Friday, June 2, 2017

Transcription

1 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 2016, 2012, 1996 Friday, June 2, 2017 Game Stories: Wade Miley pitches seven strong innings in Orioles' 7-5 win over Red Sox The Sun 6/1 Orioles continue to mash for third win in four games, 7-5 over Red Sox The Sun 6/1 Backed by 4 HRs, Miley silences Red Sox MLB.com 6/1 Miley s quality start and four home runs produce 7-5 win (updated) MASNsports.com 6/1 O s mash four homers and beat Boston 7-5 in series opener MASNsports.com 6/1 Miley's pitching, 4 HRs carry Orioles past Red Sox 7-5 Associated Press 6/1 Columns: Orioles' starter Alec Asher to draw from experience Friday, but not from last start The Sun 6/2 Buck Showalter: On-field feud with Red Sox 'not a topic' in Orioles clubhouse The Sun 6/1 Orioles notes: Team discussed Pedro Álvarez's opt-out; Francisco Peña glad he stayed The Sun 6/1 Asher, O's face reigning Cy winner Porcello MLB.com 6/2 O's sluggers finding their home run swings MLB.com 6/1 Coolbaugh on Machado s slump MASNsports.com 6/2 Notes on the offense and O s strong play in AL East MASNsports.com 6/2 Trumbo and Schoop on the offense, Miley on his outing MASNsports.com 6/1 Will Pedro Alvarez Play For The Orioles In 2017? PressBoxOnline.com 6/2 Orioles' Big Bats Heat Up In Win Against Red Sox PressBoxOnline 6/2 Orioles Look To Continue Offensive Outburst On Friday CBS Baltimore 6/2 Report: Orioles, Pedro Alvarez reach temporary resolution NBC Sports 6/2 Orioles have reason to worry as Manny Machado's slump is only getting worse CBS Sports 6/1 For one night, the Orioles perfect formula occurred: Pitching, defense and the home run BaltimoreBaseball.com 6/1 Miley limits the walks and piles up innings BaltimoreBaseball.com 6/1

2 Wade Miley pitches seven strong innings in Orioles' 7-5 win over Red Sox Eduardo A. Encina/ The Sun June 1, 2017 After his last start in Houston, Orioles left-hander Wade Miley lamented another start stifled by deep counts that ended up being the difference between a pedestrian five-inning outing and seven strong innings. Much like his previous outing, Miley battled with his pitch count early Thursday night. But unlike that time out, he found a way to be more economical as the night went on. Miley held the Boston Red Sox to one run over seven innings, scattering five hits, in the Orioles 7-5 series-opening victory at Camden Yards. It was the Orioles third win in four games after a season-high seven-game losing streak. They were pretty aggressive tonight and obviously the offense, we jumped on theme pretty early and then we kept applying pressure, Miley said. [It] makes it a little bit easier when you ve got a little support like that. Then you can just kind of go in there and pound the zone and we were able to get outs. After going into Thursday s start leading the majors with 5.29 walks per nine innings, he issued just one walk on the night while posting his second seven-inning outing in three starts. Definitely getting deeper in the game [is more important], Miley said. I m not overly concerned about the walks. Obviously, I don t want to walk people. But at the same time, if I had walked seven guys tonight and got to the seventh inning, whatever. You know? You want to minimize them, but at the same time I was just trying to get as deep in the game as possible. For the second straight night, the Orioles offense flexed its muscle, hitting four home runs, including solo homers by Adam Jones and Chris Davis for a second consecutive night. Mark Trumbo also hit a two-run homer in the first and Jonathan Schoop blasted a three-run shot in the sixth. The Orioles (28-24) have scored the same number of runs the past two games (17) as they did over the course of their entire seven-game losing streak. Miley was good, huh? He walked one guy? Did they walk anybody? That s probably the least number of walked game we ve had this year," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "I thought the sixth and seventh innings were really big. We were trying to stay away from some people tonight, like you always are. A nine-pitch first inning by Miley was foiled by a 30-pitch second. But after stranding runners at the corners that inning, Miley allowed just three base runners over his next five innings, keeping the ball on the ground to the tune of eight groundouts. Miley was already at 72 pitches through his first four innings. But he then induced six straight groundouts for quick work in an 11-pitch fifth and a 13-pitch sixth, a result of starting hitters off with changeups, sliders and curveballs before getting them to roll over on fastballs later in atbats. Miley issued a four-pitch walk to Red Sox first baseman Sam Travis to open the seventh, but then drew quick outs from Josh Rutledge and Christian Vazquez before finishing his outing with a six-pitch strikeout of Jackie Bradley Jr., who swung through a slider. Jones robs Betts: The ball was flying out of Camden Yards as evidenced by the five homers hit on the night but Orioles center fielder Adam Jones set the tone from the first batter of the game when he took away a home run from Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts in left-center field.

