The Sports Xchange
MLB Team Report – Baltimore Orioles – INSIDE PITCH
In arguably the club’s best start of the season, veteran Freddy Garcia solidified his role in the rotation.
Garcia, who hadn’t exactly locked up his start-to-start role in the rotation in his first few outings, threw eight shutout innings one night after a slugfest between the Orioles and their regional rival Washington Nationals.
“He had everything available to him,” manager Buck Showalter said. “He had a nice rhythm. He had a lot of weapons for (catcher) Matt (Wieters) to use and a lot of good defensive plays behind him.”
Garcia struck out six and allowed three hits while walking none in eight innings. He threw 113 pitches. While improving to 2-2, his ERA dipped to 3.57 in his sixth start with the Orioles.
The veteran, who turns 37 in two weeks, went eight innings for the first time since 2009.
“I threw every pitch,” Garcia said. “It feels good to go out there and perform the way I did. They’ve been hitting the ball real good the last couple of days. It’s hot here in Baltimore and the ball flies, so you’ve got to keep it down.”
In his last three outings, Garcia has allowed four runs in 19 innings, striking out nine and walking just two.
The rotation seems poised to be in constant flux thanks to inconsistent starts from those currently in place, Tsuyoshi Wada’s impending return and the possibility that phenom Dylan Bundy could join the fray late in the season.
But in the meantime, getting strong starts from those like Garcia is the key to keeping the Orioles in contention. It worked in 2012, and it will have to work again in 2013.
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MLB Team Report – Baltimore Orioles – NOTES, QUOTES
RECORD: 30-24
STREAK: Won two
PAST 10 GAMES: 7-3
NEXT: Orioles (Miguel Gonzalez, 2-2, 3.94) vs. Tigers (Max Scherzer, 7-0, 3.42)
PLAYER NOTES:
–RF Nick Markakis went 2-for-4 with the go-ahead RBI double in the third inning of Baltimore’s 2-0 win over Washington. Markakis has hits in 18 of his last 20 games.
–RHP Steve Johnson got the win in relief Thursday with 2 1/3 shutout innings. He became the 13th Oriole pitcher to get a win so far this season.
–RHP Miguel Gonzalez faces Detroit on Friday. He has thrown well in his first two starts since coming off the disabled list. Gonzalez was on the DL due to problems with a blister on his right thumb. He has started once against the Tigers.
–C Taylor Teagarden, who has been on the disabled list with a dislocated left thumb since April 28, will rehab with Triple-A Norfolk this weekend. If everything works out, the backup catcher could return to the Orioles next week.
–RHP Freddy Garcia threw eight shutout innings in Baltimore’s 2-0 win over the Nationals. That’s the first time he has gone that long since Sept. 20, 2009, when he was pitching for the Chicago White Sox.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “I threw every pitch. It feels good to go out there and perform the way I did. They’ve been hitting the ball real good the last couple of days. It’s hot here in Baltimore and the ball flies, so you’ve got to keep it down.” — RHP Freddy Garcia, who struck out six and allowed three hits while walking none in eight innings of a 2-0 win over Washington on Thursday.
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MLB Team Report – Baltimore Orioles – ROSTER REPORT
MEDICAL WATCH:
–RHP Tommy Hunter (hand) is feeling better, but still battling some soreness in his pitching hand. He had swelling in his pitching hand after fielding a hard-hit grounder with his bare hand May 26.
–C Taylor Teagarden (dislocated left thumb) went on the 15-day disabled list April 28. He was examined by a hand specialist on April 30. He had the splint removed May 17. He caught five innings May 28 in extended spring training and caught seven on May 29. He is slated to begin a rehab assignment May 31 with Triple-A Norfolk (Va.).
–RHP Pedro Strop (lower back strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 24. He threw off the mound May 28. On May 29, he threw a bullpen session and took ground balls in the infield.
–LHP Tsuyoshi Wada (left elbow surgery in May 2012) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 22 and was transferred to the 60-day disabled list April 4. Wada threw three innings in an extended spring training game in Sarasota, Fla., on April 18 and four innings April 23. He’s working on building up innings and expanding the number of pitches he throws per outing. He pitched three innings in a rehab start with Triple-A Norfolk on May 16. He pitched four innings in a rehab start with Norfolk on May 21 and five innings May 26.
–LHP Wei-Yin Chen (strained right oblique) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 13. He won’t be able to throw for at least a week but reported to the club’s spring training complex in Sarasota, Fla., on May 22 to begin his rehab.
–2B Brian Roberts (ruptured tendon in right knee) went on the 15-day disabled list April 5, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on May 18. He had surgery May 9 in Dallas. He began hitting off a tee in late May in Sarasota, Fla., but there is still no timetable for his return.
–OF Nolan Reimold (right hamstring strain) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 12. He could begin swinging a bat in the near future but likely won’t be ready to come off the disabled list on May 28.
–DH Wilson Betemit (torn posterior cruciate ligament in right knee) went on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to March 26, and he was transferred to the 60-day DL on April 12. He began jogging in a pool May 17. He could be out at least another six weeks.
ROTATION:
RHP Jason Hammel
RHP Chris Tillman
RHP Freddy Garcia
RHP Miguel Gonzalez
RHP Kevin Gausman
BULLPEN:
RHP Jim Johnson (closer)
RHP Darren O’Day
LHP Brian Matusz
LHP Troy Patton
RHP Tommy Hunter
LHP T.J. McFarland
RHP Steve Johnson
CATCHERS:
Matt Wieters
Chris Snyder
INFIELDERS:
1B Chris Davis
2B Alexi Casilla
SS J.J. Hardy
3B Manny Machado
2B Ryan Flaherty
INF Danny Valencia
OUTFIELDERS:
LF Nate McLouth
CF Adam Jones
RF Nick Markakis
OF Chris Dickerson
OF/1B Steve Pearce
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