it themselves.
It’s hard to say that the most powerful team in baseball hitting three home runs late to avoid defeat is improbable, but it was. The Orioles were dead for most of eight innings Friday, and then tied entering the 12th when right fielder Mark Trumbo’s 44th home run of the season gave them a 3-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks.
Before designated hitter Pedro Alvarez and catcher Matt Wieters homered in the eighth and ninth innings to erase a 2-0 deficit, the offense sustained the stagnant status that had made this final homestand so disappointing.
The Orioles have tried all week to manufacture runs, but it was their true identity that showed when it mattered most.
“The talent in the room, it’s going to shine through,” Trumbo said. “We’re going to get the job done. You just hope it’s sooner than later. With us winning tonight, we’re still in a very good spot.
"… You have to [believe]. That’s what gets you through it each game. The unknowns are always going to be there, the what-ifs. You’ve got to go on guys’ track records, you’ve got to look at what guys are capable of when they execute what they’re trying to do. It can go the other way the whole time, but three home runs, three swings were what did it for us.”
Leave it to the Orioles (83-71) to stay their execution. If they had lost a fifth straight to fall eight games behind the division-leading Boston Red Sox with eight to play, and drop further back in the wild-card race, it would have been on the bats.
The list of rationalizations was withering away. It wasn't Boston’s rotation, which has been among the league’s best in the second half of the season, that shut them down Friday. It was Shelby Miller, the once-promising right-hander who entered with a 6.90 ERA and allowed three hits in six scoreless innings.
It wasn’t a lack of energy from the stands, which earlier this week were full of Red Sox fans and empty seats. On Friday, 37,815 fans were announced as paid attendance, representing the largest announced attendance at Camden Yards in a month.
They came, swaddled in their free Hyun Soo Kim T-shirts, cheered on cue and booed throughout the middle innings as the Orioles stranded each other on the bases with regularity.
And it wasn’t starting pitching — Yovani Gallardo had his best start in a month, holding Arizona to two runs on six hits in six innings.
To hear Wieters tell it, the feeling among the members of the lineup was that Friday’s game was not one that could go to waste.
“We were focused,” he said. “I think this was a game where we kind of knew it didn’t matter what the situation was, what we were down by. We were going to have to find a way to win this game. It was actually really fun to play like that. It was sort of quiet, understated — we’re going to find a way to do this.”
Such resolve didn’t show itself until late in the game, though it was required to not get discouraged. The offense had worn a lot of the blame since this homestand began, one that went eight games with the team averaging 2.9 runs per game without much power.
Even worse was when they did get chances to score, they never capitalized. For more than seven innings, Friday fit that mold.
In the first inning, Miller loaded the bases on a pair of walks and a single but struck out Alvarez looking. First baseman Chris Davis walked and moved to third on a double by Trumbo with one out in the sixth inning, but Alvarez and Jonathan Schoop popped out to end the threat. A two-out walk by Kim, then a fastball onto center fielder Adam Jones’ biceps put two on for newly minted Most Valuable Oriole Manny Machado with two outs in the seventh, but he struck out on four pitches.
The towering home run Alvarez hit in the eighth inning was consolation, and came with the bases empty. When the Orioles did put men on, and push them into scoring position, they went 1-for-9 with the only hit coming when Jones pulled one into left field with shortstop J.J. Hardy on second in the ninth inning.
Hardy was thrown out at home from short left field, then Machado walked. But Davis struck out swinging to send it to extra innings.
The Orioles kept getting chances because a cadre of six relievers pitched six scoreless innings. Before Trumbo ended the game in the 12th, Machado and Davis left the bases loaded in the 11th.
“We’ll take it, especially after having a few chances,” Trumbo said. “This is the type of game you definitely want to win because it can be a real gut punch if it goes the other way. It would be a tough one to stomach. Fighting really hard in the thick of things, and then to have a couple chances. … The effort’s there, but someone’s got to get that big hit eventually. We were fortunate today to get a W.”
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-notebook-0924-20160923- story.html
Orioles notebook: Kevin Gausman feeling better, expected to start Tuesday or Wednesday
By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun September 23, 2016
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said that right-hander Kevin Gausman, who is dealing with a mild intercostal strain in his ribcage suffered during his most recent start, was feeling better Friday and is scheduled to start either Tuesday or Wednesday on the road against the Toronto Blue Jays.
"Gaus is feeling good," Showalter said. "… So far so good for that."
Right-hander Chris Tillman, who suffered his shortest start of the season Thursday, going just 1 2/3 innings in a 5-3 loss to the Boston Red Sox, would start on the day Gausman does not.
"It'll be hopefully Tillman-Gausman or Gausman-Tillman Tuesday and Wednesday depending on a lot of factors we'll take in each day," Showalter said.
Because he has six starters to choose from, Showalter has tried to give his rotation pieces extra days off in September. Right-hander Dylan Bundy will start Sunday on one extra day of rest, and Gausman would get two or three extra days of rest with Monday's day off.
Showalter has not announced when right-hander Ubaldo Jimenez would make his next start. Jimenez last pitched Wednesday, and his worst start of the season came in his only start at Rogers Centre, when he lasted just one-third of an inning and allowed five runs on six hits on June 12.
Scouting challenge: Facing an interleague opponent in the last home series of the regular season presents its challenges in terms of preparing for an unfamiliar foe. The Orioles have not played the Diamondbacks since 2013, when they were swept in three walk-off losses in Arizona, including two in extra innings.
"It's just a real challenge," Showalter said. "I was here last night 'til late. Here early trying to get familiar with a lot of things. Trying to figure out if they're in that find-out development mode or trying to put their best foot forward these three games. You never know. That's their prerogative and they can do whatever they want. That's one of the biggest challenges late in the season."
The Orioles entered Friday's series opener with an 11-6 record in interleague play in 2016, but are just 3-12 overall against the Diamondbacks including a 1-5 record against them at Camden Yards.
Showalter said that not only do expanded rosters — as well as whether a losing team is in rebuilding mode for next year (Arizona entered the series 24 games under .500) — play a role in preparation, but it's an easier adjustment for National League teams coming to play in AL ballparks than the other way around.
"They may have a certain progression of relievers, but now that may change this time of year," Showalter said. "They're able to take someone they play in the outfield who isn't very good and put him in a DH spot for instance. It's always, for me, more advantageous for the National League teams coming to the American League rules than the other way around. We would have to take a Pedro Alvarez out of the lineup, like we did when we went over there."
Around the horn: On Friday, left fielder Hyun Soo Kimmade his second start in the leadoff spot this season, allowing the Orioles to slide Adam Jones into the No. 2 spot in the order. "Just a little different look," Showalter said. "A little different feel." … Showalter said before Friday's game that the team was still uncertain when left-hander Jayson Aquinowould be available. He missed the previous two games with a viral infection and hasn't pitched since Monday. … Rookie Trey Mancini, who homered in his first two major league starts, became the first player to accomplish that feat since Rockies shortstop Trevor Story, who homered in his first four games this season, from April 4-8.
http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-manny-machado-wins-most-valuable- oriole-award-20160923-story.html
Manny Machado honored to be named Most Valuable Oriole
By Eduardo A. Encina / The Baltimore Sun September 23, 2016
Toward the end of his best offensive season and an American League MVP candidacy, Manny Machado was humbled to be selected this year’s Most Valuable Oriole. But before Friday’s series opener against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Machado said he’d prefer to help the Orioles reach the postseason over any personal accolades.
“The only thing that matters to me is trying to take this thing to the playoffs, trying to get to the playoffs and roll the dice at the end of the day come October,” Machado said. “We’ve got [nine] more games, however many more innings, and I don’t know how many more outs, but those are the things that matter right now.”
Machado was named Most Valuable Oriole, an annual award chosen by a vote of local media who cover the team, for the first time in his career. The award comes at a time when both Machado and the Orioles are struggling.
Machado hit .222/.271/.370 in his 14 games before Friday, and after the Orioles were swept by the Boston Red Sox in a four-game home series, they entered Friday a half-game behind the Detroit Tigers for the second wild-card spot.
“At the end of the day, none of this really matters unless we get to where we need to be,” Machado said. “We’re in a tough spot right now. We’ve still got a couple more games in September. We’re going to keep fighting. I think we’re going to keep fighting until the end, and hopefully the most important thing is we make that last wild-card spot and flip a coin to see who makes the World Series.”
Despite his recent slump, Machado has continued his progression into one of the game’s best players. The 24-year-old is enjoying the best offensive season of his career, entering Friday’s game hitting .300/.350/.546 while setting new career highs in homers (36), RBIs (93) and runs scored (103).
“It’s always an honor,” Machado said. “It’s something that’s humbling. I see it more as a team thing. The team gave me the opportunity to put up the numbers that I had, and have the great season that we all had. If it’s going to go to someone, I think it should go to everyone. Because at the end of the day, we all battled out there. if it wasn’t for each other, none of us would have the opportunity we have now and the year that we’re having so far.”
Machado, who has been an AL MVP candidate throughout this season, racked up 6.7 wins above replacement in his first 148 games to tie for sixth in the majors. He will be a front runner to win his third career Gold Glove, currently leading all AL third baseman with a 2.1 defensive WAR.
“I think he knows defensively what he means, the importance, and now if he takes off a defensive play, the implications of what that means,” center fielder Adam Jones said. “I don't know his metrics. I don't really care about metrics. But to see him day in and day out, he helps our pitching staff.
“… My whole thing is, how is he able to be so accurate throwing from so many slots and uncomfortable positions, but he puts the ball right on the money? To me, he and [Colorado Rockies third baseman Nolan] Arenado are one and two as the best in the game because of what they do, not just offensively but how they take so many runs away defensively.”