3 Betts launched a 3-1 fastball from Miley into the gap right in front of the Orioles bullpen, but Jones shuffled to the warning track and made a well-timed leaping catch right at the wall to take away a hit. Mookie Betts leading off the game, he hit a home run, but Jonesy made a great play out there, Miley said. Who knows where this game's at right now if that ball's two feet farther. Who knows? Fortunately, it worked out for us. Machado ends hitless streak: Slumping third baseman Manny Machado snapped an 0-for-18 skid with a first-inning single off Red Sox starter and former Orioles farmhand Eduardo Rodriguez. Machado also had his first multihit effort in six games. Machado didn t have a hit since hitting a double Saturday in Houston. He was not only hitless, but struck out 10 times over his previous four games, seeing his season batting average drop 20 points to.205 entering Thursday s game. But Machado had two singles against Rodriguez on Thursday, scoring both times on home runs Trumbo s two-run blast in the first and Schoop s three-run shot in the sixth. Bullpen falters in ninth: Showalter turned to left-hander Donnie Hart to put the game away against the left-handed-hitting Bradley with two outs in the ninth, but Bradley launched a threerun homer to center field to make it a 7-5 game. Left-handers are hitting.321 against Hart this season. Right-hander Mike Wright was one out away from his second straight scoreless outing since being called up Wednesday. But he allowed a run on Vazquez s two-out RBI single in the ninth. Wright retired the first four batters he faced before allowing a single to Hanley Ramirez with one out in the ninth. He then yielded back-to-back two-out singles to Rutledge and Vazquez to make the score 7-2. He had three strikeouts in 1 2/3 innings, including two in the ninth, but after throwing 43 pitches over two nights, he could be on his way back to Triple-A Norfolk to get a fresh reliever. Orioles continue to mash for third win in four games, 7-5 over Red Sox Jon Meoli/The Sun June 1, 2017 The faintest hint of stickiness in the air isn t the only thing that made it feel like summer has arrived this week at Camden Yards. As the calendar turned to June, the Orioles finally started hitting like their bats were too big for their ballpark. A night after their veteran stars put up double-digit runs to send the rival New York Yankees out of town, Thursday s 7-5 win to open a four-game series against the Boston Red Sox was powered by four home runs, creating the kind of festival atmosphere that hasn t often surrounded the Orioles this season. It looks better recently, right fielder Mark Trumbo said. The first month or so, pretty inconsistent, but the recent results have been kind of what we re looking for. It kind of reminds me of last year a lot. We obviously did pretty well. I think when everybody s in a good place, that s the kind of offense you re going to see.

4 Any issue taken with the Orioles offense not living up to its lofty production standards this season could center on the men in the heart of the lineup third baseman Manny Machado, Trumbo and first baseman Chris Davis. They ve had their individual moments, but seldom have synced up for a massive day like this one. They were involved in everything Thursday. Trumbo homered after Machado s two-out single in the first inning to stake a strong Wade Miley to a lead he d never relinquish. Next time through the lineup, Davis stayed on an outside fastball and smashed it to center field. It marked just the second time this season that the men who led the majors in home runs in each of the past two years went deep in the same game. It s a luxury anytime you have two people homer in a game, regardless of who they are, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. I don t take it for granted. That s hard to do. If you take a guy who hits 30 home runs, that s a good home run year, and you have six or seven-hundred plate appearances, what percentage of those are home runs? There s a lot else that happens between the home runs and other things. Trumbo, Showalter said, is a guy who can get off course a little bit, but he usually doesn t stay there very long. With three hits Thursday, he s batting.278 the highest among Orioles qualifiers. Davis, Showalter said, seems to be getting a better feel after his second home run in as many days, and team-leading 12th of the year. Center fielder Adam Jones, the catalyst of Wednesday s 10-run output and an overall weather vane when it comes to determining which direction the Orioles offense is heading, added a home run of his own to open the sixth inning. That gave the Orioles a 4-1 lead before Machado and Trumbo singled to continue the inning and three runs scored on a towering blast by second baseman Jonathan Schoop. Showalter is loathe to admit it, but there s a reliance on the home run ball inside his clubhouse that can be detrimental at times. But through 51 games, they had 69 home runs this year and 69 home runs last year. Consider though that entering Thursday, 46.7 percent of the Orioles 229 runs came on home runs, according to Baseball Prospectus. That s still in the top third of the league, but it s a good bit down from what has driven them in years past. Last season, it was a league-leading percent, the highest percentage since They ve led the league in each of the past three seasons. After scoring all seven runs that way Thursday, it was up to 48.3 percent, climbing back toward the top. Perhaps just the timing is off, but the home runs have been there. They aren t a cure-all, but they help. More important will be more at-bats by the men who are paid to produce in the heart of their batting order. Over the past two nights, which represent the highest back-to-back run totals the Orioles have put up in two weeks, they all held their own. Jones drove in five runs Tuesday, with Trumbo and Davis combining for the other five. Schoop rediscovering his power stroke and keeping the bottom half of the lineup viable with catcher Welington Castillo back on the shelf will be pivotal. But the Orioles offense is predicated on the stretch from Jones at No. 2 through Davis at No. 5 being able to win games singlehandedly. As the team has begun to distance itself from a seven-game losing streak and found a rhythm offensively, they ve done just that. Everybody knows what this offense is capable of doing, Miley said. It definitely takes a lot of pressure off the pitching staff, but we still have to go out and do our jobs. That s when you get

