Wednesday, April 15, 2009
ARLINGTON, TEX. — Lose badly to the Rangers? Lose Melvin Mora? No problem.
It was the Alfredo Simon show in Arlington Wednesday, as the rookie right-hander slung 7.1 innings of one-run ball, defeating Texas, 2-1.
The Orioles scored a run on a first-inning base hit by Nick Markakis, then secured a second important run through a Gregg Zaun home run.
Given two inherited runners and one out, Chris Ray battled out of the eighth. George Sherrill had the easy 1-2-3 save to close it out.
The Orioles are now 5-4 on the young season.
ARLINGTON, TEX. — A blister will keep Melvin Mora out for a few weeks, as the Orioles placed him on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday.
Taking his place on the active roster will be infielder Scott Moore, called up from double-A Bowie.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
ARLINGTON — Chris Waters was blitzed for five runs and 10 hits in three innings, as the Rangers never looked back in an easy 7-2 win Tuesday.
Waters was hit hard by most of the Rangers, with each collecting a hit against Orioles pitching. Hank Blalock delivered the big blow — a three-run home run off Waters that put the Rangers up 5-1 in the third inning. Jim Johnson followed in a rare early position, and while he escaped the fourth inning unscathed, his two inherited runners scored in the fifth.
Offensively, the Orioles had little answer. Nick Markakis hit his second home run in as many games, putting the O’s up early, 1-0. The Orioles did collect 11 hits, but most were inconsequential against Texas starter Brandon McCarthy thanks to inning-ending rally killers by Luke Scott and Adam Jones, among others.
It’s Tuesday evening in Arlington, Texas, and our Orioles are hoping to take two straight from the Rangers, and three straight total. It’s been an odd but fun start to the season, one that has us a game over .500 at 4-3. So far, pretty good.
Our early strength has been the longball, which can be a tad disconcerting. I like offenses that manufacture runs through taking pitches, stealing bases and extra-base hits that recycle runners. Home runs are, of course, great, but you don’t want to own a one-dimensional offense. I’m liking the smaller production we’re receiving from the bottom of the order — Gregg Zaun, Cesar Izturis, Ryan Freel. They’re talented and experienced hitters who understand the science of hitting.
Still, the offense is performing well to win. Adam Jones is beginning to drive balls, and Brian Roberts and Nick Markakis are picking things up at the top.
One aspect of having a consistently dangerous offense is that you’re not using your bench too much. Lou Montanez has barely seen the field; same goes for Jolbert Cabrera. Robby Hammock has started just one game, while Chris Gomez has seen a few pinch hitting spots. For now we’re okay with the current structure, but some frequent rests for starters should be in order soon.
I enjoy the young pitching we possess, from the emergent Chris Waters to the clutch Jim Johnson. I also believe Troy Patton has a solid career ahead of him — for now, they’re the cornerstones of our young pitching. Together with George Sherrill, an improving Jeremy Guthrie and a healthy Danys Baez, I feel our pitching will only get better over the next month or so.
It’s still very early to take stock of the current team, but an exciting team playing over .500 is something of which to be proud. I’m pretty stoked to see how the team finishes here in Arlington, and how it tackles Boston, our next stop on the road.
— Say V. French, general manager of the Baltimore Orioles
Monday, April 13, 2009
ARLINGTON, TEX. — The Orioles punched a few runs home, silencing the first crowd of the year for the Texas Rangers with a sound 3-2 defeat.
Nick Markakis hit a two-run home run in the first inning off Rangers starter Vicente Padilla, which held up for some time. An eighth-inning sacrifice fly by Aubrey Huff drove in a third run, which became essential, as Texas threatened with a late run and a chance for more. Taylor Teagarden hit an earlier home run off Baltimore starter Mark Hendrickson.