Machado will be presented with the award in an on-field ceremony before the team’s final regular-season home game Sunday. Other players who received votes were Brad Brach, Zach Britton, Chris Davis, Jones, Chris Tillman and Mark Trumbo. Voting was done on a 5-3-1 point system.
“We have a lot of people you could consider,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “I'm sure you all did. Manny is very deserving of that consideration and being named, but he'd be the first to tell you that there are some other people there, too, that whoever voted on it considered. At the end of the year, if we have to name somebody and separate people, so be it. There were a lot of good choices there and he's one of them.”
http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/203073308/clutch-homers-bullpen-propel-orioles-to-win/
Bullpen's sweet relief sets stage for clutch blasts Relievers combine for six scoreless innings before winning homer
By Ben Raby / MLB.com September 24, 2016
BALTIMORE -- The Orioles are playing meaningful baseball in late September thanks in large part to their penchant for home runs and one of the game's most reliable bullpens.
Both came through on Friday as the Orioles erased a two-run,eighth-inning deficit in a 3-2, 12- inning win over the D-backs. With the win, the Orioles avoided a season-high fifth straight loss and remained one-half game behind Detroit for the American League's second Wild Card.
"I think this was a game where we knew it didn't matter what the situation was, what we were down by, we were going to have to find a way to win this game," said Matt Wieters, who tied the game with a solo homer to lead off the ninth. "It was actually really fun to play like that. It was sort of quiet, understated, we're going to find a way to do this."
The Orioles rallied with three solo homers, starting with a two-out blast from Pedro Alvarez in the eighth that snapped the Orioles' 14-inning scoreless drought. Wieters then went deep to lead off the ninth, before Mark Trumbo walked off with his league-leading 44th homer in the last of the 12th.
The Orioles lead the Majors with 242 homers, with Trumbo delivering the club's second walkoff blast of the year.
"This is the type of game you definitely want to win because it can be a real gut punch if it goes the other way," Trumbo said. "It would be a tough one to stomach. Fighting really hard in the thick of things, and then to have a couple chances … the effort's there, but someone's got to get that big hit eventually. We were fortunate today to get a `W.'"
Baltimore entered Friday's game off a four-game home sweep to the Red Sox in which the Orioles totaled eight runs. In the series opener against the Diamondbacks, the Orioles had multiple missed opportunities that could have come back to bite them.
The Orioles left the bases loaded in the first and couldn't score with runners on second and third and one out in the sixth. There was another opportunity missed in extra innings when the Orioles had the bases loaded with one out in the 11th, only to see Manny Machado and Chris Davis fly out.
Despite the missed opportunities, the Orioles still had a chance to rally and eventually win the game thanks to its bullpen. After starter Yovani Gallardo tossed six innings of two-run ball, six Orioles relievers combined for six scoreless frames.
Darren O'Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Zach Britton, Tommy Hunter and Oliver Drake threw one scoreless inning each. They allowed just three hits among them with no walks and eight strikeouts. Only once in the final six innings did the D-backs have a runner in scoring position. Drake earned his first big league win with a scoreless 12th.
"There's not much margin for errors," said manager Buck Showalter. "We've been challenged for runs lately. But they kept pushing the baton. We've had a lot of guys we've had to push because of the end of the season but they've handled it well and we've been able to keep the wolves at bay because of the job those guys are doing."
http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/203073308/clutch-homers-bullpen-propel-orioles-to-win/
Wieters' blast latest in line of big hits Catcher delivers game-tying HR in O's 12-inning victory
By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com September 24, 2016
BALTIMORE -- While it wasn't the big walkoff homer, Orioles catcher Matt Wieters had his own clutch blow and played a big part in Friday's 3-2, 12-inning win over the D-backs.
Down to their last three outs and in a 2-1 deficit, Wieters tied things up with one swing to start the ninth, sending Arizona reliever Daniel Hudson's four-seam fastball out of the park. The pitch, the seventh of the at-bat, went soaring into right field, over the out-of-town scoreboard to bring the crowd of 37,815 at Camden Yards to their feet.
"Just trying to get a good pitch to hit," Wieters said. "Got to 3-0, then he was able to even up to 3-2. I still knew he was going to try and come with the strikes, so it's just being ready to go."
Baltimore was handcuffed by Arizona starter Shelby Miller over the first six innings, but Pedro Alvarez and Wieters managed to even things up. Wieters' blast forced extra innings and was one of several notable clutch hits for the catcher this season.
"Another one that kind of gets pushed to the back [in the walkoff win]," manager Buck Showalter said. "Matty had a big blow, the long single [he hit in the 11th inning] that we had a chance there, too."
http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/202964136/manny-machado-named-most-valuable-oriole/
Machado voted 2016 Most Valuable Oriole Award given by local media named after former Baltimore sportswriter
By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com September 24, 2016
BALTIMORE -- Third baseman Manny Machado has been named the 2016 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole and he will be honored in a pregame ceremony during Sunday's home regular-season finale.
The award, voted on by members of the local media, comes at the culmination of an impressive 162-game season for Machado, who is batting .299/.350/.544 (182-for-609) with 39 doubles, one triple, a career-high 36 home runs and 93 RBIs along with 103 runs scored.
"I mean, it's always an honor when you get an award. It's something that is humbling, something I see it more as a team thing. The team gave me an opportunity to put up the numbers that I have and have the great season that we've all had," Machado said.
"Knowing that it's got to go to someone, but I think it should go to everyone on this team, ballclub. Because at the end of the day we all battled out there. If it wasn't for each other, none of us would have the opportunity that we have now and the year we've been having so far. At the end of the day, none of this really matters unless we get to where we need to be."
Machado has eight game-winning RBIs and hit five game-winning home runs this season and was named April's American League Player of the Month. Must C: Machado's lunging grab
Machado has four games with five or more RBIs, matching the single-season club record held by Miguel Tejada (2004) and Jim Gentle (1960). He became the second player in MLB history to homer in each of the first three innings of a game on Aug. 7 at the White Sox.
"I know Manny's probably very humbled by it and probably doesn't like talking about it because of having to pick somebody," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "We have a lot of people we could consider and I'm sure you all did. Manny's very deserving of that consideration and being named. But he'd be the first to tell you there are some other people there, too.
"At the end of the year, if we have to name somebody and separate people, so be it. There were a lot of good people there. He was one of them."
The MVO is named for Hatter, a former sportswriter for The Baltimore Sun who covered the Orioles for 27 years. Brad Brach, Zach Britton, Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and Mark Trumbo also received votes.
http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/202964136/manny-machado-named-most-valuable-oriole/
Miley faces D-backs as O's aim to build off dramatic win
By Ben Raby / MLB.com September 24, 2016
The Orioles will look to build off Friday's walkoff win over the Diamondbacks when they continue their three-game Interleague series on Saturday at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. Baltimore remains one-half game behind Detroit for the American League's second Wild Card.
Friday's dramatic win snapped the Orioles' four-game losing streak. The O's also had lost six of eight on their final homestand before the series-opening win.
Baltimore's Wade Miley will make his first career start against the Diamondbacks on Saturday, while Arizona counters with Robbie Ray. The Diamondbacks selected Miley in the first-round (43rd overall) of the 2008 Draft and he remained in the organization through 2014.
The Orioles hoped Miley (8-13, 5.65 ERA) would bolster their starting rotation down the stretch when they acquired the left-hander from the Mariners before the non-waiver Trade Deadline. Instead, Miley has gone 1-5 with a 7.55 ERA in nine starts with the Orioles.
Miley was sharp in his last start -- Sept. 18 against the Rays -- but a muscle strain in his upper back ended his outing after he allowed just one hit and no runs in four innings.
Ray (8-13, 4.66 ERA) threw 5 2/3 innings and allowed five hits and five runs in his last start -- a 10-9 win against the Dodgers on September 18 -- but did not factor in the decision. The right- hander has thrown fewer than six innings in four of his last five starts.
Ray is second in the Majors with 11.39 strikeouts per nine innings (210 strikeouts in 166 innings), behind only Miami's Jose Fernandez (12.49, 253K in 182 1/3 innings).
Contributing to the Orioles' drop in the standings has been a lackluster offense that has produced more than two runs just twice in the last seven games. Baltimore is averaging 2.14 runs per game and has just two wins over the seven-game stretch.
Things to know about this game
• As much as the Orioles' need more production from their offense, the same can be said of their starting pitching. Yovani Gallardo's outing Friday (6 innings, 6 hits, 2 runs) was Baltimore's first quality start in nine games on their current homestand. Baltimore starters have a 5.68 ERA over the nine-game stretch.
• Diamondbacks shortstop Jean Segura has 192 hits this season, third most in franchise history. Only Luis Gonzalez (206 hits in 1999; 198 hits in 2001) had more.
• Third baseman Manny Machado was named 2016 Most Valuable Oriole, as voted by local media. Machado is hitting .299 with 36 home runs and 93 RBIs.
http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/202902790/manny-machados-sb-drop-not-related-to- speed/
Machado's lack of steals are deceiving Powerful lineup has put swipes on decline for O's star, who maintains speed
By Ryan Baillargeon / MLB.com September 23, 2016
BALTIMORE -- In his fourth full season in the Majors, Orioles All-Star Manny Machado is putting together a year worthy of American League Most Valuable Player Award consideration. But as the five-tool talent has posted career-best numbers in nearly every facet of the game, he's seen a drastic decline in one area: basestealing.
