World Champions 1983, 1970, 1966

American League Champions 1983, 1979, 1971, 1970, 1969, 1966 American League East Division Champions 2014, 1997, 1983, 1979, 1974, 1973, 1971, 1970, 1969

American League Wild Card 2012, 1996

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Game Stories:

Another crush from Chris Davis helps Orioles end three-game skid with 2-1 win over

Yankees The Sun 9/8

O's edge Yanks on 9th-inning blast from Davis MLB.com 9/9

Showalter on Jones, Hardy, Gonzalez, 2016 schedule and more (O's win 2-1)

MASNsports.com 9/8

Chris Davis hits tiebreaking homer in ninth as O's win 2-1 MASNsports.com 9/8

Davis hits majors-leading 41st HR in 9th, Orioles edge Yanks AP 9/8

Davis' home run is big in Orioles' 2-1 win over Yankees CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/8

Columns:

Chris Davis could be homering his way out of Baltimore; Kevin Gausman faces an old

friend The Sun 9/9

Schmuck: Dan Duquette deserves chance to right his wrongs after Orioles' rough 2015

The Sun 9/8

Orioles notebook: Adam Jones out of lineup Tuesday with shoulder injury The Sun 9/8

Orioles open 2016 against Twins at Camden Yards The Sun 9/8

Gausman bests high school pal Bird in Bronx MLB.com 9/9

Lefties not safe with Davis at the plate MLB.com 9/8

Jones out of O's lineup; Wieters, Hardy return MLB.com 9/8

Orioles to open 2016 at home against Twins MLB.com 9/8

Jimenez opposes Sabathia in series finale MLB.com 9/8

Leftovers from last night and what's cooking tonight MASNsports.com 9/9

Wrapping up a 2-1 win MASNsports.com 9/8

Adam Jones: "There's a lot of things that's hurting, man" MASNsports.com 9/8

Jones sits, but Wieters and Hardy return to Orioles lineup MASNsports.com 9/8

Norfolk playoff preview: A look at Terry Doyle, who takes the ball in Game 1 tonight

MASNsports.com 9/9

O's game blog: Orioles are 1-7 this season at Yankee Stadium MASNsports.com 9/8

Orioles-Yankees Preview SI.com 9/9

Banged-up Orioles CF Jones sits, treats 4 kids to souvenirs AP 9/9

Plenty of questions surround Orioles after late-season implosion ESPN.com 9/9

Orioles try for elusive series win against Yankees CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/9

Machado experiment at short over for now, Hardy's back CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/8

Jones out of Orioles lineup with shoulder injury CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/8

Orioles open 2016 season at home Apr. 4 against Twins CSN Mid-Atlantic 9/8

Red Land Little League baseball team to be honored by the Baltimore Orioles

PennLive.com 9/8

Baltimore Orioles – PlayerWatch Reuters 9/8

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bal-chris-davis-clears-fence-in-ninth-orioles-end-

threegame-skid-with-21-win-over-yankees-20150908-story.html

Another crush from Chris Davis helps Orioles end three-

game skid with 2-1 win over Yankees

By Dan Connolly / The Baltimore Sun

September 8, 2015

Who knows what this offseason will bring and whether Chris Davis' tenure with the Orioles will

come to a close in October.

But if this is the end, the slugger is going out with a flourish.

Davis slammed a solo homer to left in the top of the ninth Tuesday night to give the Orioles a 2-1

victory over the New York Yankees before an announced and stunned 30,785 in the Bronx.

It was Davis' 41st homer of the season — the most in the majors — and his sixth homer and 10th

RBI in seven September games. He's on a seven-game hitting streak, batting .400 in that span.

“He's a freak. He just continues to do those type of things,” Orioles starter Kevin Gausman said.

“Seems like every time we need a big hit, he's coming up to bat that inning and he's doing it. He's

an awesome guy, too. Just all-around great; great to be around.”

Davis' heroics gave the Orioles (66-72) just their fourth win in their past 19 games. It also

allowed them to temporarily lift themselves out of a last-place tie with the Boston Red Sox, who

lost Tuesday.

“He's been solid in a time of need,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Davis. “He's been

able to dial up some things that we need. It's hard to do because they all know what he's capable

of.”

It was Davis' 10th homer in 150 at-bats against a left-handed pitcher this season. Tuesday night's

victim was Chasen Shreve (6-2), who had thrown just his third pitch of the evening in relief of a

masterful Masahiro Tanaka.

Having never faced Shreve, Davis conceded he didn't know much about the Yankees lefty

heading into the at-bat.

“We went over him in the hitters' meeting, but some guys will pitch you differently than they

pitch everybody else,” Davis said. “Some guys will kind of stay true to the reports. Just go out

there and try to look for a good pitch. I think it was big for me to get in a hitter's count in that

situation and just look for something I can drive.”

The big swing is what the Orioles needed — thanks to a bullpen that didn't allow a hit in four

scoreless innings. Darren O'Day (6-2) picked up the win by retiring both batters he faced and

closer Zach Britton threw a perfect ninth for his 31st save of the year. Showalter focused on T.J.

McFarland's 2 1/3 scoreless innings as the difference-maker.

“Just a reminder what Mac did for us last year and did for us this year when he's here,”

Showalter said. “If you look at his numbers in this ballpark and teams in the division, it's been

nice to have him back.”

For eight innings, the Orioles couldn't do much against Tanaka, who retired the first 12 Orioles

he faced. He lost a potential perfect game and no-hitter in the fifth.

Davis led off the fifth with a walk. He then moved to third on a two-out single by Matt Wieters,

who hadn't played since Friday because a sore left wrist.

Wieters' single to right to break up the no-hitter almost wasn't. The bouncer skipped under the

glove of shortstop Didi Gregorius, who was playing on the right side of the field in the shift. Had

he let it go, second baseman Stephen Drew was in position to grab that grounder in shallow right

and throw out Wieters at first.

Tanaka ended the inning with a popout from shortstop J.J. Hardy, who was playing for the first

time since going on the disabled list Aug. 24 with a groin injury.

The Orioles wiped out Tanaka's shutout bid in the sixth when Ryan Flaherty lined a 93-mph

fastball over the right-field wall for a 1-0 lead. It was Flaherty's eighth homer of the season and

fourth in his past 10 games, dating to Aug. 26.

The lead was short-lived. Alex Rodriguez led off the bottom of the sixth with his own solo

homer, one that landed in the first row of the left-field seats just out of the reach of a leaping

Nolan Reimold.

With the homer, Rodriguez passed Rickey Henderson for 22nd on the all-time hits list with 3,056

and became just the second player in baseball history, along with Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, to

have 30 home runs in 15 different seasons.

That was all for Gausman, who had already thrown 103 pitches through five-plus innings on a

muggy night in the Bronx.

“I don't know if it was laborious, but that team makes you labor. There's a lot of power

throughout the lineup and you're trying to be careful,” Showalter said. “Whether it's a two-inning

outing or a seven-inning outing, [Gausman] takes it in and he digests it and you know he is going

to learn from things as he goes forward. And he's going to be a good pitcher for us.”

Gausman was charged with one run on six hits and a walk while striking out five, including

twice fanning his former Grandview (Colo.) High School teammate Greg Bird.

“It was pretty cool,” Gausman said. “Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to really let it soak in

as guys were on base. But, just really cool.”

Gausman threw 27 pitches in a scoreless first inning. Three different times in his first five

innings, he had two runners on base before escaping without permitting a run. The most

impressive was in the fifth, when he threw a 98-mph elevated fastball Brian McCann for the

third out.

The Orioles have not had a starter last beyond 5 2/3 innings in their past 10 games. Gausman is

the last one to do it — pitching 6 2/3 innings in a loss in Texas on Aug. 28.

This time it didn't hurt them, partially because Davis continues to slug his way to a big contract

this offseason, whether it is with the Orioles or another club. He is the only Oriole in team

history with more than 40 homers in two different seasons.

And he came through with a big moment Tuesday.

“I just thought we did a good job of hanging in there,” Davis said. “[The Yankees are] a good

team, obviously, and we did a great job of minimizing our mistakes tonight and trying to take

advantage of the opportunities that we had to score.”

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/148163214/chris-davis-powers-orioles-to-victory

O's edge Yanks on 9th-inning blast from Davis

By Brittany Ghiroli and Bryan Hoch / MLB.com

September 9, 2015

NEW YORK -- Chris Davis led off the ninth inning with his Major League-leading 41st home

run on Tuesday, helping to lift the Orioles to a 2-1 victory over the Yankees, marking

Baltimore's fourth win in its last 19 games.

Davis' go-ahead, opposite-field shot came off left-hander Chasen Shreve. The slugger has now

tallied 18 home runs that have either tied the game or given the Orioles the lead.

"He's a freak," Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman said. "He just continues to do those type of

things. Seems like every time we need a big hit, he's coming up to bat that inning and he's doing

it. He's an awesome guy, too. Just all-around great, great to be around."

The Yankees took the hard-luck loss and fell 1 1/2 games back of the Blue Jays in the American

League East chase despite a sterling outing from Masahiro Tanaka. The right-hander struck out a

season-high 10 batters, carrying a no-hitter into the fifth inning while permitting six hits and a

walk.

"He was great tonight; one run in eight innings," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "You can't

ask for any more. We just didn't come up with a big hit."

The Orioles' lone scoring blow off Tanaka came in the sixth inning on Ryan Flaherty's full-

count, line-drive homer to right field. Alex Rodriguez also hit a sixth-inning home run, his 30th,

off Gausman, who worked five-plus innings.

The victory was credited to Darren O'Day in relief, with O's lefty T.J. McFarland also coming up

big with 2 1/3 scoreless frames. McFarland has not allowed an earned run to the Yankees in his

last 11 appearances.

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Davis' power surge continues: In seven games in September, Davis has six home runs as the

pending free agent continues his late-season surge. Davis has 102 RBIs in 136 games, and while

his slugging percentage is higher against righties, his batting average against left-handed pitching

is actually better at .293.

"It's good. Coming up with the Rangers, I felt like I always hit the ball well against left-handers

in the Minor Leagues. Obviously, the big leagues are a little bit different story," Davis said. "But

over the past few years I've just made little adjustments here and there and I tried to do

everything I can to not overswing or go up there and look for a certain pitch. Just try to see the

ball and hit it and it's worked out for me."

A-Rod's history lesson: A-Rod's sixth-inning homer was his 30th of the year, giving him 15

career seasons of 30 or more homers, tying Hank Aaron for the most all time. It was also

Rodriguez's 3,056th career hit, surpassing Rickey Henderson for sole possession of 22nd place

on the all-time hits list. Next up is Craig Biggio (3,060).

"It's great. I never thought I'd have much expectations," Rodriguez said. "But right now, I'm

focusing on every at-bat, just trying to help the team win."

Ryan dazzles: Third baseman Brendan Ryan contributed one of the Yanks' best defensive plays

of the season in the seventh inning, diving to his left on a hardJonathan Schoop smash, gloving

the ball and firing to second to begin a 5-4-3 double play. Not only did Ryan ensure some

highlight-reel time, but the play might have saved a run as Matt Wieters doubled later in the

inning off Tanaka and was stranded at second base.

"We didn't get the win, but at the moment, it was a big play," Ryan said. "It was exciting to be a

part of that and it was good to see Masa get fired up, too."

Gausman comes up short: The O's righty lasted just five-plus innings, the 10th consecutive

start in which a Baltimore pitcher hasn't completed six innings. Gausman got more comfortable

as the game went on and was able to pitch out of several jams. He also kept former Grandview

High School teammate Greg Bird in check, as Bird struck out in both at-bats against Gausman.

"We actually went to dinner last night and I was joking, 'I'm going to strike you out every one of

your at-bats,'" Gausman said with a grin. "But he also said he was going to hit a home run off

me, so it goes both ways. It's pretty cool. To be from Colorado, it's pretty rare."

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

Tanaka has struck out at least 10 in six career games, with two of those outings coming against

the Orioles.

REPLAY REVIEW

The Yankees successfully challenged a call at first base in the sixth inning, as Davis was ruled

out on what was initially scored an infield single. After review, second baseman Stephen Drew's

throw to Tanaka covering was shown to have beaten Davis to the bag. The Yanks have had 18 of

25 challenges overturned this season.

Baltimore unsuccessfully challenged a call at third base in the ninth inning, when Jimmy

Paredes was ruled to have been caught stealing on the tag by Ryan. After review, the call on the

field was confirmed, ending the inning.

WHAT'S NEXT

Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 4.24 ERA) will take the mound for the Orioles on Wednesday at

7:05 p.m. ET at Yankee Stadium as the righty tries to reverse a poor second half. Jimenez did

earn a win in his last start in Toronto, despite issuing six walks.

