Big 4 for O's could help you at Fan Duel!

While the Baltimore Orioles have been playing good ball over the start of the first few weeks the team has four hot starters in the top 5 spots in the lineup. The four include leadoff hitter Nate McLouth, Manny Machado, Adam Jones and Chris Davis.

All four of these guys are must start in all fantasy leagues including on FanDuel where you can set daily fantasy lineups to win real money!

The four combined for 12 hits in 20 at bats in yesterdays game while McLouth and Machado each picked up 4 hits. Machado joins Baltimore Orioles Hall Of Famer Brooks Robinson as the only 20 year olds in team history with 4 hits in a game.

In addition to the 12 hits yesterday each of these players have put up some big stats this year with McLouth leading the American League in on base percentage while Chris Davis leads the American League in home-runs.

Look for the O's top half of the lineup to continue to hit and if they can get production out of the bottom four the rest of the American League will have to watch out.

2013 Baltimore Orioles Lineup Projection

The Baltimore are coming in to 2013 with high hopes from the fans of Baltimore as well as the players and organization. The team looks to build on a 2012 playoff season with another strong season. I have high hopes personally for Brian Roberts as well as Brian Matusz if he makes the starting rotation. Matusz pitched great out of the bullpen but this guy has the ability to be a 15-18 game winner. If that is not with us maybe we should look for a trade partner. Come opening day on April 2nd 2013 against the Tampa Bay Rays here is the lineup I would go with.

1. Nick Markakis (RF)
2. Brian Roberts (2B)
3. Adam Jones (CF)
4. Chris Davis (1B)
5. Matt Wieters (C)
6. Nolan Reimold (DH)
7. Manny Machado (3B)
8. J.J Hardy (SS)
9. Nate McLouth (LF)

Now this lineup doesn't give you the prototypical leadoff hitter but Markakis at the top of the lineup gives you one of your best hitters the chance more at bats. In the leadoff role Markakis will look to drive the ball in the gaps as well as being able to not worry about driving in runs. This will allow him to focus on hitting. Brian Roberts could be swapped to the bottom of the lineup but the double tandem if Roberts is healthy at the top of the lineup allows a big run producing opportunity for Adam Jones and Chris Davis.

O's pitchers and catchers report to spring training!

The Baltimore Orioles pitchers and catchers reported to spring training early this week with the rest of the team expected by end of the week. The only problem with that is majority of the club has been here working out and are ready to go.

With the excitement building the idea of the Orioles not adding that big bad via free agency has had fans up set around the Baltimore area. Not me though as the possibility of having a healthy Nolan Reimold for the entire season as well as a bounce back season from Brian Roberts. The offense will be a big jump from last season as the O's look to win more games by more then 1 run.

My projected lineup looks a lot different then many:

1. Nick Markakis
2. Brian Roberts
3. Nolan Reimold
4. Adam Jones
5. Chris Davis
6. Matt Wieters
7. Manny Machado
8. J.J. Hardy
9. Nate Mclouth

Now as you look at that lineup you see some power but the idea of having speed through out the lineup gives me something to smile about. Now Roberts could go to the bottom of the lineup or possible lead off but with how Markakis handled the leadoff spot and the real idea that the leadoff hitter only leads off guaranteed in the first this will give him more at bats. If Markakis is hitting doubles this gives the O's a great bunter in Roberts as well as a contact hitter to get him moved over for the middle of the lineup. Giving more chances for the 3,4 and 5 hitters to drive in runs.

Baltimore Orioles nab 3 gold gloves!

The Baltimore Orioles started the 2012 as one of the worse defensive teams in MLB but down the stretch the defense got better behind strong play of J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones and Matt Wieters. All three of those guys got Rawlings Gold Gloves to back it up to start the awards for the O's!

Now the defensive improved when Buck Showalter moved Mark Reynolds to first base full time and called up Nate McLouth in slotted him in full time in left field as well. The team also called up the young super star Manny Machado to anchor down a third base position that lacked a true fielder.

Congrats to J.J. Hardy on his first Gold Glove while Jones & Wieters both got their second. Wieters anchors down a very young staff and does a great job calling a game!

A Big Thank You To the Orioles!

As a die hard O's fan I want to take the time out to say Thank YOU to all the Baltimore Orioles, Buck Showalter and the rest of the O's staff. I have only experienced this excitement a few times as 7 year old with the WHY Not O's of 1989 and the O's teams of 96,97.

The team played every game and didn't let what the media had to say get in front of their goals. They played as a team if one guy wasn't playing well the next man stepped up. No major superstar not taking anything away from Adam Jones. Jones is a great ball player but Super Stars focus on me me me and Jones played as part of this team. From the shaving cream pies to the bubble gum bubbles in the outfield. 

Lets Go O's in 2013! Can't wait for free agency and spring training to start!

Joe Saunders pitches O's to playoff matchup against the Yankees!