A year after swiping 20 bags, Machado hasn't stolen a base with just nine games remaining this season. It's an unprecedented decline. No player has followed up a 20-steal season with none the next season while playing in 100 or more games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
At 24 years old, Machado doesn't have diminishing speed. So why the sudden dropoff?
"I got [Mark] Trumbo hitting behind me, who's got 43 homers and 100-something RBIs," Machado said. "[Chris Davis] has 38 [homers], I think. If I get caught stealing a base, I mess up the team. ... It is there, though. I can still steal bases, I'm just being smart about the situation."
In essence, Machado, who said he has the green light, doesn't think the risk outweighs the reward. Over the course of his 48 attempts in the Majors, he's been caught 37.5 percent of the time. And in his three attempts this year -- all before May 11 -- he ran into an out each time.
Every basestealer deals with the risk calculation, though. What makes Machado's case unique this year is the players batting behind him. Trumbo and Davis have combined for 126 extra-base hits, 81 of which left the park.
"We have just as much scoring chance when [Machado is] at first base as when he's at second base," third-base coach Bobby Dickerson said. "The first 90 feet is hard to get. ... The next 90 feet, with the way we play offense, is about the same as the last two. You can score from first on this team quite often."
For a club that has slugged 239 homers -- the most in the Majors -- Dickerson went as far as to say "[pretty much] our whole team is in scoring position when they are at home plate."
As a result, the Orioles -- who also have an overall lack of team speed -- are on pace to steal the fewest bases in history. With nine games left, they have stolen just 17 bases -- the fewest since the 1960 Kansas City A's had 16.
And Machado, who accounted for nearly half the team's steals a year ago, is the primary reason for the overall team decline, given his 20-steal drop-off. But it took a painful lesson April 23 for him to decide to scale back the aggressiveness on a team that packs the most power in the bigs.
After reaching on a single in the first inning and advancing to second on a groundout, he broke for third with Davis at the plate. Machado was thrown out and Davis led off the next inning with a solo homer.
"This is more about the team," Machado said. "I'm trying to win games. I'm not trying to go out there and be dumb about getting caught stealing."
But Dickerson said it goes beyond the risk of running into an out. Machado's health is at stake. Though Machado played all 162 games last year when he stole 20 bases, Dickerson cited the demand that stealing bases has on the body.
"[Machado is] a little older; he's bigger than he was last year," Dickerson said. "He's a monster out there. It's a lot of wear and tear. It's not like he's a little scatback. He's a big fella. Sliding, hitting the ground, jumping up -- all those things are wear and tear."
While Machado didn't bring up any health concerns when asked about his lack of steals, he mentioned his new spot in the batting order. After serving primarily as the leadoff hitter in 2015, he's dropped to the No. 3 spot this season.
"When you're hitting in a position like that, you have a different situation," Machado said. "As a first batter, you got to get on base, get in scoring position for your guys."
Machado has shied away from that leadoff mentality this season. As a result, in a year when 40- year-old David Ortiz has stolen a pair of bases on his farewell tour, Machado sits at a historic zero.
But Machado said don't count him out as a basestealer down the road.
"It's going to be there in years to come," Machado said. "It happens to be one of the years where I didn't need to [steal bases]."
http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/09/about-last-night-14.html
About last night ...
By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 24, 2016
If the Orioles make it into the playoffs, and they still have a steep hill to climb, they can point to last night’s 12-inning win as the launching point.
They looked like a team headed to its fifth straight loss. I was tracking the Tigers game on my laptop and knew they were about to move 1 1/2 games ahead of the Orioles for the second wild card.
That was before Pedro Alvarez woke up the offense with a solo home run in the eighth inning. I adjusted the final score in my story. And before Matt Wieters tied it in the ninth with a home run. I began deleting whole paragraphs. And before Mark Trumbo’s walk-off home run in the 12th.
I threw together a new top to the story, updated some stats, made sure I didn’t repeat the first names of players as I rearranged other graphs, filed and raced downstairs to manager Buck Showalter’s postgame press conference.
Showalter wanted to know the time of game - exactly four hours - and expressed the usual amusement at the rewrites that he knew were necessary after a late comeback.
Also, former college basketball coach Bobby Knight stood in the back of the interview room. Pretty random.
Knight was on the field for batting practice as a guest of Showalter’s, and I really wanted him to throw a chair at the press conference, but no such luck.
The Orioles aren’t thrilled about interleague games in late September, the Diamondbacks following the Rays and Red Sox into Camden Yards for the final home series. And before the Orioles head to Toronto and New York.
One of these things is not like the other.
“It’s part of the adversity,” said third baseman Manny Machado. “Maybe this is going to separate us and put us where we need to be. It’s a tough schedule. It’s been tough all year. It’s been tough the second half of the season and we know it. These last four games that we had against Boston, we knew it wasn’t going to be easy. They’re a great team over there.
“This is just part of the adversity. We’ve got to worry about today and just today and forget about the past and move on. We’ve got a couple more games to try to put ourselves back on the map. We’re there. Everyone doesn’t want us there. Everyone is rooting us out, but if we get there, we’re going to roll the good dice and I’m confident with everyone we have in here, we’ll get to where we want to be.”
It’s the getting there part that has fans on edge.
The Orioles gave them something to cheer about last night. It just took a while.
“Extra innings are always brutal,” Trumbo said. “There’s nothing fun about them other than winning, obviously.”
The bullpen was instrumental in the Orioles’ staying on the Tigers’ tail. Six relievers combined for six scoreless innings, some serious baton passing that ended with Oliver Drake’s first major league win.
“Tremendous effort,” Trumbo said. “That’s what fuels us, especially Drake going out there and throwing a clean inning, getting the momentum on our side, the crowd on our side. And that can be a real boost.”
Drake has recorded a strikeout in all 12 of his appearances, totaling 20 in 16 2/3 innings. He was terrible in back-to-back appearances San Diego before the Orioles optioned him, but he hasn’t allowed an earned run in his last four outings over 5 1/3 innings.
The top of the 12th inning was over in the blink of an eye, with Drake retiring the Diamondbacks in order on eight pitches.
“That’s huge,” Drake said, “being able to go out there and retire them in order and get the offense back out there because they can do damage whenever.”
Yovani Gallardo’s effort shouldn’t go ignored. Four straight scoreless innings after the second that resulted in a quality start, but no decision.
“It’s important,” he said. “You never want to have a start in that way, giving up a run in the first, giving up a run in each of the first two innings. It’s going to happen. For myself, the thing is to just leave it right there, to not allow any more runs and give the guys a chance to swing the bat, and it happened.
“I’ve just got to find a way to put zeros up, make some pitches and get out of some jams when I have to. Overall, it was a good team win.”
It was euphoric at the end, with Trumbo mobbed at home plate.
“It’s definitely exciting. It’s fun,” Gallardo said.
“The last four days, it was a bit little rough. That’s how this team is. Never gives up, comes in day in and day out ready to play. Being down two runs throughout the game, then finding a way, finding a way to get the breakthrough, it was exciting.”
http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/09/wrapping-up-a-3-2-12-inning-win.html
Wrapping up a 3-2 12-inning win
By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 24, 2016
The Orioles haven’t quit, despite the string of accusations coming from social media. They haven’t rolled over, they aren’t preoccupied with travel plans after their Oct. 2 game in New York.
They aren’t conceding a thing.
Mark Trumbo led off the bottom of the 12th inning tonight with a home run to left field off Diamondbacks reliever Matt Koch, and the Orioles rallied for a 3-2 win before 37,815 at Camden Yards.
The fans came for the fireworks and stayed ... for the fireworks.
Pedro Alvarez homered in the eighth and Matt Wieters tied the game with a leadoff home run in the ninth. Three solo shots accounting for all of the scoring.
They tried little ball, Michael Bourn failing to lay down a bunt and then succeeding two innings later. A sacrifice fly was akin to finding a unicorn.
Trumbo allowed the Orioles to stay a half-game behind the Tigers for the second wild card. So did a bullpen with six relievers combining for six scoreless innings, Oliver Drake retiring the side in order in the top of the 12th and earning his first major league win. So did Yovani Gallardo, who gave up a run in the first inning, another in the second and nothing else through the sixth.
The scoreboard showed that the Red Sox, Blue Jays and Tigers won tonight. Right there for everyone to see.
“I doubt they did much peeking. I know I didn’t,” said manager Buck Showalter.
“A lot of things go on in a ballgame because, at the end of it, you’re looking for the halo and the goat. I think about a lot of little things. The job done by our bullpen. Probably one of the keys to the game was the job done by Gallardo. The first inning was tough. They threw a couple broken- bats out there on him and we were down 1-0 in a hurry, but ...
“That was Ollie’s first win. It’s on my dad’s birthday. Pretty cool.”
Wieters hit his first career game-tying home run in the ninth inning or later, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
The Orioles almost won it later in the ninth on Adam Jones’ single into left field, but J.J. Hardy was thrown out at the plate. Catcher Welington Castillo appeared to be blocking the plate, but the Orioles lost the challenge.
“I thought he was safe,” Showalter said. “I don’t know. The only thing they could have possibly said that they weren’t sure J.J. got there. The guy tagged him with the glove and had the ball in his throwing hand.
“You’ve got to help me with that one. I’m sure you all saw the same thing we did. Another head- shaker. We’ve had quite a few of them this year.”
Here are more quotes following a win that ended the Orioles’ losing streak at four games:
Trumbo on victory: “We’ll take it, especially after having a few chances. This is the type of game you definitely want to win, because it can be a real gut punch if it goes the other way. It would be a tough one to stomach. Fighting really hard in the thick of things, and then to have a couple chances ...