Yankees: CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.27 ERA) will return from the disabled list on Wednesday as the

Yankees complete the three-game series with Baltimore. Sabathia will be making his first start

since Aug. 23 due to right knee inflammation. The left-hander is 18-7 with a 3.48 ERA in 32

career starts vs. the Orioles.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/09/showalter-on-jones-hardy-gonzalez-2016-

schedule-and-more.html

Showalter on Jones, Hardy, Gonzalez, 2016 schedule and

more (O's win 2-1)

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he didn't bother to ask Adam Jones about

the center fielder's status for tonight's game, about how the right shoulder was feeling after

discomfort forced his removal yesterday in the eighth inning.

Showalter isn't meeting Jones for the first time here.

"You check with him, you're going to pretty much get the same answer," Showalter said. "Adam

is one of those guys who takes playing every day real seriously. That one last night, l watch him

between at-bats and after every throw, that one stung him pretty good. Wrist is a little sore, too.

Pretty good throws he's been getting off.

"He's been sore like a lot of our (guys). Everyone has got something, but he's been battling that

for a while. I didn't really ask him today. He's one of those guys you don't ask. I know what he's

going to say. Hopefully, he'll be back there tomorrow and see what his availability is for

tonight."

J.J. Hardy came off the disabled list today and immediately moved into the lineup. The Orioles

are 49-42 when he starts and 16-30 when he's not in the lineup.

"It doesn't surprise anybody," Showalter said. "He's a good player and we're a better team when

he's playing. It kind of brings everything (together).

"When you've got Manny (Machado) and J.J. there, we match up pretty well with anybody, and

Jon (Schoop) is developing into potentially one of those guys, too. And of course, Chris (Davis).

"I really think J.J.'s going to finish strong offensively. He's got a lot of nagging things that he

finally got out of the way that's been a challenge for him all year."

Machado is back at third base tonight. The Orioles think he can make the transition to shortstop,

his natural position, but he's too valuable on the hot corner.

"I don't mean to sounds smug, but about what we thought. He's capable there," Showalter said. "I

don't think we've had a good enough complete feel, but if you look at him and compare him to

other shortstop around the league and compare him with other third basemen, I think there's a

bigger chasm than there is at shortstop.

"He's capable of doing both. Fortunately, we have J.J. and don't have that need."

Showalter doesn't expect Miguel Gonzalez to be ready to come off the disabled list when he's

eligible on Sept. 15. Gonzalez is receiving treatment on his right shoulder and elbow, but he told

me today that he's doing exercises and should start throwing next week.

"First time yesterday, I was talking in the dugout, he felt he really made some strides there,

where he didn't feel day-to-day discomfort. So that's encouraging," Showalter said. "Felt like the

shoulder would be the quickest and the elbow might be a little slow because of the shot. I'm

happy with his progress."

Though Gonzalez will remain on the DL past the date that he's eligible to be activated, Showalter

said, "Hoping not long after that."

There's still a chance that Gonzalez will pitch again this season.

"I hold out hope that he, and it would be good for he and us that he gets some starts under his

belt. One, two, three or four," Showalter said.

"We are hoping he's pitching in the playoffs and we win 15 in a row."

Showalter chose his words carefully when discussing the 2016 schedule that was released today.

He's really not a fan of making three West Coast trips.

"Oh, man, don't get me in trouble," he said. "We didn't have anything to do with it, much at all,

obviously. I've got an opinion on it. It is what it is. A great way to earn a living. Let's hope we all

have that opportunity. I guarentee you we could go to every club and they could find some part

of their schedule that just didn't make much sense, but I'm sure there are good reasons.

"Like I said, I try not to be paranoid, I just try to be alert. If you were in some conspiracy theory,

you'd have something to go with."

The Orioles make three trips that last nine or 10 games.

"It's become very fashionable," Showalter said. "I guarantee the Yankees could give us some. It

is what it is. It's not a level playing field. We all face different challenges in the schedule, but

some teams don't. It just depends. What may appear as a tough schedule might not be as much as

the season goes on. You just never know how it's going to play out.

"The one thing we do all compete the same is the wild card, but yet we're facing different

competition. We face Washington, where somebody else might face somebody else. And other

teams in our division don't play the same teams that we play home and away. I know the way it

was originally designed with the interleague, but we've kind of gotten away from that,

obviously."

Following yesterday's loss, the Orioles announced that they optioned outfielder Junior Lake and

reliever Oliver Drake to Triple-A Norfolk, which starts the playoffs on Wednesday.

"We're always going to err on the side of helping the Baltimore club," Showalter said. "Didn't

think they'd be playing and pitching here much and wanted to keep them active and contributing

and continuing to develop. We're still getting our arms around Junior. We want to keep him

playing. He's been in the big leagues. He doesn't need to be exposed to the environment. Oliver

has, too.

"It helps everybody. They get better. It helps us evaluate. We've got plenty of arms and bodies

here and I just think it was good as a whole. There are a lot of reasons that seem to make sense

for everybody."

It's not known whether Lake and Drake will be recalled after the conclusion of the International

League playoffs.

"I don't know," Showalter said. "They could go as long as the 19th. I hope they do. We'll address

that when that happens. There were no promises made, but we'll see."

Update: Ryan Flaherty lined a home run into the right field seats leading off the top of the sixth

inning to break a scoreless tie.

Flaherty has four home runs in the last 10 games that he's played.

The Orioles didn't have a baserunner until Masahiro Tanaka walked Chris Davis to open the

fifth. Matt Wieters singled with two outs to break up the no-hit bid.

Kevin Gausman has thrown 97 pitches in five innings. He's allowed five hits. The Yankees have

put two runners on base with two outs in three of the five innings.

Update II: Alex Rodriguez homered on a 98 mph fastball with the count full leading off the

bottom of the sixth to tie the game.

T.J. McFarland replaced Gausman, who threw 103 pitches. No Orioles starter has gone more

than 5 2/3 innings in 10 consecutive games.

Gausman allowed one run and six hits in five-plus innings, with one walk, five strikeouts and a

home run. He threw 103 pitches, 67 for strikes.

Update III: Chris Davis led off the top of the ninth inning with his 41st home run, a shot to left

field off left-hander Chasen Shreve to break a 1-1 tie.

Davis has 10 home runs in 150 at-bats versus left-handers this season. He was batting

.289/.340/.510 against them before tonight.

McFarland tossed 2 1/3 scoreless and hitless innings. Darren O'Day retired both batters he faced

in the eighth.

Update IV: The Orioles hung on to defeat the Yankees 2-1.

Zach Britton recorded his 31st save by retiring the Yankees in order in the ninth and the Orioles

won for only the fourth time in 19 games. They improved to 19-24 in one-run games. Darren

O'Day improved to 6-2.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2015/09/chris-davis-hits-a-tiebreaking-homer-in-

the-ninth-as-os-win-2-1-at-new-york.html

Chris Davis hits tiebreaking homer in ninth as O's win 2-1

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com

September 8, 2015

Chris Davis probably was not unhappy when the Yankees had a lefty reliever face him to start

the top of the ninth tonight. Chasen Shreve came on in a 1-1 game.

After all, Davis has hit lefies well this year, batting .289 with an OPS of .850 and nine homers in

149 at-bats. Then, when Shreve left a 2-0 fastball up and out over the plate, Davis lined it into

the left-field stands for his 41st homer.

That blast put the Orioles ahead 2-1 and they won by that score tonight at Yankee Stadium to end

a three-game losing streak. In winning for just the fourth time in 19 games, the O's improved to

66-72.

The Orioles ended a five-game losing streak at Yankee Stadium, improving to 2-7 there this year

and 6-9 in the season series.

The Orioles went 1-2-3 in order on offense over the game's first four innings as Masahiro Tanaka

needed just 40 pitches to get 12 outs. He allowed a walk and infield single in the fifth.

But Ryan Flaherty led off the sixth and lined a homer to right for a 1-0 Orioles lead. Flaherty hit

a 94 mph fastball on a 3-2 pitch. It was his eighth homer and his fourth over his past 10 games.

The Orioles' two runs came on homers tonight and they've hit two or more homers in five of their

last six games, hitting 13 in that span.

But Alex Rodriguez hit his 30th homer leading off the home half of the sixth for the 1-1 tie.

Rodriguez hit a 98 mph Kevin Gausman fastball on a 3-2 pitch. It was his 67th career homer

against the Orioles. That is second all-time versus the Orioles, behind only Harmon Killebrew,

who hit 68.

Gausman ran some deep pitch counts early in the game and needed 27 pitches to get through the

first inning and 47 to get through two frames. He was replaced by T.J McFarland after the

Rodriguez homer. So Gausman went five-plus innings, allowing six hits and one run with one

walk and five strikeouts. He threw 103 pitches. Darren O'Day got the win and Zach Britton

picked up his 31st save in 34 chances.

For the O's rotation, this was the 10th straight game where the starter failed to pitch at least six

innings and the 12th consecutive game without a quality start. For New York, Tanaka went eight

innings, allowing six hits and one run with one walk and 10 strikeouts in a no-decision. He threw

104 pitches. New York falls to 77-60.

In the finale of this series and road trip on Wednesday night, Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 4.24 ERA)

faces left-hander CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.27 ERA).

http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/09/08/ap-bba-orioles-yankees-1st-ld-writethru

Davis hits majors-leading 41st HR in 9th, Orioles edge Yanks

Associated Press / SI.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) In a season that's become pretty frustrating for the Baltimore Orioles, they've

enjoyed one constant - the power of Chris Davis.

Davis led off the ninth inning with his major league-leading 41st home run and the Orioles beat

the New York Yankees 2-1 Tuesday night for just their fourth win in 19 games.

''I thought we did a good job hanging in there,'' Davis said.

Baltimore has faded from contention in the wild-card race, which the Yankees lead. But they

dropped 1 1/2 games behind AL East-leading Toronto.

New York failed to take advantage of Masahiro Tanaka's 10-strikeout performance and Alex

Rodriguez's 30th homer - A-Rod has reached the mark in 15 seasons, tying Hank Aaron's record.

Beyond that, the Yankees managed a mere five singles.

''We just didn't come up with the big hit tonight,'' manager Joe Girardi said.

Davis picked on a 2-0 pitch and homered for the sixth time in seven games, lofting an opposite-

field drive into the seats in left. He was the first batter Chasen Shreve (6-2) faced after Tanaka

pitched eight innings.

Davis, like Rodriguez, is enjoying a resurgent season. The Orioles' slugger led the majors with

53 home runs in 2013, but hit just 26 last year and drew a drug suspension down the stretch.

''Solid in a time of need,'' manager Buck Showalter said.

Darren O'Day (6-2) got two outs for the win. Zach Britton closed for his 31st save in 34 chances.

The Orioles ended a three-game skid overall and a five-game drought at Yankee Stadium despite

star outfielder Adam Jones sitting out with a sore shoulder. New York lost for the third time in

11 games.

Rodriguez hit his 684th career homer leading off the sixth, making it 1-all and chasing Baltimore

starter Kevin Gausman.

The 40-year-old Rodriguez hadn't hit the 30-homer mark since 2010. He didn't play last year

while serving a season-long drug suspension.

The homer was A-Rod's fourth in five games and boosted his career hit total to 3,056, moving

him past Rickey Henderson for 22nd place.

Gausman did get even with Yankees rookie Greg Bird, striking him out in both at-bats. Bird was

Gausman's catcher in high school in Aurora, Colorado - the last time they faced each other, Bird

homered in an intrasquad game.

The two good friends went out to dinner Monday night. Gausman said he kidded that he'd strike

out Bird every time, while Bird said he'd hit a home run.

''It was pretty cool,'' Gausman said.

Echoed Bird: ''It's cool, I guess, seeing someone you grew up with out there and competing

against him. It was fun.''

Tanaka had given up just one scratch single before Ryan Flaherty led off the Orioles sixth by

lining a home run. After a two-out single, Davis hustled for an infield hit, only to be called out

on a replay review.

Third baseman Brendan Ryan cut off a potential Baltimore burst in the seventh, diving to his left

to begin a nifty double play.

KINDA QUIET

The crowd of 30,785 was the second-smallest in seven seasons at the new Yankee Stadium. The

lowest was 30,055 on April 29 against the Rays, STATS said.

TRAINER'S ROOM

Orioles: RHP Miguel Gonzalez (9-11, 4.85 ERA) is doing well in his recovery from shoulder

tendinitis, Showalter said. Showalter said it would be good for Gonzalez and the team to have

him pitch again this season.

Yankees: OF Brett Gardner got a shot in his jammed shoulder. He hurt himself running into a

wall over the weekend and hasn't started the last two games.