Buck Showalter decided to hand the baseball off to Joe Saunders on friday night against the Texas Rangers even though his stats were not good at the ballpark in Arlington. His decision was the right call as Saunders went 5 2/3 innings striking out 4 Rangers while only allowing a first inning run.

The O's would get him a run in the first on a JJ Hardy base hit after Nate McLouth stole second base. They would add on in the 6th with a sac fly off the bat of Adam Jones and that is all the team would need. The O's would add rbi's from McLouth in the 7th, Machado in the 9th  and McLouth again in the 9th.

McLouth finished the game 1 for 4 with 1 run scored and 2 rbi's. He also stole a base. Jim Johnson would come on in the 9th to wrap it up moving the O's in the best of five match-up with division rival the New York Yankees with game 1 on Sunday.

O's look to Saunders in 1 game playoff against Texas!

The Baltimore Orioles will travel to Texas to take on the Texas Rangers tonight in a battle of 2 wild card teams in the Major League Baseball Playoffs. Buck Showalter has elected to give the ball to Joe Saunders tonight over the rookie Steve Johnson. This is the first time the O's have made the playoffs since 1997 with many people around baseball having us as one of the worse baseball teams in the Majors.

The O's will go up against rookie ace Yu Darvish who over the past month or so has been one of the best pitchers in the American League. This won't stop the O's led by Adam Jones and Chris Davis as tonight's contest could be a high scoring game with the way the ball fly's out of the stadium in Arlington!

Lets Go O's! I got the O's winning 8-5 ballgame and moving on!

Davis, Tillman keep O's from being swept!

Chris Davis had 2 hits and 4 runs batted in helping him to bust out of a slump and help the O's from being swept. Davis drove a bases clearing double to left center field and a solo home-run deep into the seats in center. Add in an Adam Jones 2 run single and thats all Chris Tillman would need.

Tillman would go 6 innings allowing 2 runs while striking out 5. Tillman won back to back games for the first time of his career. Moving his record to 3-1 on the season. The O's bullpen would get 3 scoreless innings and 3 strike-outs.

The O's will welcome the red hot Oakland A's to Camden Yards for the weekend series while the Rays head out to the West Coast to take on the Los Angeles Angels.

Baltimores trio of allstars looking to shine!

The first half of the 2012 season has come and gone now the mid season classic is upon us. The Baltimore Orioles for the first time since 2005 have multiple all-star selections heading to the game. Matt Wieters, Adam Jones & Jim Johnson. For Wieters and Jones this will be there second appearance with it being Jim Johnson's first.

Jones has batted .289 with 20 home-runs in the first half and will look to continue those numbers over the next couple months to put up career highs. Wieters who has been praised with the work he does with pitchers and his defense is also looking to put up career highs offensively this year. The last player Johnson has pitched to a 1.21 e.r.a with a league leading 26 saves.

These 3 players are a big part of the O's first half success that has them in second place in the American League East at the break. Look for all 3 to help the American League win against the National League squad tonight on Fox.

My prediction is Jones will go 1-2 with a 2-run homer and Johnson will pick up the save!

Jones owned June!

Adam Jones started off the first two months of the season in a downward trend and was on verge of a bad season. That all seemed to change as the month of June and summer came rolling in. Jones rebounded nicely to raise his average to .274 on the season while ending April batting .223 and raised it to .251 in May. The hits keep coming and the average keeps rising.

Jones tied a club record for home-runs in the month of June with 8. Now with 13 on the season and a good candidate to make the all-star team for the second time in a row to be the Orioles representative.

Junes totals for Jones were 32 hits in 100 at-bats while driving in 21 runs and scoring 16 runs. 12 of the 32 hits were extra base hits with 4 doubles and the 8 home-runs. He batted .320 in the month while picking up 4 walks and stealing 2 bases.

Lets hope Jones can ride these numbers through the final game of the season!

Orioles smash 5 home-runs to beat A's!

The Baltimore Orioles showed they have some power and did it all in the same game as the O's ride 5 long balls to victory to avoid back to back loses against the Oakland A's wednesday night! The Orioles got on the scoreboard first putting up 2 in the 2nd and 1 in the 3rd but Oakland would get 6 off of Kevin Millwood in the 4th to take a 6-3 lead. Thats all the A's would get and the O's would take advantage scoring runs in the bottom of the 4th, 7th and 8th to win 9-6.

The O's were lead by Adam Jones who had 3 hits with 1 double, 1 home-run & 3 rbi's. The team would get 4 more home-runs off the bats of Corey Patterson, Ty Wigginton, Miguel Tejada & Luke Scott to help the team come from behind late to win another ball game.

The O's & A's look to finish a 3 game series tonight at Orioles Park @ Camden Yards. Jake Arrieta will take the mound for the O's looking for win number 3 on the season while Trevor Cahill will get the ball for the A's.