“The effort’s there, but someone’s got to get that big hit eventually. We were fortunate today to get a ‘W.’ “
Trumbo on whether the win can lift some of the pressure: “That’s the million dollar question. I hope so, I hope so. We’re giving it everything we have and obviously we’re going to have to keep it going. We know what we have to do and we’ve got the guys to do it.”
Trumbo on whether team was pressing or loose down 2-0: “It was probably a little bit of both, I think. Most guys were fairly loose. But basically it’s been four or five games in a row where the runs are really hard to come by. You have all the faith in the world in the people in here, but eventually we’re going to have to execute it.”
Wieters on win: “It was a big win because it was a hard-fought one. Yovani did a great job, giving up two runs, and the bullpen did a great job and our offense was finally able to come around there at the end and get some big hits.”
Wieters on the feeling down 2-0: “We were focused. I think this was a game where we kind of knew it didn’t matter what the situation was, what we were down by. We were going to have to find a way to win this game. It was actually really fun to play like that. It was sort of quiet, understated. We’re going to find a way to do this.”
Wieters on Drake: “Big. Really, all of our bullpen guys. They came in and got us right back to where we got a shot. I was really proud he got his first win, and he’s been great for us these last few outings. It’s fun to see he’s hitting his sort of maturation at the big league level. He’s been good and I hope he keeps going.”
More Wieters on bullpen: “It’s big because it gives our offense a chance to know, ‘OK, if we keep getting zeroes, eventually somebody’s going to run into one and we’re going to get a barrel and get some momentum going.’ It’s big. The bullpen has been great for us all year, but even Yovani’s start, he gave up two runs early and he was able to get back and keep them off the board.”
Wieters on adversity: “I think the biggest thing is mentality-wise, you can’t worry about what kind of adversity you’ve gone through. It’s about getting it done. At the end of the year, nobody’s going to look at whether we had tough situations or not. It was going to be whether we got in or not.”
Showalter on whether he considered pinch-running for Hardy in the ninth: “If it was 2-1, I would have. Tie game, I wouldn’t have. He came a little slower, with two outs he probably scores. Guy made a good play. Tempted? Yeah. But it’s different at home than on the road. It’s different for me, anyway. Doesn’t make it right or wrong. 2-1 is a different dynamic. “
Showalter on magnitude of win: “Momentum is your next game, it really is. I’m glad our guys feel good about themselves for a night. They’ve been frustrated. They’ve earned the right to play these meaningful games and I’m happy for them. What it means for a little while, like I said, momentum is usually your next starting pitcher. And their guy (Shelby Miller), you can see why they think so highly of him. Pitched well.
“I think we all know what math is involved here, but if you dwell on that ...This time of year, you like being in this arena. That’s why you do this. The players, that’s what separates them. They don’t want to watch the highlights on ‘SportsCenter.’ They want to be a part of them. And that’s the difference.”
Drake on first win: “Yeah, that was an awesome, awesome time for the first win. You know, every game counts right now, so it’s huge. So hopefully, we can take some momentum in and build on it.”
Drake on six relievers going six scoreless innings: “All the guys, you know, kind of feed off each other. When one guy goes out there and puts up a zero, the next guy wants to go do it. We just kind feed off it and it’s exciting to go out there and do it.”
http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/09/meetings-and-machado.html
Meetings and Machado (free baseball)
By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 23, 2016
As the Orioles try to get back into the second wild card spot, if not higher, they’re making adjustments to their lineup and meeting behind closed doors.
Manager Buck Showalter likes to maintain the club’s privacy when it comes to the latter.
“If so, it hasn’t worked too well,” he said.
“These guys, I know they’ve had some get-togethers themselves and we’ve had some as a team. We do a lot of those things. Usually out of sight because I don’t want them to be asked about it and talk about it all the time. And timing’s everything with that, too. If you’re having one every other day, you’re going to lose a lot of its pop, so to speak. But no, we’ve sat down and had some of that. And who knows, we might again.”
Center fielder Adam Jones had no interest in discussing former teammate Steve Clevenger’s controversial tweets and subsequent suspension.
“Anybody is entitled to say whatever he wanted,” Jones told reporters at his locker. “If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels. Who am I to judge anybody on how they feel?
“If I say something, people judge me, and so he says something, let people judge him. Mariners took action as they see fit. I got a game to win here in Baltimore. I’m not worried what goes on in Seattle.”
Jones said he wasn’t upset by the racially charged tweets. A little surprised, perhaps, but not upset.
“Anytime anybody publicly says anything, it’s always a shock to somebody,” he said. “I know him personally. I’ve never seen him say this. It’s not going to change anything about me or how I feel. I’ve got games to win.”
Jones and Clevenger weren’t particularly close.
“I don’t think we ever were friends,” Jones said. “We were teammates, acquaintances. That’s 99 percent of people you come across. I played with a lot of people. To say I’m friends with most people I played with, that’s just not true.”
Jones cut off the next Clevenger-related question.
“You guys are trying to get answers that you can’t look for,” Jones said. “He said what he said. The Mariners took action. Cool. We’ve got games to win here in Baltimore. If that’s what you guys are coming me talking about when we’re in the fight for a playoff hunt, that means there’s something bad in the news.”
OK, how about Manny Machado being named Most Valuable Oriole?
“Very deserving,” Jones said. “He’s obviously going to get MVP consideration, heavy MVP consideration, so very deserving. The guy’s proven that he can play day in and day out, bat anywhere, show his flexibility, show his all-around game, hit for average and power. I tip my cap to the young man for continuously progressing. Now, we’ve got nine games to go, we need our MVO, we need everybody else.
“Defense, to me, is pride and sometimes it’s just part of your identity, and I think that he knows defensively what he means, the importance, and how, if he takes off a defensive play, the implications of what that can mean. I don’t even know his metrics, I don’t even really care about metrics, but to get to see him day in and day out, he helps our pitching staff unbelievable, him and J.J. (Hardy) with the range those two have. And with Manny playing off the line, has a tremendous arm.
“My whole thing is how is he able to be so accurate throwing from so many slots and uncomfortable positions, but he puts the ball right on the money. That’s why I say him and (Nolan) Arenado to me are one and two as the best in the game, not just what they do not just offensively but how they take so many runs away defensively.
“I feel for the franchises that are going to have to fork over money to those two kids. A lot is coming their way.”
Machado kept deflecting credit for the award.
“It’s always an honor when you get an award. It’s something that’s humbling,” he said. “I see it more as a team thing. The team gave me the opportunity to put up the numbers that I have and have the great season that we’ve all had. I think if it’s going to go to someone, it should go to everyone. At the end of the day, we all battle out there. If it wasn’t for each other, none of us would have the opportunity that we have now and the year we’ve been having so far.
“At the end of the day, none of this really matters unless we get to where we need to be. We’re in a tough spot right now, but we’ve still got a couple more games to come and keep fighting and I think we’re going to keep fighting until the end and hopefully the most important thing is we make that last wild card spot and flip a coin to see who makes it to the World Series.”
Asked what he’s most proud of this season, Machado replied, “Just everything. Just overall how great the team has played.
“We’ve overcome a lot of things and we’ve done a lot that people didn’t realize ... they didn’t think we’d be here right now. People were telling us that we’d be under .500 this year, so we surprised a lot of people. We played great as a team, we’ve done everything as a team, so it’s definitely been an honor to be a part of this team. But like I said, it’s not over. We have other important things to worry about and think about. We’re going to have to go out there and keep battling.”
Machado received plenty of first-place votes last season, but finished behind first baseman Chris Davis. He was a popular choice again this year and took the honor.
“It’s an opportunity that the team has given me,” he said. “At the end of the day, you can’t put up numbers if it’s not for the team that you play for. Everyone here has had a great season and that gives you an opportunity to go out there and put up the numbers that you can. Baseball is a team sport, it’s not an individual sport. You get individual awards and stuff like that, but if it wasn’t for your teammates and everyone around you, these things wouldn’t happen.
“It’s more (Scott) Coolbaugh helping us out as hitters and Bobby (Dickerson) helping us out on defense and (Wayne) Kirby helping us out on the other things we need to do. It’s an overall team thing that gives you the opportunity to put yourself in that position.”
Machado is in position to make a run at Most Valuable Player in the American League, a crowded field that includes Mookie Betts, David Ortiz, Mike Trout, Jose Altuve and Josh Donaldson, to name a few.
“My biggest concern is making the playoffs,” Machado said. “What’s it, nine more games left? Every single one, every single out, every single inning of those last nine games counts. If we don’t get to where we need to be, nothing else matters. The only thing that matters to me is trying to take this team to the playoffs, trying to get to the playoffs and roll the dice at the end of the day.
“I don’t know how many more innings. I don’t how many more outs. They’re the only things that matter right now.”
Update: The Orioles fell behind 1-0 in the first inning on a two-out walk to Paul Goldschmidt, a Welington Castillo single and Jake Lamb bloop double to left field. Yovani Gallardo threw 24 pitches and allowed his 22nd first-inning run of the season.
Update II: The Diamondbacks scored another two-out run in the second on Jean Segura’s double to right field. Mark Trumbo got back to the wall and didn’t make the catch.
Gallardo has surrendered three doubles and thrown 47 pitches in two innings and the Orioles are behind 2-0.
Update III: The Orioles finally got on the board when Pedro Alvarez hit a solo home run off Enrique Burgos with two outs in the eighth to reduce the lead to 2-1.
Shelby Miller shut out the Orioles on three hits over six innings.
