Saturday, September 23, 2017

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 Game Stories: Saturday, September 23, 2017 Rays score a quick six to send Ubaldo Jiménez packing, hand Orioles their 81st loss The Sun 9/22 Davis hits 25th, but Jimenez struggles in loss MLB.com 9/23 Jiménez lasts only three innings in 8-3 loss (with quotes) MASNsports.com 9/22 Ramos hits slam to help Rays beat Jimenez and Orioles 8-3 AP 9/22 Columns: Last Ubaldo Jiménez start at Camden Yards leaves Orioles searching for more silver linings The Sun 9/23 Orioles pass starting torch to rookie Austin Hays in effort to see if he can keep it in 2018 The Sun 9/22 Hellickson looks to rebound against Rays MLB.com 9/23 After good start, inconsistency hits Jimenez MLB.com 9/23 Britton undergoes stem-cell injection in left knee MLB.com 9/22 Seven games left for Trumbo and Davis to heat up MASNsports.com 9/23 Schoop s award, Britton s injection and more (O s down 7-3) MASNsports.com 9/22 Orioles lineup vs. Rays MASNsports.com 9/22 Jim Callis on Trey Mancini s top 30 omission MASNsports.com 9/23 O s game blog: Jiménez faces Cobb at Camden Yards MASNsports.com 9/22 Zach Wilt: What the Orioles can learn from this year s postseason clubs MASNsports.com 9/22 Rumor Central: Orioles won't shop Manny Machado? ESPN.com 9/22 Ubaldo Jimenez Has Another Night To Forget PressBoxOnline.com 9/22 2nd Baseman Jonathan Schoop Named Most Valuable Oriole For 2017 CBSBaltimore.com 9/22 Ubaldo Jimenez s Baltimore swan song ends with another ugly duckling performance BaltimoreBaseball.com 9/23

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/bs-sp-rays-send-jimenez-packing-20170922- story.html Rays score a quick six to send Ubaldo Jiménez packing, hand Orioles their 81st loss By Peter Schmuck / The Baltimore Sun It remains to be seen whether Ubaldo Jiménez gets another chance to make a good last impression in the waning days of his four-year career in Baltimore, but Friday night s performance against the Tampa Bay Rays certainly didn t qualify. Jiménez pitched a perfect first inning and then allowed six runs on eight hits before he could get six more outs in an 8-3 loss before 28,835 at Camden Yards. Though it is a virtual certainty that he just pitched his last game here as an Oriole, the club has seven games left to play and he could get another start or relief appearance during the team s final series of the season against the Rays at Tropicana Field. As so often has been the case, his performance unraveled in a heartbeat and the Orioles could not recover, falling to 74-81 to assure they will finish no better than at.500. He hit the leadoff batter in the second inning and gave up two groundball singles to load the bases before Rays catcher Wilson Ramos hit a mammoth grand slam deep into the bleachers behind left-center field. All of that took place in the span of just nine pitches. Starting that inning, I didn't want to hit the first baseman, especially after having him two strikes, Jiménez said. And then the next two batters, I got a couple ground balls but they were able to find the hole, and the next pitch was a homer. The Orioles answered with two runs off Rays starter Alex Cobb in the bottom of the inning, but Jiménez (6-11) allowed a leadoff homer to Evan Longoria in the third and also allowed a two-out RBI single to Adeiny Hechavarria as the Rays (75-79) re-extended their lead to four runs. We get back in it, 4-2, and go out and give two right back to them, Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. So that kind of took away any momentum we were trying to garner. We had some opportunities against Cobb to get back in it, but we couldn t get that one hit we needed. The Orioles tried to chip away at it. Chris Davis led off the fourth inning with his 25th home run of the season, but the Rays answered again this time against reliever Miguel Castro with a run in the fifth on an RBI double by Corey Dickerson. If it was any consolation, Davis home run marked the first time the Orioles had scored in multiple innings in a game since they scored in each of the first five innings of Monday night s series opener against the Boston Red Sox. Cobb pitched six innings and allowed three runs on nine hits to get the decision, improving his record to 12-10. Jones climbs hit ladder: When Adam Jones singled in each of his first two at-bats Friday, he tied and passed Brady Anderson to move into fourth place on the Orioles all-time hit list with 1,615. It ll take a while to reach the next rung on the hit ladder, since Eddie Murray is third with 2,080. So does Davis: Davis hit his 224th career home run as an Oriole in the fourth inning to pass Rafael Palmeiro and move into sole possession of sixth place on the team s all-time home run list. Jones is fifth with 248. Opportunity lost: The Orioles ran themselves out of a potential big inning in the third when Manny Machado was thrown out at the plate trying to score from second on Jones single. Third base coach Bobby Dickerson sent Machado even though left fielder Corey Dickerson had