Besides the home run, Hendrickson proved strong against Texas, allowing just four hits in six innings. A herd of relievers followed, including Dennis Sarfate in a clutch seventh inning. He couldn’t finish the job in the eighth, giving way to Chris Ray, who benefited from bonehead baserunning by Texas, leading to an incredible F8-5 double play with the lead runner slowing up at the plate. George Sherrill picked up his third save of the season.
Cesar Izturis collected three hits in the game, raising his average to a team-best .476.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Baltimore Orioles (3-3) at Texas Rangers
4:05 p.m. at Rangers Ballpark, Arlington, Tex.
Mark Hendrickson vs. Vicente Padilla
The Texas Rangers open their 2009 home schedule with three against the Orioles. Hoping to quiet the hot-hitting Rangers, the Orioles will send Mark Hendrickson to the hill. He’ll face Texas mainstay Vicente Padilla.
The O’s are coming off a series win over the AL champion Rays. Leading the charge in the series was Adam Jones, who plunked two home runs in the three-game set.
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
CF Adam Jones
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
1B Aubrey Huff
DH Luke Scott
C Gregg Zaun
SS Cesar Izturis
LF Ryan Freel
Sunday, April 12, 2009
BALTIMORE — The Orioles managed to take two of three from the American League champion Tampa Bay Rays, thanks mostly to Adam Jones’ big three-run blast.
The 5-4 win came late, with Jones smashing a seventh-inning home run to pull the O’s ahead. He capped a tough comeback, as Baltimore scratched two runs off Tampa Bay starter Matt Garza. A sacrifice fly and RBI single was all they reeled out of the righty.
Brian Roberts had one of the RBI, part of a three-hit game. Melvin Mora had two hits, and the O’s had 10 in total, but most times they mounted a rally, Garza killed them quickly.
Baltimore starter Jeremy Guthrie had a better outing than his first, but still struggled at times. He surrendered three runs in six innings, allowing merely three hits but walking two. He struck out five. If anything, he seems to be gaining his form.
Chris Ray allowed a fourth run, making way for Danys Baez, who walked three in 0.2 frames. Jim Johnson cleaned up the mess with a sparkling two outs in the eighth. And coming back from a tough blown save, George Sherrill closed the door and received his second save of the season.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Tampa Bay Rays (4-1) at Baltimore Orioles (2-3)
1:05 p.m. at Oriole Park at Camden Yards, Baltimore, Md.
Matt Garza (0-0, 6.00 ERA) vs. Jeremy Guthrie (0-1, 18.00 ERA)
Jeremy Guthrie was not strong in his first 2009 start; he’ll have his say again when he faces the American League champions Sunday afternoon.
With the bats cold on Saturday, a few small changes have been made to the batting order. Robby Hammock will go behind the plate, but Gregg Zaun will stay on board as designated hitter against the righty Matt Garza. Luke Scott moves to left field and Ryan Freel will sit.
Orioles
2B Brian Roberts
CF Adam Jones
RF Nick Markakis
3B Melvin Mora
1B Aubrey Huff
LF Luke Scott
DH Gregg Zaun
C Robby Hammock
SS Cesar Izturis
BALTIMORE — Orioles starting pitcher Troy Patton suffered a strained hamstring during Saturday night’s game against the Rays. He has been listed as day-to-day.
Manager Dave Tremblay noted Patton should make his next start in Boston.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
BALTIMORE — The Orioles put the tying run in scoring position against Troy Percival, but this time it wasn’t meant to be. The O’s lost to the Rays Saturday, 1-0.
Andy Sonnanstine went eight scoreless innings, giving up merely three hits. A Ryan Freel walk led off the ninth, but Percival got a sacrifice by Brian Roberts, a strikeout of Adam Jones and a ground out by Nick Markakis to slam the door.
The O’s bigger loss, however, was starter Troy Patton, who left during the sixth inning with apparent hamstring pain. Matt Albers filled in nicely, giving up one hit and one walk in three innings. Jim Johnson pitched a one-hit ninth. But Patton — four hits and a run through five — was the toughest loss Saturday night.