5 on a roll, when the pitchers are good and we re swinging the bats like we re swinging right now. I mean, the opportunity is there. Backed by 4 HRs, Miley silences Red Sox By Mandy Bell/ MLB.com June 1, 2017 BALTIMORE -- In the first matchup since a heated series at Fenway Park in the beginning of May, the focus was on the game Thursday night as the Orioles chased Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez after hitting four home runs. Despite a late push by the Red Sox in the ninth inning, the O's held on for a 7-5 victory that moved Baltimore (28-24) within a half-game of Boston (29-24) for second place in the American League East and improved the Orioles' record to against AL East opponents. "It's not necessarily where you draw up home runs," O's manager Buck Showalter said. "It's just you're going to have to score runs in our division. We were 6-4 in our division in May for the year. There's not a recipe every night. It may sound that way when you take the body of work. That's the way it may look over the course of a season and rightfully so, but it doesn't always work that way. Especially as good as the pitching we've seen the last 10 or 15 games and will see the rest of this series." Mark Trumbo started the O's home run frenzy off Rodriguez in the first with a two-run shot to left field. Chris Davis and Adam Jones each added a solo home run in the fourth and sixth, respectively, before Jonathan Schoop put the Orioles up, 7-1, with a three-run drive later in the sixth. The four home runs allowed tied Rodriguez's career high for a game. The lefty exited after allowing seven runs on eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. "Those guys, when you miss, that's what happened," said Rodriguez. "They were making good contact and hitting homers." Boston's offense was fairly quiet until the ninth. With two outs and two on, Jackie Bradley Jr. sent a three-run homer to deep center to cut the deficit to two. "He's been driving the baseball here. Left-handers, right-handers, both," Red Sox manager John Farrell said of Bradley. "He gets a breaking ball up from [Donnie Hart] that stays in the middle of the plate. And I think the biggest thing is, as Jackie is seeing pitches up, mislocated, he's letting it fly, and with good hard contact to the pull side and straightaway." The offensive production supported a solid outing by Orioles starter Wade Miley, who allowed just one run on five hits and one walk and struck out three in seven innings. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Schoop seals E-Rod's night: With the O's already leading, 4-1, Rodriguez threw an 86-mph changeup to Schoop that caught too much of the plate. With two runners on, Schoop launched the ball 416 feet, per Statcast, to left-center field at an exit velocity of mph for a 7-1 lead. Jonathan Schoop clobbers a ball over the wall in left field, driving in three runs to pad the Orioles' lead to 7-1 in the 6th "We know he likes his fastball," Schoop said. "He attacks the zone, and he left a couple of pitches right in the middle. He made a mistake and we made him pay for them." Jones robs Mookie: The Orioles set the tone early when Jones robbed Mookie Betts of a potential leadoff home run. Betts drove the fifth pitch of the game to deep left-center field, but Jones had a

6 bead on it right off the bat. The center fielder found the wall and leaped to rob Betts of what could have been his 10th home run at Camden Yards since "It's a daggone good lineup over there," Miley said. "[Dustin Pedroia's] out, but there's no holes in that lineup. You've got to work through it. Mookie Betts leading off the game, he hit a home run, but Jonesy made a great play out there. Who knows where this game's at right now if that ball's two feet farther. Who knows? Fortunately, it worked out for us." QUOTABLE "Definitely getting deeper in the game [is most important], I'm not overly concerned about the walks. Obviously, I don't want to walk people. But at the same time, if I had walked seven guys tonight and got to the seventh inning, whatever. You know? You want to minimize them but at the same time I was just trying to get as deep in the game as possible." -- Miley, on the importance of pitching deeper in games SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS Bradley's homer against Hart was his third this season against a left-hander, tying his career high. REPLAY REVIEW Jones' sixth-inning home run that just cleared the left-field wall was confirmed on a crew chief replay review, granting the O's star his 10th homer. Adam Jones lines a solo homer to left field, and after an umpire review the call is confirmed in the bottom of the 6th inning WHAT'S NEXT Red Sox: Right-hander Rick Porcello, who is having a tough time living up to his AL Cy Young Award-winning season of a year ago, gets the ball Friday at 7:05 p.m. ET in Game 2 of this fourgame series. Porcello has given up 22 hits over his past two starts. But he has at least minimized the damage, allowing six earned runs over 13 innings while going 1-1 in the two starts. In eight career starts at Camden Yards, Porcello is 2-4 with a 4.89 ERA. Orioles: Alec Asher will take the mound Friday for his fourth start. Asher replaced Ubaldo Jimenez in the rotation Sunday, but lasted only two innings after giving up six runs on six hits. The righty is 1-3 with a 3.77 ERA. Miley s quality start and four home runs produce 7-5 win (updated) By Roch Kubatko June 1, 2017 Wade Miley broke through the fifth-inning wall. Chris Davis showed more signs of busting out of his slump. Manny Machado caught a break with an infield single that gave him two hits. The Orioles took an early lead and didn t crumble, riding Miley s quality start and four home runs to a 7-5 victory over the Red Sox before an announced crowd of 20,150 at Camden Yards. Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a three-run homer off left-hander Donnie Hart with two outs in the ninth to raise the tension level, but Pablo Sandoval grounded to Machado. Mark Trumbo hit a two-run shot off left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez in the first. Davis hit his second home run in two nights, a solo shot in the fourth. Adam Jones led off the sixth with his second home run in two nights. And Jonathan Schoop crushed a changeup later in the inning for a three-run blast deep into the left field seats.

