Orioles activate Timlin, Myers
BALTIMORE (AP) - After the postponement of their scheduled game
with Tampa Bay on Monday night, the Baltimore Orioles shuffled
their roster. Closer Mike Timlin and catcher Greg Myers, who have
yet to play this season, were activated from the 15-day disabled
list. To make room on the roster, right-handed reliever Gabe
Molina was optioned to Triple-A Rochester and catcher Willie
Morales was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a
hyperextended elbow. Timlin was placed on the DL retroactive to
April 2 with an abdominal strain. The right-hander, who had not
pitched since the team's last exhibition game April 1, had 27
saves last year. Molina pitched in one game, allowing three runs
in one inning. Myers suffered a pulled hamstring in the April 1
exhibition game when his spikes got caught as he was hitting a
home run. He was placed on the disabled list the following day.
Ripken glad to put 3,000th hit behind him
BALTIMORE (AP) - Now that Cal Ripken has passed another
milestone, he can turn his attention toward the mundane chore of
doing his part to help the Baltimore Orioles win. And he couldn't
be happier. "It felt like I dropped a 100-pound backpack on the
way to first base," Ripken said Monday, referring to the single
in Minnesota on Saturday that enabled him to become the 24th
member of the 3,000-hit club. The Orioles will honor Ripken's
achievement before they play Texas on April 30, so he still has
one celebration to contend with. But for the most part, the topic
of 3,000 hits was laid to rest Monday during a 30-minute session
with the Baltimore media. For much of the past five years, Ripken
was the focus of attention as he chased one milestone or another.
That no longer is an issue. From this point forward, his main
focus is just playing baseball.
April 16, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 5, Minnesota Twins 0
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Brady Anderson and Jeff Conine homered in a five-run first inning as the Baltimore Orioles beat the Minnesota Twins 5-0 Sunday. Anderson homered leading off a game for the 37th time in his career before Mike Bordick singled and B.J. Surhoff doubled off Joe Mays (0-2). Albert Belle hit a two-run single up the middle and Conine hit a shot to left to make it 5-0. Sidney Ponson (1-0) pitched a four-hitter in his first career shutout and seventh complete game. His previous low-hit game was six, which he did three times. Ponson struck out five, walked two and retired 10 straight batters at one point. Albert Belle had three hits and two RBIs for Baltimore, which won its second straight following a four-game losing streak.
April 15, 2000
Ripken becomes 24th member of 3,000-hit club
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Cal Ripken got his 3,000th hit Saturday night,
adding another huge number to his Hall of Fame resume. The
Baltimore Orioles star, already renowned for playing a record
2,632 straight games, reached this milestone with his third
single in a 6-4 victory over Minnesota. Ripken became the 24th
player to reach 3,000 hits, doing it a year after both Tony Gwynn
and Wade Boggs joined the club. "I was relieved, I felt a weight
was lifted from my shoulders," Ripken said. "I thought about how
lucky you are and how you started." When the game ended, Ripken
signed autographs for about 15 minutes for some of the fans who
had given him a two-minute standing ovation. The gesture was
reminiscent of the victory lap he took at Camden Yards after
breaking Lou Gehrig's "Iron Man" streak.
Ripken lined a clean single to center field off Twins reliever
Hector Carrasco for No. 3,000. He was greeted at first base by
coach and longtime teammate Eddie Murray, who also got his
3,000th hit at the Metrodome while playing for Cleveland in 1995.
"To meet Eddie at first base, that was a special moment," Ripken
said. "He said, 'Way to go, welcome to the club.'" The
39-year-old Ripken shook hands with Twins first baseman Ron
Coomer while the souvenir ball was retrieved by Baltimore's Will
Clark. Ripken took the ball, walked over to the first-base stands
and flipped it underhand to his wife, Kelly, who was flanked by
their two children. Ripken returned to first base, took off his
cap to acknowledge a standing ovation and then tapped his heart
once as he mouthed the words "Thank you" to the crowd of 18,745.
The Orioles spilled out of the dugout to congratulate Ripken.
Ripken entered the season nine hits shy of the mark, but was just
6-for-34 (.176) going into Saturday, the 2,800th game of his
career. He grounded out in his first at-bat, then singled cleanly
to right in the fourth off Sean Bergman. In the fifth, Ripken hit
a high bouncer that third baseman Corey Koskie fielded, but had
no play on for an infield single. Right before Ripken came to bat
in the seventh, Twins manager Tom Kelly was booed when he went to
the mound to make a pitching change. Carrasco relieved Travis
Miller, and his first pitch went for a passed ball that scored
Albert Belle and put the Orioles ahead 5-4. Ripken singled right
up the middle on the next pitch. In his last at-bat, he flied
out. Ripken conquered a bad back and the butterflies that had
stoked a season-long slump. Ripken became the seventh player in
major league history to get 3,000 hits and 400 home runs.
