User:Marylandstater/sandbox2

March/April
On March 31, the Orioles won their 2014 regular season opener against the Boston Red Sox, but then proceeded to loose their next four games. After a full week and a 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees, the Orioles were in last place in the American League East and 3 games below .500. Orioles All-Star 3rd baseman Manny Machado, still recovering from off-season surgery, did not play in any games for the Orioles during the month of April and the Birds finished the month with 11 wins and 12 losses.

May
Tommy Hunter started the season as the Orioles closer and was succesful in 11 of his 12 save opportunites, but he blew 2 consecutive saves on May 10th and 13th and then was placed on the 15 day disabled listed. On May 11, the Orioles placed catcher Matt Wieters on the disabled list. Weiters was hitting over .300 and would ultimately be lost to the team for the entire season. The Orioles finsihed May with 15 wins and 15 losses but moved up to 3rd place in the American League East.

June
Adam Jones batted .348 with nine homers and 20 RBIs in June. The Birds finished the month with 16 wins and 12 losses, trailing the first-place Blue Jays by one game.

July
On Saturday July 5th, the Orioles split a double-header with the Boston Red Sox and moved into sole possession of first place in the American League East and would remain in first place for the rest of the season. By the All-Star break, the Orioles had increased their lead to 4 games and three Oriole players were voted by the fans to the American League squad: Matt Weiters (his third), Adam Jones (his fourth) and Nelson Cruz (his third).This marked the first time in club history that three Orioles were voted onto the American League squad in consecutive years.

August
Orioles 3rd baseman Machado injured his right knee on an awkward swing against the New York Yankees on August 11th. After going on the disabled list and trying to rest his knee, he decided to have his knee surgically repaired thus ending his season. The Orioles ended the month of August with four consecutive wins; increasing their lead in the American League East to 9 full games over the second place Yankees.

September
The Orioles started the month with a 6-4 loss to the Minnesota Twins but still maintained an 8 and 1/2 game lead over the second place Yankees. On September 7, the Orioles beat the Tampa Bay Rays 7-5; Nelson Cruz went 4-for-5 with two home runs and 7 RBIs. On September 12, Orioles' first baseman Chris Davis was suspended for 25 games for testing positive for amphetamine. Davis claimed he tested positive due to the use of adderall -- for which he previous had a "theraputic use exemption" but did not have for the 2014 season.