Jones swinging hot bat!

Adam Jones who's slow start had many fans doubt if he was as good as what people were saying he was. Jones has silenced many over the past week and half as he is 16 for 41 at the plate with 4 home-runs and 9 rbi's over the 10 game stretch while moving his batting average up to .272 on the season. In the 10 game stretch he batted .390 and scored 8 runs. Jones may not be having the season we all wanted he is still improving and is on pace to have a better season than he did last year despite only playing in 119 games due to injuries. Still an improvement and with a club struggling its a bright spot to see one of the bright star playing good ball!

Jones is riding a 5 game hit streak in which all 5 were multi hit games including 3 home-runs over the stretch.

Millwood grabs win number 2, O's put 11 spot on scoreboard!

Kevin Millwood grabbed win number 2 on a outing where the rest of the team had to step-up and put runs on the board. That is exactly what they did as the team scored 11 runs on 17 hits with 2 of them coming off home-runs. Adam Jones & Miguel Tejada lead the charge each had home-runs and picked up multiple hits. Tejada was 4 for 5 with the home-run and 4 runs batted in while Jones was 3 for 5 at the plate with a double, home-run and 2 runs batted in. The team also picked up hits from the other 7 starters with Craig Tatum going 3 for 5 with 2 doubles and rbi.

The O's avoided the sweep by the Florida Marlins. Next up for the O's will be the Washington Nationals at Camden Yards starting a 3 game series at home. While the Florida Marlins will take on the San Diego Padres at Sun Life Stadium in Florida.

O's fall to Nats, will look for series win tomorrow!

The Baltimore Orioles jumped on the board first with a two-run single off the bat of Ty Wigginton in the first inning. The Washington Nationals would respond a few innings later to take the lead. Than the O's would take the lead again on a rare feat a inside the park 2 run homer off the bat of Adam Jones. Than the lead was cut to one but the O's were able to add two more to the board on Wigginton's 13th home-run of the season. That pushed the lead to 6-3 but the Nationals would put 4 on the board in the bottom of the 6th and thats how the game would end as the Nations won 7-6.

The Baltimore Orioles will send Kevin Millwood to the mound in a attempt to win the series for the Birds while the Washington Nations will send John Lannan to battle for them.

Hernandez breaks losing streak, O's win game 1 of beltway battle!

David Hernandez came out ready for that losing streak to come to an end and that is what would happen as he didn't allow a hit through the first 4.2 innings he pitched. That gave the O's the momentum as they would be up 4-0 when the Nationals would get there first hit. The O's would get 2 runs on a Adam Jones home-run that would score Luke Scott, followed by 2 more in the next inning on a 2 run single of the bat of Craig Tatum. The Nat's would put 3 on the board but the O's would add an insurance run on Corey Patterson's base hit in the 8th inning. Alfredo Simon would work the 9th to pick up his 6th save of the season. For Hernandez the win allowed him to snap a 11 straight losses dating back to last year.

The O's and Nat's will take another go at it tomorrow as Brad Bergesen will go up against Craig Stammen.

Luke Scott player of series vs Seattle Mariners!

The Orioles managed to get a series win against the Seattle Mariners. The O's were able to come back in game 3 after Feliz Hernanadez left the game as Corey Patterson hit a solo home-run and Luke Scott a few batters later connected for a grand slam that put the O's up by one. Simon would come on and pick up the save as the O's won back to back games at home.

Luke Scott had the night off on Tuesday but still had a solid series as he was 4 for 8 with 1 double, 2 home-runs and 5 rbi's. Luke's grand slam also help cap a 5 run inning that lead to a comeback win for the team. Given them numbers he is the player of the series!

Other key performances in the series was Corey Patterson 3 for 9 with 1 home-run, 1 double, 2 runs scored and 1 outfield assist. Brad Bergesen pitched 7.2 innings given up 1 run while striking out 3 in route to his 3 straight win. Nick Markakis had 4 hits in 11 at bats in the series while Ty Wigginton added 4 hits in 11 at bats also. While Alfredo Simon picked up back to back saves to put his total on the season to 5.

Bergesen wins 3rd straight, Jones adds 3 hits!

Brad Bergesen struggled earlier in the season went down to Norfolk to work on a few things before being called back up a few weeks back. Since the starter is 3-0 has only allowed 5 runs in the 3 starts combined and only 1 in the last two. His sinker was dropping and because of that forced 17 ground balls. He went 7.2 innings allowing 1 earned run while striking out 3 and only allowing 2 walks. While Bergesen pitched well the rest of the team swung the bat as the team added 12 hits and 5 runs on the score board to give him some run support. Adam Jones who has been struggling added 3 hits and a rbi while Luke Scott added 2 hits and his 5th home-run of the season.

The O's and Mariners will play the rubber match of the three game series today at 12:35 P.M. as Kevin Millwood will go up against Felix Hernandez.