MINNEAPOLIS — Baltimore Orioles outfielder Adam Jones was back in the starting lineup after leaving Tuesday night’s game against Minnesota with an illness.

Jones was starting in center field Wednesday night after going to a local hospital for tests a night earlier.

“I feel 100 percent,” Jones said before taking the field for pregame activity. “Last night I just didn’t feel like myself.”

Jones said doctors found nothing specific.

“I think it was more eliminating a lot of things than anything else,” said manager Buck Showalter. “I think a lot of it was dehydration. Sometimes we lose sight of what a challenge physically a baseball season is.”

Showalter said Jones’ condition is something he has stayed on top of throughout the day.

“I’ll ask him again after batting practice and again before the game. We’re ready to go either way.”

Jones has played in 125 of Baltimore’s 127 games this season, batting .296 with 22 home runs and a team-leading 77 RBIs.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

By Jeff Sullivan

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Aug 18, 2011 – The Baltimore Orioles are a Major League Baseball team. As such, they generally want as many people to watch them as possible. More attention means more popularity, and it means more money, which can aid the organization in its hunt to remain competitive. Players like Mike Gonzalez and Vladimir Guerrero won’t sign themselves.

However, Wednesday afternoon, the Orioles played a road matinee against the Oakland Athletics. This was a game that pretty much nobody watched, and for that, in this instance, the Orioles were thankful. Why were they thankful? Because over the course of the game, they looked really stupid. It’s one thing to be seen losing. The Orioles are very frequently seen losing. It’s quite another to be seen screwing everything up. That’s just embarrassing. It benefits nobody to be seen like that.

Orioles: What a terrible game we played.
Orioles: What were the ratings?
Ratings Guy: Three.
Orioles: Three?
Ratings Guy: Three people watched.
Orioles: Whew!

Much to the Orioles’ chagrin, though, I was paying attention, and I just can’t leave this game unacknowledged. There was too much in there for me to sweep under the carpet. So let’s go to the highlight reel! I hope this doesn’t make the Orioles too mad.

(1)

The Orioles very quickly darted out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first. They were trailing before they recorded an out in the bottom. Part of it had to do with the pitching, but part of it had to do with Nolan Reimold, right here, doing this with the bases loaded. Reimold got caught like a flat-footed hockey defender. The line they say in hockey is that a defender has to keep his feet moving, and though that might look weird in a baseball game, Reimold might want to consider it, because it couldn’t possibly make him look more stupid than he did on this double. This was scored as a double.

(2)

- B. Allen tripled to deep center, B. Allen scored on center fielder A. Jones’ fielding error

There are actually three mistakes here. Adam Jones obviously fails to pick up the baseball the first time, and then he kicks it like an idiot, but before either of those, Jones played this ball really poorly off the wall. It should’ve been a double. Because it bounced back over Jones’ head, it was a triple. Because Jones subsequently couldn’t pick up a ball built specifically to fit easily in a human hand, it was a triple and a one-base error that allowed the batter to score. The batter was Brandon Allen, who is listed as the third-heaviest player on Oakland’s entire team..

(3)

There are three things that I absolutely love about this:

• That foul grounder hit Jason Berken in the face in front of everyone
• This is included as an official MLB.com game highlight
• The ball wouldn’t have hit Berken in the face if he hadn’t tried to make a play on it for no reason. When infielders take balls to the face because of funny hops, you just have to shrug it off, because it’s part of the job. Getting hit in the face is not part of Jason Berken’s job. Certainly not when he’s sitting down in the bullpen. Jason Berken was responsible for Jason Berken getting hit in the face.

(4)

You have to watch that whole clip. This was the game’s final play. What’s funny is that it begins with Oakland’s David DeJesus looking stupid. But DeJesus redeems himself, and it’s the Orioles who end up looking stupid instead.