7 Rodriguez was finished, the former Orioles farmhand battered like never before at Camden Yards. In six career starts, he had allowed only five runs over 33 2/3 innings and surrendered one home run. The four home runs tonight matched his career high. A MASN camera showed Rodriguez fall as he was warming in the visiting bullpen before the game. It was a nasty spill - the kind that usually requires an electronic alert to get back on your feet. He didn t seem to have the same leg kick and was tentative while chasing Machado s roller up the third base line. The Orioles weren t offering any sympathy. They ve won three of their last four games to improve to And they weren t subjected to anymore nonsense in the form of fastballs thrown behind hitters. Nothing of the retaliatory nature. Pitches and slides were clean. Rodriguez s final line was the only mess. Miley-Delivers-White-Sidebar.jpgMiley had gone five innings in five of his 10 starts and three of the last four. However, he made it through the seventh tonight on 109 pitches and handed a 7-1 lead to Mike Wright. Miley allowed five hits, walked only one batter - he led the American League with 31 before tonight - and struck out three. The only run against Miley came in the second on Sam Travis leadoff single, a throwing error on Davis that let him go to second base and Christian Vázquez s two-out single. Who needs a shutdown inning anyway? Miley retired 11 of the last 12 batters and lowered his ERA from 3.02 to 2.82 in 60 2/3 innings. Wright retired the side in order on nine pitches in the eighth, just as Miley did in his first inning, but he gave up three singles in the ninth, the last from Vázquez with two outs that scored Hanley Ramirez and brought Hart into the game. Miley threw 30 pitches in the second, but became more economical while turning in his fifth quality start. The Orioles have outscored their opponents 17-5 in the last two nights and are only a half-game behind the Red Sox for second place in the AL East. Rumors of the season being over in May were false. Update: The Orioles improved to versus the American League East. Pedro Álvarez told The Virginian-Pilot that his opt-out date has been extended. Here s a sampling from manager Buck Showalter: On Miley: Miley was good, huh. He walked one guy? Did they walk anybody? That s probably the least number of walked game we ve had this year. Wade, first inning, as he got that under the belt, he kind of... I thought the sixth and seventh innings were really big. We were trying to stay away from some people tonight, like you always are. On approach vs. Rodriguez: Yeah, I don t know if we caught... This guy is one of the top 10 ERAs in the American League, which makes it baseball for me. We saw the thing before the game down in the bullpen, so I don t know if we caught him at full strength. But he was still pretty good. Our guys, the mistakes he did make our guys put a good swing on it for them to leave the park. On whether this is how you d draw it up: It s not necessarily where you draw up home runs. It s just you re going to have to score runs in our division. We were 6-4 in our division in May, for the year. There s not a recipe every night. It may sound that way when you take the body of work. That s the way it may look over the course of a season and rightfully so, but it doesn t

8 always work that way. Especially as good as the pitching we ve seen the last 10 or 15 games and will see the rest of this series. On Trumbo and Davis homering in same game for second time: It s a luxury anytime you have two people homer in a game regardless of who they are. I don t take it for granted. It s hard to do. You take a guy who hits 30 home runs, that s a good home run year and you have 600 or 700 plate appearances, what percentage of those are home runs? Mark s a guy who may get off course a little bit, but he doesn t stay there very long. He s got a pretty good approach, and Chris little by little seems to be getting a better feel for it. in-series-opener.html O s mash four homers and beat Boston 7-5 in series opener By Steve Melewski/ MASNsports.com June 1, 2017 This was no way to treat a former teammate. Or maybe it was the best way to treat an American League East rival. Former Orioles minor league left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez was pounded for four homers tonight, as the Orioles beat the Red Sox 7-5 to open a four-game series at Camden Yards. After going through a seven-game stretch where the Orioles hit.199 as a team and scored 2.1 runs per game, they ve scored 17 the last two nights against Yankees and Red Sox pitchers. The Red Sox turned a blowout into a close game by scoring four runs in the top of the ninth. Christian Vázquez delivered a two-out RBI single to knock reliever Mike Wright out of the game. Then Jackie Bradley Jr. s three-run homer off Donnie Hart made it 7-5 before the O s lefthander got the last out. Rodriguez had some pretty remarkable numbers coming into this game that got obliterated tonight. He had carried a no-hitter through four innings into his past three starts at Camden Yards. He owned a 1.34 career ERA here for Boston in six starts. This season he had recorded seven straight quality starts. He had allowed just three homers over his past nine games and 50 1/3 innings. All that changed real fast tonight. Manny Machado singled with two outs in the first to snap an 0-for-18 slump. Then Mark Trumbo turned around a 93 mph Rodriguez fastball for his eighth homer and a quick 2-0 lead. Boston then used three singles and a Chris Davis error to score once in the second. With one out in the Baltimore fourth, Davis drilled a 424-foot homer to center on a 2-0 fastball. It was his second in two nights and 12th of the year for a 3-1 lead. The Orioles blew it wide open in the sixth. Adam Jones homer down the left field line led off the inning and just made the stands. His 10th made it 4-1. With two on later in the frame, Jonathan Schoop blasted a three-run shot to open the 7-1 lead. Schoop hit No. 8 on a 1-0 changeup. The Orioles four homers traveled a total distance of 1,602 feet. Last June, the Orioles hit 56 homers, a major league record for that particular month. They begin the month with four this year. Rodriguez falls to 4-2 with an ERA of He gave up eight hits and seven runs over 5 2/3 innings. Meanwhile, O s starter Wade Miley was in command and got deep into the game for the first time in a while. Over seven innings, he allowed five hits and one run with one walk and three strikeouts. Miley threw 109 pitches and is 2-3 with an ERA of His ERA was 3.02 beginning the night to rank 14th-best in the AL.