Update IV: Matt Wieters led off the bottom of the ninth with a home run off Daniel Hudson to tie the game 2-2.
The Orioles nearly won it after J.J. Hardy singled and took second on a wild pitch. Jones singled into left field, but Hardy was out at home. The Orioles challenged the call, saying Welington Castillo blocked the plate, but it stood after a two minute review.
http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/09/early-notes-from-camden-yards-7.html
Early notes from Camden Yards
By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 23, 2016
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Kevin Gausman feels good today and remains on schedule to start Tuesday or Wednesday in Toronto.
Gausman is being held back due to soreness in his oblique. The Orioles believe they caught it in time.
“Gaus feels good. So far so good with that,” Showalter said.
Showalter plans on using Gausman and Chris Tillman in the first two games of the Blue Jays series, the order of their starts pending. This is tentative.
“Depending on a lot of factors that we’ll take in after each day,” Showalter said.
The Orioles have contingency plans in place involving pitchers in Sarasota if Gausman is unable to start.
A team physician is checking on Jayson Aquino today to determine whether the left-hander is available tonight. Aquino is dealing with a viral infection.
Hyun Soo Kim is batting leadoff for the second time this season, with Adam Jones dropping to second for the sixth time.
“It’s Kim’s night with the t-shirt and I want to make sure we get him out there front and center,” Showalter quipped.
“Adam’s been fined so much leading off, we thought we’d save him some money too. I was kidding with him today. No, just a little bit different look, a different feel, try to get ... Got some other reasons that shouldn’t play in to something you talk about publicly, but that’s mostly it. Just a little bit different look this time of the year, a different feel. And give Adam a little blow instead of having to rush off the field in the first inning.”
Danny Lee, Kim’s interpreter, assisted the Orioles with the lettering on the t-shirt, which amused Showalter.
“I hope what Danny said that said is what it says,” Showalter said. “Did we just base this on Danny and said, ‘Here’s the emblem. Put this on the shirt,’ and we find out it’s completely something else? That won’t be good.
“If he knew he wasn’t coming back next year and he wanted to have a parting shot, that would be the way to do it. I’m not paranoid, I’m alert. There’s a fine line.
Yovani Gallardo is working on seven days’ rest tonight after working on eight before his previous start. He’s been throwing an extra bullpen session to stay sharp.
“I know it’s a challenge, and as much as I appreciate his responding that way, and he does take more work and everybody could use a little more time here and there, I know it presents a challenge,” Showalter said. “This time of the year, we’re taking our best options we feel like that time and putting them out there, with the proper rest and sometimes too much rest. It is what it is and it would be a good excuse, and probably a valid one, too.
“We’ve got a real professional group and Gallardo’s as good a pro as I’ve been around. He’s a pro. He knows what he’s doing. I don’t know if you’ve been watching, the time he used on the DL he used very wisely. I think he lost 15 or 20 pounds, and good weight. I’d really like for him to pitch well for his sake as well as our sake.”
Showalter found out this afternoon that Manny Machado was named Most Valuable Oriole. He wanted to know why the award existed.
“What is that now? Why do we have to name somebody most valuable? What was the driving force, because we’ve done it every year?” he asked.
“I know Manny’s probably very humbled by it and probably doesn’t like talking about it because of having to pick somebody. We have a lot of people we could consider and I’m sure you all did. Manny’s very deserving of that consideration and being named, but he’d be the first to tell you there are some other people there, too.
“At the end of the year, if we have to name somebody and separate people, so be it. There were a lot of good people there. He was one of them.”
Showalter was told of Steve Clevenger’s racially charged tweets yesterday that caused the Mariners to suspend the former Orioles catcher and Pigtown native for the rest of the season.
“Do I have a reaction? Yeah. Am I going to state them publicly? No,” Showalter said.
“Everybody does. I’m still kind of collecting my thoughts on it. Obviously, it wasn’t good and that’s putting it mildly.
“Can I stop?”
http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2016/09/manny-machado-named-most-valuable- oriole.html
Manny Machado named Most Valuable Oriole
By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 23, 2016
Third baseman Manny Machado, who figures to be in the running for numerous postseason honors, has been chosen as Most Valuable Oriole by members of the local media who cover the team on a regular basis.
We won’t quibble over “regular basis.” At least not this year, since I believe they got it right.
Machado enters tonight’s game against the Diamondbacks with a 300/.350/.546 slash line, including 39 doubles, one triple, 36 home runs, 93 RBIs and 103 runs scored. He’s already set career highs in home runs and RBIs.
Machado has eight game-winning RBIs and has hit five game-winning home runs. He’s tied for sixth in the majors with 76 extra-base hits and tied for ninth with 39 doubles.
In the American League, Machado ranks fifth in hits (181), tied for eighth in home runs, tied for ninth in multi-hit games (52) and 11th in batting average. He was named the American League Player of the Month for April after batting .344 (33-for-96) with 10 doubles, seven home runs, 16 RBIs and 20 runs scored over 23 games. He built a career-long 16-game hitting streak from April 4-23, the first Oriole to hit safely in the club’s first 16 games of a season.
Machado was elected as the starting American League third baseman in the 2016 All-Star Game, his third career selection (2013 and 2015).
Machado has registered four games with five or more RBIs, matching the single-season club record held by Miguel Tejada and Jim Gentile. On Aug. 7 in Chicago, he became the second player in major league history to homer in each of the first three innings of a game
Machado hit his 100th career home run on Aug. 30 vs. Toronto, becoming the youngest Oriole to reach the milestone at age 24.055, surpassing Eddie Murray at 24.177 in 1980. Entering tonight’s game, he’s hit 25 homers as a third baseman and 11 as a shortstop, the second player in major league history to homer at least 20 times as a third baseman and 10 times as a shortstop in the same season.
Other Orioles receiving votes included Zach Britton, Mark Trumbo, Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and Brad Brach. The media was instructed to select three players, with ballots submitted by Sept. 6, and I chose Machado, Britton and Trumbo.
The Orioles didn’t reveal the second- and third-place finishers.
Machado will receive his award during an on-field ceremony before Sunday’s game against the Diamondbacks.
http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2016/09/a-look-at-the-recent-strong-performance- by-the-orioles-bullpen.html
A look at the recent strong performance by the Orioles bullpen
By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com September 24, 2016
They no longer lead the American League in bullpen ERA (fourth), but the Orioles bullpen has been big for the team lately. Last night was the latest example, as six pitchers combined for six scoreless innings in the 3-2 12-inning walk-off win over Arizona.
While the Orioles were waiting for a few runs to come - and they had a long wait after being shut out through seven innings - the Orioles bullpen held Arizona at bay long enough for the O’s offense to do just enough.
The Orioles got solo homers from Pedro Alvarez in the eighth (No. 22), Matt Wieters in the ninth (No. 15) and Mark Trumbo for the win in the 12th (No. 44). It was the Orioles’ sixth walk- off win of 2016.
Starter Yovani Gallardo gave up single runs in the first and second, but then pitched through the sixth and didn’t yield any more runs. He gave the Orioles their first quality start of this homestand in its ninth game. It was the first O’s quality start since Kevin Gausman on Sept. 14 at Boston.
Then the ‘pen went to work getting consecutive scoreless innings from Darren O’Day, Brad Brach, Mychal Givens, Zach Britton, Tommy Hunter and Oliver Drake. They combined to allow just three singles, with just one Diamondbacks runner moving into scoring position. Arizona batters went 3-for-20 against that group of six with no walks and eight strikeouts.
O’Day needed just 14 pitches in his inning, while Brach and Givens threw just 12. Britton needed 19 pitches and Hunter allowed two singles in a 20-pitch top of the 11th. Drake rolled through a 1-2-3 top of the 12th on just eight pitches, getting a groundout on a bunt attempt, a flyout and strikeout.
Drake picked up his first major league win. The 43rd-round pick out of the Naval Academy in 2008 has quietly had a strong September. In seven games, he is 1-0 with a 1.80 ERA. In 10 innings, he has allowed four hits, five runs (two earned) with two walks, 13 strikeouts and a batting average against of just .114 on four hits in 35 at-bats.
One knock on Drake at the big league level has been his inability to get quick outs and that sometimes his pitch count elevated during his innings. But two outings ago, he went 1 2/3 on 23 pitches and last night he got three outs on just eight. That’s progress.
Over the last 11 games, the O’s bullpen pitchers have worked to an ERA of 0.81. Over 44 1/3 innings, the ‘pen has given up just four earned runs.
The Orioles offense is still not producing many runs - last night was the seventh straight game where they scored three runs or less - but the team still got a big win. Thanks to the longball, Gallardo and a bullpen that passed the baton without anyone dropping it.
That win kept the Orioles within striking distance of both the first and second AL wild card spots. They are 1 1/2 games back of Toronto for wild card No. 1 and just a half-game behind Detroit for wild card No. 2. They would have been 2 1/2 games back and 1 1/2 back with a loss last night.
Few Orioles games featured more drama this year or perhaps more nerves for the fanbase, but a win is a win. This one was big. The O’s stay right there in the wild card hunt with eight games to play.
http://www.masnsports.com/orioles-buzz/2016/09/orioles-hosting-birdland-experience-weekend- for-disability-community.html
Orioles hosting Birdland Experience Weekend for disability community
By Pete Kerzel / MASNsports.com September 24, 2016
This weekend, during their final home series of the 2016 season, the Orioles will play host to some very special fans.
More than 1,000 members of the disability community will be in attendance during Birdland Experience Weekend, which will be held during games Friday through Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Camden Yards.