- N. Markakis singled to shallow right, R. Andino scored, B. Davis to third, B. Davis out at home, N. Markakis to second

Maybe it isn’t fair to say the Orioles look stupid on this one. It was, after all, a close play at home, and that was the potential tying run. But even if the Orioles don’t look stupid, they look bad, because they got the tying run thrown out at home for the final out of the game with Adam Jones waiting on deck. Jones has been the team’s best hitter.

And B. Davis? B. Davis is Blake Davis. He entered the game moments earlier to pinch-run for J.J. Hardy. Blake Davis was specifically selected to do one thing, and he made the last out doing it.

Read More: Adam Jones (CF – BAL), Nolan Reimold (DH – BAL), Blake Davis (2B – BAL), Jason Berken (P – BAL), Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles

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BALTIMORE – For five innings, the Baltimore Orioles were rendered helpless by Brandon Morrow. No walks, no hits, not a single baserunner against the Toronto right-hander.

Then came the sixth.

Adam Jones hit a three-run homer and the Orioles rallied to beat the Blue Jays 6-2 Saturday night.

Chris Tillman (3-4) allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings to earn his first win since May 11. Called up from triple-A Norfolk before the game for his third stint with Baltimore, the right-hander struck out five and walked one to help Baltimore secure its third win in 11 games.

Morrow breezed through the first five innings, striking out five and allowing only three balls out of the infield. Forty-four of his 56 pitches during that span were strikes.

In the sixth, however, the Orioles turned a two-run deficit into a 4-2 lead.

Nolan Reimold started the uprising by lining a 3-1 pitch up the middle. That did more than just break up the perfect game; it gave Baltimore hope.

“Usually what happens in a situation like that, if you can just get something positive, the first hit seems to relax everybody and puts him in the stretch for the first time all night, basically,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

Or, as Jones put it: “We started to see him more than once. He was dealing, but all good things come to an end.”

One out after Reimold’s hit, Blake Davis singled to right, and Reimold came in when shortstop Yunel Escobar mishandled a potential double-play grounder off the bat of Robert Andino.

After Nick Markakis fouled out, Jones hit an opposite-field drive over the 25-foot scoreboard in right field.

Jones thrust his right arm upward as he saw the ball clear the wall, then clapped as he approached second base. It was his 20th homer of the season, a new career high.

“I rarely show emotion hitting home runs, but Tillman battled his tail off,” Jones said. “We haven’t really put up some runs lately, so it was good to take the lead. It was a big home run for the team and for myself, but more importantly it was for Tillman.”

Baltimore pulled away with a two-run eighth. Josh Bell walked and scored on a throwing error by centre-fielder Colby Rasmus, and Jones chased Morrow with an RBI single.

“I missed maybe three pitches all night, two of them in a row to Adam Jones,” Morrow lamented.

Morrow (8-6) gave up six runs, three earned, and four hits in 7 2-3 innings. It was only the seventh time in his 20 starts this season that the right-hander allowed more than three runs.

“I thought Brandon had outstanding stuff tonight, he was dominant. A lot of power, a lot of strikes,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “Unfortunately in the one inning we give them the extra out when the ball skips off the wet surface and stays under Yunel’s glove and ends up bringing Jones to the plate in that inning.”

The start of the game was delayed by rain for one hour 11 minutes. It was raining when the game started and for much of the night.

Rasmus homered for the Blue Jays, his first since coming over from St. Louis as part of an eight-player trade on July 27. But Toronto was unable to do much else against Tillman, who raised his career record to 7-14.

“I had fastball command throughout, which was a good thing. And I found the cutter again. It came back to me,” Tillman said. “I was able to throw the change-up for strikes when I needed to.”

After Rasmus staked Toronto to a 1-0 lead in the second, Tillman retired the next 10 batters — a string that ended with a leadoff walk to Jose Molina in the sixth. A single and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs before Molina scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Bautista.

NOTES: Baltimore did not strand a runner and Toronto had only two left on. … To clear room for Tillman, Baltimore placed RHP Jake Arrieta on the 15-day disabled list. … Orioles SS J.J. Hardy (ankle) and 1B Chris Davis (shoulder) both missed a second straight game. … The Orioles send Alfredo Simon (3-4) to the mound in the series finale against Toronto lefty Ricky Romero (9-9), who leads the Blue Jays in innings (151), earned-run average (2.98) and wins. Romero is 5-1 in his last seven starts against Baltimore. … The Orioles improved to 1-4 against Toronto in games started by Tillman.