UP NEXT

Orioles: Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 4.24 ERA) tries for his 99th career win. Yankees OF Jacoby

Ellsbury is 7 for 11 with two walks against the right-hander.

Yankees: CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.27) is set to come off the disabled list and start Wednesday night.

He's been out with inflammation in his right knee. The big lefty is 18-7 lifetime vs. the O's.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/orioles-talk/davis-home-run-big-orioles-2-1-win-over-

yankees

Davis' home run is big in Orioles' 2-1 win over Yankees

By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK – It will take an incredible turnaround for the Orioles to make September

compelling. Tuesday night was a reminder of how they need to win to make the seemingly

impossible possible.

Three weeks ago, the Orioles were in the thick of the wild card race. Now, they are 7 1/2 games

behind and competing with six other teams to try and catch the Texas Rangers.

The formula for their 2-1 win over the New York Yankees before 30,785 at Yankee Stadium was

familiar. Creditable starting pitching, terrific outings by the bullpen, and a home run by Chris

Davis.

Davis hit a leadoff home run in the ninth inning, his 41st of the season, and it continued his

incredible hot streak. In his last seven games, Davis has six home runs and 10 RBIs, and his 41

homers are the sixth best in any Orioles season.

“He’s been solid in a time of need. He’s been able to dial up some things that we need. It’s hard

to do because they all know what he’s capable of,” manager Buck Showalter said.

Davis hit the home run on a 2-0 pitch off Chasen Shreve (6-2), and it was the 10th he’s hit off a

left-hander.

“Over the past few years I've just made little adjustments here and there and I tried to do

everything I can to not overswing or go up there and look for a certain pitch. Just try to see the

ball and hit it and it's worked out for me,” Davis said.

The win was just the fourth in the last 19 games for the Orioles (66-72), who will need to go 15-

9 to merely avoid a losing season.

J.J. Hardy returned to the lineup after a stint on the disabled list, and Matt Wieters was back after

missing three games. Adam Jones was out with a sore right shoulder.

“We’ve played a lot of these games and there’s such a fine line between a W and an L at this

level, with some exceptions obviously. It’s a good reminder of how good they have been in close

games throughout the last three years or four years or whatever it is,” Showalter said.

“I think there’s a confidence there too when you get a guy like J.J. back. You’re able to start

putting a reminder of the team that you normally have on the field – Matt comes back – there’s a

little more sense of a lack of anxiety because there’s some track record there in those types of

games.”

Showalter hopes to have Jones back on Wednesday.

“I’d like for him to play tomorrow. I talked to him a little bit today. But we will see what

tomorrow brings. I got two lineups on my desk: one with him in it, one without him in it,”

Showalter said.

Darren O’Day (6-2) retired the final two batters of the eighth for the win. Zach Britton polished

off the Yankees (77-60) in the ninth for his 31st save.

Masahiro Tanaka retired the first 12 Orioles hitters. Davis walked to lead off the fifth. With two

outs, Wieters dribbled a ball to short right field for the first hit.

Kevin Gausman allowed five singles and a walk in the first five innings, but escaped without

allowing a run.

Ryan Flaherty led off the sixth with his eighth home run of the season off Tanaka.

Tanaka allowed one run on six hits in eight innings. He struck out 10 and walked one.

Alex Rodriguez led off the sixth with a home run to left to tie the score. Gausman, who was

removed after the homer has just one win in his last 20 starts.

It was Gausman’s first time facing Greg Bird, a high school teammate in Aurora, Col.

Gausman struck him out twice, something he predicted on Monday.

"We actually went to dinner last night and I was joking, ‘I’m going to strike you out every one of

your at-bats.’ But he also said he was going to hit a home run off me, so it goes both ways,”

Gausman said.

The two old friends split the cost.

“I’m not going to buy him dinner before I pitch again him,” Gausman laughed.

T.J. McFarland relieved Gausman and pitched 2 1/3 hitless innings. McFarland, O’Day and

Britton combined for four innings with just one baserunner

“This is exactly the type of ball that we’re capable of. That’s all we’re going to try and keep

rolling from here, keep playing like that,” McFarland said.

NOTES: Rodriguez’s homer was the 3,056th hit of his career, surpassing Rickey Henderson for

22nd place on the all-time list. He has 15 seasons of 30 home runs, tying him with Hank Aaron

for most in history.… Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 4.24) faces CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.27) on Wednesday

night.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-notes-and-observations-davis-

gausman-vs-bird-mcfarland-20150908-story.html

Chris Davis could be homering his way out of Baltimore;

Kevin Gausman faces an old friend

By Dan Connolly / The Baltimore Sun

September 9, 2015

I’m not sure what’s left to say about Chris Davis and his importance to this team.

He did it again last night, homering in the top of the ninth to allow the Orioles to squeak through

with a 2-1 victory.

He now has 41 homers -- six in his past seven games -- and is bashing his way to a huge contract.

Frankly, he’s probably homering his way out of Baltimore because he is going to get a huge

payday on the open market. And, let’s be honest, the Orioles traditionally fail when the dollar

signs get crazy.

Davis has his flaws -- his streakiness and propensity to strike out are the main ones -- but his

kind of power is a rarity and a tremendous asset in today’s game.

It’s also historic in terms of this franchise. No Oriole has ever homered more than 40 times in

two different seasons. His 2015 season is already sixth best for home run output among all-time

Orioles. Obviously, he already holds the record with 53 in 2013. And he’s on pace for 48 homers

right now.

Regardless of whether he gets to 50, he’s having what could be called a career season -- except

it’s happening for the second time in three campaigns.

** One thing that was worth paying attention to last night in the Orioles-Yankees game was the

matchup between Orioles starter Kevin Gausman and Yankees first baseman Greg Bird. They

were teammates at Grandview High School in Aurora, Colo.

And they were facing each other in the big leagues.

“Anytime you have a friend who you met when you guys were just playing for fun, high school

and stuff, to make it to the big leagues, to see him have success and just talking to other guys,

how much they like him and stuff, it’s pretty cool,” Gausman said.

Gausman won the first battle. He struck out Bird in both at-bats, something he had told Bird he

would do when they had dinner together Monday night.

“I was joking, ‘I’m going to strike you out every one of your at-bats,'” Gausman said he told

Bird at dinner. “But he also said he was going to hit a home run off me, so it goes both ways. It’s

pretty cool.”

Gausman was asked whether he picked up the tab for dinner. He said the check was split.

“I’m not going to buy him dinner before I pitch against him,” Gausman joked.

** Orioles manager Showalter talked all year about how important lefty T.J. McFarland was to

the team in 2014 and how much he was missed while he was in the minors this year.

McFarland had options remaining, so he spent a chunk of the season at Triple-A Norfolk because

of a big league roster crunch.

With rosters expanded in September, though, McFarland won’t have to look over his shoulder or

get on a Triple-A shuttle for the remainder of the year.

And he proved Showalter’s point Tuesday, retiring seven of the eight batters he faced, six on

groundouts and one by a strikeout. He didn’t give up a hit and walked one Yankee.

“Just a reminder what Mac did for us last year and did for us this year when he’s here,”

Showalter said. “It’s been nice to have him back.”

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-schmuck-column-0909-20150908-

column.html

Schmuck: Dan Duquette deserves chance to right his wrongs

after Orioles' rough 2015

By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun

September 8, 2015

It's hard to be fair when you're frustrated.

The Orioles are in one of those free falls that take us all back to the bad old days when no one

expected anything else. They have collapsed with such a loud thud that the only thing left to do

is round up the usual suspects and apportion the blame.

Or not.

Obviously, there are reasons why this year's Orioles team bears no resemblance to the one that

ran away from the rest of the American League East last year, swept the Detroit Tigers in the AL

Division Series and ended just one step away from the World Series.

Those reasons have already been enumerated. The club failed to build on last year's success and

instead chose to use it as an excuse to play budget ball when everybody knew that 2015 might be

the last best chance for a while to take that final step in October.

I'm pretty sure if you hooked Peter Angelos and Dan Duquette up to a polygraph they'd admit

they went cheap at just the wrong moment, quibbling over a fourth guaranteed year for 2014

home run king Nelson Cruz and poking a huge hole in their offensive lineup. Then the front

office spent this season shedding enough ill-advised contracts to pay for that fourth year and then

some.

We already know that.

Now comes the month of speculation about Duquette's future, which also looks a lot different

than it did nine months ago, when he was the reigning Major League Executive of the Year and

was being courted by the Toronto Blue Jays.

If you read the message boards, you already know that a lot of fans want Duquette's head. If you

follow the national sports media sites, you're starting to hear whispers about friction in the

Orioles front office.

None of this is counterintuitive. The Orioles are a mess right now, so the fans have every right to

be disappointed and it's fair to assume that there is plenty of discontent upstairs. Professional

baseball is a highly competitive business at every level, and failure of this magnitude is good

reason for some organizational soul-searching.

Still, it's important to remember where the Orioles were just a few years ago and respect the job

that Duquette, Buck Showalter and — yes — ownership did to pull the franchise out of a 14-year

funk and propel it into the playoffs two of the past three seasons.

Duquette arrived here a handful of months before the uplifting 2012 campaign and brashly

predicted that the Orioles would immediately post their first winning season since 1997. While

everyone was wondering what he might be smoking, he made a series of small deals and then

traded starting pitcher Jeremy Guthrie to the Colorado Rockies for starting pitcher Jason

Hammel and reliever Matt Lindstrom.

That move turned out to be a key to the Orioles' turnaround season. Hammel was terrific in the

first half and Lindstrom would be traded during the stretch run for veteran starter Joe Saunders,

who started the one-game wild-card playoff and notched the Orioles' first playoff victory since

1997.

Fast forward to the offseason of 2014, when Duquette was taking some heat for waiting out the

free-agent market. He waited long enough to pick up Cruz for just $8 million, which turned out

to be the bargain signing of the year, and the Orioles went on to win their first AL East title of

this century by 12 games.

So what happens now? Duquette clearly underplayed his hand last winter and lost his magic

touch, but that doesn't necessarily mean that he's no longer the right man for the job. Both he and

Showalter are signed through the 2018 season and it appears unlikely that either one of them is

going anywhere but back to work this winter.

The bigger question is whether Duquette and ownership will learn from the giant mistake that

was the past offseason. Duquette loves to scan the waiver wire and shop the Rule 5 draft for

inexpensive projects. But the Orioles are facing a huge talent deficit next year with pending free

agents Matt Wieters, Chris Davis and Wei Yin Chen (among others) very likely to sign

elsewhere.

It would be nice to think that the Orioles will really make it a top priority to keep Davis, but

failing that, they must be willing to pursue at least one front-line starting pitcher and another run-

producing corner outfielder.

The current front office deserves a chance to make this right. But if it chooses instead to fall back

on player development and a long-term rebuild — rather than increasing the payroll and trying to

get right back up after this year's collapse — the Orioles are going to lose the fans they worked

so hard to win back.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-jones-out-of-starting-lineup-tuesday-with-

shoulder-injury-20150908-story.html

Orioles notebook: Adam Jones out of lineup Tuesday with

shoulder injury

By Dan Connolly / The Baltimore Sun

September 8, 2015

Adam Jones is not in the lineup Tuesday after leaving in the eighth because of a sore right

shoulder.

He said after Monday’s game that he expected to be in Tuesday’s lineup. He wasn’t. And he’s

not arguing with Orioles manager Buck Showalter about it.

“I always feel well enough to play no matter how my body really feels. My mind feels ready to

play. I guess it's a day to try to let my body heal,” he said. “I'm not going to go in there and fight

him.”

Jones joked Monday that if he had to sit out Tuesday, he would get some ice cream and bother

Showalter. He jokingly changed his plans Tuesday afternoon.

“Probably go watch ‘Straight Outta Compton’ now that I have some free time,” he said.

Jones has been dealing with the shoulder problem for several weeks. Showalter mentioned

Monday that Jones also is experiencing wrist pain.

“There’s more to it than that, too. Everything. There’s a lot of things that’s hurting, man,” Jones

said. “I play the game hard. I pride myself on that. I pride myself on just giving it all out there.

So I don’t try to let everybody know what’s ailing me because no one really cares. And in the

grand scheme of things this game is all about results. So I just go out there and battle it between

the lines.”

Jones, who turned 30 last month, acknowledged that he’s not sure one day will clear up all that

ails him. But he’ll take it -- and then he’ll try to continue to play for the final month of the

season.

“It's a day to let my body heal and let my body rest a little bit. Smart move, I believe,” he said.

“It's more than just this season. You try to look at the offseason and three more years left on my

contract, so it's not just right about right now.”