Many of these visitors will be making their first trip to Camden Yards, experiencing an Orioles game in person for the first time.
Birdland Experience Weekend caps off the Orioles’ continuing efforts to ensure that Camden Yards is welcoming and accessible for all fans. The team has been working this season with members of the disability community to achieve that goal.
“The Orioles are consistently working to ensure that everyone who wishes to experience a game at Oriole Park at Camden Yards is able to enjoy themselves,” said Greg Bader, the club’s vice president of communications and marketing. “We look forward to welcoming many first-time visitors this weekend, and hope that their time at the ballpark becomes a positive lasting memory.”
http://scores.espn.com/mlb/preview?gameId=360924101
Orioles hope Friday's win provides momentum
STATS, LLC. / ESPN.com September 24, 2016
BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles will see if Friday night's stirring come-from-behind win has any carryover effect when they host the Arizona Diamondbacks on Saturday night at Camden Yards.
Trailing 2-0 after two innings, the Orioles tied it with solo homers by Pedro Alvarez and Matt Wieters in the eighth and ninth innings, respectively, and won it when Mark Trumbo hit his 44th homer of the season leading off the 12th.
The win snapped a four-game losing streak and allowed them to remain a half-game behind Toronto and Detroit.
"Momentum is your next game, it really is," manager Buck Showalter said afterward. "I'm glad our guys feel good about themselves for one night, they've been frustrated."
Trumbo was asked if Friday's win takes some pressure off a team that had just been swept by Boston.
"That's the million-dollar question. I hope so," he said. "We're giving it everything we have and obviously we have to keep it going. We know what we have to do, and we've got the guys to do it."
Saturday's game matches a pair of 8-13 pitchers, and the starter for Baltimore will be left- hander Wade Miley (8-13, 5.65 ERA), who will make his first career start against the team that drafted him.
Miley was the taken by the Diamondbacks with the 43rd overall pick in the 2008 draft and won 16 games for Arizona in 2012, his first full season.
Since joining the Orioles in trade with Seattle on July 31, Miley is 1-5 with a 7.60 ERA. He allowed one single over four shutout innings in his last start, but left with a muscle strain in his upper back before the fifth.
The Orioles (83-71) won despite stranding 14 baserunners, relying on the long ball.
"That's what they're known for," said reliever Matt Koch, who gave up Trumbo's game-winner when his fastball caught too much of the plate. "If you make mistakes, they'll make you pay."
The Diamondbacks (64-89) have lost three of four.
Arizona's starter on Saturday will be left-hander Robbie Ray (8-13, 4.66), who will face the Orioles for the first time. In his last four road starts he is 1-1 with a 3.33 ERA, 31 strikeouts in 24 1/3 innings, and has held opponents to a .163 batting average. In seven career road interleague starts, he is 2/3 with a 3.64 ERA.
He is second in the majors (behind Jose Fernandez of the Marlins) with 11.39 strikeouts per nine innings pitched.
Arizona left fielder Brandon Drury has reached base safely in 16 of his last 19 games, batting .370/.439/.644 with five homers and 14 RBI in that span.
Second baseman Jean Segura drove in one of the Diamondbacks' runs Friday night with a double and is hitting .409/.458/.818 with five homers and nine RBI over his last 10 games.
Segura extended Friday night's game with a fine defensive play, backing up first base on a bunt attempt and corralling an errant throw. "(Baltimore) did a great job of battling back and tying the game and we did a great job of stopping them from winning the game a couple of times," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. "We had some great plays."
http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/baltimore-orioles/manny-machado-says-most-valuable-oriole- nice-world-series-better
Manny Machado Says Most Valuable Oriole Is Nice, World Series Better
By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic September 23, 2016
BALTIMORE – Manny Machado is happy he won the Most Valuable Oriole Award.
But he doesn’t want that to distract him from his main goal, qualifying for the postseason.
“It’s always an honor when you get an award. It’s something that’s humbling. I see it more as a team thing. The team gave me the opportunity to put up the numbers that I have and have the great season that we’ve all had. I think if it’s going to go to someone, it should go to everyone,” Machado said.
“My biggest concern is making the playoffs. What’s it? Ten more games, nine more games left? Every single one, every single out, every single inning of those last [nine] games counts. If we don’t get to where we need to be, nothing else matters. The only thing that matters to me is trying to take this team to the playoffs, trying to get to the playoffs and roll the dice at the end of the day, which is October.”
Machado is proud of his teammates.
“Just overall how great the team has played. We’ve overcome a lot of things and we’ve done a lot that people didn’t realize … they didn’t think we’d be here right now. People were telling us that we’d be under .500 this year, so we surprised a lot of people. We played great as a team, we’ve done everything as a team, so it’s definitely been an honor to be a part of this team,” Machado said.
Manager Buck Showalter was pleased to learn about Machado’s award.
“I know Manny’s probably very humbled about it and probably doesn’t like talking about it because, you know, having to pick somebody. We have a lot of people you could consider and I’m sure you all did. Manny’s very deserving of that consideration and being named, but he’d be the first to tell you there’s some other people there, too, and I’m sure that whoever voted on it considered. And at the end of the year if we have to name somebody to separate people, then so be it. But there were a lot of good choices there. He’s one of them,” Showalter said.
http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/baltimore-orioles/adam-jones-ignores-steve-clevenger-tweets- focused-winning
Adam Jones Ignores Steve Clevenger Tweets, Focused On Winning
By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic September 23, 2016
BALTIMORE—Adam Jones didn’t have much to say about his former teammate Steve Clevenger’s racially insensitive tweets.
Clevenger, who played for the Orioles in parts of three seasons, 2013-15, tweeted offensive comments on police shootings, the racial unrest in Charlotte and the Black Lives Matter movement.
The Seattle Mariners who traded Mark Trumbo to the Orioles for Clevenger last December, responded by suspending the catcher, who hasn’t played since late June due to a broken bone in his hand, for the rest of the season without pay.
“ Anybody is entitled to say whatever he wanted. If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels. Who am I to judge anybody on how they feel?” Jones said.
“If I say something, people judge me, and so, he says something, let people judge him. Mariners took action as they see fit. I got a game to win here in Baltimore. I’m not worried what goes in Seattle,” Jones said.
Jones said he wasn’t upset by the tweets, but was surprised.
“Anytime anybody publicly says anything, it’s always a shock to anybody. I know him personally. I’ve never seen him say this. It’s not going to change anything about me or how I feel. I’ve got games to win,” Jones said.
Jones said he was never particularly close with Clevenger, who grew up a few blocks from Oriole Park, and used the moniker “Pride of Pigtown” with the Orioles.
“I don’t think we ever were friends. We were teammates, acquaintances. That’s what 99 percent of people you come across. I played with a lot of people. To say I’m friends with most people I played with, that’s not true,” Jones said.
http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/baltimore-orioles/manny-machado-voted-2016-most-valuable- oriole
Manny Machado Voted 2016 Most Valuable Oriole
By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic September 23, 2016
BALTIMORE – Manny Machado has been named 2016’s Most Valuable Oriole. It’s Machado’s first time winning the vote of local media for the award.
Machado has a .300 average with 36 home runs and 93 RBIs, and has played an extraordinary third base.
He was voted the American League’s starting third baseman this season — his third All-Star selection — and is the favorite to win his third Gold Glove.
On Aug. 7, Machado became the second player in major league history to homer in each of the first three innings in a game at Chicago.
Other Orioles receiving votes were Brad Brach, Zach Britton, Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and Mark Trumbo.
Voters were asked to make first, second and third place selections. The ballots were due on Sept. 6. I voted for Machado, Britton and Trumbo.
Machado will be presented with his award before Sunday’s game.
https://www.pressboxonline.com/2016/09/23/september-games-have-major-impact-on-mlb- standings
September Games Have Major Impact On MLB Standings
By Jim Henneman / PressBoxOnline.com September 23, 2016
Obviously, meaningful games in September haven't been what they were expected to be at the turnstiles for the Orioles, but they've sure carried an impact in the standings. An 8-4 start to the final month of the season that saw the Orioles start one game behind the division-leading Boston Red Sox wasn't enough to generate much enthusiasm for the final home stand of the year -- and then, the Red Sox completed two four-game sweeps that left manager Buck Showalter's club gasping for postseason air.
The one-two punch came after the Orioles won their most exciting game of the year, a 1-0 gut- wrencher against the Red Sox at Fenway Park Sept. 14. It seemingly set the stage for a rousing finish, but what followed wasn't part of that script.
Trailing by three runs with two outs in the ninth inning Sept. 15, the Red Sox rallied to beat the Yankees, 7-5, setting up the first sweep, as the Yankees blew leads in three of the four games. Meanwhile, the Orioles sleepwalked through a split of a four-gamer against Tampa Bay Sept. 15- 19, before reality hit in the form of a second straight four-game sweep by the Red Sox. Bye-bye division title -- and possibly a Wild Card chance for the playoffs.
While everyone was busy trying to explain the lack of attendance for such a crucial late-season series against the Red Sox (just more than 85,000 for the four dates), explaining the sweep by the Red Sox was very simple, following an old baseball adage -- good pitching will beat good hitting (and mediocre pitching will beat bad hitting) every time. The scores of the games looked like an incomplete line from a lopsided tennis match: 5-2, 5-2, 5-1, 5-3.
The Orioles' power-drained offense was so bad that four of the runs they scored were provided by a rookie who wasn't even part of the original September call-ups. First baseman/designated hitter Trey Mancini's first two major league home runs were prodigious and timely -- the first, a solo shot that broke up a no-hitter by former Orioles farmhand Eduardo Rodriguez, the second, a three-run blast off starter David Price that forged a temporary 3-3 tie in the series finale.
