After last night's rain-delayed loss by the Orioles to the Tampa Bay Rays, the Birds host the Rays tonight in the second game of this four-game series, which continues through the weekend. The Orioles (41-87) are 2-2 so far on this seven-game homestand, which began Monday. They have lost nine of their last 11 and 14 of 17 games and are 20-45 at home. O's starters have recorded just three quality starts in the past 25 games with a 7.30 ERA in that span. The O's Hanser Alberto ranks fourth in...

The Orioles have subtracted 11 individuals from their scouting department and front office, with executive vice president and general manager Mike Elias confirming the number but offering little in the way of names. Elias said Brady Anderson remains in the organization in an advisory role, primarily with strength and conditioning. The executive title was removed in spring training. Kent Qualls remains as director of minor league operations and Elias is retaining assistant director of amateur...

Orioles outfielder DJ Stewart said one thing he cannot do the rest of this season is try to make up for lost time. He's had two stints on the injured list with a right ankle injury and concussion since he made his O's debut this year on May 28. That first call-up followed his torrid May for Triple-A Norfolk. He hit .457/.518/.886 in 20 games. But about a week later with the Orioles he was injured and didn't get another big league at-bat for about two months. Now he's trying to recapture his...

CHICAGO - They played (in the rain) in Pittsburgh last night, then flew to Chicago and put their heads on their hotel pillows around 3 a.m. Eastern time. Seven hours later, they began filing into Wrigley Field for the opener of a weekend series against one of the best home teams in the majors. The Nationals had every right to complain about the disadvantageous scheduling. Their veterans had every right to sit out this afternoon's game. Nobody would have faulted them had they sleepwalked...

For the third straight year, Orioles players and broadcasters will join the rest of Major League Baseball in donning special Players' Weekend jereys. All 30 teams will wear all black or all white, with the Orioles opting for the head-to-toe black unis. Players' Weekend, held from Aug. 23-25, will also allow players to wear customized cleats, batting gloves and BP T-shirts to show off their styles and personalities. But the fun doesn't stop with the on-field looks. Five Orioles have also...

Chris Davis is in the Orioles lineup tonight for the first time in five games, with Trey Mancini going back to right field. DJ Stewart moves to left field and Anthony Santander is in center. Rio Ruiz is at third base. Jonathan Villar is the shortstop and Hanser Alberto is playing second base. Left-hander Ty Blach has allowed 11 earned runs (12 total) and 12 hits in 9 1/3 innings in his two starts with the Orioles. He's walked six batters and struck out 10. Blach has never faced the Rays....

CHICAGO - Max Scherzer completed his typical day-after-start routine at Wrigley Field with no setbacks, so he's good to make his next scheduled start as planned. But the Nationals ace reiterated that he's not all the way to his pre-injury form and that he'll likely need to approach the rest of his season with far more caution than he has in the past. "I'm not out of the woods," he said prior to the Nationals' series opener against the Cubs. "I've got to still take care of this, got to...

The Orioles have made more changes in their scouting department today, including the removal of Dean Albany and Nathan Showalter, according to industry sources. They also are replacing director of baseball operations Tripp Norton, per sources. Norton was hired from the Tigers organization in March 1998 as assistant director of minor league operations. He moved into his present role in January 2012. Norton and Brian Graham, who was fired as director of player development, represented the Orioles...

It is our great good fortune to have Pete Kerzel as the co-producer of Hitting the Books. Pete organizes the written portion of the blog, for which I am deeply grateful. Earlier this summer, you met co-producer Olivia Witherite, introducing her favorite read, "The Book Thief." Today, Pete joins us with his insight on a classic: "On the Road" by Jack Kerouac. Kerouac's book is more than a classic novel; it is a timeless work about a point in time, the subject matter of which rings true...

CHICAGO - The Nationals won't face a tougher turnaround this season than last night's game in Pittsburgh to this afternoon's game at Wrigley Field. We'll see how they look when they take the field in a few hours, but for what it's worth the entire lineup (sans pitcher) is the same as it was last night. Including Kurt Suzuki, who caught Max Scherzer last night and will catch Aníbal Sánchez today. This is an interesting stretch of games, because the Nationals will be facing four...