Casilla with the Twins, via Wikipedia.

The Orioles are having a fairly busy off-season already. First they picked up Ayala’s option whilst declining Reynolds’s, and now they’ve claimed Alexi Casilla off waivers from the Twins.

Casilla is 28 years old and primarily a second baseman, but he’s played some shortstop and third, as well, and is a good boost to the Orioles’ infield. He’ll probably compete for second base with Robert Andino and Ryan Flaherty, as well as the returning Brian Roberts. Should make for an interesting Spring Training, that’s for sure!

The Orioles made some other announcements today, as well, via Dan Connolly:

On Saturday, players who have filed for free agency can begin to talk with other teams. The Orioles have some interest in retaining pitcher Joe Saunders, outfielder Nate McLouth and designated hitter Jim Thome, but no agreement was reached during the exclusive negotiating period, meaning the three will be able to discuss contracts with all interested parties starting Saturday.

Also Friday, the Orioles announced they have outrighted outfielder Lew Ford, infielder Steve Tolleson and lefty Zach Phillips to Triple-A Norfolk and reinstated right-handers Oliver Drake and Stu Pomeranz, lefty Tsuyoshi Wada, infielder Brian Roberts and outfielder Nolan Reimold from the 60-day disabled list.

So there you have it – busy off-season already, huh?

So here we go. It all comes down to this for now.

LET’S DO IT.

I’ll be live-blogging the game inning by inning, so stay tuned for my ridiculous commentary here!

Top 1st: The Orioles manufactured a quick run – Nate McLouth got on base, stole second, and was driven in by J.J. Hardy. (In the meantime, I’m finding it very hard to root against Yu Darvish since he’s a pitcher that I’ve been watching since 2007.) Orioles 1, Rangers 0.

Bottom 1st: Joe Saunders can’t throw strikes. It led to Ian Kinsler walking, getting to third on an Elvis Andrus single, and scoring on a double play. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Top 2nd: Mark Reynolds was hit on the hand by a pitch with one out. He ended up stealing second base. Machado grounded out to end things, though, so no score. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Bottom 2nd: Despite his inability to throw strikes, Joe Saunders recorded two strikeouts in this inning. No, I don’t know either. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Top 3rd: Yu Darvish threw a 1-2-3 inning. I’d complain, but I find that I have an irrational inability to complain about Yu Darvish being on my television. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Bottom 3rd: A double play helped Saunders escape this inning relatively quickly. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Top 4th: Jim Thome singled down the left field line, but that’s about it. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Bottom 4th: Men on first and third with only one out. Saunders struck out Napoli and then induced a force out to second to escape. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Top 5th: Yeah, we’ve got nothing at this point. Orioles 1, Rangers 1.

Bottom 5th: Kinsler led the inning off with a single. However, Andrus hit into a double play with one out, which cleared things up. Saunders is pitching disturbingly well so far for someone who hasn’t been hitting the strike zone too consistently.

Top 6th: J.J. Hardy led the inning off with a single like Kinsler did last half-inning. However, Chris Davis decided to vary from what the Rangers did and singled into right field, advancing Hardy to third with no outs. And then magic happened – Adam Jones came through with a long sacrifice fly to score Hardy! Orioles 2, Rangers 1.

Bottom 6th: Did you realize Joe Saunders only walked one person tonight? After two outs, he handed the ball to former Ranger Darren O’Day. O’Day got the out. Phew! Orioles 2, Rangers 1.

Top 7th: Ryan Flaherty singled with one out. He immediately left the game for Robert Andino, Postseason Hero at least if you’re a Rays fan, who came on as a pinch runner. Machado sacrificed Andino over to second and Yu Darvish left the game. This made my eyes very sad. Andino then stole third on a wild pitch to McLouth, the first pitch by Derek Holland, appearing in a relief role. McLouth proceeded to single to left, bringing in Andino! Holland, evidently stressed, tried a snap throw to first, but the ball got away and McLouth ended up on second. J.J. Hardy struck out, though, and the inning ended there. Orioles 3, Rangers 1.

Bottom 7th: Darren O’Day recorded three easy outs. Nothing spectacular to report here. Orioles 3, Rangers 1.

Top 8th: My boy Koji Uehara came in to pitch the 8th! I MISS YOU, KOJI. His first batter was the man he was traded for, Chris Davis, whom he promptly struck out. Actually, he struck out the entire side. I REALLY MISS YOU, KOJI. Orioles 3, Rangers 1.