the ball in hand as Machado was reaching third base. Instead of a bases-loaded, one-out situation with the Orioles trailing by four runs, they had one more chance to make something out of a three-hit inning. And Trey Mancini struck out. Rays record: When Longoria homered in the third inning, the Rays tied their single-season record for home runs with 216, which was set last year. The Orioles entered the evening leading the major leagues with 228 homers. http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/255579358/wilson-ramos-grand-slam-powers-rays-to-win/ Davis hits 25th, but Jimenez struggles in loss By Brittany Ghiroli and Jeff Seidel / MLB.com BALTIMORE -- Led by Wilson Ramos' grand slam and Evan Longoria's homer -- which tied the club record for home runs -- the Rays powered their way to Friday's 8-3 series-evening win over the Orioles. After loading the bases on struggling Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez, Ramos clobbered the first pitch he saw in the top of the second inning to put Tampa Bay up 4-0. Ramos' blast had an exit velocity of 108.7 mph and sailed 439 feet, according to Statcast. The homer was his hardesthit ball of the season and his longest homer. "When I try to hit a homer, I try to do too much," Ramos said. "Right there, at that moment, I was looking for a pitch... to put the ball in the air and bring runners in." That home run gave the Rays an early lead they never lost. "Starting that inning, of course I didn't want to hit [Logan Morrison] especially after having two strikes," Jimenez said. "The next two batters, I got a couple ground balls, but they were able to find holes. And then the biggest one was the homer." Baltimore fell to 74-81 on the season and has now lost 13 of its last 16 games. The Orioles are 6 1/2 games out of the second Wild Card spot, while Tampa Bay remained five games back. The Orioles responded by loading the bases in the bottom of the frame, scoring two runs on Austin Hays' sacrifice fly and Rays starter Alex Cobb's wild pitch. Cobb went on to go six innings, allowing three runs on nine hits. Longoria extended the lead with a full-count solo homer in the top of the third inning. It was the Rays' 216th on the year, tying the club single-season record set in 2016. Chris Davis went deep for the Orioles, belting his 25th homer of the year in the bottom of the fourth inning off of Cobb. Jimenez lasted just three innings and was charged with six earned runs. MOMENTS THAT MATTERED Cobb's great escape: Tasked to protect a four-run lead, Cobb got into a sticky situation in the sixth with one out and two men on. But Cobb got out of it, getting a ground ball back to the mound that cut Davis down in a rundown between third and home. Right fielder Steven Souza Jr.'s diving grab ended the inning, with Cobb pumping his fist as he walked off. Ramos' big blow: The Rays catcher hit his 10th homer of the year to put Tampa Bay up big off of Jimenez. Nine of Ramos' homers have come off of American League East opponents. "That's a very amazing moment for us, when you hit a grand slam," Ramos said. "You have to enjoy this moment. [It does] not happen too often." QUOTABLE

"He had two pitches that were four runs. The 0-2 hit-by-pitch and the home run. A couple ground balls that trickled through and the next thing you know we're down 4-0. You can't take those two pitches back. Then we get back in it and go out and give two right back to them. So that kind of took a lot of the game momentum that we were trying to garner." -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter, on Jimenez REPLAY REVIEW Ramos fell just shy of giving the Rays homer No. 217, as his eighth-inning home run call was overturned and ruled a double after replay review. WHAT'S NEXT Rays: Jake Odorizzi (9-8, 4.46) has been pitching much better of late, winning three of his last four starts, and he takes the mound on Saturday for the third game of this series. He gave up two runs on just one hit in a win over Boston last Sunday and hopes to find similar success in this game, which begins at 7:05 p.m. ET. Orioles: Former Ray Jeremy Hellickson (8-10, 5.47) will start for the Orioles in the third game of this four-game series. Hellickson has a 2-5 record in nine starts since the Orioles acquired him from the Phillies. Watch every out-of-market regular-season game live on MLB.TV. http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/09/jimenez-lasts-only-three-innings-in-8-3- loss.html Jiménez lasts only three innings in 8-3 loss (with quotes) By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com Ubaldo Jiménez would like to get back two pitches thrown tonight in the second inning. Both of them 92 mph fastballs. Both ending up in bad locations. Both causing a lot of pain. One fastball was planted in the back of leadoff hitter Logan Morrison with the count 0-2. The other was launched to left field by Wilson Ramos for a grand slam. If Jiménez was making his final Camden Yards start with the Orioles, as presumed, he went out in a blaze of gory. Jiménez allowed six runs over three innings and the Orioles lost for the 13th time in 16 games, 8-3, before an announced crowd of 28,835. With a 74-81 record, the Orioles must win their last seven games to avoid their first losing season since 2011. They have two more against the Rays at home, two in Pittsburgh and three at Tropicana Field. Chris Davis led off the fourth inning with his 224th home run as an Oriole to pass Rafael Palmeiro for sixth place on the all-time list. He also walked and singled for his first multi-hit game since Aug. 31. Miguel Castro allowed a run in the fifth and has been scored upon in each of his last six appearances. Jiménez allowed eight hits along with the six runs and raised his ERA to 6.81 in 142 2/3 innings. It was his third-shortest start of the season after lasting 2 1/3 against the Rays on June 21 and 2 2/3 against the Mariners on Aug. 30.