Mancini's debut was about all the Orioles had to cheer about during the dismal week that closed the home part of the schedule with a thud.
A couple weeks ago, it looked like both American League Wild Card teams would come out of the AL East -- but that was before the schedule started to take its toll. With the Blue Jays, Orioles and Yankees playing each other, there is now a real possibility the AL East could get shut out of the Wild Card game altogether, as both the Tigers and Astros have schedules working in their favor.
The Orioles, almost certainly, will have to take at least two of three games in Toronto Sept. 27- 29 to have any hope. And to hold position, the Blue Jays need to take care of business against the Yankees Sept. 23-25 and the Red Sox Sept. 30-Oct. 2. At one point, the Blue Jays clearly looked like the best team, but they've had some of the same offensive problems that plague the Orioles, while the Red Sox established clear superiority in Camden Yards, after losing two of three to the O's in Fenway Sept. 12-14.
Strange game. Strange season.
http://baltimore.cbslocal.com/2016/09/23/local-paralympic-gold-medalists-will-throw-first- pitches-this-weekend/
Local Paralympic Gold Medalists Will Throw First Pitches This Weekend
CBS Baltimore September 23, 2016
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — The Orioles will have four Paralympians with local ties, including three gold medalists, throw out ceremonial first pitches this weekend when the Orioles host the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final three-game series at Oriole Park during the 2016 regular season.
On Saturday, September 24, sisters Hannah and Tatyana McFadden, from Clarksville, Md., will throw out simultaneous first pitches.
Hannah was born with a bone deformity in her left leg, which had to be amputated and replaced with a prosthetic leg. She placed fourth in the 100m and seventh in the 400m track events at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio.
Tatyana was born with spina bifida and is paralyzed from the waist down, but has won four gold medals in the 400m, 800m, 1500m, and 500m track events and earned two silver medals in the 100m and marathon events at the Rio Paralympics.
Tatyana ranks first in the world in six events, from 100 meters to the marathon, and won the ESPY Award for Best Female Athlete with a Disability in July.
U.S. Paralympic gold medalists McKenzie Coan and Brad Snyder will throw out simultaneous first pitches on Sunday, September 25.
Coan, a junior on Loyola University Maryland’s swimming and diving team, is a two-time Paralympian, who competed in the 2012 London Games and the 2016 Rio Games. She won three gold medals and one silver medal at the 2016 Rio Games, in addition to setting a new Paralympic record in the S7 freestyle race.
Snyder, a Baltimore native and former Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal Officer who lost his vision after sustaining wounds on the battlefield in Afghanistan, set a world record in the men’s S11 100-meter freestyle and took home three gold medals from the Rio Paralympics.
http://www.baltimoremagazine.net/2016/9/23/friday-replay-where-are-the-os-fans
Friday Replay: Where are the O's Fans? And other top news from Baltimore sports this week.
By Max Weiss / Baltimore Magazine September 23, 2016
Where are the Orioles fans?
The Orioles are in the midst of a red-hot playoff chase and just completed a crucial (although, by any measure, disastrous) four-game series against the division-leading Boston Red Sox. But one thing has been notably absent: the fans. (The first three games averaged 19,903 fans; at least one third of whom appeared to be rooting for the Red Sox. Grrrr.). Of all teams vying for the playoffs, only the Cleveland Indians have had lower attendance. In a recent article in ESPN, O’s centerfielder Adam Jones weighed in:
“We grind and grind and grind. We understand, there's a lot that that factors into it. Ticket prices being higher, although you can bring in food and beverages. Marketing and promotions. . . I get all that. I'm just saying, the city wanted a winner—the last five years we got ’em a winner. I don't if know if they've gotten complacent already on us winning. I wish they haven't. I hope they haven't. Because winning is fun every single year, and being in this race is exciting every single year. So to the ones that come every night, thank you with open arms.”
Another article, in The Baltimore Sun, speculated that perhaps the recent unrest in the city was keeping fans at bay. However, the Maryland Zoo says their attendance is up. And Visit Baltimore reports that other downtown attractions have not been adversely affected.
Could the actual answer, as Jones suggests, be complacency? If so, what the hell, Baltimore? We had a losing team for 14 years and we finally get a good one and you’re all—what?—bored with it now? Not acceptable!
Players feed off enthusiasm—it’s what puts the “advantage” in home field advantage—and the low attendance has been described by Jones as "sad" and downright “eerie.”
But it’s not too late. The O’s are home through September 25 (for a three game series against the D-backs) before heading out on the road to finish the season.
So go out and support the O’s and wear orange and black and make as much noise as humanly possible. Good seats, as they say, are available.
http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2016/09/24/myriad-os-thoughts-fans-embracing-kim-manny- mvo-drake-gets-win-gausman-update/
Myriad O’s thoughts: Fans embracing Kim; Manny as MVO; Drake gets win; Gausman update
By Dan Connolly / BaltimoreBaseball.com September 24, 2016
With all the storylines in this Orioles’ season — the hot start, the starting pitching mess, the homer barrage, the bullpen dominance, the lack of attendance and the ice-cold bats – the one that may intrigue me the most is the Orioles’ fans relationship with Hyun Soo Kim.
The fans booed the Korean outfielder on Opening Day at Camden Yards because he chose to exercise his contractual right to stay in the majors instead of going to the minor leagues after a horrendous spring adjusting to Major League Baseball.
Veteran outfielder Adam Jones was so taken aback that he called the Opening Day reaction “very disrespectful and distasteful.” He used even more colorful language that day, but you get the picture.
When I talked to Kim about the booing back in April, you could tell he was a bit stunned, but said he would do what he could to turn it around.
He has. He’s hit .301 with a .379 on-base percentage in his first year in the big leagues while playing a solid left field.
On Friday, the Orioles had a Kim T-shirt giveaway, complete with his name and “Orioles” both written in Korean.
“I really am honored and really appreciative that the organization is actually doing this for me,” Kim said through translator Danny Lee. “It’s a very exciting event.”
It’s a pretty crazy turnaround, from being booed to being one of only two Orioles’ players – Mark Trumbo was the other – to have his own T-shirt night at Camden Yards this year.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter moved Kim up to the leadoff spot Friday for just the second time this season, and first time with Jones in the lineup. Showalter said he wanted to give the struggling offense, “a little different look, a little different feel.”
But he also joked that, “It’s Kim’s night with the T-shirts, and I want to make sure that we get him out there front and center.”
(Showalter also joked that he hoped the translator, Lee, hadn’t been messing with them and the Korean script on the shirts actually reads, “Orioles” and “Kim.”)
With the majority of the announced 37,815 fans wearing the T-shirts, Kim walked in his first plate appearance. He walked again in the seventh and also threw out a runner from left field.
He was cheered each time – just another example of ‘Play well, and the fans will cheer.’
“Coming towards the end of the year, it’s great and I’m just glad that the fans are actually happy about me now,” Kim said. “Back in the early days (of the season), I wasn’t really able to perform, so it was kind of OK that they were responding that way. Now, they are (cheering me) and I’m glad.”
Manny is MVO – deservedly so
Third baseman Manny Machado was announced as the 2016 Louis M. Hatter Most Valuable Oriole Award winner on Friday and will receive the award during an on-field ceremony Sunday.
Local media votes on the honor, and this was one of the more interesting ones in recent years, because there were at least five guys that arguably had a claim to it.
We’re allowed to vote for first, second and third places, and I actually voted for four players, splitting my third-place vote between two guys that I thought were too worthy to leave off the ballot. Ultimately, seven players were mentioned on at least one ballot: Machado, Brad Brach, Zach Britton, Chris Davis, Adam Jones, Chris Tillman and Mark Trumbo.
“Manny’s very deserving of that consideration and being named, but he’d be the first to tell you there’s some other people there, too,’ Showalter said. “There were a lot of good choices there. He’s one of them.”
For me it came down to Machado and closer Zach Britton. I didn’t want to split my vote for first – I’ve never done that – so I went with the guy who has played just about every game and has been outstanding offensively and defensively.
This is Machado’s first MVO. He finished second last year to Davis.
He said the right things Friday afternoon as his team was freefalling in the pennant race.
“It’s always an honor when you get an award. It’s something that is humbling. … I see it more as a team thing. The team gave me an opportunity to put up the numbers that I have and have the great season that we’ve all had,” he said. “In the end of the day, none of this really matters unless we get to where we need to be.”
Drake gets first MLB win
You want a cool story from Friday?
Well, right-hander Oliver Drake, the U.S. Naval Academy product who was selected in the 43rd round in 2008 when no other club realized he was draft eligible, picked up the first win of his major league career Friday.
He threw a perfect 12th inning in his 15th big league appearance and Trumbo guaranteed the win with a walkoff homer in the bottom of the inning.
After nine pro seasons, the 29-year-old gets that elusive first win in a crucial game in September.
“Yeah, that was an awesome, awesome time for the first win,” he said. “You know, every game counts right now, so it’s huge.”
One quick thing on this: The 43rd round doesn’t even exist anymore. Now, MLB stops at 40.
Gausman scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday
Showalter said right-hander Kevin Gasman (intercostal) was feeling better and was still in line to pitch either Tuesday or Wednesday in Toronto.
Things could change, of course. Gausman was originally scheduled to start Sunday, but was pushed back while dealing with some discomfort in his ribs.
But the fact Showalter is still talking early next week is a positive. In fact, if Gausman pitches Tuesday, he theoretically would be able to pitch Sunday’s season finale if that game is a difference-maker. The other option is for Chris Tillman to pitch Tuesday and be available for Sunday.
