Imagine that you played nearly 1,000 minor league games, yet your phone was not ringing off the hook last winter when some players were scrambling for minor league jobs. But you eventually got one at Double-A Bowie with the Orioles. Then in June you got called up to the majors. Until then your MLB experience consisted of two games and six at-bats. But that call to the majors lasted just five days. Then nine days after being sent back to the minors, you are designated for assignment. You clear...

ATLANTA - Bryce Harper has made a concerted effort not to be ejected from a game this season, something that has happened at least once in each of his previous six big league seasons. And with only two weeks to go, he's been successful, though Laz Diaz certainly tested the slugger's newfound calm demeanor Friday night. Harper and Diaz jawed back and forth multiple times during the Nationals' 10-5 loss to the Braves, though truth be told the plate umpire was the more animated of the two. And...

With reliever Evan Phillips' return to the Orioles yesterday, the active roster holds six of the 15 players acquired in non-waiver deadline trades. Phillips is joined by Luis Ortiz, Jonathan Villar, Breyvic Valera, Cody Carroll and Josh Rogers. What does it tell manager Buck Showalter that six of the players are in Baltimore this weekend? Anything significant or just the media's attempt to unearth a story angle in the 147th game of the season? "I'm excited to see them, why they're well...

Orioles rookie pitcher Luis Ortiz tweaked his left hamstring tonight and could undergo an MRI in the morning to determine the severity of the injury and whether he'll become the latest starter to leave the rotation. Ortiz lasted only 1 2/3 innings in his first major league start before limping to the clubhouse. "He's had some issues with it before," said manager Buck Showalter following an 8-6 loss to the White Sox before an announced crowd of 18,265 at rainy Camden Yards. Trey Mancini...

ATLANTA - It was muggy at SunTrust Park tonight, no question about that. Muggy enough to cause Max Scherzer to sweat straight through his jersey and cap in only two innings? Yes. Still, the way he labored and looked as exhausted as he's ever going to look on a baseball diamond, it seemed fair to wonder if Scherzer was dealing with something else, if he simply wasn't feeling as well as he needed to feel to pitch in a big league game on a muggy Friday night. "Just the conditions," Scherzer...

When this series began, the Chicago White Sox had scored four runs or less for nine straight games. But by the fifth inning tonight, they had hit two homers and scored seven times. Chicago went on to beat the Orioles 8-6, holding off a late Baltimore comeback in the opener of a three-game series at Oriole Park. Both teams ended long losing streaks in their previous games, but Chicago emerges as the team with two straight wins after tonight's contest. The Orioles snapped a six-game losing...

Luis Ortiz's first major league start tonight didn't carry through the second inning. Ortiz came out of the game with an injury, perhaps sustained while trying to avoid a collision with Chris Davis. He faced one more batter, walking Yolmer Sánchez, and limped off the mound with assistant athletic trainer Mark Shires and pitching coach Roger McDowell. Manager Buck Showalter waited for Jimmy Yacabonis, who was rushed from the bullpen and given ample time to warm up. Yacabonis stranded two...

As the Orioles host the Chicago White Sox tonight to start a three-game series, O's right-hander Luis Ortiz will make his second big league appearance and his first as a starter. Ortiz was acquired from Milwaukee with Jonathan Villar and infielder Jean Carmona on July 31 when the Orioles traded Jonathan Schoop to the Brewers. On the farm this year, between Double-A Biloxi and Triple-A Norfolk, the 22-year-old Ortiz went 5-5 with a 3.70 ERA. Over 99 2/3 innings, he allowed 97 hits and 11 homers...

ATLANTA - Jeremy Hellickson said he only thinks of himself as a starter, not a reliever. And the Nationals will let the veteran right-hander do what he's always done - for at least the time being. Hellickson will start Saturday afternoon's game against the Braves, his first game appearance since he sprained his right wrist exactly one month earlier. Manager Davey Martinez had options for the rest of this weekend's series, but he chose Hellickson over rookie Jefry Rodriguez for Saturday's...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter believes that Andrew Cashner could make his next start, which falls on Monday against the Blue Jays if the veteran stays in turn. However, it depends on how Cashner gets through Saturday's workday at Camden Yards. Cashner received a cortisone injection in his left knee around 5 p.m. yesterday and needed 24 hours of inactivity before testing it. He underwent an MRI and was diagnosed with patellar tendon bursitis, which has bothered him for the past two to three...