9 In six starts for the year against the AL East, Miley is 2-2 with an ERA of 1.95, allowing eight runs over 37 innings. With the win, the Orioles moved to within a half-game of the second place Red Sox in the AL East at They are 3-1 on this homestand and 18-8 at home. Boston (29-24) lost for just the third time in 11 games. The series continues on Friday night when right-hander Alec Asher (1-3, 3.77 ERA) pitches against reigning AL Cy Young Award winner right-hander Rick Porcello (3-6, 4.21 ERA). Miley's pitching, 4 HRs carry Orioles past Red Sox 7-5 By Associated Press June 1, 2017 BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Orioles hit four home runs off Eduardo Rodriguez, and that turned out to be just enough offense to beat the Boston Red Sox. Such is life in the hard-hitting AL East. "There's not a recipe every night, but you're going to have to score runs in our division," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said after Baltimore's 7-5 victory on Thursday night. The Orioles used the long ball to build a 7-1 lead in the sixth inning -- then held on. "When everyone is kind of in a good place, that's the kind of offense you're going to see," said Mark Trumbo, who started the outburst with a two-run drive in the first inning. Chris Davis and Adam Jones went deep for a second straight night and Jonathan Schoop capped the surge with a three-run drive in the sixth. After taking two of three from the AL East-leading New York Yankees, the Orioles opened a four-game series against another division rival with a feel-good victory. "We've got to win these games to play in the postseason," Baltimore starter Wade Miley said. "These games are very important." Miley (2-3) gave up five hits and a walk against the team he pitched for in Seeking his first win since April 14, the lefty did not allow a runner past first base after the second inning. Rodriguez (4-2) surrendered seven runs in 5 2/3 innings, and the four homers tied a career high. The former Orioles farmhand came in with a four-game winning streak and a career 1.34 ERA in six starts at Camden Yards. The left-hander tumbled off the mound in the bullpen during warmups before the game but did not use that as an excuse. "I just missed my pitches," Rodriguez said. "With those guys, when you miss, that will happen. They make contact and hit homers." Jackie Bradley Jr. hit a three-run homer in the ninth inning and Christian Vazquez had two RBI for the Red Sox, who lost for only the third time in 11 games. Manager John Farrell gave credit to Miley for keeping Boston off balance. "When he gets into that rhythm, he picks up the pace, works quick and doesn't let anyone really settle in," Farrell said.

10 When the Orioles visited Boston during the first week of May, a series of brushback pitches and harsh words in both clubhouses led the commissioner's office to intervene with instructions to end a feud that began in April with a spikes-high slide by Baltimore's Manny Machado into Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia. Before this game, Showalter expected no residual ill will in a series between two teams within baseball's most competitive division. "Your hands are full trying to stay with these guys as opposed to bringing in some unneeded drama," he said. There was no drama after Jones led off the sixth with a home run and Schoop chased Rodriguez in the same inning. Earlier, Davis made it 3-1 in the fourth with his team-high 12th home run, the first long ball allowed by Rodriguez to a left-handed batter since Brett Gardner of the Yankees last July. TAKE A SEAT Red Sox: Mired in an 0-for-12 skid, rookie OF Andrew Benintendi did not start. "There's going to be some ebbs and flows to the season. He's in one of those now," Farrell said. Benintendi flied out as a pinch hitter. Orioles: LF Hyun Soo Kim played in only 11 games last month and spent the first day of June on the Baltimore bench. TRAINER'S ROOM Red Sox: LHP Robbie Ross Jr. was recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket and placed on the 10-day DL with left elbow inflammation. Ross was optioned to Pawtucket on May 18 and did not pitch because of discomfort in his elbow.... Pedroia (left wrist sprain) appears to be on the mend. "The range of motion is starting to get there," Farrell said. Orioles: INF Ryan Flaherty, who went on the DL on May 19 with a right shoulder strain, should begin throwing next week. UP NEXT Red Sox: Rick Porcello (3-6, 4.21 ERA) will start Friday night, looking to regain his 2016 Cy Young Award form after giving up 11 hits in each of his last two outings. Orioles: Hit hard by Houston on Sunday in his first start with Baltimore, Alec Asher (1-3, 3.77 ERA) gets a second chance to prove he's worthy of replacing struggling Ubaldo Jimenez in the rotation.