Baltimore Orioles 6, Minnesota Twins 4
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - On the night that Cal Ripken got his 3,000th hit, the Baltimore Orioles ended a four-game skid with a 6-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins. Ripken's historic hit Saturday night came in the seventh off Hector Carrasco, a line drive to center field just one pitch after Albert Belle scored from third on a passed ball by rookie Matthew LeCroy. Belle had doubled off Travis Miller (0-2) and advanced to third on Harold Baines' groundout that brought Ripken to the plate and the crowd of 18,745 to its feet. The crowd gave Ripken, who went 3-for-5, a two-minute ovation. B.J. Surhoff's solo homer off Mark Redman in the ninth made it 6-4. Tim Worrell (2-1) picked up the victory with 1 2/3 innings of scoreless relief. Former Twins closer Mike Trombley pitched the ninth for his first save.
April 14, 2000
Minnesota Twins 10, Baltimore Orioles 9
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Cal Ripken moved within three hits of 3,000, but the Minnesota Twins rallied for six runs in the eighth inning to defeat the Baltimore Orioles 10-9 Friday night. Ripken went 1-for-4 with a sacrifice fly and Mike Bordick, Jeff Conine and Delino DeShields homered off Eric Milton. Minnesota, however, snapped a five-game losing streak when they rallied from a 9-4 deficit in the eighth. Baltimore lost its fourth in a row. After the Twins loaded the bases off Chuck McElroy, Al Reyes gave up a pair of two-run doubles, to Matthew LeCroy and Torii Hunter, as Minnesota pulled to 9-8. Buddy Groom (0-1) replaced him and gave up an RBI single to Cristian Guzman that tied it. Then, Matt Lawton's sacrifice fly to left scored pinch-runner Jason Maxwell for a 10-9 lead. Mark Redman (1-0) got the final out in the eighth -- on one pitch -- for the victory.
April 13, 2000
Kansas City Royals 6, Baltimore Orioles 5
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Royals didn't need a last at-bat home run to win again. A game-winning single was good enough. Carlos Beltran drove in the winning-run with a ninth-inning single Thursday, as Kansas City continued its string of last at-bat wins with a 6-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles. The Royals, who ended the last three games with winning home runs, rallied after blowing a 5-0 lead and swept the Orioles for the first time since August 1988. Rey Sanchez led off the ninth with a single off B.J. Ryan (1-1), Johnny Damon followed with a sacrifice bunt and Carlos Febles walked before Beltran's game-winning hit. Baltimore scored four runs in the eighth and tied it on Mike Bordick's single off closer Ricky Bottalico (2-0) in the ninth.
Ripken continues slow path to 3,000
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - At this pace, fans in Baltimore might get
to see Cal Ripken's 3,000th hit after all. The slumping future
Hall of Famer began a six-game road trip to Kansas City and
Minnesota this week six hits away from becoming the 24th man to
reach the milestone. After going 0-for-4 Thursday in a 6-5 loss
to the Royals, Ripken remains four short. The Orioles have a
weekend series in Minnesota before returning home for three games
against Tampa Bay. Ripken started the season with 2,991 hits and
is 5-for-30 (.167). He was 2-for-12 in Kansas City in a
three-game Royals sweep and can't shake a slump that saw him hit
just .143 in 22 spring games. Many of Ripken's career moments
have come in Baltimore, where he broke Lou Gehrig's consecutive
games record, ended his own Iron Man streak at 2,632 in 1998 and
hit career homer No. 400 last September.
April 12, 2000
Kansas City Royals 7, Baltimore Orioles 6
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Rey Sanchez hit a three-run homer off Mike Trombley in the ninth inning and the Kansas City Royals, coming back in their last at-bat for the third straight game, beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7-6, Wednesday night. Baltimore, which led 6-0 in the seventh, was still ahead 6-4 in the ninth when Mike Trombley (0-1) walked Gregg Zaun leading off and Mark Quinn followed with a double. Next up was Sanchez, and he worked the count to 3-2 before hitting his first home run of the season, a drive off the top of the left-field fence that bounced into the Orioles bullpen. Cal Ripken singled in a run to move within four hits of 3,000, and Mike Bordick had three RBIs for Baltimore. Jose Santiago (2-0) won for the second straight night.