BALTIMORE (AP)—For five innings, the Baltimore Orioles were rendered
helpless by Brandon Morrow(notes). No walks, no hits, not a single baserunner against
the Toronto right-hander

Then came the sixth.

Adam Jones(notes) hit a three-run homer and the Orioles rallied to beat the Blue
Jays 6-2 Saturday night.

Chris Tillman(notes) (3-4) allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings to
earn his first win since May 11. Called up from Triple-A Norfolk before the game
for his third stint with Baltimore, the right-hander struck out five and walked
one to help Baltimore secure its third win in 11 games.

Morrow breezed through the first five innings, striking out five and
allowing only three balls out of the infield. Forty-four of his 56 pitches
during that span were strikes.

In the sixth, however, the Orioles turned a two-run deficit into a 4-2 lead.

Nolan Reimold(notes) started the uprising by lining a 3-1 pitch up the middle. That
did more than just break up the perfect game; it gave Baltimore hope.

“Usually what happens in a situation like that, if you can just get
something positive, the first hit seems to relax everybody and puts him in the
stretch for the first time all night, basically,” Orioles manager Buck
Showalter said.

Or, as Jones put it: “We started to see him more than once. He was dealing,
but all good things come to an end.”

One out after Reimold’s hit, Blake Davis(notes) singled to right, and Reimold came
in when shortstop Yunel Escobar(notes) mishandled a potential double-play grounder off
the bat of Robert Andino(notes).

After Nick Markakis(notes) fouled out, Jones hit an opposite-field drive over the
25-foot scoreboard in right field.

Jones thrust his right arm upward as he saw the ball clear the wall, then
clapped as he approached second base. It was his 20th homer of the season, a new
career high.

“I rarely show emotion hitting home runs, but Tillman battled his tail
off,” Jones said. “We haven’t really put up some runs lately, so it was good
to take the lead. It was a big home run for the team and for myself, but more
importantly it was for Tillman.”

Baltimore pulled away with a two-run eighth. Josh Bell(notes) walked and scored on
a throwing error by center fielder Colby Rasmus(notes), and Jones chased Morrow with an
RBI single.

“I missed maybe three pitches all night, two of them in a row to Adam
Jones,” Morrow lamented.

Morrow (8-6) gave up six runs, three earned, and four hits in 7 2-3 innings.
It was only the seventh time in his 20 starts this season that the right-hander
allowed more than three runs.

“I thought Brandon had outstanding stuff tonight, he was dominant. A lot
of power, a lot of strikes,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said.
“Unfortunately in the one inning we give them the extra out when the ball skips
off the wet surface and stays under Yunel’s glove and ends up bringing Jones to
the plate in that inning.”

The start of the game was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 11 minutes. It was
raining when the game started and for much of the night.

Rasmus homered for the Blue Jays, his first since coming over from St. Louis
as part of an eight-player trade on July 27. But Toronto was unable to do much
else against Tillman, who raised his career record to 7-14.

“I had fastball command throughout, which was a good thing. And I found the
cutter again. It came back to me,” Tillman said. “I was able to throw the
changeup for strikes when I needed to.”

After Rasmus staked Toronto to a 1-0 lead in the second, Tillman retired the
next 10 batters—a string that ended with a leadoff walk to Jose Molina(notes) in the
sixth. A single and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs before Molina
scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Bautista(notes).

NOTES: Baltimore did not strand a runner and Toronto had only two left on.
… To clear room for Tillman, Baltimore placed RHP Jake Arrieta(notes) on the 15-day
disabled list. … Orioles SS J.J. Hardy(notes) (ankle) and 1B Chris Davis(notes) (shoulder)
both missed a second straight game. … The Orioles send Alfredo Simon(notes) (3-4) to
the mound in the series finale against Toronto lefty Ricky Romero(notes) (9-9), who
leads the Blue Jays in innings (151), ERA (2.98) and wins. Romero is 5-1 in his
last seven starts against Baltimore. … The Orioles improved to 1-4 against
Toronto in games started by Tillman.

