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Orioles notebook, 8/24
Vlad scratched from lineup with bruised wrist
MINNEAPOLIS — Orioles designated hitter Vladimir Guerrero was a late scratch from Wednesday’s lineup with a left wrist contusion.
With Guerrero out, catcher Matt Wieters batted cleanup, while Mark Reynolds and Robert Andino also moved up one spot each to the fifth and sixth spots, respectively.
Jake Fox, who was called up on Tuesday from Triple-A Norfolk, batted seventh as the DH in place of Guerrero. For Fox, it was his first start since May 27.
In six games this year against the Twins, Guerrero is batting .346 with two home runs, five RBIs and two doubles. Guerrero was 3-for-5 on Tuesday night with a double and three runs scored.
After the O’s 6-1 win, Guerrero said his wrist — which was heavily wrapped — was fine.
Angle looking to snap his offensive funk
By Jordan Schelling / MLB.com
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he was not worried about Angle trying too hard or putting too much pressure on himself to get the first hit out of the way.
“It’s going to happen,” Showalter said. “He’s done some good things [in the past] and he’s a baseball player. He’ll get a hit.”
Jones feeling better, returns to O’s lineup
MINNEAPOLIS — After giving his team and its fans a scare on Tuesday night, Adam Jones was back in the Orioles’ lineup on Wednesday against the Twins.
Jones left the second game of the series after just one inning due to what was announced as an illness. He was later taken from Target Field to the Hennepin County Medical Center during the middle innings for further evaluation.
“I just didn’t feel myself,” Jones said. “So, I guess the team wanted to make sure I was OK. But I feel fine today.”
Jones went 0-for-4 at the plate and was replaced in the field by Matt Angle in the bottom of the seventh.
Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he made out two lineups on Wednesday, one with Jones in it and one with him out.
Jones was his usual upbeat self during the team’s pregame stretch on Wednesday, which was a good sign of how he felt, as Jones was more subdued a night earlier.
“You can tell he’s a lot more engaged,” Showalter said. “I should’ve known something was up because usually he’s real engaging. He always sticks his head in and we shoot the breeze a little bit.”
After feeling fine through the Orioles’ pregame stretch and batting practice on Tuesday, Jones’ symptoms popped up early in the game. When it continued to persist through the top of the second, Jones left the game and was replaced by Angle.
The Orioles decided shortly thereafter that it would be best to have Jones go to the hospital and go through a number of tests to figure out what exactly was going on.
Said Jones of how long he was at the hospital: “Too long. I should’ve been there for two minutes, but was there a little bit longer. But I’m all right, and that’s the important thing.”
Jones said he did not know, nor did he care, what they were testing him for at the hospital. All that mattered was that he was healthy and back in the lineup a day later.
“It was nothing that’s going to keep me out of a game,” Jones said. “It took me out of one, but it won’t keep me out of another.”
Showalter said he still was not entirely sure what Jones was dealing with, but thought it was primarily due to dehydration.
Reynolds’ glove becoming O’s first option
MINNEAPOLIS — While he has logged 638 games at third base over five years, Mark Reynolds has only played first base 48 times. And 14 of those games at first have come this season with the Orioles.
Reynolds has looked comfortable at first base, though, even making a key play on Tuesday night that led to an inning-ending double play.
After center fielder Ben Revere grounded out to first, Reynolds fired home to cut down Twins infielder Luke Hughes, getting him caught in a run down as he tried to score.
“That was a big play there in a lot of ways looking back on it,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. “Mark made sure he got that out [at first] and still had another out there.
“I know coaching third base, that’s a tough play for a runner and a third-base coach. If you go directly to the plate you’re probably out. If you wait too long… it’s a tough one. We were fortunate it was hit in the right place and worked out for us.”
Reynolds has become the Orioles’ everyday first baseman since Chris Davis has been sidelined since Aug. 14 due to a partially torn labrum in his right shoulder.
