O’s drop two of three to Nationals

The Baltimore Orioles could have earned a sweep but instead dropped two of three to the Washington Nationals.

The Orioles took the first game of the series and then seemed poised to at least take two of three.

However, a scuffling offense and a bullpen that is once again struggling became their undoing.

It also didn’t help that several mental mistakes were made on the base paths, an all too familiar story for O’s fans.

Baltimore gets a day off before returning home for a three-game series with the Oakland Athletics.

Thursday, May 27, 2010 at 3:27 pm by steve

Orioles fall to Nationals

The Baltimore Orioles squandered a three-run lead on Saturday, losing the second game of a three-game set with their rival Washington Nationals, 7-6.

The Orioles got a rare inside-the-park home run from Adam Jones, who circled the bases after Nationals center fielder Nyjer Morgan couldn’t come up with a deep fly ball to the warning track. Morgan apparently thought the ball had bounced off his glove and over the wall for a home run and reacted by throwing his glove in disgust, not realizing that the ball had actually bounced in front of him to stay in play.

Still, it wasn’t enough. Starting pitcher Brad Bergesen struggled again, surrendering six runs and 11 hits in just five innings of work. His ERA ballooned to 6.10 for the season.

Ty Wiggington continued to be a pleasant surprise for Baltimore, driving in four runs and hitting his 13th homer of the season. Nick Markakis and Miguel Tejada both went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

Sunday, May 23, 2010 at 2:28 pm by Raj Sethi

Roberts resumes baseball activities

Baltimore Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts has been cleared to resume baseball activities.

The second baseman is starting with hitting balls off of a tee and fielding grounds at his position.

The team will eventually allow Roberts to do more intense running and to start taking batting practice.

After that, he will likely go on a rather extensive rehabiliation assignement in the minor leagues.

The Orioles and Roberts are both targeting a potential mid-June return. He is eligible to come off of the disabled list on June 9.

Saturday, May 22, 2010 at 6:51 pm by steve

Orioles home for two, then hit road for 11 of next 14

By Bud L. Ellis

The Baltimore Orioles hope to enjoy a taste of home success at the start of this week, because a rough end to May looms for a team that’s experienced plenty of tough times so far in 2010.

The Orioles opened a two-game home set with Kansas City on Monday at Camden Yards, a quick respite against a team that’s only two games better than Baltimore’s 12-26 mark – the worst mark in the majors.

Baltimore opens the week after dropping the final two games of a series at home to Cleveland. Prior to that, the Orioles had shown some life, winning three in a row after a three-game losing streak dropped the O’s to 9-24.

After the two games with K.C., it’s back on the road for 11 of the next 14 for Baltimore. It starts with a two-game set at Texas Wednesday and Thursday, followed by a three-game series this weekend in D.C. against the surprising Nationals.

Baltimore comes back home next week to face Oakland for three, then hits the road for six games: three each at Toronto and in New York against the Yankees.

Baltimore opens the week 14 ½ games behind Tampa Bay in the AL East.

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Monday, May 17, 2010 at 7:29 pm by bud

Tags: American League East, Baltimore Orioles, Camden Yards, Cleveland Indians, Kansas City Royals, New York Yankees, Oakland A’s, Tampa Bay Rays, Texas Rangers, Toronto Blue Jays

Johnson could be out six weeks

Baltimore Orioles setup man Jim Johnson could be out for the next six weeks with an elbow injury.

The team sent Johnson back down to Triple-A to work on his stuff after he struggled much of this season.

Johnson said he had been dealing with an elbow injury since spring training but thought he could pitch through it.

The Orioles believe Johnson just needs rest before beginning a throwing program in a few weeks.

However, he will visit Dr. James Andrews to determine if surgery might be necessary, which would cost him six weeks.

Monday, May 10, 2010 at 5:37 pm by steve

Roberts could miss three months

The Baltimore Orioles continue to receive bad news on the current of second baseman Brian Roberts.

They have been informed that Roberts is still at least three weeks away and could be out for as much as three more months.

The team had no idea the back injury was this serious, though it had become apparent in recent weeks that it was a big problem.

Without Roberts at the top of their lineup, Baltimore has really scuffled to score runs and wins games.

Roberts is trying to remain upbeat about the injury and said there has been no talk of season-ending surgery.

Saturday, May 8, 2010 at 1:59 pm by steve

O’s sweep away Red Sox

The Baltimore Orioles reached the peak of their season thus far with a three-game sweep of the Boston Red Sox.

In the first game, the Orioles used a decent outing from David Hernandez and a big night from Miguel Tejada to scratch out a win.

In the second game, Brad Bergesen struggled but the offense erupted for 12 runs in another victory.

In the series finale, the Orioles got an outstanding effort from Kevin Millwood and Will Ohman and Ty Wigginton knocked in the game-winning run in the 10th inning.

The Orioles hope that the sweep will help put the awful start to the season in the rearview mirror.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 8:26 pm by steve

Orioles facing big climb in AL East

By Bud L. Ellis

Twenty-three games into the 2010 season, and the Baltimore Orioles already were facing a double-digit hole in the AL East standings.

That tells you plenty about the Orioles and the way their season started. Entering the final day of April, Baltimore sported a dismal 4-22 record. It looks a little better after a 5-4 win over Boston on Friday and a 12-9 triumph on Saturday.

Still, 6-18 on the season isn’t what’s needed when you’re playing in a division with the Tampa Bay Rays, the Red Sox and the defending World Series champion New York Yankees.

Trailing Tampa Bay by 11 ½ games as the calendar changed, the Orioles have plenty of work to do to try and crawl back toward .500. Maybe May will signal better times, as the Orioles opened the month with Saturday’s victory over the Red Sox.

It won’t be easy, though. Considering the Orioles play the Rays, BoSox and Yanks 18 times each, that’s 54 games out of 162 (1/3 of the schedule) coming against the three powerhouse teams in the AL East.

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Sunday, May 2, 2010 at 8:36 am by bud

Tags: AL East, Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Major League Baseball, New York Yankees, Tampa Bay Rays