The Maryland Sports Blog

This comes as no surprise but the Baltimore Orioles option Jake Arrieta to AAA Norfolk.  Arrieta has had his ups and downs at the major league level and has not been consistent.

Arrieta’s main trouble has been his walks which have doomed him.  Some innings he shows great command other innings he simply can not throw strikes.  He has had five walks in his past two starts.

Here is a tweet from Brittany Ghiroli about the move.

Jake Arrieta has been optioned to Triple A. Will continue as a starter down there. Obv the big issue isn’t stuff of mechanics but the walks.

— Brittany Ghiroli (@Britt_Ghiroli) April 22, 2013

The Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays battled back and forth for nearly five hours on Tuesday night, but it was the O’s that ended up on top with an 11-10 victory in 13 innings at Camden Yards.

The Birds jumped out to an early 3-0 lead with three consecutive solo home runs in the second inning…after Luke Scott got things started, Ty Wigginton and Adam Jones followed with blasts that put the O’s on the board and brought the crowd to its feet. It was the first time the Orioles had hit back-to-back-to-back homers since 1995. Scott connected for another round-tripper in the third inning.

Tampa Bay hit solo home runs off starter Jake Arrieta in both the third and fourth innings, and with the O’s ahead 4-2, all six runs had come from solo shots…Tampa Bay added another run on the eighth inning on yet another solo homer. Strangely enough, all seven long balls hit on Tuesday night came with the bases empty…

The two teams battled back and forth over the later innings…the O’s lost the early lead in the sixth inning but continued to keep the game close with timely hitting. Down 9-7 heading into the ninth, Miguel Tejada connected for his second two-run double of the night, knotting the game at nine and sending it into extra innings.

After the Rays scored a run in the top of the 12th, the Orioles answered right back with a run to keep the game alive. Koji Uehara shut down Tampa in the 13th and picked up his first win after the Birds methodically took down Lance Cormier (remember him?) in the bottom of the inning…

Cesar Izturis led-off with a walk, and Felix Pie advanced him to second with a sacrifice bunt. Julio Lugo, who had entered the game in the ninth as a pinch-runner for Tejada, slapped a single to right field to score Izturis and give the O’s a dramatic come-from-behind victory.

With the win, the Birds are now 30-63 for the season and have won their first game of the second half. After playing until almost midnight, both teams will take the field early Wednesday afternoon for the series finale. Brad Bergesen gets the start for the O’s…

The Orioles dropped their fourth straight game, falling 8-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays Monday night at Camden Yards.

O’s starter Chris Tillman took the loss, after lasting just 2 1/3 innings and giving up all eight runs on seven hits, four walks and a hit batter. The bullpen allowed just two hits and two walks over the final six frames, but Tampa’s seven-run third inning proved to be the difference in the ballgame.

What happened to the O’s offense? The team has come back from the break looking just like they did during the early months of the season. The Birds had seven hits but managed just one run for the second straight game. It’s almost an unbelievable statistic: over the last two games (both blowout losses) the O’s have collected 19 hits but have scored just two runs…

After heading into the break on an impressive four-game winning streak, the O’s have now dropped four straight at home. The Orioles scored 23 runs in the four games against Texas, but have scored just six runs in the last four contests.

And the Birds (29-63) still own the worst record in all of baseball…

The O’s send Jake Arrieta to the mound on Tuesday night to try and right the ship…here’s hoping the team can pick up win number 30.

Zach Britton picture from http://oriolesprospects.com/2010/05/24/zach-britton-interview/

(stats according to orioles.com)

Zach Britton. Heard of him? If you haven’t yet, you will soon. Britton has been tearing it up all season long in both Bowie and Norfolk where he has made 3 starts already. In his last ten starts in the minors, Britton is 6-1 with a miniscule ERA of 1.11. That’s on the same level as a guy you may have heard of…Stephen Strasburg. Now to sit here and proclaim that Zach Britton would be the next Strasburg is foolish. But he is showing that he has awesome stuff in the minors. He also just finished up pitching in the Futures Game.