April 11, 2000
Kansas City Royals 7, Baltimore Orioles 5 (12)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - Brian Johnson's two-run homer with one out in the 12th inning gave the Kansas City Royals a 7-5 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Tuesday night. The Royals got an infield single from Joe Randa to lead off the 12th against Tim Worrell (1-1). One out later, Johnson hit a shot to left-center for his second home run of the season. Jose Santiago (1-0) pitched the 12th for the win. Randa's three-run homer off reliever Al Reyes in the eighth tied the game at 5. The Royals looked like they would win it in the ninth, when they loaded the bases with one out against B.J. Ryan. Jermaine Dye grounded into a forceout and Mike Sweeney flied out to end the threat. Cal Ripken homered in his first at-bat, leaving him five hits away from 3,000.
Ripken marches slowly toward 3,000th hit
BALTIMORE (AP) - Cal Ripken envisioned a different scenario when
he entered the season on the brink of 3,000 hits. If everything
went according to plan, the huge black numbers on the Camden
Yards warehouse would already read 3-0-0-0. Ripken would have
another milestone, sparking yet another celebration in the city
that has embraced him throughout his 20-year career. Instead,
Ripken's march toward 3,000 has been excruciatingly slow. After
going 3-for-18 during the Orioles' opening six-game homestand,
Ripken homered Tuesday in a 7-5, 12-inning loss in Kansas City to
move within five hits of his goal. He finished 1-for-5. That was
the first game of a six-game trip that takes Baltimore to Kansas
City and Minnesota. There is now a chance that his informal
induction into the exclusive 3,000-club could occur before a few
thousand marginally interested fans in the Metrodome.
April 9, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 11, Detroit Tigers 6
BALTIMORE (AP) - Will Clark drove in three runs and the Baltimore Orioles used a 16-hit attack to beat the Detroit Tigers, 11-6, Sunday, completing a three-game sweep. Rich Amaral, Albert Belle and Jeff Conine had three hits apiece for the Orioles, who led 11-3 after four innings before coasting to their fifth straight victory. Delino DeShields had two hits, two stolen bases and two RBIs. Jose Mercedes (1-0), pitching in the majors for the first time since 1998, allowed three earned runs and seven hits in five innings. Dean Palmer and Juan Encarnacion homered for Detroit, which went 1-5 on its season-opening road trip. Detroit starter C.J. Nitkowski (0-2) gave up 11 runs -- seven earned -- and 11 hits in 3 1/3 innings.
April 8, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 2, Detroit Tigers 1 (10)
BALTIMORE (AP) - Delino DeShields singled in the winning run in the bottom of the 10th inning as the Baltimore Orioles stretched their winning streak to four by defeating the Detroit Tigers 2-1 Saturday. The Orioles trailed 1-0 in the eighth before coming back. Mike Bordick scored both runs for Baltimore. Bordick led off the 10th with a single off Doug Brocail (0-1) and took second on a sacrifice. DeShields then dumped a single to left and Bordick slid into the plate an instant before the throw from Bobby Higginson. Al Reyes (1-0) stranded the potential tiebreaking run at second base in the ninth and 10th. Rob Fick singled in a fourth-inning run and Brad Ausmus had three hits for the Tigers, who have lost four straight.
April 7, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 14, Detroit Tigers 10
BALTIMORE (AP) - Charles Johnson homered for the fourth time in three games as the Baltimore Orioles beat Detroit 14-10 Friday night in a slugfest that featured nine home runs. Johnson's three-run homer highlighted a six-run fifth inning that put the Orioles ahead 11-7. The teams combined for five home runs in the inning, tying a major league record. Johnson and Albert Belle both drove in four runs. Cal Ripken and Mike Bordick also homered for the Orioles. Ripken's first homer of the season left him six hits short of becoming the 24th major leaguer to get 3,000 hits. Baltimore has won three straight. Juan Encarnacion, Brad Ausmus, Dean Palmer, Tony Clark and Wendell Magee homered for the Tigers, who have dropped three in a row. Dave Mlicki (0-1) took the loss and Todd Worrell (1-0) won for Baltimore.
Orioles' Timlin hits disabled list; Molina steps in
BALTIMORE (AP) - The second opinion was the same as the first, so
the Baltimore Orioles placed closer Mike Timlin on the 15-day
disabled list Friday and recalled right-hander Gabe Molina from
Triple-A Rochester. Timlin has been bothered for weeks by a torn
muscle in his left side. An MRI Thursday revealed a
five-centimeter tear in the oblique muscle, and a second doctor
confirmed the diagnosis Friday morning. "We wanted to wait for a
second opinion to make sure that's what we wanted to do," Orioles
manager Mike Hargrove said. Because Timlin had not pitched yet
this season, the move was retroactive to April 2. Hargrove
expects Timlin to return on April 17 or shortly thereafter. Mike
Trombley, who had 24 saves with the Minnesota Twins last season,
will fill the closer's role in Timlin's absence. Molina will be
used for one to three innings at a time, Hargrove said.