Getting Hardy back

Shortstop J.J. Hardy was activated from the disabled list Tuesday and was immediately inserted

into the starting lineup, batting eighth. He started at shortstop while Manny Machado moved

back to third base. Despite entering Tuesday hitting .222 with seven homers this season, the Gold

Glover’s steady defense and calming influence was missed. Before he went on the DL, the

Orioles were 49-42 when Hardy started and 16-30 when he didn’t.

“It doesn’t surprise anybody. He’s a good player and we’re a better team when he is playing. It

kind of brings everything [together],” Showalter said. “I really think J.J.’s gonna finish strong

offensively. He’s got a lot of nagging things that he finally got out of the way.”

Around the horn

Showalter said right-hander Miguel Gonzalez (right shoulder/elbow tendinitis) would not be

ready to come off the DL when first eligible on Sept. 15. But the manager said Gonzalez is no

longer dealing with day-to-day discomfort and is still holding out hope Gonzalez will pitch again

for the Orioles this season. … Matt Wieters started behind the plate Tuesday. He hadn’t played

since injuring his left wrist Friday while attempting a diving play at first base. … Gerardo Parra

started in center field Tuesday in place of Jones, and Machado was moved from leadoff to Jones’

traditional third spot in the lineup. Nolan Reimold played left field and led off. … Outfielder

Dariel Alvarez was promoted from High-A Frederick on Tuesday. … The Orioles will honor the

Red Land Little League of nearby York County, Pa., the United States Little League champions,

at a pregame ceremony Saturday at Camden Yards.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bal-orioles-open-2016-at-home-versus-twins-

20150908-story.html

Orioles open 2016 against Twins at Camden Yards

By Dan Connolly / The Baltimore Sun

September 8, 2015

The Orioles have announced their 2016 schedule, and it starts at Camden Yards with the

Minnesota Twins on April 4, ends Oct. 2 with a trip to Yankee Stadium and includes three West

Coast road trips.

As part of the rotating interleague schedule, the American League East gets the National League

West in 2016 – meaning the Orioles will host the San Diego Padres (June 21-22), the Colorado

Rockies (July 25-27) and Arizona Diamondbacks (Sept. 23-25). They’ll also have their

traditional, home-and-away interleague series with the Washington Nationals (at Camden Yards,

Aug. 22-23 and at Nationals Park, Aug. 24-25).

The Orioles will travel to Los Angeles to play the Dodgers almost 50 years after the teams met in

the 1966 World Series. That showdown will be on July 4-6 at Dodger Stadium. Also as part of

interleague play, the Orioles visit San Diego (June 28-29) and San Francisco (Aug. 12-14).

Frequent travel miles could be a theme of next year. The Orioles have one 10-game road trip

(Chicago White Sox, Oakland and San Francisco) and three nine-game trips: One to Los Angeles

to play the Angels, followed by trips to Houston and Cleveland, one to San Diego, Seattle and

Los Angeles to play the Dodgers and one to Tampa Bay, Detroit and Boston.

At first blush, it looks brutal. And Orioles manager Buck Showalter has been hinting about the

schedule “challenges” the club would face next year for the past several weeks. Now that it’s

official, Showalter sidestepped directly criticizing the schedule, but it’s clear he’s not a fan.

“Oh man, don't get me in trouble. We didn't have anything to do with it, much at all, obviously.

I've got an opinion on it. It is what it is,” he said. “I guarantee you we could go to every club and

they could find some part of their schedule that just didn't make much sense, but I'm sure there

are good reasons. Like I said, I try not to be paranoid, I just try to be alert. If you were [into]

some conspiracy theory, you'd have something to go with.”

On the flip side, that means the Orioles will have some long homestands, including two 10-game

homestands (April 28-May 8 and May 30-June 8) and an 11-game stint at Camden Yards (Sept.

15-25 against Tampa Bay, Boston and Arizona) to finish off the home schedule.

As usual with the unbalanced schedule, the Orioles will host their four division rivals three times

each at Camden Yards. The team will also have home games on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day and

Memorial Day.

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/148221660/kevin-gausman-strikes-out-friend-greg-bird

Gausman bests high school pal Bird in Bronx O's right-hander strikes out Yankees rookie twice

By Jamal Collier / MLB.com

September 9, 2015

NEW YORK -- The trash talk had begun the night before at dinner. Yankees first baseman Greg

Bird and Orioles right-hander Kevin Gausman, teammates at Grandview High School in Aurora,

Colo., were set to face each other for the first time in the Majors on Tuesday night at Yankee

Stadium.

"I'm going to strike you out every one of your at-bats," Gausman recalled after the Orioles' 2-1

victory. "But he also said he was going to hit a home run off me, so it goes both ways."

Gausman got the better this exchange, striking Bird out in both of his at-bats against him. In the

first, Gausman blew a 96-mph fastball past a swinging Bird with runners on first and second to

end the inning. Then Bird swung through a splitter for a strikeout to start the fourth inning.

"He threw a really good game tonight," Bird said. "It's cool seeing someone you grew up with,

kinda out there competing against him. It was fun."

Gausman added: "Unfortunately I didn't get the chance to really let it soak in as guys were on

base, but just really cool any time you have a friend who you met when you guys were just

playing for fun, high school and stuff.

"To make it to the big leagues, to see him have success and just talking to other guys, how much

they like him and stuff, it's pretty cool."

It would have been hard for these two players to imagine this moment back in high school.

Bird, 22, was still a catcher in those days, and he caught Gausman, 24, before Gausman

committed to LSU after going 9-2 with a 3.12 ERA during his senior year of high school in 2010

-- "he was better today," Bird said. Then Bird went on to have his own stellar season, hitting .591

with 12 homers and 37 RBIs in just 18 games in 2011 before the Yankees selected him in the

fifth round of the 2011 Draft.

The two stayed close and exchange text messages every now and then. And now if they both stay

in the American League East, they'll have plenty more chances to face each other again.

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/148198566/chris-davis-finding-success-against-lefties

Lefties not safe with Davis at the plate O's slugger has MLB-high 41 homers, with 10 coming off southpaws

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK -- Chris Davis can hit lefties and, this season, he's been hitting them pretty

consistently.

The O's slugger blasted his 10th homer off a southpaw during Tuesday night's 2-1 victory, giving

the Orioles just their fourth win in 19 games with his ninth-inning solo shot. Davis, who went

deep off Yankees reliever Chasen Shreve, has 102 RBIs and a Major League-high 41 home runs

on the season as he continues a late-season surge.

"He's been solid in a time of need," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of Davis, who is

batting .400 with six homers and 10 RBIs over the last seven games. "He's been able to dial up

some things that we need. It's hard to do because [opposing teams] all know what he's capable

of."

A pending free agent, the left-handed hitter, while posting a better slugging percentage off

righties, actually has a better batting average (.293) in 150 at-bats against lefties this season. It's a

slight departure over the rest of his career, as Davis' career line is .241/.292/.460 versus lefties

and .259/.340/.521 against righties.

"Coming up with the Rangers, I felt like I always hit the ball well against left-handers in the

Minor Leagues. Obviously, the big leagues are a little bit different story. But over the past few

years I've just made little adjustments here and there and I tried to do everything I can to not

overswing or go up there and look for a certain pitch," Davis said. "Just try to see the ball and hit

it and it's worked out for me."

Already the first Oriole to notch two 40-homer seasons in club history, Davis sent a line drive

into the left-field seats on Shreve's 2-0 fastball in the ninth, quieting the crowd at Yankee

Stadium with the leadoff blast.

"He's a freak," Orioles starter Kevin Gausman said of Davis, who has 18 homers that have tied or

given Baltimore the lead. "He just continues to do those type of things. Seems like every time we

need a big hit, he's coming up to bat that inning and he's doing it. He's an awesome guy, too. Just

all-around great, great to be around."

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/148124860/adam-jones-out-of-orioles-lineup

Jones out of O's lineup; Wieters, Hardy return Center fielder dealing with sore shoulder, other minor injuries

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK -- Orioles center fielder Adam Jones was not in Tuesday's starting lineup, though

catcher Matt Wieters (wrist) and shortstop J.J. Hardy -- reinstated from the disabled list -- both

returned for the middle game of the series at Yankee Stadium. The O's won, 2-1.

Jones, who left Monday's game early with right shoulder soreness, said he was surprised he

wasn't in Tuesday's lineup, though he uncharacteristically has not put up much resistance for

manager Buck Showalter.

"Everyone has got something, but he's been battling that [shoulder issue] for a while," Showalter

said. "I didn't really ask him today, he's one of those guys you don't ask. I know what he's going

to say. Hopefully he will be back there tomorrow and see what his availability is for tonight."

Jones, who has dealt with concussion-related symptoms and an ankle sprain in addition to his

shoulder injury, is also dealing with some right wrist soreness.

"There's a lot of things that's hurting, man. I play the game hard. I pride myself on that," Jones

said. "I pride myself on just giving it all out there. So I don't try to let everybody know what's

ailing me because no one really cares. And in the grand scheme of things this game is all about

results. So I just go out there and battle it between the lines."

Jones has played in 159 or more games in each of the last three seasons, though he won't hit that

mark this year. He entered Tuesday with 126 games under his belt, managing to avoid the

disabled list despite all of his nagging injuries.

"You don't want to know how this body feels. I feel well enough to play. Put it that way," Jones

said. "I thought I'd come in and show them today and I thought I was going to be in the lineup.

It's a surprise to me, but it's a day to let my body heal and let my body rest a little bit. Smart

move, I believe. It's more than just this season. You try to look at the offseason and three more

years left on my contract, so it's not just about right now."

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/148136534/orioles-tentative-2016-schedule-released

Orioles to open 2016 at home against Twins Baltimore scheduled to face NL West clubs in Interleague matchups

By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK -- The Orioles will open the 2016 season in Baltimore, as the tentative schedule

was released on Tuesday afternoon.

Baltimore will play against the Twins as part of a six-game homestand beginning with Opening

Day on Monday, April 4. Following that, they will host the Rays for a three-game set.

The Interleague Play schedule is with the National League West, and the O's will travel to the

West Coast for a visit to the Padres (June 28-29), Giants (Aug. 12-14) and Dodgers (July 4-6), as

well as their yearly Beltway Series with the Nationals (Aug. 24-25).

Baltimore will host the Padres (June 21-22), Rockies (July 25-27), Nationals (Aug. 22-23) and

D-backs (Sept. 23-25) to complete Interleague Play.

The Orioles will again host each American League East opponent for three series throughout the

season. The Red Sox will play a total of 10 games in Baltimore: May 30-June 2, Aug. 16-17 and

Sept. 19-22. The Rays will be at Camden Yards on April 8-10, June 24-26 and Sept. 15-18. The

Yankees will come to town May 3-5, June 3-5 and Sept. 2-4, while the Blue Jays will travel to

Baltimore April 19-21, June 17-19 and Aug. 29-31.

The Orioles' home schedule also includes games on Mother's Day (May 8 vs. Oakland),

Memorial Day (May 30 vs. Boston) and Father's Day (June 19 vs. Toronto).

May and June are the busiest months at Camden Yards, with 16 home game in each. The Orioles

will play a pair of 10-game homestands: April 28-May 8 (White Sox, Yankees and A's) and May

30-June 8 (Red Sox, Yankees and Royals) before finishing the home portion of their schedule

with an 11-game homestand from Sept. 15-25 (Rays, Red Sox and D-backs).

Sixteen of the O's 25 games in July will be on the road. The O's have a 10-game road trip from

Aug. 5-14 (White Sox, Athletics and Giants), and three nine-game road trips: May 20-29

(Angels, Astros and Indians), June 28-July 6 (Padres, Mariners and Dodgers) and Sept. 5-14

(Rays, Tigers and Red Sox).

They will wrap up their regular season with a six-game road trip against the Blue Jays (Sept. 27-

29) and Yankees (Sept. 30-Oct. 2).

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/148136534/orioles-tentative-2016-schedule-released

Jimenez opposes Sabathia in series finale

By Grace Raynor / MLB.com

September 8, 2015

All eyes will be on CC Sabathia in the series finale between the Orioles and Yankees on

Wednesday as the veteran lefty makes his way back to the mound for the first time since Aug.

23. Sabathia has been on the 15-day disabled list with right knee inflammation since Aug. 24 and

will make his first start back wearing a new supportive knee brace.

Sabathia's right knee has given him problems throughout his career and he's had surgery on it in

the past. After it gave him problems against the Indians on Aug. 23, he wondered if he'd pitch

again this season. But the brace seems to give Sabathia confidence and he's said several times he

feels ready to come back without any pain. He'll try to deliver the win for the Yanks, who trail

the Blue Jays by 1 1/2 games in the American League East.