The Rays were retired in order in the first inning on only nine pitches, but both balls to Adam Jones were scorched and Evan Longoria hit a sharp grounder to Manny Machado. Nine of the next 14 batters reached and Jiménez threw a combined 53 pitches in the second and third. Fans booed. Castro warmed twice. Jiménez opened the second by drilling Morrison and allowing soft singles to Steven Souza Jr. and Corey Dickerson to load the bases with no outs. The next pitch disappeared over the fence for the Rays third grand slam this season and a 4-0 lead. Jimenez threw 23 of them. The Orioles also loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second and Rays starter Alex Cobb also needed 23 pitches to end it. However, the Orioles scored only twice on an Austin Hays fly ball to the track in left-center field and a wild pitch. Longoria led off the third with a home run - cue more booing - and three more singles increased the lead to 6-2. Ramos was caught in a rundown on Adeiny Hechavarria s single to get Jiménez back into the dugout. He didn t come back out. If he s on the mound again at Camden Yards, he figures to be wearing a different uniform. Souza made a diving catch in the sixth to rob Caleb Joseph and strand two runners. Davis got caught in a rundown between third base and home for the second out. Manny Machado was thrown out at the plate in the third while trying to score on Jones single. Another one of those nights - for Jiménez and the Orioles. Notes: Donnie Hart faced two batters in the ninth and allowed a run on Lucas Duda s RBI double. Jones had two hits to pass Brady Anderson for fourth place on the club s all-time list with 1,615. Mychal Givens set a career high with 75 innings this season, including two scoreless tonight. His 66 appearances equal last year s total. Manager Buck Showalter on Jiménez: He had two pitches that were four runs. The 0-2 hit by pitch and the home run. A couple ground balls that trickled through and the next thing you know we re down 4-0. You can t take those two pitches back. Then we get back in it and go out and give two right back to them. So, that kind of took a lot of the game momentum that we were trying to garner. We had some opportunities against Cobb to get back in it, but couldn t get that one hit we needed. Showalter wasn t ready to reflect on Jiménez s time in Baltimore: That s for another day. It s not up. We always look for the positives in everything, especially my job, and if you look you ll always find them. Tonight wasn t one of them, even though you can say, ground ball, ground ball, but we hit a guy 0-2 and make a pitch that Ramos jumped on and we gave two right back. He s not the only one, but I know that s a point of emphasis tonight. Showalter on whether team is frustrated by inability to have big innings: I hope so. Certainly. I think that s a pretty obvious answer. There s no que sera sera. Believe me, they re grinding and it s frustrating. You can talk about we re doing a lot of things to set up some innings. We re just not getting that last hit to get it over the top, and tonight you re going to have to score nine runs to win. That s always the emphasis for me is trying to figure out a way to keep them from going 360 feet and tonight we didn t do a very good job of that. We did some good things offensively, but Cobb s another top 10 guy in ERA in the American League. We caught him I thought on a night we had a chance to do some things, but we couldn t get over the hump.

Jiménez on whether start came down to two pitches: Yeah. Starting that inning, of course I didn t want to hit the first baseman, especially after having two strikes. The next two batters, I got a couple ground balls, but they were able to find holes. And then the biggest one was the homer. Jiménez on whether he thought about this start maybe being his last with Orioles: No, I don t even think about that. Whatever is happening, I just thank God every time for giving me the courage to be here so long and whatever happens, I m just going to go with it. Of course, I didn t want it to happen again like it (did), but it s part of the game. I m never going to dwell on that. It happened, I move on. Jiménez on Orioles career: It s had its ups and downs, of course. But being here in this clubhouse with such a great group of guys is something that I m always going to take with me. Nothing is going to erase that. Jiménez on why he can t be consistent: Hopefully, when I get that answer, I ll let you know. I ve been feeling good, especially this year. I just haven t had the results to show for it. I m someone that always believes whatever God has for me, I m always going to be with fine with it. I m going to go out there and do my best and whatever happens at the end of the day, I m going to have to live with it. Jiménez on whether he plans on pitching next year: Yes, of course. There s no doubt. I feel good, my arm feels good. I ve never had any trouble with my arm and been in the big leagues for 10 years. http://www.espn.com/mlb/recap?gameid=370922101 Ramos hits slam to help Rays beat Jimenez and Orioles 8-3 Associated Press / ESPN.com BALTIMORE -- The Tampa Bay Rays are looking toward Wilson Ramos to help them put a positive ending on a disappointing season. Ramos hit his third career grand slam, Evan Longoria also went deep and Tampa Bay throttled Ubaldo Jimenez in an 8-3 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night. Signed as a free agent in December, Ramos didn't make his debut until late June after working his way back from knee surgery. Since Aug. 15, he's batting.359 with six homers and 16 RBI over 27 games. "It's taken a little bit of time for him to get his timing," manager Kevin Cash said. "He's kind of had the roller coaster a little bit, but as of late you can see the impact he can have at the plate for us." With Ramos leading the way, the Rays interrupted a 4-9 slide and kept alive their slim playoff hopes. "A lot of excitement for the next couple days here to finish strong," Cash said, "and going in knowing we have a force behind the plate with the bat." Ramos connected in the second inning and Longoria homered in the third for a 5-2 lead. Both drives came off Jimenez, who likely pitched his final home game with the Orioles following a rocky four-year stint. Jimenez (6-11) gave up six runs and eight hits in three innings. He was booed lustily by the home fans after each Tampa Bay home run.