Bottom 8th: Mark Reynolds started the inning off with a nice play to stab a ball at first. Kinsler ended up getting on with a bloop of a ball that got stuck in the grass and made it very difficult for J.J. Hardy to pick up. And then Darren O’Day decided it would be a great idea to throw the ball over to first, which he missed. Kinsler ended up on second. Amazingly, O’Day recovered and induced a groundout to short from Andrus, then was replaced by Brian Matusz. Matusz struck out Josh Hamilton on three pitches – THREE – to end the inning. Orioles 3, Rangers 1.

Top 9th: Joe Nathan came in to pitch the 9th for the Rangers. He walked Jim Thome to start things off, then struck Mark Reynolds out in an epic battle that lasted several pitches. Andino then just missed a home run, doubling off the left field wall and moving Thome to third. Lew Ford came in as a pinch runner for Thome. Manny Machado then slapped a blooper past short to drive Ford in (I swear that wasn’t a bad car joke) and move Andino to third. Chris Davis hit a sac fly to center to bring in Andino. The inning ended with J.J. Hardy grounding out to second. Orioles 5, Rangers 1.

Bottom 9th: One pitch, one out for Jim Johnson. Nelson Cruz then singled to left. Michael Young grounded out to second to advance Cruz, bringing up Mike Napoli with two outs. Johnson walked Napoli. A 19-year-old whose name didn’t even appear on the TV screen promptly singled, but David Murphy popped up to McLouth for the final out. Orioles 5, Rangers 1. FINAL.

Bring those Yankees on, baby!

(Unrelated footnote: I am now 2-for-2 so far in the postseason bracket I filled out for the annual competition at the school where my mom teaches. TAKE THAT, MOM’S CO-WORKERS.)

It was one of those games that we all get bored with eventually – the Rays scored one run in the first, the Orioles scored two runs in the first, and the Rays scored one run in the third, and it stayed that way for a very long time.

It was a pretty slow game for the rest of the evening, although Miguel Gonzalez gave me a bit of a scare in the sixth when he balked and advanced two runners to second and third with only one out. He managed to weasel out of it, however, and both teams continued to plod along, setting up occasional scoring chances and then not doing anything with them.

In the ninth, the Rays finally faltered by allowing Kyle Farnsworth to pitch, and that was all the Orioles needed to send the fans home happy. Manny Machado singled and was bunted over to second base by Robert Andino; Nate McLouth finished things off with a huge hit to right field that didn’t clear the wall but was plenty solid, allowing Machado to run home.

Then McLouth went crowd surfing. No, really, the team Chris Davis literally picked him up and carried him around:

Careful, Nate. It was a kick in the head from a reckless crowd surfer that gave me my concussion back in April.

You need to see the video to really believe this celebration, but let me tell you – this team is absolutely pumped right now. More than anything, they believe that they can win, and it’s working wonders. I genuinely love this group of guys because they don’t know when to quit.

And hey, we’re still tied for first place! It’s been a good night.

I’m trying to think of what to write about this game. I’ve been sitting here with this post open for the better part of a half hour, and all I can think of is the fact that Chris Tillman had another good start. He’s actually been surprisingly good for the Orioles this year – tonight he went 6.2 innings and only gave up one run until the very end when he had a two-run homer smacked off of him in the sixth.

It was a one-run game up until the sixth inning, actually. That was when the Orioles put up a four-spot against Scott Feldman which was capped off by Nate McLouth’s first home run as an Oriole. He couldn’t have picked a better time since his two-run homer was the difference in this game. Attaboy, Nate – welcome to the team!

This win was huge for the team because it means that the Orioles clinched at least a .500 road trip. It’s also huge because right now, the Orioles and the Rays are tied for the lead in the Wild Card. They’d be the two teams in the one-game playoff. It’s strange to think about, but the Orioles might actually be in a game exactly forty games from now, the storied Game 163. Aren’t you glad we’ve got Robert Andino right about now?

I’d love to see this team win tomorrow. It would be incredible to see them take two of three from the Rangers after struggling against them earlier in the year. They’re oozing with confidence right now and I LOVE that. They’re playing like it.

I couldn’t think of a good picture to include with this post, so here’s a happy Harp seal pup.

Actually, to be fair, we did a couple of things:

• Put Jim Thome on the DL
• Activated Robert Andino
• Did not trade for Joe Blanton

That’s pretty much it. I know Duquette said we had some trades in the works, but it seems like none of them got done, so here we are. This is what we’re stuck with for the rest of the year unless we go through waivers.

Fingers crossed.

No comeback magic in this one. Actually, no scoring in this one, because Verlander was pitching for the Tigers.

I know I’ve been getting on the offense’s back lately about being inconsistent, which they most certainly are. Today, though, I’m going to cut them a little slack since Verlander does this to pretty much everybody. He limited the Orioles to three hits, two of which came off the bat of Jim Thome, who hits Verlander well and therefore must be a robot, and he also went eight full innings before Valverde came in to close things out in the ninth.