In his most recent outing for the Tides, Britton tossed 7 1/3 innings of scoreless ball against the Columbus Clippers. The Clippers also have the highest batting average in the entire International League in AAA. Now that’s impressive.

If he does join the O’s rotation, Britton would join the likes of Matusz, Arrieta, and Tillman as extremely youthful starters in Baltimore. Should all of these young pitchers reach their stride, the O’s will have a dominant rotation for many years.

Look for Britton to make an appearance somewhere on the Major League roster either in the bullpen or even making a start or two, later this year.

Adam Jones- The power has been there but sometimes he looks like a catcher playing center field. He has regressed in the field and has not improved at the plate. He swings at too many balls to be elite. Grade: D+

Nick Markakis- Markakis has done everything he can for this team. The home run numbers have dropped but he is still hitting doubles and has a career high in batting average. Grade: B+

Corey Patterson- Who would’ve thought Patterson would be intentionally walked so the pitcher could face Miguel Tejada; this happened against the Texas Rangers several nights ago. Patterson has provided more than a spark, he has been one of the best hitters for the Orioles. Grade: A

Ty Wigginton- Ty might’ve been the lone Orioles All-Star, but his offense has dropped since the start of the season. He has been a great team player for the Orioles and provided power. Grade: B

Luke Scott- Stats-wise, Luke may be hitting well, but he does not always show good plate discipline. He is a veteran that should know what pitches to swing at and in what counts. Striking out after getting a 3-0 count makes it hard to give Scott a high grade. Grade: C

Matt Wieters- His defense has been great but his offensive numbers have dropped from last year. He started off the season well so maybe his offensive struggles are from wear-and-tear. Grade: C

Cesar Izturis- He gets a higher grade than some players that have higher offensive numbers because his job is to play good defense. His bat has been better than I expected and he has had to work with a lot a variety of second basemen. Grade: C+

Miguel Tejada- Miggy’s defense has been terrible and his offense has not been consistent. Not the player he used to be. Grade: C

Nolan Reimold- This one hurts, I almost want to give him a pass with all the things that have been going on with him. Grade: F

Felix Pie- He would be getting a solid A+ if he could stay healthy. Grade: B

Kevin Millwood- He started off the season pitching great, but was let down his teammates lack of run support. Who knows, his inability to secure a win early on might have worn on him. With that being said, he has been good at eating up innings. Grade: C+

Craig Tatum- For a backup catcher Tatum has done everything anyone could ask of him. Grade: B+

Jeremy Guthrie- He has pitched better than I thought he would and like all the other Orioles pitchers has had little run support. Grade: C+

Brian Matusz- Again, in what seems like a recurring theme: has had very little run support. Matusz has had his ups and down but for the most part, he has been average to above average. Grade: C+

Jason Berken- Is there a higher grade than A+? I’ll admit it, I wrote this guy off last year after getting rocked as a starter. Without a doubt, he has found his niche in the bullpen. Grade: A++

David Hernandez- Much like Berken, he could not make it as a starter but has found a home in the bullpen. Grade: B

Alfredo Simon- For a starter to be thrown into the closer’s role right after Tommy John surgery, you can not ask for much more from Simon. Grade: B+

Chris Tillman- He showed huge improvement in his last start, taking a no hitter into the seventh inning against a vaunted Rangers offense. If this success continues in the second half, an A might in store for him. Grade: D+

Julio Lugo- This guy represents everything that is what is wrong with the Orioles. His attitude has got to change. Grade: F

Mark Hendrickson- In short, he is worse than last year. His responsibility is to be an innings eater and has failed to do so many times this season. Grade: D

Garrett Atkins- It pained me to even type his name. If it was a number rating it would be in the negatives. Power hitter that can not hit for power or average. Grade: Z

Matt Albers- If only he could pitch the way he eats. In all honesty, Fatt Alb…I mean Matt Albers has pitched better lately. Grade: E+

Brad Bergesen- Two freak injuries have really messed up his mechanics. What a shame. Grade: D

Jake Arrieta- He has had his struggles but has also shown great potential. Grade: B