Brian Matusz struggled yet again last night. Fortunately the team was able to overcome it but after coming out of the gate looking good with three scoreless innings Matusz couldn’t get out of the 4th. He walked the lead off batter, gave up a double, and then another walk to load the bases. He walked in a run, gave up another one on a sacrifice fly, and reloaded the bases on a bloop single before getting pulled from the game. Mark Hendrickson came in and gave up back to back singles to add three more runs to Matusz’ line, making it 3.1 IP, 2 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 3 K. Hendrickson finally got out of the inning and would go on to throw two more innings without allowing a run. Matt Albers started the 7th and got two outs but left with two runners on base after a double and a walk. Mike Gonzalez came in and struck out the first batter he faced and also threw a scoreless 8th inning. I saw him hit 96 mph on the radar gun which is a good sign that hes finally fully healthy. David Hernandez threw two scoreless innings in the 9th and 10th striking out three batters in the process. Alfredo Simon gave up two singles in the 11th but got a double play in between and notched his 15th save of the season.

The game started off great as the Orioles got a run in each of the first three innings. Brian Roberts led off the game with a double, moved to third on Nick Markakis’ ground out, and scored on Ty Wiggington’s sacrifice fly. In the 2nd we loaded the bases with a Felix Pie single and back to back walks from Matt Wieters and Corey Patterson. Cesar Izturis almost grounded into a double play but instead was safe at first allowing a run to score. Markakis hit his 7th homerun of the season to lead off the 3rd inning. After the Royals took a 5-3 lead the O’s chipped back into the game. We got a run in the 6th inning on Patterson’s RBI ground out after an error allowed Pie to third after he walked. Patterson struck again in the 8th to tie it up with a solo homerun and sent the game into extra innings. In the 11th Izturis led off with a walk and moved to third on Roberts’ single. Two batters later Wiggington lifted his second sacrifice fly of the game and the Orioles came away with a rare victory on the same day that Miguel Tejada was traded and Buck Showalter was hired to be the next manager. It was a great day all around, aside from another disappointing start from Brian Matusz.

Player of the game: Corey Patterson – 2-4, R, 2 RBI, BB, HR (6), SB (18) (.278 AVG)

Newly acquired Sean O’Sullivan (1-1, 4.00) pitches for the Royals tonight in game two. Jake Arrieta (3-3, 5.40) pitches for the Orioles.

Just when you didn’t think it couldn’t get any worse the Orioles get shut out by a rookie making his first start of the season. The same guy that had a 14.09 ERA in two starts with the Blue Jays last year kept the O’s off the board for 7 innings. We only had three hits in the game – a double by Ty Wiggington and singles by Brian Roberts and Jake Fox. Nick Markakis walked twice and Wiggington walked once. On the plus side Jeremy Guthrie continued his superb run since the all-star break giving up only an unearned run on 6 hits and a walk over 7 innings with 3 strikeouts. Once he came out of the game the Blue Jays exploded for four runs in the bottom of the 8th to ensure their victory. Koji Uehara got two outs but gave up a double. Will Ohman allowed that runner to score as well as three of his own on Lyle Overbay’s three run homer. The good news in all of this doesn’t even have to do with what happened on the field last night, but that multiple sources are reporting that Buck Showalter will be hired to manage the team on Monday and he will start on Tuesday. Apparently he will be signed through the 2013 season so the players will have a voice in the clubhouse that they know will be here for the long haul.

Player of the game: Jeremy Guthrie – 7 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, BB, 3 K (4.23 ERA)

Brian Matusz (3-11, 5.22) will kick off a four game series in Kansas City tonight against Kyle Davies (5-6, 5.52).