Miguel Gonzalez did fairly well in his second Major League start considering that he was going up against the Tigers, although he did allow a home run on the second pitch he threw this afternoon. Two more runs came in later, one in the second inning and one in the sixth inning, so he did keep the Orioles fairly close. Too bad the opposing pitcher was Verlander.

In terms of pitching, though, today was a very special day:

Steve Johnson pitches in the 8th. Screencap by me.

Steve Johnson made his Major League debut today! Pitching in front of his hometown crowd and his father, former Orioles pitcher Dave Johnson, he seemed nervous at first, walking his first two batters. After a bunt moved those batters to second and third (although an out was recorded), Johnson settled down and struck out the next two batters to escape the inning unscathed. He did give up the fourth run of the game in the top of the ninth, however, a homer to Miguel Cabrera, but it’s good to get those things out of the way early.

If you were watching the broadcast, you probably saw the immense pride on his father’s face. That’s what makes moments like these so special, even though we lost this one.

Also, check out the video from this game if you missed it. Hardy’s defense was absolutely off the chain today.

Oh! And one more thing: injury report.

• Jason Hammel’s knee injury is going to require surgery, which he’ll undergo tomorrow. He’ll be out for 3-4 weeks, which basically means he’s missing August and we’re missing one of the few competent starters we have. Oh, joy.
• Robert Andino injured his shoulder in the sixth inning and left the game. No word on that one yet, but Ryan Flaherty took his place and covered for him after that.

At least this wasn’t a sweep.

This one hurts to write about, believe me. I know it was a win, but it still hurts. Wei-Yin Chen was throwing a perfect game for quite some time there. The only damper on his day was a solo shot by Casper Wells. The offense even looked good for a while, stringing together four consecutive hits at one point and driving in four runs in the sixth. By the time Chen left the game in the eighth inning, the score was 4-1, and all looked swell.

Then Pedro Strop came in and performed a very accurate portrayal of Oliver Perez’s time with the Mets, recording one out but giving up three more runs. Darren O’Day came in to do some damage control, but the game was tied and things were looking bleak.

But there was a hero in our midst tonight. As I listened to this song…

…Robert Andino stepped to the plate and delivered, absolutely demolishing a pitch from Charlie Furbush and sending it into the stratosphere. Er, left field. Right. Either way, it left the ballpark, and the Orioles took a 5-4 lead. Jim Johnson came in and saved the game, and everything was okay, at least for that one moment in time. We could breathe again. The Orioles actually fought back in a bleak situation. That hasn’t happened in a long time.

It was nice to see the team pick up Pedro Strop on one of his off nights, to be honest. Although his pitching brought back my horrible case of Post-Traumatic Mets Disorder*, Andino both covered for Strop and made up for his error last night. My only regret right now is that Chen wasn’t able to get the win after that brilliant show he put on earlier in the game.

At least after all of this we got a win. Oh, and there’s this:

…wow. That’s really all I can say. Just…wow. That’s impressive.

*Post-Traumatic Mets Disorder is a sad condition. Sufferers watched the Mets play in the late 1990s and early 2000s and remember Armando Benitez’s pitching. They then were subjected to Oliver Perez’s pitching later in the decade, furthering their trauma.

I have absolutely nothing to say here. I’m just that angry over this one.

The fact is that the Orioles should have won this game. They were leading 3-1 in the bottom of the seventh and Jason Hammel was pitching quite nicely tonight, although he was starting to get a bit tired. Then a runner made it to second because Robert Andino dropped the ball (literally) and the wheels fell off (metaphorically).

Casper Wells came along and hit a bases-clearing double after Hammel loaded them up, and there you have it. That was all the Mariners needed. The score was 4-3 then, but the reason it’s 6-3 now is because in the eight inning Miguel Olivo and Dustin Ackley turned on two consecutive pitches from Troy Patton and sent them flying out of the park in two different directions.

This team is absolutely falling apart. I don’t know where the Orioles from a few weeks ago went, but this group seems unmotivated and not as willing to try and fight back, especially not late in games. I’d really like to see that group that pulled off all of those wins in extra innings, but I keep squinting and they’re still not showing up. It’s really disappointing me.

On the bright side, I did get to see Hisashi Iwakuma, Munenori Kawasaki and Ichiro Suzuki all on the same team tonight, which I personally enjoyed quite a bit since I’m a big NPB enthusiast. That made me feel a little better about all this, but not by much.