With Reynolds at first, Robert Andino has taken over as the No. 1 option at third base, and Ryan Adams is now the Orioles’ everyday second baseman. Those three, along with J.J. Hardy at shortstop, have provided solid infield defense this week at Target Field.
“Robert’s handled third base well in two games, and I felt confident he would,” Showalter said. “So far so good. Obviously defense is a big part of being able to sustain some things over the course of a season.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
D-backs among seven with four straight HRs
MILWAUKEE — Back-to-back-to-back-to-back.
With one out in the fourth inning of Wednesday’s 8-2 win over the Brewers, the D-backs connected for home runs in four consecutive at-bats, the first time in franchise history.
Arizona is just the seventh team in Major League history to have four hitters in a row connect for home runs. The feat last occurred on Aug. 14, 2008, when the White Sox did it against the Royals in the bottom of the sixth.
The last time four consecutive home runs were hit in the National League was Sept. 18, 2006, when the Dodgers did it in the bottom of the ninth.
“It’s not very often that happens,” D-backs manager Kirk Gibson said. “I was happy to be a part of it for sure. The guys really hit the ball that inning.”
First baseman Adam LaRoche got things started, belting a full-count fastball from Brewers starter Dave Bush deep to right field. Miguel Montero followed with the second, sending a low 1-2 fastball into the seats to tie the game at 2.
At that point, the D-backs had matched the Brewers’ back-to-back home runs of two innings earlier, but they were far from finished.
Mark Reynolds snapped a personal streak of four consecutive strikeouts against Bush, belting a 1-1 curveball to left-center. The last time the D-backs had gone back-to-back-to-back was May 3, 2002, against the Montreal Expos.
“I just wanted to get a hit,” Reynolds said. “I didn’t [care] if it was a homer or a swinging bunt. I’ve been struggling since I got hit in the head. It was a curveball kind of middle away, and I didn’t even swing very hard at it. I just put the barrel on it.”
Finally, shortstop Stephen Drew ripped a 1-0 fastball into the D-backs bullpen in right, tying the Major League record for consecutive home runs.
Drew joins his brother, J.D., as the only brothers to have participated in a string of four straight home runs.
“It was pretty wild,” Drew said. “[LaRoche] starts it off, then you see Miggy hit one and I was like ‘What next?’ Then Mark gets up there and hits one and I’m like, ‘What am I supposed to do here?’
“It’s pretty special. You don’t see that too often, and it’s one of those things that was meant to be, and it was a special time.”
Bush is the first pitcher to give up four straight home runs since Chase Wright — who is now in the Brewers’ system — surrendered four to the Red Sox while with the Yankees in 2007.
J.D. Drew was involved in the Dodgers-Padres feat and in the Red Sox-Yankees game.
“I remember watching it on TV that night when J.D. was with L.A., but I don’t remember the one in Boston,” Drew said. “He’s one up on me.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
Diamondbacks beat 8/10
D-backs’ Young first to join 20/20 club
MILWAUKEE — With his third-inning home run on Monday, Chris Young did more than just tie the game at two runs apiece. The D-backs center fielder became the first player in the Majors this season with 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases.
Young, who ranks fifth in the National League with 22 stolen bases, reached the 20-homer, 20-stolen base mark for the second time in his career and the first time since his 2007 rookie season.
“It’s nice,” Young said of the feat. “You’d like to be winning more games so you get away from focusing on the personal things, but it’s nice. I’m having a better season, it’s a big turn around from last year for me.”
Including Tuesday’s game in Milwaukee, the D-backs have 49 games remaining as Young chases his first career 30-homer, 30-stolen base season.
D-backs manager Kirk Gibson sees it as a possibility for Young, but is more concerned with Young having improved dramatically at the plate, especially as his current .268 batting average is 26 points higher than his career average.
“His approach at the plate’s really good,” Gibson said. “He’s really beginning to understand how to get to certain pitches that they used to get him out on.