April 6, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 6, Cleveland Indians 2
BALTIMORE (AP) - Charles Johnson hit his third homer in two days, a three-run shot in the sixth inning that snapped a tie and lifted the Baltimore Orioles past the Cleveland Indians, 6-2, Thursday night. Mike Bordick also homered for the Orioles, who took 2-of-3 from the defending AL Central champions. Baltimore went 1-9 last year against the Indians. With the score 2-2, Johnson connected off Charles Nagy (0-1) after Cal Ripken and Will Clark hit one-out singles. Bordick followed with his first home run of the season to chase Nagy, who allowed nine hits in 5 1/3 innings. Pat Rapp (1-0) won his debut with Baltimore, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings. Buddy Groom, another newcomer to the O's, earned his first save since 1997.
Orioles' Timlin headed for disabled list
BALTIMORE (AP) - The Baltimore Orioles planned to put ailing
closer Mike Timlin on the 15-day disabled list after Thursday's
game against the Cleveland Indians. Timlin has been bothered for
nearly three weeks by a torn muscle in his left side. He was
available to pitch Thursday, but the Orioles avoided using the
right-hander in a 6-2 win over the Indians, so that his trip to
the disabled list will be retroactive to opening day. "We're
going to shut it down and try to heal it up," Timlin said. Timlin
did not pitch in the Orioles' first two games. An examination
Thursday revealed a five-centimeter tear in the oblique muscle.
"I have no idea how it happened. I didn't feel it pop, pull or
burn," he said. "I've never had a pulled muscle before." Mike
Trombley, who had 24 saves with Minnesota last year, will take
over the closer's role.
April 5, 2000
Baltimore Orioles 11, Cleveland Indians 7
BALTIMORE (AP) - Charles Johnson homered twice and drove in five runs Wednesday night as Baltimore beat the Cleveland Indians 11-7, giving Mike Hargrove his first victory as manager of the Orioles. Johnson's second homer, a two-run shot in the eighth inning off former Oriole Scott Kamieniecki (0-1), snapped a 7-7 tie. He also hit a three-run homer to give Baltimore a 7-6 lead in the sixth. Albert Belle hit a three-run homer for the Orioles, who rebounded from an opening day loss to Hargrove's former team. Cal Ripken went 0-for-4 and remained eight hits short of 3,000. Charlie Manuel, Hargrove's replacement in Cleveland, was ejected in his second game as a major league manager. Jim Thome homered and Omar Vizquel had three hits for the Indians. B.J. Ryan (1-0) got the last out in the eighth to earn his second major league win.
Erickson's throwing session encouraging for Orioles
(AP) - Scott Erickson, striving for an earlier-than-expected
return from the disabled list, tested his right elbow Wednesday
by throwing for 16 minutes off a mound. Erickson entered spring
training as the No. 2 man in the Baltimore Orioles' starting
rotation, but he has been sidelined since having bone chips
removed from his elbow early last month. The right-hander said
three weeks ago that he would like to return in May, but his
latest session has the Orioles thinking he might get back sooner.
"It was very encouraging," pitching coach Sammy Ellis said. "I
don't know if this puts us any closer, but his throwing looks
pretty good to me. Everything bears straight ahead." Erickson has
been working feverishly to get back into a rotation that
currently features Calvin Maduro and Jose Mercedes, both of whom
spent all last season in the minors.
April 3, 2000
Cleveland Indians 4, Baltimore Orioles 1
BALTIMORE (AP) - Baltimore ace Mike Mussina retired 23 of the first 25 batters he faced, but Travis Fryman and Kenny Lofton hit solo homers to lead the Cleveland Indians to a 4-1 victory Monday. Lofton's homer in the sixth snapped a 1-1 tie, and the Indians pulled away in the eighth by scoring two runs on four straight two-out singles. Cal Ripken, who entered the game needing nine hits to reach 3,000 for his career, hit a bloop double in the second inning and went 1-for-4. Mussina allowed only two hits through the first seven innings -- both homers -- before tiring in the eighth. Bartolo Colon (1-0) yielded one run on three hits in five innings. Steve Karsay worked the ninth for his second major league save.
April 2, 2000
Orioles complete roster
(AP) - The Baltimore Orioles completed their opening day roster
Sunday by sending three players to Triple-A Rochester.
Outfielders Wayne Kirby and Derrick May were reassigned to
Rochester, and pitcher Rich Negrette was outrighted to Rochester.
The Orioles also placed catcher Greg Myers on the 15-day disabled
list with a strained right hamstring. Myers was injured while
hitting a home run in the team's final exhibition game against
the Cincinnati Reds Saturday. The Orioles also purchased the
contract of catcher Willie Morales. The moves leave the team with
an opening day roster that includes 11 pitchers, two catchers,
seven infielders and five outfielders.