Since signing his $50 million contract in 2014, Jimenez has at times been effective. Mostly though, he's been a disappointment. Jimenez has a 6.81 ERA this season after bouncing between the rotation and the bullpen. He's 2-4 with a 7.86 ERA at Camden Yards, and the fans have been anything but forgiving. If this was his last outing at home in a Baltimore uniform, well, he can live with that. "Whatever is happening, I just thank God every time for giving me the courage to be here so long, and whatever happens I'm just going to go with it," he said. The right-hander's only winning season with the Orioles came in 2015, when he went 12-10, and he's 32-42 overall with Baltimore. "It's had its ups and downs of course," Jimenez said. "But being here in this clubhouse with such a great group of guys is something that I'm always going to take with me. Nothing is going to erase that." After a 1-2-3 first inning, Jimenez hit a batter on an 0-2 pitch to open the second and gave up successive singles to load the bases for Ramos, who lined a shot over the wall in left-center. "It's awesome. It was an amazing moment for us," Ramos said. "It's good for the team to start a game with a grand slam." That was enough offense for Alex Cobb (12-10), who allowed three runs and nine hits in six innings to reach a career high in wins. Chris Davis hit his 25th home run for Baltimore. The defeat left the Orioles at 74-81, so they will have to win their final seven games to avoid their first losing season since 2011. RECORD BOOK FODDER: Rays: Tampa Bay has hit 216 home runs this season, matching the club record set last season. Ramos almost hit No. 217, but a replay on his eighth-inning drive reversed the original call of a homer into a double. Orioles: Adam Jones had two hits to up his total with Baltimore to 1,615 and move past Brady Anderson into fourth place on the team list.... With his 224th HR as an Oriole, Davis moved past Rafael Palmeiro into sole possession of sixth place on the team's career list. TRAINER'S ROOM: Orioles: Closer Zach Britton had a stem-cell injection into his ailing left knee. Asked to assess the chances of Britton pitching again this season, manager Buck Showalter said, "There's that possibility. I'm not going to handicap it." UP NEXT: Rays: RHP Jake Odorizzi (9-8, 4.46 ERA), who is 1-0 with a 6.10 ERA in two starts against Baltimore this season, starts for Tampa Bay on Saturday night. Orioles: Jeremy Hellickson (2-5, 7.29 ERA), who pitched for the Rays from 2010-14, makes his first career start against Tampa Bay. He was obtained by Baltimore from the Phillies shortly before the July 31 non-waiver trade deadline.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-ubaldo-jimenez-20170922- story.html Last Ubaldo Jiménez start at Camden Yards leaves Orioles searching for more silver linings By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun September 23, 2017 Whether Ubaldo Jiménez pitches again after the Orioles leave town Sunday is immaterial to the notion that his start Friday was as fitting an end to his time on a mound in Baltimore as it was disappointing. The man who, through it all, has posted whenever the Orioles asked did one last time at Camden Yards and walked off the mound after three innings with six runs in on eight hits. Only a wide turn around second base on an RBI single in the third inning that turned into a gift third out allowed him to head to the dugout with his teammates and not face the judgment of the local fans on his own one last time. Yet after the game, manager Buck Showalter and Jiménez laid the blame on two pitches for all the struggles the 0-2 slider that hit first baseman Logan Morrison to open the second inning and the belt-high fastball that catcher Wilson Ramos hit out for a grand slam three batters later. That Jiménez came back and gave back the two runs the offense had given him in the bottom of that inning was also noted. But as ever, instead of possibly eulogizing Jiménez's four years in Baltimore, the manager noted the positives. "That's for another day," Showalter said. "I'm not going to. It's not up. We always look for the positives in everything, especially my job and if you look, you'll always find them. Tonight wasn't one of them." Jiménez has never let starts like Friday s discourage him, even if they've piled up. Asked why for four years, he followed up outings like Sunday's 10-strikeout win with nights like Friday, he joked: "Hopefully, when I get that answer, I'll let you know. But I've been feeling good, especially this year. I don't really have the results to show for it. You know, I'm still one that will always believe that whatever God has for me, I'm not going to fight with it. It doesn't matter. I'm just going to go out there and give my best, and whatever happens at the end of the day, I'm going go have to live with." When his contract runs out at this season, there's going to be a lot to live with on both sides. If he doesn't pitch again this year and he's certainly been banished to the bullpen for less Jiménez will end his final season with the Orioles at 6-11 with a 6.81 ERA. Since he signed his four-year, $50 million deal ahead of the 2014 season, no American League pitcher has a higher ERA than his 5.22. Entering Friday, he'd compiled 5.0 wins above replacement (WAR) over that span, which gives the Orioles the smallest return of any of the four-year deals made that offseason. Matt Garza signed an identical deal and had 5.4 WAR for the Milwaukee Brewers, Ricky Nolasco got $1 million less, but earned 5.8 WAR for the Minnesota Twins and Los Angeles Angeles. That Minnesota was able to trade Nolasco and get out of the contract for the less expensive Hector Santiago makes Jiménez's deal even less desirable by comparison. Any pitcher with the contract expectations Jiménez had who doesn't live up and keeps getting chances is bound to frustrate followers of that team. But Jiménez said he doesn't think about whether it was his last start in Baltimore only how grateful he was to spend four seasons. "I mean, it's been... it's up and down," he said. "But having been here in this clubhouse with such a great group of guys is something that I'm always going to take with me, and nothing's going to erase that."