Opposing Sabathia on the mound for the Orioles is Ubaldo Jimenez, who has lost two of his last

three outings and hasn't pitched more than 5 2/3 innings since he went eight innings on Aug. 8.

Jimenez struggled mightily in his most recent start at Yankee Stadium. On July 23, he was

charged with the loss after the Yankees scored seven runs on eight hits in 2 1/3 innings. It was

Jimenez's shortest outing of the season.

Three things to know about this game

• On Tuesday, Manny Machado played in his 138th straight game this season. He leads the

Majors in consecutive games played.

• After exiting Monday's series opener with the Yankees with right shoulder soreness, Adam

Jones was out of the lineup Tuesday. Manager Buck Showalter is hopeful Jones will return

Wednesday.

• The Yankees' 38 homers of at least three runs are a Major League best. They have 31 three-run

shots and seven grand slams.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/09/leftovers-from-last-night-and-whats-

cooking-tonight.html

Leftovers from last night and what's cooking tonight

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com

September 9, 2015

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter has two lineups sitting on his desk for tonight's

series finale against the Yankees. One lineup includes center fielder Adam Jones and the other

does not.

Jones was held out of last night's 2-1 win while he continued to receive treatment on his sore

right shoulder. Showalter could decide to give Jones extended rest by not playing him tonight,

followed by the off-day on Thursday.

"I'd like for him to play," Showalter said after last night's game. "I talked to him a little bit today.

But we will see what tomorrow brings."

A victory for the Orioles tonight would bring their first series win since they swept the Athletics

at home on Aug. 14-17.

T.J. McFarland played a crucial role in last night's victory by retiring seven of the eight Yankees

that he faced. He issued one walk.

"It feels great," he said. "Every time I come in, I'm trying to put up zeroes. With the offense that

we have, it's only a matter of time before they score, so I was just fortunate enough to get some

ground balls, let the defense help me out.

"It was a big win. Always like beating the Yankees, especially after the skid we had. We're a

good team and today we came together and played really well.

"This is exactly the type of ball that we're capable of. We're going to try and keep rolling from

here, keep playing like that.

"There's quite a bit of frustration there, but everybody comes in here ready to play, ready to do

their job and contribute. Today, I felt great about contributing and so did everybody else. It was a

great team win."

McFarland hasn't allowed an earned run against the Yankees in his last 11 appearances over 15

innings dating back to June 20, 2014.

Kevin Gausman lasted only five innings and one batter, but he struck out Greg Bird twice and

was all smiles afterward while talking about it. They were high school teammates at Grandview

High School in Aurora, Colo. There's been some trash talking.

"It was pretty cool," Gausman said. "Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to really let it soak in

as guys were on base, but just really cool.

"Any time you have a friend who you met when you guys were just playing for fun, high school

and stuff, to make it to the big leagues, to see him have success and just talking to other guys,

how much they like him and stuff, it's pretty cool."

Gausman resisted the urge to brush back Bird, who hit a tie-breaking three-run homer off Brian

Matusz on Monday.

"I thought about it," Gausman said, laughing.

"We actually went to dinner last night and I was joking, 'I'm going to strike you out every one of

your at-bats.' But he also said he was going to hit a home run off me, so it goes both ways. It's

pretty cool. To be from Colorado, it's pretty rare."

Who paid for dinner?

"We both did," Gausman said. "We did a three-way split. I'm not going to buy him dinner before

I pitch against him."

Orioles starters haven't worked more than 5 2/3 innings in the last 10 games, though Gausman

held the Yankees to one run last night on Alex Rodriguez's home run leading off the sixth.

Ubaldo Jimenez remains the only 10-game winner on the Orioles staff. He was victorious in his

last start despite working only 5 2/3 innings in Toronto. He allowed two runs (one earned) and

four hits, with six walks and four strikeouts.

The 10 runs of support were greatly appreciated.

Jimenez has faced the Yankees twice this season, allowing three runs and six hits in five innings

on June 12 and seven runs and eight hits in 2 1/3 innings on July 23 in the Bronx. He's 3-5 with a

6.60 ERA and 1.889 WHIP in nine career starts against the Yankees and 2-3 with a 5.87 ERA

and 1.891 WHIP in six starts in the Bronx.

Carlos Beltran is 7-for-20 with two doubles and two home runs against Jimenez, Jacoby Ellsbury

is 7-for-12 with a home run, Dustin Ackley is 6-for-11 with a home run, Rodriguez is 3-for-7

with two doubles, Stephen Drew is 11-for-44 with five doubles and two home runs, Chase

Headley is 8-for-26 with three doubles and a home run, Brendan Ryan is 2-for-13 and Brett

Gardner 3-for-17.

The Yankees finally made it official yesterday by confirming that CC Sabathia would start the

series finale. He's 4-9 with a 5.27 ERA in 24 starts this season and 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in two

starts against the Orioles, with eight runs and 15 hits in 12 innings. He's walked one and struck

out 10.

Right-handers are batting .327 against Sabathia and left-handers are hitting .179. Keep this in

mind when crafting your lineups.

Sabathia is 2-3 with a 6.07 ERA in 11 home starts and 2-6 with a 4.72 ERA in 13 starts on the

road.

In his career, Sabathia is 18-7 with a 3.48 ERA in 32 regular season starts against the Orioles.

However, he went 0-2 with a 6.38 ERA in three starts in 2012 and 2-2 with a 4.46 ERA in five

starts in 2013.

Sabathia had enough left in the tank in 2012 to go 2-0 with a 1.53 ERA in two starts against the

Orioles in the American League Division Series.

Nolan Reimold is 11-for-30 with two doubles, a triple and two home runs lifetime versus

Sabathia, Matt Wieters is 7-for-43 with two doubles and a home run, Jones is 19-for-69 with four

doubles, a triple, four home runs and 14 RBIs, and Chris Davis is 7-for-32 with a home run and

17 strikeouts.

Davis is the only Oriole with two 40-home run seasons. His 41 homers this season are the sixth-

most in club history. He's reached base safely in his last 13 games.

Davis never had faced left-hander Chasen Shrieve before last night's tiebreaking home run in the

ninth inning.

With Sabathia on the mound tonight, Showalter could sit Gerardo Parra and start Reimold in left

field and Dariel Alvarez in right. It requires Jones returning to the lineup, of course.

May as well load up the lineup with right-handed bats and include Steve Pearce in it, too.

Every game matters this month, no matter where the Orioles sit in the standings. You play to

win. However, this also seems like an ideal time to run Reimold and Alvarez out there as much

as possible.

Alvarez could be the starting right fielder next season, or at least a fourth outfielder. The Orioles

must decide whether they want to keep Reimold beyond this season.

Of course, they also need to make a decision on Parra, a pending free agent, and may want to get

him as many at-bats as possible down the stretch. There's been a sharp decline in production

since the trade with Milwaukee.

Manny Machado has reached base safely in his last 20 games against the Yankees dating back to

June 22, 2014. He's batting .361 (26-for-72) with six doubles, four home runs, 11 RBIs, nine

walks and 15 runs scored in that span.

Note: The Orioles will host the LUNGevity Foundation's Breathe Deep Baltimore, a 5K walk to

raise funds and awareness for lung cancer in memory of Orioles late public relations director

Monica Pence Barlow, on Saturday, Oct. 3 at Camden Yards.

The 5K walk will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude on the field. Registration begins at 7 a.m. and

participants will receive a T-shirt and refreshments. Registration fees are $25 for adults, $15 for

students and seniors and $10 for youth. There's no race fee for lung cancer survivors and children

four and under.

Registration is available online now at www.orioles.com/lungevity. Donations made online

through Oct. 17 will be eligible for various prizes reflective of the total funds raised through the

Breathe Deep Recognition Program.

All proceeds of the walk will benefit the LUNGevity Foundation, a non-profit firmly committed

to making an immediate impact on increasing quality-of-life and survivorship of people with

lung cancer by accelerating research into early detection and more effective treatments, as well

as providing community, support and education for all those affected by the disease.

I've participated in the walk every year and will continue to do so in Monica's memory and to

offer my support to her family and husband Ben Barlow. She was a fighter and we're all

continuing the fight.

You can click on my name and make a donation or register and join me in the walk. Heck, you

can do both. Reporters who cover the Yankees are talking about coming out. We're all in this

fight together.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/09/wrapping-up-a-2-1-win.html

Wrapping up a 2-1 win

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK - The Orioles no longer are tied with the Red Sox for last place. They weren't

sellers and they aren't in the cellar.

Chris Davis' home run leading off the top of the ninth inning gave the Orioles a 2-1 win over the

Yankees. The Red Sox lost to the Blue Jays 5-1 in 10 innings.

Davis connected off left-hander Chasen Shreve, who had just replaced starter Masahiro Tanaka.

Quite the greeting.

Davis has 41 home runs this season, 10 against left-handers. He's 10-for-25 with six home runs

and 10 RBIs in his last seven games.

T.J. McFarland retired seven of the eight batters he faced after replacing starter Kevin Gausman,

who exited with his pitch count at 103 after Alex Rodriguez's game-tying home run leading off

the bottom of the sixth.

Darren O'Day retired the two batters he faced and Zach Britton notched his 31st save with a

perfect ninth. The Orioles had their fifth win in the last 19 games and improved to 19-24 in one-

run games.

Davis on what he knew about Shreve: "Not a lot. I don't know if I faced him earlier in the year

or not. I know he's had some success this year. We went over him in the hitters meeting, but

some guys will pitch you differently than they pitch everybody else. Some guys will kind of stay

true to the reports. Just go out there and try to look for a good pitch. I think it was big for me to

get in a hitter's count in that situation and just look for something I can drive."

Davis on importance of winning a close game: "It was big. I thought Kevin threw the ball well.

He gave us a chance and that's all you can really ask for out of your starter. And obviously the

bullpen was big for us. But I just thought we did a good job of hanging in there. This is a good

team, obviously, and we did a great job of minimizing our mistakes tonight and trying to take

advantage of the opportunities that we had to score."

Davis on his success versus left-handers: "It's good. Coming up with the Rangers, I felt like I

always hit the ball well against left-handers in the minor leagues. Obviously, the big leagues are

a little bit different story. But over the past few years, I've just made little adjustments here and

there and I tried to do everything I can to not overswing or go up there and look for a certain

pitch. Just try to see the ball and hit it and it's worked out for me."

Manager Buck Showalter on Davis: "He's been solid in a time of need. He's been able to dial

up some things that we need. It's hard to do because they all know what he's capable of. It's kind

of like when you see a pitcher like (Masahiro) Tanaka go out there you know exactly what he's

going to do. He's going to throw about 30 percent fastballs and he's going to pitch a lot of splits

and cutters, and he still does it. That's why guys are quality major league players, because they

do it when (other teams) know what they're capable of."

Showalter on Gausman: "He had a 3-2 pitch to (Brian) McCann that cost him about 15 pitches.

I don't know if it was laborious, but that team makes you labor. There's a lot of power throughout

the lineup and you're trying to be careful. And that's part of the process we talk about. Hopefully,

that kind of stuff will start coming down some. But Kevin's the kind of guy, he takes everything,

whether it's a two-inning outing or a seven-inning outing, he takes it in and he digests it and you

know he's going to learn from things as he goes forward. And he's going to be a good pitcher for

us."

Showalter on importance of winning tight game: "Not important, but we've played a lot of

these games and there's such a fine line between a W and an L at this level, with some

exceptions, obviously. It's a good reminder of how good they've been in close games throughout

the last three years or four years or whatever it is. I think there's a confidence there, too, when

you get a guy like J.J. (Hardy) back. You're able to start putting a reminder of the team that you

normally have on the field - Matt (Wieters) comes back - there's a little more sense of a lack of

anxiety because there's some track record there in those types of games."

Showalter on bullpen: "Just a reminder what Mac did for us last year and did for us this year

when he's here. When you face a team like the Yankees, he matches up well for the most part. If

you look at his numbers in this ballpark and teams in the division, it's been nice to have him

back."

Gausman on Davis: "He's a freak. He just continues to do those type of things. Seems like every

time we need a big hit, he's coming up to bat that inning and he's doing it. He's an awesome guy,

too. Just all-around great, great to be around."

Gausman on high pitch count: "Think I threw 30-something pitches in the first inning. Didn't

really get hit hard, but had some ground balls that got through. When you get in situations like

that, not really much you can do. Just try to get out of it, try to go scoreless when you can. Any

game you try to go seven innings, especially as a starter. I just wasn't able to do that overall."