“Stolen base-wise, he’s getting really advanced. He’s got several techniques that he uses. I don’t know if he’ll get to 30-30, but I wouldn’t put it out of reach for him sometime in his career.”
After an impressive rookie season that saw Young belt 32 home runs and steal 27 bases, his production declined in each of the past two seasons. Young had 22 home runs with 85 RBIs and 14 stolen bases in 2008 before dropping to 15 homers and 11 steals last season with just a .212 batting average.
Young’s 20th homer came a year removed from his demotion to the Minors last season, where he played from August 10-28 before returning to the big league club. Before he was sent down, Young hit just seven home runs with 28 RBIs and a sub-Mendoza line .194 average.
Over the final month of the season, Young’s production picked up, as he tallied eight home runs with 14 RBIs and a .263 batting average.
“It was a reality check,” Young said. “It was a sign that, ‘Hey, you need to turn things around if you expect to play at this level.’ I took it as a challenge. Nobody’s given anything in this game, and you have to earn everything, especially at this level.”
Drew records 250th RBI in 600th game
MILWAUKEE — When he stepped in against Trevor Hoffman in the 10th inning on Monday, shortstop Stephen Drew had already reached one career milestone on the day. With his two-run single, he added another.
Drew, playing in his fourth full season with the D-backs, collected his 250th and 251st career RBIs. It also happened to be Drew’s 600th career game.
Joining Luis Gonzalez, Steve Finley, Chad Tracy and Jay Bell in an exclusive club, Drew became just the fifth player in Arizona history to play in 600 games and collect 250 RBIs as a D-back.
“Is that good or not?” Drew asked before learning how many players in franchise history had done so. “To reach that milestone, it’s pretty neat to hear that I was only the fifth one to ever do it.
“I don’t really set any goals or look at goals until the end of the season. It’s one of those things that is neat in its own self, but I just try to go out every day and help the team win, some way, some how.”
With 250 RBIs, Drew is just the eighth player in franchise history to reach that mark, joining current teammates Mark Reynolds and Chris Young. Drew is only the seventh player in franchise history to play in 600 games and the only current player to have done so.
He was not the only one at Miller Park this week who had reached that feat, however, as former D-backs shortstop and current Brewers infielder Craig Counsell played 664 games with Arizona.
Despite being just 27 years old, the 600-game mark makes Drew one of the more veteran guys in the D-backs’ clubhouse.
“When I first got called up, it was a bunch of veteran guys. We were still in purple then,” Drew said. “We had guys like Counsell and the reason I got called up was he had a broken rib. Gonzo was there still, [Brandon Webb] was still there. To play so many games here it’s nice, especially to stay in one spot, it’s huge.
“We had some good years when I first got called up. The year right after, we made the playoffs and that was neat in itself.”
Gibson: D-backs being thrown at is ‘baseball’
MILWAUKEE — As a 90-mph fastball from Chris Narveson sailed behind the back of Rusty Ryal in the fourth inning Monday night, D-backs manager Kirk Gibson wasn’t surprised, nor was he too upset.
With his starter having hit three Brewers hitters, it was just part of the game.
“He tried to hit Ryal before that, and then they threw a changeup and [Brewers manager Ken] Macha was over there going, ‘Come on!'” Gibson said. “I understand, I had no problem with any of it. We hit three of their guys — not on purpose — they tried to hit Rusty.
“That’s baseball. We should’ve just walked down to the base. I had no problem with any of that.”
While he’s fine with the idea of settling such matters that way, Gibson went on to say he would never instruct one of his pitchers to intentionally hit an opposing batter.
Still, he wouldn’t oppose such actions from his pitching staff.
“I told Joe Saunders not to hit him,” Gibson said, referring to the D-backs’ game on August 3, when Mark Reynolds was hit in the head by a Nationals pitcher. “But somewhere along the line, if somebody would’ve responded to that throughout that series, to me, that’s one of the things that helps connect you.
“Reynolds would’ve known what happened. Those are just little subtle things that happen within a game.”
Jordan Schelling is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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