Sunday Bird Droppings

Streaking Athletics cruise past Orioles 6-1 - Yahoo! Sports
"Yoenis Cespedes and Chris Carter hit two-run homers to back an effective pitching performance by Bartolo Colon, and Oakland beat the Baltimore Orioles 6-1 Saturday night for its ninth win in 10 games."

School of Roch: Ford expected to join Orioles tomorrow
"Needing a right-handed hitter and a deeper bench, the Orioles are prepared to purchase outfielder Lew Ford's contract from Triple-A Norfolk tomorrow and add him to the 25- and 40-man rosters. Ford is batting .331/.390/.550 with 14 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 40 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 62 games at Norfolk."

Thome out of lineup due to neck spasms | orioles.com: News
"Jim Thome was not in Saturday's starting lineup, as the Orioles' designated hitter woke up with neck spasms that the team will try to calm down with anti-inflammatory medication and rest."

Wieters rests sore biceps for second straight day | orioles.com: News
"Matt Wieters was out of the Orioles' lineup for the second consecutive game on Saturday, but the 26-year-old catcher was optimistic he would be back starting on Sunday."

O's Brian Roberts began a rehab stint on Saturday | MLB.com: News
"Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts began a rehab assignment for short-season Class A Aberdeen on Saturday night as he tries to avoid surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip. The assignment -- which is a maximum of 20 days for position players -- could be as short as two days, according to manager Buck Showalter."

Face-off: Orioles shouldn't sacrifice their future - Carroll County Times: Bob Blubaugh
"Sure, the rotation could really use Matt Garza or Zack Greinke or Ryan Dempster or Josh Johnson, but chances are they can’t get them without dealing Machado or Bundy. They can’t even consider trading those two and probably shouldn’t part with any organizational top-10 prospect. A positional player like Hunter Pence or Chase Headley wouldn’t cost as much, but caution is needed."

Escat rides wave of success with Shorebirds | The Daily Times
"I usually come in during the later innings, so I kind of got to fill up the strike zone," Gene Escat said. "Try to get things going, don't walk anybody or try not to walk anybody and just do what I know how to do. I try to stick under 15 pitches or less, get the leadoff man out and just get ahead in the count. Try to do things that get outs, make them make contact so my defense can get to work."