Gausman on overall performance: "I was a little sporadic early on, but made some good

pitches when I needed to. Especially with guys on base. They were pretty tough. They didn't

really hit the ball too hard but it seemed like they had guys on base every inning. Guys on second

with two outs. Kind of tough situations, but I felt like as the game went on my command got

better and I got a better feel for what I wanted to do."

Gausman on home run to Rodriguez: "Obviously, he's a veteran guy. Been around a long time.

I think he was looking for that pitch and I threw it not enough inside. Just gave him a little bit too

much of a strike."

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/09/adam-jones-theres-a-lot-of-things-thats-

hurting-man.html

Adam Jones: "There's a lot of things that's hurting, man"

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK - Orioles center fielder Adam Jones arrived at Yankee Stadium today expecting to

be in the lineup. Instead, he's on the bench for the second game of the series while Gerardo Parra

plays center and Chris Davis moves to right.

Jones left yesterday's game in the eighth inning with a sore right shoulder. His entire body seems

to be banged up, including his wrist, but the shoulder is the main issue.

Manager Buck Showalter waited to post the lineup and decided to rest Jones.

"You know me. I always feel well enough to play, no matter how my body really feels," Jones

said while standing at his locker.

"My mind feels ready to play. I guess it's a day to try to let my body heal. I'm not going to go in

there and fight him. Probably go watch 'Straight Outta Compton' now that I have some free

time."

Asked if the shoulder has gotten worse since yesterday, Jones laughed and replied, "You don't

want to know how this body feels."

"I feel well enough to play. Put it that way," he added. "I thought I'd come in and show them

today and I thought I was going to be in the lineup. It's a surprise to me, but it's a day to let my

body heal and let my body rest a little bit.

"Smart move, I believe. It's more than just this season. You try to look at the offseason and three

more years left on my contract, so it's not just right about right now."

Showalter mentioned yesterday that Jones is dealing with soreness in his wrist.

"There's more to it than that, too. Everything. There's a lot of things that's hurting, man," Jones

said.

"I play the game hard. I pride myself on that. I pride myself on just giving it all out there. So I

don't try to let everybody know what's ailing me because no one really cares. And in the grand

scheme of things this game is all about results, so I just go out there and battle it between the

lines."

Can one day really make a difference?

"Basically what I said, you just threw that out the window," Jones said, grinning.

"I don't know. It works wonders in certain facets, so let's see."

Miguel Gonzalez said his right shoulder and elbow are much better. He's doing exercises and

hopes to start playing catch next week.

The Orioles are listing Mike Wright and Chris Tillman as the first two starters this weekend

against the Royals at Camden Yards. Sunday's spot is TBD.

The Royals are starting Danny Duffy, Johnny Cuerto and Yordano Ventura.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2015/09/jones-sits-but-wieters-and-hardy-return-to-

os-lineup.html

Jones sits, but Wieters and Hardy return to Orioles lineup

By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK - Adam Jones, who left yesterday's game with a sore right shoulder, is not in

tonight's Orioles lineup against the Yankees.

Gerardo Parra will play center field and bat second, with Nolan Reimold leading off and playing

left field. Chris Davis moves from first base to right field.

As expected, J.J. Hardy will play shortstop. He was activated from the 15-day disabled list

earlier this afternoon after missing time with a strained left groin.

Matt Wieters, who missed three games with a sore left wrist, is back behind the plate.

Manny Machado will play third base with Ryan Flaherty manning first base.

For the Orioles

Nolan Reimold LF

Gerardo Parra CF

Manny Machado 3B

Chris Davis RF

Jimmy Paredes DH

Jonathan Schoop 2B

Matt Wieters C

J.J. Hardy SS

Ryan Flaherty 1B

Kevin Gausman RHP

For the Yankees

Jacoby Ellsbury CF

Carlos Beltran RF

Brian McCann C

Alex Rodriguez DH

Chris Bird 1B

Chris Young LF

Didi Gregorius SS

Stephen Drew 2B

Brendan Ryan 3B

Masahiro Tanaka RHP

The Royals are starting left-hander Danny Duffy, Johnny Cuerto and Yordano Ventura in the

three-game series at begins Friday night at Camden Yards. The Orioles haven't announced their

starters.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2015/09/norfolk-playoff-preview-a-look-at-terry-

doyle-who-takes-the-ball-in-game-1-tonight.html

Norfolk playoff preview: A look at Terry Doyle, who takes

the ball in Game 1 tonight

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com

September 9, 2015

For Triple-A Norfolk right-hander Terry Doyle, his 2015 season is ending up very differently

than it started.

Hoping to break spring training with Norfolk, he was instead sent to Double-A Bowie, where he

was not even on the active roster on opening day. But on April 17, he was activated by Bowie.

On May 10, he joined the Baysox rotation and pitched great. On Aug. 3, he was promoted to

Norfolk, and tonight, he will pitch the playoff opener for the Tides at home against Columbus to

start a best-of-five International League playoff series.

In 26 games (21 starts) between the Baysox and Tides, Doyle has gone 16-2 with a 2.16 ERA.

Over 158 2/3 innings, he has given up 137 hits with just 22 walks and 110 strikeouts. He went

12-1 with a 1.97 ERA for Bowie. In seven Norfolk starts, Doyle is 4-1 with a 2.57 ERA.

Last Friday, as second-place Gwinnett had cut Norfolk's division lead to one game, he pitched

the Tides past the Braves, allowing just three hits over eight innings. The 29-year-old Doyle, in

his eighth pro season, has pitched to a 1.15 ERA his last two starts for the Tides and he'll try to

pitch them to a win tonight in Norfolk's first playoff game since 2005.

"Personally, record and statistics, this is easily the best year I've ever had," Doyle said during a

phone interview Tuesday. "Also, I've been fortunate that I've been in the playoffs every year but

two in my career. For whatever reason, winning keeps following me around.

"With pitching and hitting in baseball, everything is about being able to repeat - either your

swing or your delivery. This year, for whatever reason, my mechanics have been a lot better and

a lot more consistent than in the past.

"I've consistently been getting the same release point and not having to fight against myself,

trying to figure out why I'm off. I've basically been able to command the ball and move it around

in the strike zone as much and as easy as it's been for me my whole career."

At 29, Doyle has probably passed the age where he has any chance to make those prospect lists,

and if his age doesn't do it, his lack of a mid 90s fastball might. But this year for the Orioles, he

has come up big for two playoff teams in addition to providing some help and leadership to

younger pitchers.

"I'll throw a sinker or cut fastball that gets down to 84 or 85 mph," he said. "If I really let the

four-seamer go, I'll get it up to 91 or maybe 92 earlier in the year. Mostly it's upper 80s relying

on my fastball and off-speed off of that depending on how the hitter is reacting."

Drafted in the 37th round out of Boston College by the Chicago White Sox in 2008, Doyle has

also pitched in the Boston and Atlanta organizations. The O's signed him as a minor league free

agent in November.

Doyle now has 916 career minor league innings under his belt as he gets set to start tonight. He

was the O's minor league Pitcher of the Month in June when he went 4-0 with a 1.54 ERA for

Bowie. His team is 17-3 in his last 20 starts.

Doyle's 16 wins is tied for second in all of minor league baseball, behind only Jacob Faria of

Tampa Bay, who has 17. Doyle is the first O's farmhand with 16 wins since Brad Bergesen in

2008.

Since he spent more of this year with Bowie than Norfolk, he also takes a lot of pride in the

Baysox being playoff bound as well.

"I have roommates in Bowie that I keep in touch with. When Bowie clinched, I got a video from

(pitching coach) Alan Mills of the celebration that they had. Guys are here that were there -

(Elih) Villanueva and myself - that were big parts of that team."

Doyle was new to the Orioles when he reported to Sarasota, Fla. in March. But he said he

quickly found a comfort level with his new organization.

"The Orioles don't worry about the insignificant things that don't affect baseball," Doyle said. "In

spring, they showed me some things and said, 'This is our program and what we do. But your job

is to make a team, so if what we do makes you uncomfortable, do what you want to do.' That was

comforting for a new guy in the organization. They wanted me to be comfortable and put the best

me I could out on the field."

Doyle has certainly done that. Has any pitcher on the farm had a better year in 2015? But as the

Orioles rotation at the big league level has struggled, Doyle did not get the call to the majors and

he is still waiting for that chance.

"You learn in this game that no matter what you do, you don't get to make decisions about where

you play or your role on the team. All I can do is go out and control how much effort I put in and

what I do on the field. That is all my focus right now. I don't get to make the decisions. I just

want to do my job and make it as difficult as I can for them to not give me an opportunity," he

said.

Despite not getting a big league chance to this point, Doyle has had an excellent first year with

the Orioles. He will be a minor league free agent after the World Series. He said he is very open

to re-signing with Baltimore for the 2016 season.

"Absolutely. Being comfortable in a place is important. I'm comfortable with this organization,

the guys on the team and I like the coaches. I'm absolutely hoping that the Orioles ask me to

come back next year," Doyle said.

Doyle tonight will face Columbus left-hander Ryan Merritt (2-0, 4.20 ERA). In Game 2, it's

Chris Jones (8-8, 2.94 ERA) facing Columbus right-hander Jarrett Grube (9-0, 2.26 ERA). In

Game 3, Norfolk's Tyler Wilson (5-5, 3.24 ERA) pitches against right-hander Toru Murata (15-

4, 2.90). If a fourth game is needed, Norfolk is expected to start right-hander Elih Villanueva (4-

5, 4.71 ERA) against right-hander Will Roberts (3-4, 3.06 ERA).

Norfolk went 38-34 at home this season and 5-4 versus Columbus. The Tides were 21 games

over the .500 mark at 72-51 on Aug. 18, then lost 15 of 21 games. But still, Norfolk held off

Gwinnett to take the IL South. In the other IL playoff series, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre faces

Indianapolis.

Later today, I'll have a story on Double-A Bowie's playoff series that starts tonight against

Altoona in the Eastern League playoffs.

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2015/09/os-game-blog-the-orioles-are-1-7-this-

season-at-yankee-stadium.html

O's game blog: Orioles are 1-7 this season at Yankee

Stadium

By Steve Melewski / MASNsports.com

September 8, 2015

Last season, as the Orioles were on their way to the American League East championship, they

went 13-6 against the New York Yankees and 6-4 in New York. This year, as they may struggle

to even have a winning record, they are 5-9 against the Yankees and only 1-7 in New York.

On Monday, the Orioles lost an early 4-1 lead in losing 8-6 at Yankee Stadium. The Orioles have

lost five straight at Yankee Stadium and they are 0-4 in one-run road games versus the Yankees.

Even though they have a losing record against New York, the Orioles have actually outscored

them in the season series, 68 to 67 runs.

The Orioles are 65-72 and have lost three in a row, nine of 11 and 15 of 18 games. In dropping

three straight, their pitchers have allowed 23 runs on 37 hits, including seven homers.

O's starters have failed to pitch at least six innings in nine straight games and have pitched five

or fewer innings in six of the last seven games. The O's have gone 11 consecutive games without

a quality start and the club's rotation ERA of 4.59 ranks 13th in the AL.

Tonight, Kevin Gausman (2-6, 4.59 ERA) makes his 21st appearance and 13th start, facing New

York right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (11-6, 3.73 ERA).

Over his last two starts, Gausman has allowed 17 hits, including four homers and eight runs in

nine innings against Texas and Tampa Bay. Gausman is 0-4 since his last win Aug. 1 against

Detroit. In 10 career games against New York, he is 3-2 with a 2.94 ERA.

Tanaka has made 20 starts. Over 128 innings, he has walked 25, fanned 115 and yielded a .223

average against. He got the win in his only start versus Baltimore this year, allowing three runs

in 7 2/3 innings on July 23. He is 1-1 with a 3.74 ERA in three career starts.

Jimmy Paredes is batting .389 (14-for-36) in nine games this season versus the Yankees with two

doubles, a triple, a two homers and six RBIs. John Ryan Murphy is 9-for-17 against the Orioles

with a homer and five RBIs. The Orioles have four multi-homer games in the last five, hitting 11

total homers. O's pitchers have given up 14 homers the last seven games.

The O's rank fourth in the majors with 181 home runs. They trail the Toronto Blue Jays (191),

Houston Astros (188) and Yankees (185). First baseman Chris Davis leads the majors with 40

home runs. Nelson Cruz of Seattle is second with 39 and Josh Donaldson of Toronto is third with

37.

Right-hander Steve Johnson pitched to catcher Steve Clevenger in Sunday's game at Toronto. It

marked the second time that Baltimore-born players have formed an all-Baltimore battery in

Orioles history. The only other occurrence came on Sept. 21, 2013 when Johnson and Clevenger

did so at Tampa Bay.

http://www.si.com/mlb/2014/04/06/ap-bba-orioles-yankees-preview

Orioles-Yankees Preview

SI.com

September 9, 2015

It appeared CC Sabathia could be done for the season after landing on the disabled list last month

with a knee injury. Given his struggles, that may not have seemed like much of a blow to the

New York Yankees

Another injury to a starting pitcher, though, makes his quick return very welcome.