The losing woes continue as the Orioles lost their fourth game in a row and 11th straight this season against the Blue Jays. Kevin Millwood got beat around again. His first inning struggles didn’t get any better last night as he gave up three runs right away. Overall he gave up 6 runs on 10 hits and 4 walks over 5.1 innings with 5 strikeouts. Some good news from Michael Gonzalez, he pitched 1.2 scoreless innings with a strikeout. It would be great if he could come back and be the guy we signed him to be. Alfredo Simon struggled in the 8th inning giving up two runs on a homerun by Jose Bautista, his second of the game. The Orioles only runs came in the top of the 8th inning when Nick Markakis doubled in Julio Lugo who singled and Luke Scott hit a sacrifice fly to score Miguel Tejada, who also singled. Markakis and Tejada also had singles earlier in the game, as did Matt Wieters. Adam Jones had a pair of singles as well as his 14th double of the season and Felix Pie walked. Its not getting any better.

Player of the game: Adam Jones – 3-4, double (14) (.276 AVG)

One more in Toronto tonight as Brad Mills (0-0, -.–) makes his first start of the season against Jeremy Guthrie (4-10, 4.46), the only Oriole starter thats pitched well lately.

We can’t beat the Blue Jays this year. We’re 0-10 on the season against Toronto and they gave us another beating last night. Brad Bergesen looked like he was throwing batting practice out there. He gave up 10 hits (including 4 doubles and 3 homeruns) and a walk over 5 innings. Hes been struggling so much lately that I doubt he makes his next turn in the rotation. He needs to go back down to AAA Norfolk until September. Bring Zach Britton up and let him pitch until his innings limit is reached. Matt Albers pitched the last 3 innings allowing a run on 3 hits with 4 strikeouts. The offense did well last night, but not until we were already losing 8-0. Matt Wieters hit two homeruns and also walked twice. The Orioles would love if he could start being the switch hitting Jesus that everyone thought he would be. Luke Scott also hit a homerun, his 17th. Brian Roberts and Jake Fox each singled and doubled. Adam Jones doubled, Nick Markakis singled and walked, and Cesar Izturis singled. Our struggles with runners in scoring position continued as we went 0-6 in that regard.

Player of the game: Matt Wieters – 2-2, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 BB, 2 HR (8) (.251 AVG)

We’ll give it another shot tonight, sending Kevin Millwood (2-9, 5.84) to the mound against Ricky Romero (7-7, 3.52).

It was just another miserable day for Orioles pitchers yesterday. The Twins racked up 10 runs on 19 hits in the game. Jake Arrieta started off pretty good throwing two scoreless innings to open the game but then it all came apart. He gave up a grand slam in the 3rd inning and another run in the 4th and just like that his day was done. Mark Hendrickson came in for the 5th but he was no better. He gave up a run in the 5th inning and then three more in the 6th before pitching a scoreless 7th inning. Koji Uehara pitched a scoreless 8th although he gave up two hits and David Hernandez gave up a solo homerun in the 9th. We had 10 hits on offense but were 2-9 with runners in scoring position. Luke Scott had another good game with a pair of doubles and a walk. Corey Patterson had a single and a double, Felix Pie had a pair of singles, and Cesar Izturis hit a two RBI single. Matt Wieters, Ty Wiggington, and Miguel Tejada also singled. Despite getting most of our injured players back this has been the hardest stretch of baseball to watch all season for me. The trade deadline and managerial search should spice it up at the end of the week.

Player of the game: Luke Scott – 2-3, R, BB, 2 doubles (20) (.296 AVG)

The Orioles flew into Toronto today to play the Blue Jays. Brad Bergesen (3-8, 6.51) pitches against Brandon Morrow (6-6, 4.71) who pitched well against the O’s last week.

We didn’t really do anything on offense last night. Luke Scott continued his hot streak with another two hits including a two run homer to account for all of our runs. He should’ve had another one but Denard Span robbed him, leaping over the fence. Felix Pie doubled, Brian Roberts, Miguel Tejada, and Ty Wiggington singled, and Adam Jones walked twice. We were 0-5 with runners in scoring position. Brian Matusz got out of some jams but not enough to avoid the loss. He pitched 5 innings allowing 3 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts. Matt Albers, Michael Gonzalez, and Jason Berken combined to pitch the last 4 innings allowing four more runs to score. Berken has been struggling lately after three months of great pitching.

Player of the game: Luke Scott – 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR (16) (.291 AVG)

The series comes to a close today with Jake Arrieta (3-2, 4.87) matching up against Kevin Slowey (8-5, 4.94).