11 Orioles' starter Alec Asher to draw from experience Friday, but not from last start Jon Meoli/The Sun June 2, 2017 Right-hander Alec Asher certainly has some recent history to draw from ahead of his starting assignment Friday against the Boston Red Sox, but it won t be from last weekend. Asher's assessment of the two-inning outing Sunday in Houston won t have much carryover to Friday s assignment against the Boston Red Sox. You try to take what you can from it, he said. I fell behind on a lot of hitters, and I just had to give in. It happens. You just try not to take your bad outings too serious, and go from there. Asher allowed six runs on six hits in those two innings in the loss to the Astros. He entered that start having given up seven runs all year in his swingman role. He started April 15 and allowed a run in 6 1/3 innings against the Toronto Blue Jays, then allowed three earned runs in six innings as the Orioles beat Boston on May 2 at Fenway Park. That outing against the Red Sox is what s important for him to pull from. He allowed two home runs in that game to designated hitter Hanley Ramirez, but otherwise gave up just four hits and fanned two while allowing a walk. In 101 pitches against the Red Sox, Asher had a season-high 10 swinging strikes, and his prowess in those two starts during the first month of the season kept him around to ultimately earn a rotation spot. In between, he established himself as a reliable reliever. However, Asher said the shuffling of his routine doesn t really impact what he did on Sunday or would not Friday, either. You know, I ve done it for a long time, he said. I didn t really think about it too much. It s just one of those games where you just didn t have it that day. Buck Showalter: On-field feud with Red Sox 'not a topic' in Orioles clubhouse Jon Meoli/The Sun June 1, 2017 Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Thursday that the on-field tensions that hung over the season's first nine games between his club and the rival Boston Red Sox aren t part of the equation ahead of this week s four-game series at Camden Yards. It s not a topic in our locker room, Showalter said. It s more about how to beat these really good pitchers they have. We ve got our hands full with too many things to have that be part of your preparation. It s not [a topic] for us. I m sure more than likely, it isn t with them. We d like to play the game. I don t know if I ever remember, at this point in the season, the American League East being this good from top to bottom at this point. If you look at Tampa, Toronto has got it going on now, and obviously New York and Boston. Your hands are full trying to stay with these guys as opposed to bringing in some unneeded drama or something.

12 The drama that they don t need this time began the last time the two teams met in Baltimore, when Orioles third baseman Manny Machado made contact with Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia on a slide into second base and injured his knee. Two days later, Red Sox reliever Matt Barnes threw a pitch behind Machado s head and was ejected and suspended four games for it. A week later, from May 1-4, they met for a four-game series in Boston, where Major League Baseball intervened and talked to the two clubs after a pitch behind Machado by Red Sox pitcher Chris Sale. Machado went on a profane-filled rant after the game and said he lost all respect for the Red Sox. Things eventually cooled between the two clubs by the time they parted ways. However, that intervention from the league office essentially cost the Orioles a game when starter Kevin Gausman was ejected without warning for hitting a batter with a breaking ball in the second inning on May 3. Hopefully, the Orioles and Red Sox are ready to put their feud in the rear view mirror Showalter said the only time they think of what happened is when the media brings it up. Only when obviously you guys do have to bring it up, and ladies, you have to because it s part of what you do, he said. I think that s when it comes into play more, and there s a lot of that that comes into play because of the way it s, rightfully so, covered. It is what it is. If you re doing something important, people are critiquing it. Thank God they are, otherwise we d be playing with nobody in the stands. Around the horn: The Orioles said infielder Ryan Flaherty, who had a platelet-rich-plasma injection in his shoulder last week, will begin throwing again in Sarasota, Fla., in the next week. Orioles notes: Team discussed Pedro Álvarez's opt-out; Francisco Peña glad he stayed Jon Meoli/The Sun June 1, 2017 Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he and executive vice president Dan Duquette had discussed the scenarios around the minor league contract opt-outs held by designated hitter Pedro Álvarez at Triple-A Norfolk, and others on the farm. Álvarez was not initially in the lineup for the Tides on Thursday, but it was revised to include him later in the evening, meaning he could be sticking around there. There s some conversation about which way he s going to go, Showalter said before Thursday's game. I know Dan and I were talking about him, and some other things, today, and how that s concerned how things would fit or not fit. He s come on here lately as he s gotten closer to that day. Funny how that sometimes works. Álvarez homered Wednesday night to give him eight in his past 13 games. Though he was batting.223 on the year, he hit.351 in his 13 games before Thursday. He has added the outfield to his defensive repertoire in an attempt to make him more useful on a major league roster. The 22 home runs he hit for the Orioles last season were valuable, but he was difficult to carry without a position. There s no obvious spot for him on the current 25-man roster. But the way Showalter has used Hyun Soo Kim so sparingly of late means Álvarez could theoretically fill that spot as a lefthanded hitter off the bench, even if the Orioles are skeptical of his glove. It s like, Oh, we don t have roster space, then somebody, that s just like Barry Bonds comes available, so to speak, Showalter said. I m not saying that s with us, but you somehow find a spot on the roster. There s always a way. Dan and I were discussing not only him, but some other