http://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/orioles/blog/bs-sp-orioles-austin-hays-everyday-starter- 20170922-story.html Orioles pass starting torch to rookie Austin Hays in effort to see if he can keep it in 2018 By Jon Meoli / The Baltimore Sun Typically, Austin Hays spends whatever part of batting practice he's not swinging under the turtle shell frantically chasing down every ball hit his direction in the outfield. But on Thursday, he spent that time hunched behind a screen near third base with Buck Showalter as the Orioles manager had a conversation he uses as a barometer for how a rookie is getting along. As the Orioles move into the final week of the season with Hays as their everyday right fielder, while the more seasoned players who manned that spot all year move aside for him, Showalter wanted to gauge how the rookie outfielder was assessing things. He liked what he heard. "I had my first kind of talk with him yesterday, kind of getting a feel for what he thinks, Showalter said. I remember sitting down and talking to Mark Teixeira the first time I had him in Texas, kind of saying, 'Hey, what's caught you by surprise? What's different than you thought? That's always a really interesting conversation for me. He's got a nice confidence about him, but not without respect for what's going on. There's not a lot of deer in the headlights for him. I think that's been good to see. Some people may look at it differently. I look at it as a good thing. It was pretty interesting what he had to say though, too." The 22-year-old Hays, for his part, said that conversation was enlightening on both ends. "I told him that seeing the games on TV and watching from the stands, it seems like the game is going really slow, but when you're playing, it's a lot faster than what I thought the tempo of the game is quicker than anywhere else," Hays said. "It's just in between innings is the only thing that's longer. But the tempo of the game is faster than what I thought." That's no problem for Hays, for whom everything in professional baseball has come quickly, and who likes it that way. He battled a wrist injury in his short-season debut last year after the Orioles made him their 2016 third-round draft pick out of Jacksonville. But he hit.329 with 32 home runs and 32 doubles between High-A Frederick and Double-A Bowie this year and was promoted to the majors as the first 2016 draftee in all of baseball to reach the majors on Sept. 5. After a week of watching and waiting his turn, Hays has started eight straight games, and entered Friday batting.290 with four multihit games already. I've kind of had an opportunity to do it all now, Hays said. Come in off the bench and pinch hit, go play defense off the bench, and now I've had a few starts in a row. It's good. I'm getting playing time from every aspect. Hays has come to learn quickly that not only does the game move quickly, but so does everything around it. When he misplayed a ground ball Thursday night for an error on the play when the Tampa Bay Rays scored their only run, Showalter said such things were why he is handing Hays a regular role for the last 10 days of the season, and gave veteran Seth Smith a heads up that would be the case before Thursday's game. "There's things you learn that faster is not always better," Showalter said. "Sometimes, you've got to slow the game down a little bit. 'OK, that ball is hit really hard. If I catch this ball cleanly, he's not going to score.' There's no reason to try to rush there. "But it's like I was talking to Austin, there's a lot of things he's going to have to experience themselves,. I have a problem with mistakes, but only if you repeat them. Little things you do, you've got to file them away and develop that trust with your teammates and your coaches that

you're going to know how to approach those things. This guy was at Jacksonville a year and a half ago." Showalter said part of the conversation he alluded to with Teixeira was about the treatment the young star was getting from veterans. That's been no problem with Hays, who has quickly shown the older Orioles that he's not going to ruffle feathers and simply wants to observe. "It's very valuable to see how they go about their business, see their routines and how they've been able to be in the game for so long and play so many games and how they take care of their bodies, Hays said. It's very valuable to hear from those guys and see their outlook on things. One of those players is Smith, whose playing time against right-handed pitching has diminished sharply since Hays became a regular. "That's what I do whatever I'm asked to do is what I'm going to do," Smith said. "If it's play, I play. If it's come off the bench, I come off the bench. If it's talking to new guys about the way things are done and how to go about your business, that's kind of what everybody does." http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/255580260/rays-os-look-to-righties-in-wild-cardquest/?topicid=26688732 Hellickson looks to rebound against Rays By Jeff Seidel / MLB.com September 23, 2017 The Orioles and Rays will continue their four-game series at Camden Yards on Saturday night with two veteran right-handers on the mound. Set to face his former club for the first time in his career, Jeremy Hellickson (8-10, 5.47) has been struggling at times since the Orioles acquired him from the Phillies nearly two months ago. After pitching well at first, he's now 2-5 with a 7.29 ERA in nine starts. During his stint with the Orioles, he's given up 12 homers in 45 2/3 innings. Tampa Bay starter Jake Odorizzi (9-8. 4.46) also had troubles this season but has pitched better lately. In his last start Sunday, Odorizzi held the Red Sox hitless through five innings and gave up two runs on just one hit over six innings to earn the victory, his third in the last four starts. Both teams remain mathematically alive in the battle for the second American League Wild Card spot but have a lot of work to do to get there. They will finish out the regular season next weekend with a three-game series in St. Petersburg. Things to know about this game: Tampa Bay is five games behind the Twins for the final Wild Card spot, while Baltimore is 6 1/2 games back. Odorizzi will make his third start against the Orioles this season. Odorizzi is 1-0 with a 6.10 ERA against them. The Rays entered Saturday's game with 1,473 strikeouts, the most in the American League and second-highest in the Major Leagues, behind only Milwaukee.