Sabathia will try to prevent the Yankees from losing a home series to the Baltimore Orioles on

Wednesday night in his first appearance in over two weeks.

Hampered by his arthritic right knee the past few seasons and coming off surgery last year,

Sabathia has been unable to recapture the form that made him one of the game's best pitchers for

more than a decade.

He posted double-digit wins each of his first 13 seasons before going 3-4 with a 5.28 ERA in

eight starts in 2014. This year has brought more of the same, with the big left-hander 4-9 with a

5.27 ERA in 24 starts.

Sabathia had the knee drained twice and recently received a pain-killing shot, but he was placed

on the DL Aug. 24, one day after lasting 2 2-3 innings against Cleveland.

He tested his knee while throwing about 60 pitches Friday and reported feeling normal. Sabathia,

who will pitch with a brace, indicated he's ready to return to the mound without any concerns.

"I've been testing it pretty good in the bullpens," he said. "Even playing catch on the side, I was

letting it go. I was confident that I wouldn't feel anything and I would be ready to go."

New York's rotation took a hit Monday with the news that 14-game winner Nathan Eovaldi will

miss the rest of the regular season with elbow inflammation.

Returning against the Orioles makes sense for Sabathia, who is 18-7 with a 3.48 ERA in 32

matchups. However, he's 0-1 with a 6.00 ERA in two this season.

Adam Jones is batting .311 with four homers, four doubles and a triple in 61 at-bats against

Sabathia, but he sat out Tuesday's 2-1 win with a sore right shoulder.

''Hopefully, he'll be back tomorrow,'' manager Buck Showalter said.

Alex Rodriguez accounted for all of the Yankees offense with his 30th home run, reaching that

total for the 15th season to tie Hank Aaron's major league record. Rodriguez has hit six of those

home runs this season against the Orioles.

New York (77-60) dropped to 8-3 in its last 11 and fell 1 1/2 games behind East-leading Toronto.

"We just didn't come up with the big hit tonight,'' manager Joe Girardi said.

Ryan Flaherty homered and Chris Davis snapped a tie in the ninth with his major league-leading

41st, lifting Baltimore (66-72) to its fourth win in 19 games.

''I thought we did a good job hanging in there,'' said Davis, who is 10 for 25 with six home runs

and 10 RBIs in seven games this month.

Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 4.24) looks to reverse some miserable results against the Yankees. He is

3-5 with a 6.60 ERA in nine matchups, splitting four decisions with a 6.75 ERA in five since

joining the Orioles in 2014.

The right-hander notched his first win in five starts Friday at Toronto, working around a career

high-tying six walks to allow two runs over 5 2-3 innings in a 10-2 victory. However, he failed to

complete six innings for the fifth straight start.

Jacoby Ellsbury is 5 for 7 with a homer the last two seasons against Jimenez while Carlos

Beltran is 7 for 20 with two home runs and two doubles lifetime in the matchup.

http://www.si.com/mlb/2015/09/08/ap-bba-orioles-jones-2nd-ld-writethru

Banged-up Orioles CF Jones sits, treats 4 kids to souvenirs

Associated Press / SI.com

September 9, 2015

NEW YORK (AP) Banged-up center fielder Adam Jones was out of the Baltimore lineup, but

still managed to track down some balls and make a perfect relay to his young fans.

A sore right shoulder kept Jones from playing Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium. So the star

outfielder took up a perch in the Orioles' third base dugout, leaning on a railing near the box

seats toward the home plate side.

After New York batted in the bottom of the first inning, four children - two of them wearing

Oriole orange - wandered over from several sections away and stood in the stands about 30 feet

from Jones, hoping he would notice them.

Jones soon saw the group. He said he knew them, they were related to his wife, and held up his

hand while telling them to wait a moment. But when play resumed in the top of the second, the

four kids returned to their seats behind the backstop.

A minute later, Jones had four shiny, new baseballs in his hand, but no one to give them to.

Persistent, he kept scanning the stands and eventually spotted them.

Jones then summoned a security guard and handed him the souvenirs. The guard gave them to an

usher, who walked over and presented them to the excited kids before the bottom of the second.

Smiling, the kids waved to Jones. He smiled and waved back - another nice play for a guy who

ranks among the major league leaders in assists.

''I always try to make it a good day for kids at the ballpark,'' he said after a 2-1 win over the

Yankees.

Before the game, Jones said he was surprised to see he wasn't starting against the Yankees. He

said he felt well enough to play but instead would get a day off to rest.

''I didn't really ask him,'' Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. ''I know what he's going to say.''

''Hopefully, he'll be back tomorrow,'' he said.

Jones exited Monday's 8-6 loss at Yankee Stadium after aggravating his shoulder making a

throw. He's also is dealing with a sore right wrist.

''There's a lot of things hurting,'' he said, adding he wanted his body to heal for this season and

beyond.

Baltimore activated shortstop J.J. Hardy from the 15-day disabled list and put him in the lineup.

He had been out since Aug. 24 because of a strained left groin.

The Orioles recalled outfielder Dariel Alvarez from Class A Frederick. He made his big league

debut Aug. 28 and has played four games with Baltimore.

http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/13610413/fade-oblivion-baltimore-orioles

Plenty of questions surround Orioles after late-season

implosion

By Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com

September 9, 2015

The signature game of the Baltimore Orioles' season took place in late April. With the city's

streets awash in strife after the death of Freddie Gray, the Orioles closed the Camden Yards

turnstiles and beat the Chicago White Sox 8-2 in an empty ballpark. Amid that bizarre and

emotional backdrop, the Baltimore players spoke passionately of their personal investment in the

city and their desire to make the fan base proud.

More than four months later, the box scores are grim and a three-week anticlimax awaits. This

isn't the way it was supposed to end.

After three straight winning seasons that included two playoff appearances and an American

League East title, the Orioles are in play-out-the-string mode. They've dropped 15 of their past

19 games and are jockeying for fourth place in the division with the Boston Red Sox, who have

endured every disruption and setback imaginable this summer.

In the Baltimore clubhouse, players acknowledge the disappointment of the season while taking

pains not to relegate it to the past tense.

"This is my fourth year here and we've done a lot of winning, and this is uncharacteristic," said

reliever Darren O'Day. "We haven't played as well as we wanted to, but I don't think it's time to

eulogize the team yet."

Still, when FanGraphs gives the Orioles a 0.2 percent chance to make the playoffs ... yeah ... it's

over.

As manager Buck Showalter observes, the introspection and hard questions are probably best

saved for the offseason, when the Orioles can take a deep breath and not worry about a three-

game series in Kansas City or the rigors of navigating that killer Toronto Blue Jays lineup.

"It's a snowball time of the year," Showalter said. "There's so much positive and negative feeding

frenzy this time of year, nothing is as good or bad as it seems."

But you don't have to look far to explain why the Orioles are a .478 team and an AL East

afterthought:

• Baltimore's starting pitchers rank 13th in the American League in innings pitched and ERA.

The fate of the 2015 Orioles is best embodied by pitcher Bud Norris, a 15-game winner in 2014

who was horrendous (2-9, 7.06 ERA) in 18 appearances for Baltimore this season. The Orioles

released him a month ago, and he's trying to revive his career in San Diego.

Norris is one of several Baltimore starters who have failed to perform to expectations. Chris

Tillman, fresh off two straight 200-inning seasons, has regressed in multiple categories and is

tied for 66th among MLB starters with a quality start percentage of 46 percent. Ubaldo

Jimenez helped carry the staff with a 7-4 record and a 2.88 ERA in the first half, but he's 3-5

with a 6.88 ERA since the All-Star break.

• The Orioles lost left fielder Nelson Cruz to Seattle and right fielder Nick

Markakis to Atlanta through free agency last winter. The 10 players who've replaced Cruz in left

field have combined to rank 29th in the majors at the position with a .602 OPS. The Orioles have

fared better in right, but the 11 players they've used there have a combined .318 on base

percentage compared to .342 when Markakis the held down the position in 2014.

• The Baltimore offense has amassed the fourth-highest strikeout total in the majors while

ranking 25th in walks. The Orioles have a "tee high and let it fly" mindset, as outfielder Adam

Jones likes to put it. But a lack of plate discipline can make it a challenge to score runs when the

ball isn't leaving the yard.

• The Orioles are 28-45 on the road. Among the 30 MLB teams, only the Phillies (23-49), Braves

(22-52), Marlins (25-43) and Reds (26-42) are worse away from home.

• After leading the American League with 57 Defensive Runs Saved in 2014, according to

Baseball Info Solutions, the O's are a more modest plus-3 this season. The bulk of the good news

has come from Manny Machado at third base and Jones in center field.

For the birds

Poor starting pitching has been a major culprit in the Orioles' regression from a playoff team in

2014 to a sub-.500 club this year.

CATEGORY 2014 2015

Starters' ERA 3.61 4.59

W-L record 68-45 42-56

Home runs allowed 109 116

Batting average against .251 .270

That makes for a relatively extensive check list of items that Orioles executive vice president

Dan Duquette and his front-office team must address as they watch the postseason unfold from

the outside.

"For the Orioles to get back to playing winning baseball, we need to do a lot of things better,"

Duquette said. "We need to draft better. We need to develop better. We need to procure players

better. We need to coach better, and we need play better. We need to do all of those things

better."

A 'big winter' awaits

Ultimately, when the final numbers are parsed, Orioles fans are going to be less concerned with

where the team stands after the 162nd game than what the 25-man roster looks like next spring in

Sarasota, Fla. As Showalter readily concedes, "It's going to be a big winter."

Chris Davis, who leads the majors with 153 home runs since the start of the 2012 season, is set to

make a mother lode through free agency. Catcher Matt Wieters, starter Wei-Yin Chen and O'Day

will also hit the open market in November.

The departures are particularly worrisome in Baltimore because the Orioles have one of the

worst farm systems in the game. ESPN's Keith Law ranked Baltimore's system as the 22nd-best

in baseball entering the season, and Baseball America rated the Orioles 28th. Elite pitching

prospects Hunter Harvey and Dylan Bundy have endured multiple injury setbacks, and the

pipeline is short of impact-position-player talent.

First baseman Christian Walker, rated the franchise's best position prospect by Baseball

America, had a middling season at Triple-A, with a .257/.324/.423 slash line and 18 homers in

138 games with Norfolk in the International League. Get beyond Machado and second

baseman Jonathan Schoop, who are both 23, and the O's don't have a lot of young pups on the

major league roster.

Duquette leaves open the possibility of some less experienced prospects getting an opportunity

with the big club in spring training. That includes first baseman Trey Mancini, who logged a

.981 OPS in 84 games with Double-A Bowie, and catcher Chance Sisco, who reached Bowie at a

mere 20 years old.

In the meantime, the Orioles' disappointing season has generated rumblings of internal strife

between the front office and uniformed personnel in the Baltimore organization. The scouting

community buzzes about rifts on any number of topics -- ranging from minor-league pitching

development director Rick Peterson's influence in the organization to Duquette's decision to

release outfielder Delmon Young in July. Young still hasn't signed with another club,

while Nolan Reimold, who returned from the paternity list to replace him on the roster, has hit

.234 with three home runs in 42 games.

Those might seem like small triggers for discord. But internal strains are magnified for teams

with less margin for error. When the Blue Jays were making a splash by acquiring David

Price and Troy Tulowitzki at the trade deadline, the Orioles added Gerardo Parra and are

constantly dipping into the Norfolk and Bowie rosters for reinforcements.

"It's all the crap that surfaces with losing," said one AL personnel man.

Showalter downplays any rumors of friction between Baltimore's front office and the on-field

staff and players. He maintains that his relationship with Duquette is solid and says they

communicate regularly.

"We talk about everything, every day," Showalter said. "Dan is frustrated, too. It's that time of

year where everybody wants to point fingers or come up with exact reasons why teams aren't

having a good season. People want to put it in a box, but it's not just one thing. It's a myriad of

things."

Duquette, for his part, praised Peterson for his "very good track record in helping pitchers with

their deliveries and their results," and dismissed speculation about internal discord in Baltimore

as idle chatter among scouts.

"When it comes to gossiping about the organization, I don't think there's any place for that in a

winning organization," Duquette said.

"Anybody that wants to talk about an isolated personnel decision is thinking about the wrong

things. They're not thinking about their job or helping the club or their career long-term. In the

game of baseball, if you don't have a clear mind, it's very difficult to go out there and do your

job."