13 people, how we might do it. We ve got 40-man roster flexibility, too. We ve worked hard with it, and there s three or four spots there. Right-hander Edwin Jackson also had a June 1 opt-out, though teams have 48 hours to make a decision if it s exercised. Peña glad he stayed: When he had the tough conversation informing Francisco Peña that he was designated for assignment two weeks ago, Showalter told the backup catcher it was a proposition as to whether he d be claimed on waivers or remain in the organization. Peña cleared waivers and accepted a minor league assignment, only to be back because of Welington Castillo s testicular injury this week, proving the grass isn t always greener when a player gets a chance to leave. He spent that time with his family in Norfolk, unable to play baseball at all, but is glad to be back, even under these circumstances. It s the game, Peña said. I m not the only one who goes through it. There s a bunch of guys that go through it as well. Thank God I made the decision to stay here and see what happens. You re not happy when one of your teammates gets hurt, but I m happy to be here. Peña had two home runs in seven at-bats before he was designated for assignment, and returns to a backup role for at least the next week while Castillo heals. Castillo rest mandated: Showalter said Castillo wouldn t have been able to play on doctor s orders for three or four days after a deflected ball hit him in the groin and caused a blood clot. He s running a real risk if he gets hit there again during that period, Showalter said. Otherwise, he didn t have an update on the team s starting catcher. You know, that s not a conversation that s easy to have, other than, How are you feeling? Showalter said. I was trying real hard not to use the wrong word yesterday to describe it we got away with groin, right? But I m going to probably talk to him a little later. Around the horn: The Orioles will send 1992 first-round draft pick Jeffrey Hammonds to this month s draft to represent the team. The first 25,000 fans, ages 21 and over, will receive the popular Orioles floppy hat at Friday night s game against the Red Sox. Asher, O's face reigning Cy winner Porcello By Mandy Bell / MLB.com June 2, 2017 Despite what has happened between the Orioles and Red Sox this season, the teams say they are only focused on winning games in a competitive American League East. "Look at the standings, it's bunched up," Red Sox manager John Farrell said. "So we're right in the heat of it. We're right in the throes of maybe the second-third of the season where you get teams kind of hitting their stride. Everybody's dealt with oddities, whether it's injuries, performance, what have you. But every game is important." Right-hander Rick Porcello (3-6, 4.21 ERA) will take the mound for the Red Sox. The reigning AL Cy Young Award winner has excelled recently at attacking hitters, having thrown the highest rate of pitches while ahead in the count (34.9 percent) of any qualified starter. The righty has a 4.89 lifetime ERA at Camden Yards.

14 For the Orioles, Alec Asher (1-3, 3.77) is looking to get ahead in the count more often in his fourth start. Asher took the place of Ubaldo Jimenez in the rotation Sunday, but lasted just two innings against Houston after allowing six runs on six hits. "You try to take what you can from it," Asher said. "I fell behind a lot of hitters and I just had to give in. And it happens. You try not to take your bad outings too serious and go from there." Asher started against Boston on May 2, throwing six innings and giving up three runs, including two home runs to Hanley Ramirez. Three things to know about this game Porcello finished April tied for the most barrels allowed in the Majors. But Porcello turned his contact around in May, reducing both his barrel rate (from 13.2 to 5.7 percent) and average exit velocity against (from 90.2 to 87.7 mph) by significant margins. Chris Davis (8-for-39), Adam Jones (11-for-48) and Mark Trumbo (9-for-29) have a combined.241 career average against Porcello with nine home runs and 23 RBIs. Boston's Pablo Sandoval got three hits as the DH in his first game back from the disabled list Wednesday. O's sluggers finding their home run swings By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com June 1, 2017 BALTIMORE -- This is the Orioles team fans in this city have been waiting for. A Baltimore lineup that had been sluggish bashed its way to Thursday's 7-5 series-opening win against the Red Sox, with four homers and several stars finally heating up. On the heels of a 10- run output against the Yankees on Wednesday, the O's lineup -- hailed as the team's strength all season -- is starting to come alive. "It's a luxury anytime you have two people homer in a game, regardless of who they are. I don't take it for granted. It's hard to do," said Baltimore manager Buck Showalter, whose club set a Major League record last June with 56 homers. "You take a guy who hits 30 home runs, that's a good home run year, and you have 600 or 700 plate appearances, what percentage of those are home runs? [Mark Trumbo is] a guy who may get off course a little bit, but he doesn't stay there very long. He's got a pretty good approach, and [Chris Davis] little by little seems to be getting a better feel for it." Davis and Adam Jones, who each homered in multi-rbi nights Wednesday, went deep again off Red Sox starter Eduardo Rodriguez on Thursday. The former Orioles farmhand, who surrendered a career-high four homers, was tagged with seven runs, starting with Trumbo's two-run blast in the bottom of the first. Manny Machado, who snapped an 0-for-18 skid, delivered a two-out single and Trumbo -- last year's Major League home run leader -- delivered with his eighth of the season. Davis followed with a solo shot in the fourth for his team-leading 12th homer, and Jones' solo blast, which just made it over the left-field fence, was confirmed after a crew chief review. "Yeah, it looks better recently," Trumbo said of the team's big bats clicking at the same time. "The first month or so pretty inconsistent, but the recent results have kind of been what we're looking for." Two singles and two outs after Jones, Jonathan Schoop -- who has helped carry the offense during the lineup's lean weeks -- clobbered a 1-0 changeup for a big three-run homer that chased Rodriguez.