Jeremy Guthrie is pitching well at the right time. With the trade deadline fast approaching and plenty of teams looking for starting pitching Guthrie could be a target for a number of teams. It would be wise for the Orioles to move him if the right deal is put on the table. He has two years of arbitration left after this season so his value is higher than a half season rental. Tonight he pitched 7 solid innings giving up 6 hits and the only runs coming on a two run homer by Joe Mauer. He struck out 6 batters and didn’t walk anybody. Will Ohman started the 8th and got the first two outs but allowed a single and a walk. David Hernandez came in and got the last out although it was a little scary, a fly ball that was caught against the wall by Adam Jones. Alfredo Simon pitched a scoreless 9th to pick up the save. He gave up a single but a nice play by Miguel Tejada killed the Twins rally and ended the game.

The Orioles took an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a string of singles. Miguel Tejada started it off, moved to second on Luke Scott’s single, and scored on Adam Jones’ RBI single. After the Twins took a 2-1 lead in the top of the 6th inning the Orioles struck right back in the bottom half. After Tejada singled Scott crushed a two run homer into right center field, his 15th, to put the O’s on top for good. The only other hits were an opposite field triple by Ty Wiggington and a single by Craig Tatum but for once the Orioles got key hits when it mattered. The return of Brian Roberts was anti-climatic as he went 0-4 with a strikeout but it was nice to have him back and at least we won the game. It should also be noted that he batted right handed against the lefty and he hasn’t had many swings from that side of the plate in his rehab assignment. I’m sure he’ll get back into the swing of things before long.

Player of the game: Luke Scott – 2-4, R, 2 RBI, HR (15) (.288 AVG)

Tomorrow night Brian Matusz (3-10, 5.21) tries to turn things around against Scott Baker (7-9, 5.15) in game three of the series against Minnesota.

I have to admit that tonights game was very boring to watch. I just had a hard time getting exciting to watch Kevin Millwood’s return from the DL. We didn’t miss much, he was the same guy he was when he went on the disabled list. He ate some innings (6.1 to be exact) but gave up 5 runs including three in the first on 7 hits and 3 walks with 2 strikeouts. Michael Gonzalez also made his first appearance since coming off of the disabled list, giving up a hit and an intentional walk but no runs. Koji Uehara pitched the last two innings without allowing any runs and striking out two. The Orioles only had six baserunners in the game. Cesar Izturis and Jake Fox each doubled while Nick Markakis, Luke Scott, and Craig Tatum singled and Ty Wiggington walked. Wiggington was involved in the only entertaining part of the game when he was ejected in the middle innings. I’ve never seen an Oriole so worked up before. It was pretty refreshing. The first base umpire missed an obvious call at first base on a bad steal attempt. Wiggington clearly tagged him before he touched the base as he was trying to scramble back to first but the umpire called him safe. Wiggington was thrown out and could face a suspension and then a few batters later pitching coach Rick Kranitz was thrown out from the dugout. Juan Samuel didn’t like that and exploded on the home plate umpire earning himself an early exit as well. I love the fire, next time lets play some good baseball to go with it.

Player of the game: Koji Uehara – 2 IP, H, 0 ER, 2 K (2.51 ERA)

The series continues tomorrow with Jeremy Guthrie (3-10, 4.58) going up against Brian Duensing (3-1, 1.67) in game two.

I sense a trend here… Brad Bergesen had another rough outing today but at least he was able to eat some innings and spare the bullpen from too much more punishment. He gave up a run in the 1st, two in the 2nd, and another in the 3rd but was able to keep the Rays off the board in the 4th and 5th while the offense tied the game at four. Unfortunately for him he tired in the 6th inning and a mental mistake gave him an extra run on his line and a loss. He gave up a single to BJ Upton to lead off the inning and then Upton stole second base. It looked like he was out at second but the umpire missed the call. A groundball advanced him to third and then Bergesen walked the next two batters to load the bases. Jason Berken was brought in to get a groundball and start a double play and he did just that. Except Miguel Tejada hesitated after fielding a hard hit groundball right at him at third base before throwing home. The catchers throw to first wasn’t in time to get the runner. If Tejada would’ve just went to second base right away the double play would’ve been turned. Instead Berken walked the next batter to force in the game deciding run. Mark Hendrickson then came in and got out of the inning. He continued on and pitched a scoreless 7th and 8th before David Hernanez came in and threw a scoreless 9th, striking out two batters.