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/255623938/ubaldo-jimenez-starts-strong-then-struggles/ After good start, inconsistency hits Jimenez By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com September 23, 2017 BALTIMORE -- Whether it was the last game Ubaldo Jimenez ever starts for the Orioles, no one was certain. But Friday's 8-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays -- the home finale for the inconsistent righty -- was a microcosm of Jimenez's entire four-year stretch in Baltimore. He was completely lights-out in the first inning, breezing through a nine-pitch 1-2-3 frame. In the second, Jimenez loaded the bases and served up a grand slam to Wilson Ramos. By the time the third inning had finished, the wheels had come off: Jimenez had allowed six runs to end his night. "Hopefully when I get that answer I'll let you know," Jimenez said of the reason why he's been so inconsistent the past four years. "I've been feeling good, especially this year I just haven't had the results to show for it. I'm someone that always believes whatever God has [in store] for me I'm always going to be fine with it. I'm going to go out there and do my best and whatever happens at the end of the day, I'm going to have to live with it." Jimenez, signed to a four-year contract in February 2014, has been frustratingly erratic, capable of pitching eight dominant innings and following that up with not being able to get out of the fourth inning the next three starts. The 33-year-old has been in the rotation and demoted to the bullpen several times. He has been a source of fan frustration and, at times, one of their best options. One can make the case Jimenez was the Orioles' most consistent arm for the second half of 2016, going six or more innings in six of his final seven starts, including a complete game against Tampa Bay, to help propel Baltimore to a Wild Card berth. "That's for another day," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said of opining on Jimenez's tenure as an Oriole. "It's not up. We always look for the positives in everything, especially my job and if you look, you'll always find them. Tonight wasn't one of them even though you can say, ground ball, ground ball, but we hit a guy 0-2 and make a pitch that Ramos jumped on, and we gave two right back. He's not the only one, but I know that's a point of emphasis tonight." Jimenez was more willing to reflect. "It's had its ups and downs of course," said the righty, whose best season came in 2015 when he went 12-10 with a 4.11 ERA. "But being here in this clubhouse with such a great group of guys is something that I'm always going to take with me. Nothing is going to erase that." Regardless of if he gets one more start next week or not, Jimenez plans on hitting the free-agent market this winter and continuing his career. "There's no doubt. I feel good, my arm feels good," said Jimenez, who has hit the disabled list (ankle) just once over his time with Baltimore. "I've never had any trouble with my arm and been in the big leagues for 10 years."

http://m.orioles.mlb.com/news/article/255590348/zach-britton-has-stem-cell-injection-in-knee/ Britton undergoes stem-cell injection in left knee By Brittany Ghiroli / MLB.com BALTIMORE -- Orioles closer Zach Britton had a stem-cell injection in his left knee on Friday, a move that will likely end the left-hander's 2017 season. Orioles manager Buck Showalter wouldn't officially say whether Britton will get another outing, though he will rest for several days, and the team will evaluate how he takes the injection. Britton last appeared Monday, pitching a scoreless inning against Boston. "Is it realistic? I don't want to handicap it," Showalter said of Britton taking the mound again this year. "We've talked about it. We're going to proceed like, 'OK, where we are in three to five days... You've got to say, 'OK, is it important to or not, or is the rest more important?' When he gets to the point where he says, 'OK, I think I can do it,' then we're going to weigh the risks and rewards." Britton went 2-1 with a 2.89 ERA in 38 games this season. He missed significant time with a forearm injury and pitched 37 1/3 innings with 15 saves. He suffered two blown saves this season, the first of which snapped a Major League record of 60 consecutive conversions. The lefty ranks second among Orioles relievers in club history with 135 saves. http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/09/seven-games-left-for-trumbo-and-davis-toheat-up.html Seven games left for Trumbo and Davis to heat up By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 23, 2017 Orioles manager Buck Showalter sat Mark Trumbo for last night s game against the Rays and gave Chris Davis another start at first base. He s tried rest and repetition, but nothing has worked to ignite the two sluggers. Time is fast running out. Trumbo is 12-for-64 (.188) this month, including a current 0-for-16 stretch with seven strikeouts that s dropped his season average to.235. His.290 on-base percentage would be the lowest of his career, a hair worse than the.291 he posted with the Angels in 2011. However, he batted.254 that season with 31 doubles, 29 home runs and 87 RBIs. Going into last night s game, Trumbo was stuck on 22 doubles, 23 home runs and 65 RBIs. The harsher comparison, of course, comes when the numbers are stacked alongside his 2016 totals, a year in which he led the majors with 47 home runs, drove in 108 runs and earned a three-year, $37.5 million contract in free agency. His.533 slugging percentage last season dwarfs this year s.400, taking the former All-Star from the best to worst of his career. Davis was 9-for-65 in 19 September games before hitting his 25th home run last night and poking an opposite-field single into left field for his first multi-hit game since Aug. 31. His.138 average would have been the lowest for a single month in his career, but he bumped it up to.161. Davis was hitting.215/.308/.420 in 121 games before last night and he struck out 183 times in 433 at-bats. A 92 mph fastball from Alex Cobb disappeared into the night. Davis, who earlier drew a 10-pitch walk, would like the same result from another prolonged slump.

Showalter eventually reached the point where he couldn t keep Trumbo and Davis in the middle of the order, lowering them to sixth and seventh. He noted how Trumbo defused any potential controversy by pointing out that others were more deserving of prime real estate in the lineup. In the meantime, the Orioles have been losing ground in the wild card chase as Showalter tries to squeeze more run production from a team that went 26 consecutive innings without scoring. It s a challenge, Showalter said. Believe me, it grates on them and they don t take it nonchalantly. I see all the work they do and the way they wear it mentally and emotionally. It s very frustrating for them. And once again, we know how good they are and you keep giving them every opportunity to get back to that, and there s been flashes of it. Trumbo has four walk-off hits this season, including a home run on opening day, and he ranks third on the club with 21 RBIs in the seventh inning or later. Showalter, in familiar fashion, will pull from the positive as much as he can. Chris has gotten on base a lot, he said. Mark, for a couple months, was doing things very much like last year, and it ll happen again. Working our way backward toward his early tenure with the Rangers, here are Davis lowest averages for each season: September 2017:.161 (11-for-68), two home runs, 29 strikeouts July 2016:.153 (13-for-85), three home runs, 37 strikeouts May 2015:.196 (19-for-97), seven home runs 40 strikeouts August 2014:.161 (15-for-93) seven home runs, 35 strikeouts July 2013:.211 (19-for-90), seven home runs, 41 strikeouts June 2012:.205 (16-for-78), four home runs, 22 strikeouts April 2011:.154 (2-for-13) April 2010:.188 (9-for-48) July 2009:.182 (2-for-11) August 2008:.228 (23-for-101), four home runs, 34 strikeouts Davis spent only three months in the majors in 2010. He received many more at-bats in May 2009 than July and posted a.189 average (18-for-95) with seven home runs and 43 strikeouts. Though Davis was under.200 in May 2015, he batted.318 (34-for-107) with 12 home runs in September. The 2014 season also saw him post averages of.167 in July and.175 in June. Davis cooled in July 2013 after batting.348 in April and.364 in May. He also cooled in June 2012 after batting.310 in April and.309 in May, and he posted a.320 average in September. His April 2011 average came in a small sample size. He batted.301 (25-for-83) in September. Shameless plug alert: Without a road trip this weekend, I m back on Wall to Wall Baseball today from noon-2 p.m on MASN.