15 Baltimore has scored 17 runs in its past two games, more than the previous seven games (15) combined. "You know, since Spring Training, we know who we are. We know what we can do -- everybody," Schoop said of the lineup showing its potential. "It's baseball. You've got to go through good times, you've got to go through bad times, and minimize the bad times." Coolbaugh on Machado s slump By Roch Kubatko/ MASNsports.com June 2, 2017 It was a line drive up the middle last night that found the grass in center field for a two-out single in the first inning. Another ball died along the third base line in the sixth - big swing, short distance, another single. Pretty routine unless you re hitless in the last 18 at-bats and your average is down to.205. Manny Machado needed those singles last night. He needed something to go right for him at the plate. The baseball gods kissed his cheek instead of giving him a wet willy. The slump extended far behind 18 at-bats. Machado was 7-for-53 in his last 13 games and had 10 strikeouts in his last four. He seemed lost, whether on the road or in his own ballpark. Chris Davis talked in Houston about not seeing the ball. It s been the same issue with Machado. Just not in the literal sense. Trying to do a little bit too much with the ball, said Orioles hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh. I think every hitter that goes through any period of where they feel like they re not at their best, they re usually going outside the zone and trying to do too much, so they re not really seeing the ball as well as they normally do. In other words, and I tell people all the time that seeing the ball isn t not seeing the baseball. It s having the ability to see the ball where you re slowing the ball down. And I think right now he s trying to do that, and consequently he s just going through a period in time and I know he knows the level of play he s capable of playing and he s trying to get there right away for a young hitter. How does this happen to an accomplished hitter, to someone with a.294/.343/.533 slash line last season in 157 games? I think the thing about that is, the head movement, there s a lot of head movement, and whether it s in the loading process or after the stride foot lands, your head is moving in the swing. So, it actually speeds everything up, Coolbaugh said. You see the ball all the time, but there are times where when guys are calm and their head is staying still that you re actually slowing the ball down. That s what he typically does, but right now he s just fighting from that extra movement. And he s trying some things a little differently, I think, that on his own experience of wanting to see the ball better he s opened up his stance this year more than he had in the past and I think that s created a little bit more movement. Consequently, he s trying to get back to where he was a little more square and able to minimize the head movement. The same thing with Chris Davis. Davis has homered on back-to-back nights after shortening his stance. It s baseball s version of head games. The head moves a lot, it s like anything else, Coolbaugh said. You just speed everything up and you re not recognizing the pitch. You re actually just seeing a ball, seeing an object, basically.

16 That s typically what happens with a lot of guys. If you see guys that are going really well and they re swinging the bats well, usually their head is at minimal movements. And that s a hard thing to do once you re in there competing and you re just trying to compete against you and the pitcher. You re not thinking about keeping your head still. You re trying to have a clear mind and just get a good pitch and hit. Consequently, things kind of get repetitive and the muscle memory kind of takes over and the movements happen that you don t realize. So, it s a constant focus every game, the work habits and things like that, to get back to normal. Davis was 4-for-44 with 25 strikeouts in 11 games before hitting a two-run homer Wednesday night, his adjusted stance paying dividends. That s the same thing, Coolbaugh said. We talked about it. Typically our guys have a lot of power, the big guys, but also we have guys with some bigger movements. And with that being said, it can cause some problems, so we re just trying to minimize some of that movement and make everything a little slower and easier so that his head movement would be minimized to be able to recognize the ball better. That gives you a better chance to get a good pitch to it. And when they get that good pitch to hit, they re able to adjust to it and feel like they have time to do it. Whereas, if they re not seeing the ball, everything feels rushed and you re already manipulated or already committed to your swing because you think, Oh, the ball s on me and it s still pretty far out. Machado went 2-for-4 last night to leave his average at.211. He hit.224/.343/.424 in April and.191/.238/.391 in May. Maybe he s just getting the worst out of the way earlier in the season. Let s not forget that he posted a.204/.288/.337 slash line last July after batting.344/.394/.667 in April,.292/.385/.566 in May and.370/.396/.600 in June. He hit.243/.288/.409 over the last 29 games, but those torrid months kept his season average from plummeting. As I told him before, you have two months last year maybe like these first two months, but you didn t notice it because you got off to a good start, Coolbaugh said. Every player goes through that adjustment and I just think he needs to take what the game s giving him and being able to get back to just slowing things down and seeing the ball a little better. Notes on the offense and O s strong play in AL East By Steve Melewski/ MASNsports.com June 2, 2017 For the Orioles offense, there was no June swoon last year. The opposite, in fact. The Orioles went 19-9 last June despite a team ERA that was They did it with offense. A lot of it. They began June 2017 with a lot of offense. The Orioles hit four homers last night in a 7-5 win over Boston. Can the Orioles have another big June with the bats? Let s look at last year. O s batting for the year:.256 average,.317 OBP,.443 slugging, 4.59 runs/gm, 1.56 homers/game O s batting last June:.300 average,.357 OBP,.531 slugging, 6.61 runs/gm, 2.00 homers/game The Orioles and Yankees are the only two teams in the American League East that have winning records in games played within the division Orioles (20-11) New York (14-10) Boston (10-12)