Tag Archives: Taylor Teagarden

Finalized Opening Day roster

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The Orioles finished 19-9 this spring, second in the Grapefruit league and third best overall. (Photo courtesy of James Gordon/Baltimore Sun)

The Orioles finished 19-9 this spring, second in the Grapefruit league and third best overall. (Photo courtesy of James Gordon/Baltimore Sun)

With Spring Training coming to a close and the Texas Rangers and Houston Astros playing baseball that actually matters last night at Minute Maid Park, the MLB regular season has officially begun.

The Baltimore Orioles are in Tampa Bay, Fla. and are preparing to open the 2013 season against the hometown Tampa Bay Rays.

Below is the Orioles’ finalized 25-man roster by manager Buck Showalter:

Starting Pitchers

  1. Jason Hammel
  2. Wei-Yin Chen
  3. Miguel Gonzalez
  4. Jake Arrieta
  5. Chris Tillman

Bullpen

Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders

Early this spring The Birdhouse speculated about the Orioles pitching rotation. It’s a bit of a surprise to see Matusz tabbed as a starter once again after he dominated out of the pen last season.

The Birdhouse posted on March 26 about Pearce and the possibility of him cracking the roster after Wilson Betemit left a Spring Training game against Boston with a knee injury. Pearce did indeed beat out Conor Jackson for that bench spot.

The Orioles and Rays kick off the season tomorrow with a 3 p.m. first pitch at Tropicana Field. Hammel gets the Opening Day start for the O’s and he will match up against David Price.

Orioles extend winning streak to 5-0, then fall to Minnesota

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Before Feb. 28, Baltimore (5-0), Kansas City (5-0) and the Chicago White Sox (3-0) were the only undefeated teams remaining in Spring Training. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Before Feb. 28, Baltimore (5-0), Kansas City (5-0) and the Chicago White Sox (3-0) were the only undefeated teams remaining in Spring Training. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

With two wins in split-squad action on Feb. 27, the Baltimore Orioles extended their winning streak to five games to start the 2013 Spring Training schedule.

The split-squad games were played against division rival Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees. Half of the O’s played host to the Sox in a 1 o’clock game at Ed Smith Stadium, while the other half traveled to Tampa to take on the Yanks.

In the matinee match-up, Baltimore trailed Boston, 2-1, entering the sixth inning. In the bottom of the inning, Chris Davis hit his first homer of the spring to give the Orioles a 3-1 lead. The O’s would add two more in the seventh on a two-run Taylor Teagarden single. Boston would get a run back in the eighth, but the birds held on for a 5-3 victory.

Pearce, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees on Sept. 29, leads the Orioles this spring in hits and RBIs.

Pearce, who was claimed off waivers from the Yankees on Sept. 29, leads the Orioles this spring in hits and RBIs. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

In the night cap, the Orioles scored early and often against New York starter Nik Turley. After allowing five runs in just 1/3 of an inning, Turley was relieved by Cody Eppley who would allow two more runs in the second inning. The Yankees would score four runs in the  home half of the second and would add another three in the ninth, but Baltimore would get the win 10-7.

The Oriole offense in the late game was led by Steve Pearce, who went 2-3 with a double and three RBIs. This spring, Pearce has reached base five times in seven plate appearances, driving in a team-high six runs in the process.

The Orioles winning streak would end on Feb. 28 after a 7-1 loss against the Minnesota Twins.

Jair Jurrjens made his first spring start, lasting just one inning while allowing three runs and walking three.

The Orioles would collect eight hits but only managed to score one run. Minnesota was propelled by Joe Mauer, Josh Willingham and Justin Morneau as the 3-4-5 spot hitters, respectively, went a combined 6-7, drawing two walks while recording five RBIs.

On March 1, the Orioles and Pirates are slated to face off in Sarasota, while the World Baseball Classic tournament opens with Australia and Chinese Taipei in Taichung, Taiwan.

Full Squad Report Day

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February 14, Valentine’s Day, typically a day most men dread and most women love (pun intended).

This year, everyone can enjoy Valentine’s Day because it’s also the day full MLB squads report to Spring Training.

Some players, such as J.J. Hardy, reported before the Feb. 14 deadline.

Dan Duquette on his 2013 Orioles in an interview with Orioles.com:

“We have some things we can build on, because we had a good year last year, but this is 2013,” Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations Dan Duquette said. “This is a new group of players. This is a new season. We have new challenges. This is effectively a new team, but I can tell you this: The consistency of the leadership from the manager and the work ethic of the players instilled last year, that should carry over.”

Opening Day for the Baltimore Orioles is April 2, just 47 days away. Over the course of the next 7 weeks the Orioles will attempt to answer two important questions, who will be playing second base and what the starting rotation will look like come April.

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