http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/09/schoops-award-brittons-injection-andmore.html Schoop s award, Britton s injection and more (O s down 7-3) By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com Jonathan Schoop credited his selection as Most Valuable Oriole to the consistency he s gained through hard work, and he vows to be an improved player in 2018. He won t rest on the honor. Schoop batted.295/.347/.536 with 23 doubles, 18 home runs and 54 RBIs in 86 games in the first half. He s batting.295/.332/.487 with 10 doubles, 14 home runs and 51 RBIs in 66 games since the break. Anytime you get an award, it s something special. It s nice, he said. I just want to get better and I don t take this award for granted. I just want to go in the offseason and try to be better than I was this season. Schoop s biggest source of pride hasn t been his RBI total, which ranks second in the American League, or his first All-Star Game selection. It s being a constant presence in the lineup, a player the Orioles have grown to depend upon. That I was in there to help my team, contribute to my team, he said. I m proud of playing a successful season without injury so far. We ve got eight more games, and that s the main thing I focus on. J.J. (Hardy) taught me that. Don t worry about your numbers. Just go out there and compete and try to win and the numbers will be there. In both halves of the season. It was really important because last year I went down a little bit the second half and I learned from it, said Schoop, who batted.304/.338/.509 before the break last year and.225/.252/.391 after it. My teammates helped me. Jonesy (Adam Jones), Manny (Machado), all those guys helped me to get better and I did get better. And next year I want to be better than I was this year. How does he intend to do it? Keep working, he replied. Go to the gym, keeping getting stronger, because the season is a long season. You ve got to give your body power, so you go out there and work hard. Go in the cage and maintain yourself and get in a routine and learn what the pitchers are trying to do with you, because the first half they may try to do something different with you. And try to achieve your goals. See the ball and get a plan and do it. Schoop became a much more patient hitter, getting back into favorable counts and drawing a career-high 34 walks, 13 more than last summer. I think I improved a lot, but I think I have a lot more room to go, he said. I think I ll be better next season. The selection of Schoop by the local media covering the team has been a foregone conclusion. To have that number of RBIs is consistency and durability, manager Buck Showalter said. Jon s always had durability, but the consistency, he took his game to another level. He didn t get out of whack for very long. I think he s grown into a real consistent guy you can count on. He didn t let at-bats carrying.

When I see him 0-for-3 and walk in his last at-bat, I know that s a real sign of maturity, because you re wanting to make up for it in one swing. Some things that a couple of our guys haven t grasped yet. Showalter elevated Schoop to the third spot in the order and was rewarded with a.294/.335/.489 slash line, 18 home runs and 60 RBIs in 82 games. We tried moving him up a few times and he kind of spit the bit, even going up to the five-hole, Showalter said. We moved him around some and we could tell it wasn t in his best interest, which wasn t good for the club. And there was some real mature at-bats he was starting to have, not getting himself out. Jon and I and Scott (Coolbaugh) thought he might ready for it. It was for Manny, too. Trying to give him a new toy. Jon didn t miss a beat. He embraced it and ran with it. Closer Zach Britton received his stem cell injection today in his left knee and isn t expected to pitch again this season. That s a painful procedure, Showalter said. Got that behind us. See how that responds. Showalter said there s that possibility when asked whether Britton could get into a game, but he hasn t conceded a playoff spot. Is it realistic? I don t want to handicap it, Showalter said. We ve talked about it. We re going to proceed like, OK, where we are in three to five days just like we said. You ve got to say, OK, is important to or not, or is the rest more important? When he gets to the point where he says, OK, I think I can do it, then we re going to weigh the risks and rewards. I ve got some private thoughts about it. You know what I m probably thinking about. I think I know what s going to happen. Dylan Bundy is the confirmed starter for Sunday s series finale against the Rays that also ends the last homestand of the season. Bundy had a good work day yesterday, which allowed Showalter to pitch him Sunday. He feels great, Showalter said. I know he s like to pitch. We ll see how the next couple of days go. Right now it s him. For the Rays: Kevin Kiermaier CF Lucas Duda DH Evan Longoria 3B Logan Morrison 1B Steven Souza Jr. RF Corey Dickerson LF Wilson Ramos C Adeiny Hechavarria SS Daniel Robertson 2B Alex Cobb RHP Update: Ubaldo Jiménez retired the Rays in order on nine pitches in the first inning, but they loaded the bases with no outs in the second and Wilson Ramos hit a grand slam to give Tampa Bay a 4-0 lead. Update II: The Orioles also loaded the bases with no outs in the bottom of the second, but they settled for two runs on Austin Hays sacrifice fly and a wild pitch. Evan Longoria led off the top of the third with a home run to give the Rays a 5-2 lead. Adeiny Hechavarria added an RBI single with two outs for a 6-2 lead. Ramos was tagged out in a rundown.