Basically, if we have to stay up until 1 am watching these games, I think we deserve some wins. I don’t think we’re going to get them unless the Mariners put in Oliver Perez, because this Mets fan really needs a good laugh, but I think we deserve a solid win somewhere in here. We haven’t had a convincing win in some time now and it’s really starting to wear me out.

Unfortunately, Bartolo Colon's last name is spelled like a part of the large intestine, which means you get this picture of the giant colon from the Mütter Museum in Philadelphia.

Things learned during this game:

• Nolan Reimold’s name is pronounced ‘Reimhold’ by Mike Bordick and possibly Dan Duquette. There is a German bakery a few towns away from my hometown called Reinhold’s, which is only one letter off. They make lovely cake. I wonder if Bordick’s been to Reinhold’s Bakery in Waldwick.
• Mark Reynolds knows how to stop, drop and roll at first base. This is useful if the base ever catches on fire.
• Mark Reynolds plays disturbingly well at first base, actually.
• Nick Markakis can still throw out runners at second after balls reach him in the outfield. This is reassuring.
• Nolan Reimold can rob home runs even when fans are trying to rob him.
• Robert Andino is good at baseball.
• So is Matt Wieters.
• On the days we finally field well, we can’t win…until late.

Bartolo Colon simply outpitched the Orioles today, and there’s really nothing you can say about that. He made some mistakes that the Orioles should have capitalized on and didn’t. It had to come on a day when the Orioles were actually able to defend and pitch well – it always seems like one or two parts of the equation are there, but there’s always something missing. Today it was offense…until the 9th.

Matt Wieters tied the game up by delivering a two-run double with only one out. He was lifted for pinch runner Endy Chavez (who wouldn’t be needed). Chris Davis was intentionally walked to get to struggling Wilson Betemit…who promptly dumped a ball in the seats. 5-2 Orioles.

This team is genuinely surprising sometimes.

Tonight we learned that Po of Teletubbies fame is a White Sox fan. Or maybe an Orioles fan, too, despite his jersey. Either way, he had great seats at tonight’s game.

There was some good news from this game, and it came in the form of Jake Arrieta. Despite errors all around him, he managed to remain composed and push through, which is a huge step for a pitcher on the road to maturity. That being said, even though the offense got him a no-decision by tying things up late, he was let down by his defense, and that was mainly on Chris Davis.

Let’s talk about Chris Davis really quickly. It was painful, so I’ll try to get through it really quickly and go back to watching Richard Hammond run things over with a tank, which is what I’m doing now as I write this. Let’s not talk about the crush I had on Hammond in high school, okay? Basically, Chris Davis ruined the sixth inning by failing to catch two balls. This led to Arrieta having to make five outs total in the inning, throwing 30 pitches. It’s really not fair, considering that over his first five innings Arrieta only threw 65 total. He was cruising through this game.

Also of note is that Matt Wieters made two throwing errors tonight. Generally, he doesn’t make too many of those, but he’s made three this year already after making five total last season. That’s…not good. We need to fix that, Weets, because that’s disconcerting. Very, very disconcerting.

Oh, and Nolan Reimold made an Ike Davis catch (which means he flew over the railing but held on to the ball). Except there was a runner on third and it became a sac fly because Nolan was in the seats. Yep. I think that pretty much sums this game up in a nutshell – stuff like that.

Suddenly, everything changed in the ninth. Nolan Reimold hit a solo homer to bring the score to 4-3, and after an out Adam Jones slugged one, too, tying it up. And once again, there was free baseball. This is the tenth game of the season and the Orioles have already gone into extras twice already – three times in ten games is a little strenuous on the viewer in some cases, no?

Tonight, though, was a good case. Mark Reynolds led off in the tenth and hit what looked to be a long fly ball out to center. It was dropped, which somehow placed him on third base even though he didn’t hustle right out of the gate. Things got stranger when Chris Davis, the goat of the game up until this point, doubled off the wall in left field, which scored Reynolds. Andino then followed with an infield hit, which meant there were men on first and third with no outs for Nolan Reimold, who started the rally in the ninth. Nolan smacked a base hit, bringing home Davis. J.J. Hardy bunted, hoping to advance the runners…and ended up getting on base, loading them up instead.

The first out didn’t come until Markakis came up with the bases loaded and Andino was forced out at home. That’s how weird this tenth inning was. Jones followed with a strikeout, which continued his rough night at the plate, though. Meh.

And then God Weets hit a grand slam, making it 10-4. Pedro Strop, who came on in the ninth, ended up getting a win. He shut the door easily in the tenth and this team actually clawed back to a victory.

I can’t even. Between Richard Hammond driving a freaking tank on my TV and the Orioles doing this, I just can’t.

I should probably just go to bed now. Yay winning? Yay winning!