Adam Jones hit a three-run homer and the Orioles rallied to beat the Blue Jays 6-2 Saturday night.

Chris Tillman (3-4) allowed two runs and four hits over seven innings to earn his first win since May 11. Called up from Triple-A Norfolk before the game for his third stint with Baltimore, the right-hander struck out five and walked one to help Baltimore secure its third win in 11 games.

Morrow breezed through the first five innings, striking out five and allowing only three balls out of the infield. Forty-four of his 56 pitches during that span were strikes.

In the sixth, however, the Orioles turned a two-run deficit into a 4-2 lead.

Nolan Reimold started the uprising by lining a 3-1 pitch up the middle. That did more than just break up the perfect game; it gave Baltimore hope.

“Usually what happens in a situation like that, if you can just get something positive, the first hit seems to relax everybody and puts him in the stretch for the first time all night, basically,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

Or, as Jones put it: “We started to see him more than once. He was dealing, but all good things come to an end.”

One out after Reimold’s hit, Blake Davis singled to right, and Reimold came in when shortstop Yunel Escobar mishandled a potential double-play grounder off the bat of Robert Andino.

After Nick Markakis fouled out, Jones hit an opposite-field drive over the 25-foot scoreboard in right field.

Jones thrust his right arm upward as he saw the ball clear the wall, then clapped as he approached second base. It was his 20th homer of the season, a new career high.

“I rarely show emotion hitting home runs, but Tillman battled his tail off,” Jones said. “We haven’t really put up some runs lately, so it was good to take the lead. It was a big home run for the team and for myself, but more importantly it was for Tillman.”

Baltimore pulled away with a two-run eighth. Josh Bell walked and scored on a throwing error by center fielder Colby Rasmus, and Jones chased Morrow with an RBI single.

“I missed maybe three pitches all night, two of them in a row to Adam Jones,” Morrow lamented.

Morrow (8-6) gave up six runs, three earned, and four hits in 7 2-3 innings. It was only the seventh time in his 20 starts this season that the right-hander allowed more than three runs.

“I thought Brandon had outstanding stuff tonight, he was dominant. A lot of power, a lot of strikes,” Blue Jays manager John Farrell said. “Unfortunately in the one inning we give them the extra out when the ball skips off the wet surface and stays under Yunel’s glove and ends up bringing Jones to the plate in that inning.”

The start of the game was delayed by rain for 1 hour, 11 minutes. It was raining when the game started and for much of the night.

Rasmus homered for the Blue Jays, his first since coming over from St. Louis as part of an eight-player trade on July 27. But Toronto was unable to do much else against Tillman, who raised his career record to 7-14.

“I had fastball command throughout, which was a good thing. And I found the cutter again. It came back to me,” Tillman said. “I was able to throw the changeup for strikes when I needed to.”

After Rasmus staked Toronto to a 1-0 lead in the second, Tillman retired the next 10 batters — a string that ended with a leadoff walk to Jose Molina in the sixth. A single and a hit batter loaded the bases with no outs before Molina scored on a sacrifice fly by Jose Bautista.

NOTES: Baltimore did not strand a runner and Toronto had only two left on. … To clear room for Tillman, Baltimore placed RHP Jake Arrieta on the 15-day disabled list. … Orioles SS J.J. Hardy (ankle) and 1B Chris Davis (shoulder) both missed a second straight game. … The Orioles send Alfredo Simon (3-4) to the mound in the series finale against Toronto lefty Ricky Romero (9-9), who leads the Blue Jays in innings (151), ERA (2.98) and wins. Romero is 5-1 in his last seven starts against Baltimore. … The Orioles improved to 1-4 against Toronto in games started by Tillman.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.