Update III: Chris Davis homered in the fourth to reduce the lead to 6-3. Update IV: Miguel Castro allowed a run in the fifth on Corey Dickerson s two-out RBI double and the Rays lead 7-3. http://www.masnsports.com/school-of-roch/2017/09/orioles-lineup-vs-rays-28.html Orioles lineup vs. Rays By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com Tim Beckham returns to the Orioles lineup tonight, leading off and playing shortstop. Austin Hays drops to seventh as the right fielder. Pedro Álvarez is the designated hitter against Rays right-hander Alex Cobb. Caleb Joseph is catching. Ubaldo Jiménez has registered a 10.80 ERA and 2.057 WHIP in three starts against the Rays this season. He s allowed 14 runs and 13 hits, with 11 walks and four home runs, over 11 2/3 innings. Logan Morrison is 6-for-14 with two doubles, one triple and one home run lifetime against Jimenez. Evan Longoria is 7-for-22 with two home runs. Trevor Plouffe and Brad Miller are 2-for-16 with a double against Jiménez. Plouffe has struck out nine times. Cobb is 1-1 with a 4.42 ERA and 1.200 WHIP in three starts against the Orioles this season spanning 18 1/3 innings. J.J. Hardy is 6-for-19 against him lifetime, Seth Smith is 6-for-20 with two doubles and Joseph is 5-for-12. Chris Davis is 2-for-20 with a triple and eight strikeouts and Manny Machado is 4-for-23 with two home runs. Davis is 9-for-65 in 19 games in September. His.138 average would be the lowest for a single month in his career. Mark Trumbo is 12-for-64 (.188) this month. He s on the bench tonight. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Gabriel Ynoa became the second Orioles rookie in the last five seasons to win a game while pitching at least eight innings and allowing one run or fewer. Tyler Wilson tossed eight scoreless innings against the Red Sox on June 16, 2016. For the Orioles: Tim Beckham SS Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Adam Jones CF Trey Mancini LF Chris Davis 1B Austin Hays RF Pedro Álvarez DH Caleb Joseph C Ubaldo Jiménez RHP

http://www.masnsports.com/steve-melewski/2017/09/jim-callis-on-trey-mancinis-top-30- omission.html Jim Callis on Trey Mancini s top 30 omission By Roch Kubatko / MASNsports.com September 23, 2017 It was an article that stirred up some fans around Birdland. It was an article that also stirred up some of those that work in Birdland, including Orioles executive vice president of baseball operations Dan Duquette and MASN broadcaster Jim Palmer. MLBPipeline.com analyst Jim Callis recently ranked the top 30 current rookies in terms of their future potential and who would have the best long-term career. Players were not selected for their Rookie of the Year potential for 2017, but rather future potential. Callis left the Orioles Trey Mancini off a list where he ranked 30 players. Yes, it does seem like Mancini could make at least the top 30. Click here to check out the top 30. It is headed up by Boston s Andrew Benintendi, who trails Mancini in batting average, homers and OPS. Any O s fan could tell you how special a year Mancini has had. Through Thursday s games, among qualifying American League rookies, Mancini ranked second in batting average (.293), second in slugging percentage (.498), and third in home runs (24), on-base percentage (.338), and RBIs (78). He is expected to be one of the top finishers in the vote for American League Rookie of the Year. Duquette said he didn t understand how Mancini didn t make the top 30. I can understand where people didn t give him credit as an eighth-round draft pick and he didn t receive a big bonus to sign, Duquette said. But he s been a productive hitter every step of the way in the minors. He won the Eastern League batting title. And this year he is the secondhighest rated rookie in the AL based on Wins Above Replacement. And what people need to realize is that he is also a pretty good outfielder. He s a positive on defense in the outfield. He s not a first baseman playing outfield and barely holding his own. He s a positive in the outfield based on defensive metrics. I think give credit where credit is due. Not sure why people don t want to recognize him. He s a good player, a good teammate, an intelligent hitter and a dependable outfielder. He s an asset in the community for the Orioles organization. What is not to like about Trey Mancini? Duquette would not get much argument from Orioles fans on this no doubt. But Callis had his reasons for omitting Mancini and explained them to me during a phone conversation yesterday. If we are talking long-term career value, he would be the oldest guy on that list, Callis said. I like Trey Mancini and I ll admit he s better than I thought he was coming out of the draft. But I worry he doesn t walk much. His strikeout-to-walk ratio is pretty high and I wonder if big league pitchers are going to solve him a little bit more going forward and I don t think he offers a whole lot of other value. I don t think he s a very good defender and he s probably more of a first baseman, which limits his defensive value. I would take every hitter on that list over him pretty easily. I was surprised I got repeated Jim Palmer tweets showing up in my timeline. He was pretty outraged. Maybe some people don t realize what the list of the article was. I wasn t saying he wasn t among the top 30 rookies this year. We are talking long-term value and the only player 25 on that list was Aaron Judge. Everyone else was 22, 23 and some were younger. Right now, I m not buying he is much of an asset in left field. When you rank someone, people take it personally like you hate a player. That is not the case. I talked to Trey at the rookie development program in January. I heard from Trey s agent and I explained this to him and he bought my explanation.