Challenges to come

The Orioles have counted on undiscovered gems and pleasant surprises in recent years. Duquette

unearths them, and Showalter cultivates an environment in which they can thrive. Steve

Pearce was a wonderful feel-good story in 2014, when he came out of nowhere to rank ninth in

the league with a 5.9 Wins Above Replacement. His performance helped drive the narrative

when Duquette won the executive of the year award last November.

This year, Pearce is hitting .221 with a WAR of minus-0.2. Travis Snider was a disappointment

before moving on to Pittsburgh, and the O's have squeezed only so much production out

of Jimmy Paredes, David Lough, Ryan Flaherty, et al.

"All the little piecing together that worked for Buck last year didn't work this year," said an MLB

scout who follows the Orioles. "It's not easy to do. They just didn't have as many pleasant

surprises this year."

Shortstop J.J. Hardy's multiple visits to the disabled list hurt the Orioles' continuity, and only

three Baltimore regulars (Machado, Jones and Davis) have appeared in more than 100 games this

season. When Showalter fielded a lineup with Junior Lake in the No. 8 spot and Paul

Janish batting ninth against Price on Saturday in Toronto, it was the definitive sign that things

haven't worked out according to plan.

Strangely enough, the Orioles seemed poised for takeoff after Henry Urrutia's walkoff homer

beat the New York Mets 5-4 on Aug. 19. Then they dropped four straight at home to

the Minnesota Twins to begin their fade to oblivion.

"All the way up until mid-August, we were setting ourselves up for a good run at it," Jones said.

"I'm not disappointed. I've been here when June comes around and you're planning your

vacation. So the last four years have been amazing. Even now, I know it's optimistic to think we

can get in a wild card game. But what the hell am I here for?"

Amid increasingly long odds, the Baltimore players and coaches will have to rely on personal

pride and their internal combustion engines to get them through the next three weeks.

"I always wake up in the morning like we're ready to run off 10 in a row," Showalter said.

Barring that unlikely scenario, the Orioles will have to simply do their best and hope to resolve

their issues in November, December and January. The O's have had a nice little run since 2012.

But their window of opportunity appears to be closing, and there might be a lot more of this to

come.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/orioles-talk/orioles-try-elusive-series-win-against-yankees

Orioles try for elusive series win against Yankees

By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic

September 9, 2015

Tonight's Game:

Baltimore Orioles (66-72) vs. New York Yankees (77-60), Yankee Stadium, Bronx, N.Y., 7:05

p.m.

Starting pitchers:

Ubaldo Jimenez (10-9, 4.24) vs. CC Sabathia (4-9, 5.27)

Keys to the Game:

Can the Orioles take the series from the Yankees? They've won only two series since late July,

and both were against Oakland.

Will Adam Jones play? Buck Showalter would like him to, but he missed Tuesday's game with a

sore right shoulder.

News and Notes:

Chris Davis has 41 home runs, the sixth most in an Orioles season.

Sabathia is 18-7 with a 3.48 ERA in 32 starts against the Orioles.

Jones is 19-for-69 (.275) with four homers and 14 RBIs against Sabathia.

Jimenez is 3-5 with a 6.60 ERA in nine starts against the Yankees.

Carlos Beltran is 7-for-12 (.583) against Jimenez.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/orioles-talk/machado-experiment-short-over-now-hardys-

back

Machado experiment at short over for now, Hardy's back

By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK – J.J. Hardy returns to the Orioles lineup after spending the past 15 days on the

disabled list with a left groin injury. For now, that ends the Manny Machado experiment at

shortstop. Machado played his first five major league games there while Hardy was out.

Manager Buck Showalter wasn’t surprised by what he saw with Machado at short.

“I don’t mean to sounds smug, but about what we thought. He’s capable there. I don’t think

we’ve had a good enough complete feel. If you look at him and compare him to other shortstop

around the league and compare him with other third basemen, I think there’s a bigger chasm than

there is at shortstop,” Showalter said.

“He’s capable of doing both. Fortunately, we have J.J. and don’t have that need.”

With Hardy in the lineup, the Orioles are 49-42. Without him, they’re 16-30.

“It doesn’t surprise anybody. He’s a good player and we’re a better team when he is playing. It

kind of brings everything (together),” Showalter said.

“When you’ve got Manny (at third) and J.J. there (at shortstop), we match up pretty well with

anybody…I think J.J.’s gonna finish strong offensively. He’s got a lot of nagging things that he

finally got out of the way that’s been a challenge for him all year.”

Miguel Gonzalez will be eligible to return from the disabled list on Sept. 15. Gonzalez, who is on

the disabled list with right shoulder tendinitis, won’t be ready to pitch next week, Showalter said.

“Hoping not too long after that,” Showalter said.

“First time yesterday, I was talking [to him] in the dugout, he felt he really made some strides

there, where he didn’t feel day-to-day discomfort. So, that’s encouraging. Felt like, the shoulder

would be the quickest and the elbow might be a little slow ‘because of the [cortisone] shot. I’m

happy with his progress.”

With just 19 games remaining after Gonzalez could return, there won’t be many opportunities for

him to pitch.

“I’m not holding to the fact, I’m just, I hold out hope that he -and it would be good for he and us-

that he gets some starts under his belt. One, two, three or four. We are hoping he’s pitching in the

playoffs and we win 15 in a row,” Showalter said.

NOTES: Showalter said that he wouldn’t guarantee that pitcher Oliver Drake and outfielder

Junior Lake, who were sent to Norfolk after Monday’s game would return when the Tides are

through with their playoff run.

“We’re always going to err on the side of helping the Baltimore club. Didn’t think they’d be

playing and pitching here much and wanted to keep them active and contributing and continuing

to develop. We’re still getting our arms around Junior. We want to keep him playing. He’s been

in the big leagues. He doesn’t need to be exposed to the environment. Oliver has, too,” Showalter

said.

-The Orioles will honor the U.S. champion Red Land Little League team before Saturday’s

game. The Lewisberry, Pa. team lost to Japan in last month’s World Series Championship Game.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/orioles-talk/jones-out-orioles-lineup-shoulder-injury

Jones out of Orioles lineup with shoulder injury

By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK – A day after leaving Monday’s game with a sore right shoulder, Adam Jones is

not in the lineup for Tuesday’s game.

“You know me. I always feel well enough to play no matter how my body really feels. My mind

feels ready to play. I guess it's a day to try to let my body heal,” Jones said.

Manager Buck Showalter said after Monday’s game that Jones had hurt himself on a throw to

first base in the sixth inning.

“I'm not going to go in there and fight him. Probably go watch ‘Straight Outta Compton’ now

that I have some free time,” he said.

Jones has missed time this year with a sprained left ankle in May and an injury to the same

shoulder in June.

"You don't want to know how this body feels. I feel well enough to play. Put it that way. I

thought I'd come in and show them today and I thought I was going to be in the lineup,” Jones

said.

“It's a surprise to me, but it's a day to let my body heal and let my body rest a little bit. Smart

move, I believe. It's more than just this season. You try to look at the offseason and three more

years left on my contract, so it's not just right about right now."

Showalter said that Jones was suffering from a wrist injury, too.

“There’s more to it than that, too. Everything. There’s a lot of things that’s hurting, man. I play

the game hard. I pride myself on that. I pride myself on just giving it all out there,” Jones said.

“So I don’t try to let everybody know what’s ailing me because no one really cares. And in the

grand scheme of things this game is all about results. So I just go out there and battle it between

the lines.”

He hopes to play on Wednesday night.

“I don’t know. It works wonders in certain facets, so let’s see,” Jones said.

Meanwhile, Gerardo Parra was starting in center in Jones’ place, J.J. Hardy was activated from

the disabled list and back in the lineup. Matt Wieters returns after missing three days with a sore

left wrist.

NOTE: Dariel Alvarez, who was sent to Frederick because he couldn’t play in Canada due to

visa issues, was recalled.

http://www.csnmidatlantic.com/blog/orioles-talk/orioles-open-2016-season-home-apr-4-against-

twins

Orioles open 2016 season at home Apr. 4 against Twins

By Rich Dubroff / CSN Mid-Atlantic

September 8, 2015

NEW YORK – The Orioles get to open their 2016 season at home. On Apr. 4, they host the

Minnesota Twins as part of a six-game homestand that also includes the Tampa Bay Rays.

The annual series with the Nationals won’t be until August when they play twice in Baltimore on

the 22nd and 23rd and in Washington on Aug. 24 and 25.

MLB’s schedule has the Orioles making three trips to the West Coast, playing the Los Angeles

Angels on May 20-22 on a swing that includes stops in Houston and Cleveland. They visit San

Diego, Seattle and the Los Angeles Dodgers June 28-July 6 and from Aug. 8-14 play at Oakland

and San Francisco. The Bay Area trip begins in Chicago.

The Yankees come to Baltimore on May 3-5, June 3-5 and Sept. 2-4. Not until after the All-Star

break do the Orioles play at Yankee Stadium. They’ll play in New York July 18-21, Aug. 26-28

and for the final three games of the season, Sept. 30-Oct. 2.

Fans of the Boston Red Sox can see them May 30-June 2. The first game is Memorial Day. The

Orioles aren’t home on July 4 and Labor Day. The Red Sox also play Aug. 16-17 and Sept. 19-

22.

The Orioles are spared a third straight Patriots Day 11 a.m. game in Boston. They’ll play at

Fenway for the Red Sox’s home opener on Apr. 11.

San Diego (June 21-22), Colorado (July 25-27) and Arizona (Sept. 23-25) are the Orioles’ home

NL West opponents.

http://www.pennlive.com/sports/index.ssf/2015/09/red_land_little_league_basebal.html

Red Land Little League baseball team to be honored by the

Baltimore Orioles

By David Bohr / PennLive.com

September 8, 2015

While making its run to the Little League baseball United States championship, Red Land earned

fans from beyond Pennsylvania's borders.

Among the supporters that they picked up were Baltimore Orioles manager Buck Showalter and

players Kevin Gausman, Adam Jones and Manny Machado, who took to social media to support

Red Land through the tournament.

The Orioles will be showing their support one more time on Saturday, Sept. 12, when they will

have a pre game ceremony honoring the team before a 1:05 p.m. game against the Kansas City

Royals at Camden Yards.

During the ceremony, the players will be introduced to the crowd, and a video of highlights from

the World Series will be shown.

Red Land won the U.S. title with a victory over Texas, before losing the world championship

final to Japan.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/08/bbo-orioles-playerwatch-

idUSMTZEB98DB9RTJ20150908

Baltimore Orioles - PlayerWatch

Reuters

September 8, 2015

RHP Oliver Drake was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after Monday's 8-6 loss in New York.

Drake has a 4.42 ERA in eight appearances and has allowed five runs and 11 hits in 10 2/3

innings during those outings.

LHP Brian Matusz has allowed 10 home runs to left-handed hitters since the start of the 2012

season. Half of those have been in games played at Yankee Stadium. Before allowing 1B Greg

Bird's three-run home run, he had allowed 12 hits in 84 at-bats against left-handed hitters.

OF Junior Lake was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk after Monday's 8-6 loss in New York. Lake

has gone 3-for-18 in five games with Baltimore after being obtained at the non-waiver trade

deadline from the Chicago Cubs for RHP Tommy Hunter.

LHP Cesar Cabral was sent outright to Triple-A Norfolk. He had been designated for assignment

by the Orioles on Sunday, clearing a spot on the 40-man roster for 1B Andy Wilkins. In two

appearances for Baltimore this year, Cabral threw a combined one shutout inning. In 47 games

with Norfolk, he went 2-1 with two saves and a 4.95 ERA.

CF Adam Jones exited Monday's game with right shoulder soreness. He was removed after the

top of the eighth inning. Jones was 0-for-4 and was seen grimacing during his last at-bat, which

ended with a strikeout against LHP Justin Wilson. Manager Buck Showalter said he did not like

how Jones looked making a throw to first base earlier in the game and cited it as a reason for

lifting him. Jones missed eight games with the injury in June and said he hoped to play Tuesday.

"If I don't play, I just sit here, eat ice cream and bother Buck," Jones said. "So probably try to get

some rest tonight and hopefully it responds and feels better tomorrow."

SS J.J. Hardy is expected to be activated from the disabled list before Tuesday's game. Hardy has

been out since Aug. 24 with a strained left groin and has doing full baseball activities in recent

days. Hardy has had two stints on the DL this season and missed 44 games while batting .222.

C Matt Wieters missed his third straight game with a sore left wrist, though he swung the bat in

the cages before Monday's game. Wieters was injured Friday backing up first base in Toronto

and is likely to return Tuesday.