The Orioles did a good job of coming back from the early 4-0 defecit to tie the game. In the bottom of the 4th, Luke Scott singled and scored on Ty Wiggington’s 16th homerun of the season to cut the lead in half. Adam Jones followed with a single and then Jake Fox doubled him in to make it a one run game. We tied it up in the 5th inning when Miguel Tejada was hit by a pitch on an 0-2 count, Nick Markakis hit a ground rule double, and Scott bounced into an RBI groundout. Unfortunately we couldn’t cash in on any other opportunities and in fact, we were 0-9 with runners in scoring position. Wiggington and Scott each also doubled in the game. Tejada and Julio Lugo also singled and Corey Patterson walked. I’m sure it was tough to go out and play a game around noon after a 13 inning affair the night before but both teams had to do it. We’re now 34 games under .500 and we’re fast approaching the July 31st trade deadline. We’re expected to ship away some veterans so I wouldn’t expect the record to improve too much over the rest of the season.

Player of the game: Ty Wiggington – 2-4, R, 2 RBI, double (16), HR (16) (.250 AVG)

Kevin Millwood (2-8, 5.77) returns from the disabled list to start against the Twins in game one of a four game set. Its Carl Pavano’s (11-6, 3.48) turn to throw for Minnesota.

You knew it was going to be a crazy night when the Orioles hit back to back to back homeruns in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Ty Wiggington, Luke Scott, and Adam Jones each hit solo homeruns off of Matt Garza to give the O’s a 3-0 lead. Luke Scott hit another solo homerun in the 3rd inning to keep the lead at three after Tampa Bay got one in the top of the frame. The Rays took an 8-4 lead over the middle innings but the offense battled back. Craig Tatum and Cesar Izturis singled and advanced on Felix Pie’s groundout. Miguel Tejada doubled them both in and scored on Scott’s RBI single. The Rays tacked on one more and the O’s entered the bottom of the 9th down by two. Izturis led off with a single and Pie doubled to get runners in scoring position and Tejada had a case of deja vu with another 2 RBI double to send it into extra innings. Tampa Bay scored in the top of the 12th but the Orioles answered with a run of their own on a Scott Moore sacrifice fly after Corey Patterson doubled and moved to third on a fly ball. The game finally ended in the 13th. Izturis walked to start the inning, Pie sacrificed him to second, and Julio Lugo hit the game winning RBI single after coming in as a pinch runner for Tejada earlier in the game.

The young pitching continued its rough stretch last night although Jake Arrieta didn’t pitch as bad as Brian Matusz or Chris Tillman did. He started out ok but gave a run in the 3rd and 4th innings before losing it a bit in the 6th. A lead off double and then a single after a pop out started the inning. A wild pitch to score a run and a walk forced Juan Samuel to bring in Jason Berken. An error by Ty Wiggington allowed a run to score and a single scored another. Berken continued on in the 7th but a walk, a sacrifice bunt, and another walk was it for him. Will Ohman came in and walked the bases loaded and then gave up two runs charged to Berken on a single before getting out of the inning. David Hernandez pitched the 8th and 9th only giving up a solo homerun to Jason Bartlett. Alfredo Simon pitched a scoreless 10th and 11th but had a little trouble stretching into the 12th. Carlos Pena walked, stole second base, and advanced to third on Craig Tatum’s throwing error and then scored on a single. Koji Uehara got the last out of the inning and pitched a scoreless 13th to preserve the victory for the home team.

Player of the game: Luke Scott – 3-4, 2 R, 3 RBI, 2 HR (14) (.281 AVG)

The rubber game is in the early afternoon today. Brad Bergesen (3-7, 6.37) goes against James Shields (7-9, 4.86).