I’d still think the latter is the more likely scenario. You know Showalter has looked at all the scenarios.
http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2016/09/24/trumbo-walkoff-win-real-gut-punch-goes-way/
Trumbo on walkoff win: ‘A real gut punch if it goes the other way’
By Dan Connolly / BaltimoreBaseball.com September 24, 2016
Here’s the thing about baseball.
So many little moments can determine the outcome of a game.
Or those little things can mean absolutely nothing, can be totally forgotten with one play, one swing, one pitch.
The Orioles squandered chance after chance Friday night at Camden Yards. They left 14 men on base. They were 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. They had one of their slowest runners thrown out at the plate in the ninth inning.
They only scored via three solo home runs.
Yet, when the dust settled and the coolers of water were splashed onto Mark Trumbo at home plate in the bottom of the 12th, another terrible, awful, no-good loss became a win that — who knows? — could help push this Orioles team back to the playoffs.
“That’s the million-dollar question. I hope so. I hope so,” said Trumbo, who hit a game-winning, solo homer to left field to give the Orioles their 6th walkoff victory of the year. “We’re giving it everything we have and obviously we’re gonna have to keep it going. We know what we have to do, and we’ve got the guys to do it.”
There was little about most of Friday night’s game that wasn’t frustrating.
Starter Yovani Gallardo, who ultimately delivered a quality start, gave up two runs in the first two innings to put the Orioles in an early hole. The offense again could not get a clutch hit with runners in scoring position in multiple innings. They couldn’t solve Shelby Miller, who entered the game 2-12 with a 6.90 ERA and may be considered the most disappointing pitcher in baseball, given his perceived upside.
And they nearly walked off in the ninth but J.J. Hardy was thrown out at the plate with two outs on a play that was reviewed for two minutes before the call, somehow, stood.
“I thought he was safe. I don’t know. The only thing they could have possibly said that they weren’t sure J.J. got there,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “The guy tagged him with the glove and had the ball in his throwing hand. … Another head-shaker. We’ve had quite a few of them this year.”
There were plenty of head-shakers. Showalter decided not to pinch-run Drew Stubbs for Hardy in the ninth. Showalter pinch-hit Michael Bourn for Hyun Soo Kim because he wanted to set up a sacrifice bunt, and Bourn popped-up.
So many things went wrong. And then …it didn’t.
All the negatives evaporated. A five-game, nail-in-coffin losing streak is instead perhaps the start of a winning streak against the undermanned Diamondbacks.
“I’m glad our guys feel good about themselves for one night, they’ve been frustrated. They’ve earned the right to play these meaningful games and I’m happy for them,” Showalter said. “You like being in this arena. That’s why you do this. The players, that’s what separates them. They don’t want to watch the highlights on SportsCenter. They want to be a part of them. And that’s the difference.”
The Orioles didn’t gain any ground in the wild card race, but didn’t lose any. They are still a half game behind the Detroit Tigers for the second spot. They, one would presume, are still alive and kicking – or bashing, anyway.
“We’ll take it, especially after having a few chances,” Trumbo said. “This is the type of game you definitely want to win, because it can be a real gut punch if it goes the other way.
“It would be a tough one to stomach. Fighting really hard in the thick of things, and then to have a couple chances. The effort’s there, but someone’s got to get that big hit eventually.”
http://www.baltimorebaseball.com/2016/09/23/jones-showalter-talk-baltimore-native- clevengers-tweets/
Jones and Showalter talk about Baltimore native Clevenger’s tweets
By Dan Connolly / BaltimoreBaseball.com September 23, 2016
Former Oriole and native Baltimorean Steve Clevenger was suspended Friday by the Seattle Mariners without pay for the rest of the season after he posted two racially-charged statements on Twitter in reference to the death of a black man shot by police in North Carolina and the subsequent violent protests there.
On Thursday, Clevenger issued a statement through his agent that apologized to anyone “who was offended” about the inflammatory tweets, which included, “Everyone should be locked behind bars like animals!” in reference to the protestors.
On Friday, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones, a teammate of Clevenger’s for parts of three years, was asked about the issue.
“Anybody is entitled to say whatever he wanted,” Jones said. “If that’s how he feels, that’s how he feels. Who am I to judge anybody on how they feel?”
Jones made news earlier this month when he told USA Today that there were no obvious, racial unrest protests by baseball players because baseball is primarily a white man’s sport.
“If I say something, people judge me, and so, he says something, let people judge him. Mariners took action as they see fit,” Jones said. “I got a game to win here in Baltimore. I’m not worried what goes on in Seattle.”
Jones and Clevenger were friendly, but not really friends. That, Jones said, is not unusual in Major League Baseball clubhouses like many workplaces. “I know him personally. I’ve never seen him say this. It’s not going to change anything about me or how I feel,” Jones said. “I don’t think we ever were friends. We were teammates, acquaintances. That’s what 99 percent of people you come across (are.) I played with a lot of people. To say I’m friends with most people I played with, that’s not true.”
Orioles manager Buck Showalter was also asked about the situation involving Clevenger, and he had little to say.
“Do I have a reaction? Yeah. Am I gonna state them publicly? No,” Showalter said. “Still kind of collecting my thoughts on it. … Obviously, it wasn’t good and that’s putting it mildly.”
Last August, Clevenger became the first Baltimore-born Oriole to homer at Camden Yards in the history of the stadium. Clevenger spent part of his childhood in the Pigtown neighborhood near Camden Yards and graduated from Mount Saint Joseph’s. He referenced his Baltimore upbringing in his issued apology.
“I grew up in a very culturally diverse area of America and I am very proud to come from there. I am also proud that my inner circle of friends has never been defined by race, but by the content of their character,” he said. “Any former teammate or anyone who has met me can attest to this and I pride myself on not being a judgmental person. I just ask that the public not judge me because of an ill-worded tweet.”
The Orioles acquired Clevenger as part of the ill-fated 2013 trade that sent Jake Arrieta to the Chicago Cubs. Clevenger batted .259 in 69 games with the Orioles from 2013 to 2015 and then was traded this offseason for slugger Mark Trumbo.
Clevenger hit just .221 in 22 games with the Mariners before a fractured bone in his hand ended his season in late June. He will lose roughly $30,000 in salary due to the suspension.
After several questions to Jones on Friday, the center fielder ultimately dismissed the inquiries, stressing that his mind was focused on getting the Orioles into the playoffs and not Clevenger.
“You guys are trying to get answers that you can’t look for. He said what he said. The Mariners took action. Cool,” Jones said. “We’ve got games to win here in Baltimore. If that’s what you guys are coming to me talking about when we’re in the fight for a playoff hunt, that means there’s something bad in the news.”
http://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/orioles-honor-bus-driver-for-rescuing-students-from-fire-in- college-park
Orioles honor bus driver for rescuing students from fire in College Park
By Ethan McLeod / FOX Baltimore September 23, 2016
BALTIMORE (WBFF) – A crowd at Camden Yards cheered tonight for Reneita Smith, who saved 20 children from a burning school bus on Sept. 12 in College Park.
Smith was driving the bus filled with students from Glenarden Woods Elementary School that day when it caught fire. However, even with smoke billowing from the vehicle, she managed to save all 20 children from inside, going back for each one.
A Prince George’s County fire department spokesperson that day said Smith stayed “calm throughout the ordeal.”
The Orioles honored Smith before the crowd at Friday’s game vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks, making her their Birdland Community hero.
http://www.wbal.com/article/191668/6/final-home-orioles-series-of-2016-has-giveaways- special-events
Final Home Orioles Series Of 2016 Has Giveaways, Special Events
WBAL Radio September 23, 2016
The Baltimore Orioles, still chasing the possibility of a playoff berth, are celebrating the final three home games of the regular season with giveaways and events.
The Orioles host the Arizona Diamondbacks in a late interleague matchup to close out their home slate. All weekend, fans will be picked at random for special experiences, like the chance to deliver the lineup card, tour the grounds crew area or even take in an inning with general manager Dan Duquette.
At Friday's game, all fans will get a Hyun Soo Kim t-shirt with "Orioles" on the front and the outfielder's name on the back, both written in Korean. Nine fans will be picked at random to take the field with the starters for the national anthem and one more will throw out the first pitch. The post-game fireworks will feature music picked by fans on social media.
On Saturday, there will be a pregame rally hosted by the Orioles and Maryland Transit Administration from 10 a.m. to noon at the Reisterstown Road Plaza Metro Station. Orioles public address announcer Ryan Wagner will host, and the Oriole Bird will be there. You'll also be able to get autographs from former Orioles Brian Bass, Al Bumbry and Ken Dixon.
At the evening game, the first 25,000 fans 15 and older will get an Orioles hooded sweatshirt. Again, one fan will toss out the first pitch. Random fans will get to participate in the lineup card exchange, hang out with Dan Duquette, learn the grounds crew's trade and visit with the Orioles broadcast teams. And pay attention when you're getting a hot dog from 5:45 to 6:15 p.m.. It might be handed to you by a player, as some players take the place of concessions workers and other park staffers.
On Sunday, all fans will get a Maryland flag brim Orioles cap. Fifteen Orioles players will take part in a pregame "Shirts Off Our Backs" ceremony where they hand their jersey to pre-selected fans, get them returned after the game...but the fans receive them autographed after the season's end. All fans 14 and under will get a chance to run the bases after the game.
Also, for each game, all fans who check in on the MLB.com Ballpark App get an offer for 15 percent off an order in the league's online shop.