Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop didn't lobby to be included in today's lineup because he already knew the plan. Manager Buck Showalter talked to Schoop, whose average is down to .197, about sitting out a few games and getting an additional break with Monday's off-day. Schoop will play Tuesday night in Philadelphia. "We had a long conversation yesterday about what he and I ... he always has input on it," Showalter said. "Jon's not going anywhere. He's going to figure this out and...

Jonathan Schoop is out of the Orioles lineup again today, but manager Buck Showalter said the second baseman will start Tuesday night's series opener in Philadelphia. Rookie Steve Wilkerson gets another start at second base. Outfielder Colby Rasmus is out of the lineup due to illness. Reliever Darren O'Day said he'll undergo surgery on his left hamstring "as soon as possible" in Baltimore. Making his third injury rehab start last night, Chris Tillman allowed five runs and eight hits with...

After finishing the month of June with just one home win and no wins versus any American League teams, the Orioles begin July today looking to avoid being swept in three straight by the Los Angeles Angels. The Orioles (23-59) went 6-20 in June, which included a 1-12 home record and 0-15 mark versus AL teams. The Orioles have lost 7-1 and 6-2 games in this series. They took a 2-1 lead to the eighth yesterday, but allowed five runs in that inning to fall to 0-5 this year versus the Angels and...

PHILADELPHIA - As is the case across much of the country today, it is blazing hot here in Philly. Temperatures are expected to approach triple digits this afternoon, making for quite an uncomfortable setting at Citizens Bank Park as the Nationals wrap up their four-game series with the Phillies and try to get July off to a positive start after a bad June. There are some interesting nuggets in today's lineup. Bryce Harper and Juan Soto have essentially swapped swaps, with Soto batting third and...

Dave Sims is the television voice of the Seattle Mariners. He has been so for a dozen years. Our friendship goes back to our days in New York when he was doing an NBC nightly sports talk show and I was doing the Mets and New Jersey Devils. I am very happy it is a friendship that has endured. When in Baltimore recently, he graciously offered us comments on his favorite book, "The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt" by Edmund Morris. Sims is a long time consistent reader, particularly history. We spent...

"The Razor's Edge" by W. Somerset Maugham was published in 1944 and sold over 3 million copies, remaining on the best seller list for a year and a half. Many consider this to be Maugham at his best. Maugham moved from fact to fiction in his stories effortlessly. So many of his works carry pieces of himself. That may be true for all writers, but Maugham is more forward in these presentations than most. He wrote in 1938: "Fact and fiction are so intermingled in my work that now, looking back...

PHILADELPHIA - June has come to an end, and not soon enough for a Nationals club that just went 9-16 in the last month. The calendar change also coincides with the halfway point of the regular season. Yes, the Nats have played 81 games now. And I'm not sure anyone expected their record at this juncture to be 42-39. That's simply not going to cut it. Eighty-four wins almost certainly isn't getting them into the playoffs. To get to 90, they'll have to play .593 ball the rest of the way, which...

They were on competing teams in the College World Series finals, which ended Thursday night. But very soon, Oregon State shortstop Cadyn Grenier and right-handed pitcher Blaine Knight of Arkansas will be on the same team. They will be Orioles and start their pro careers on the O's farm. The Orioles have reached an agreement on a signing bonus with Grenier. He was their second draft pick, taken No. 37 overall in Competitive Balance Round A. The slot value for that pick is $1,923,500. The...

The Orioles are in a race to finish the season with more wins than reset buttons. First baseman Chris Davis sat out eight games while trying to work through his offensive issues, taking early batting practice and advice from hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh and vice president of baseball operations Brady Anderson. Yesterday's lineup didn't include second baseman Jonathan Schoop, whose average dipped to .197, its lowest point since April 2. Manager Buck Showalter suggested that Schoop also could...

PHILADELPHIA - When Chip Hale asked Davey Martinez for tonight's lineup, the Nationals manager looked at his bench coach with a skeptical eye. Uh, they scored 17 runs and launched seven homers Friday night. They were going with the exact same lineup tonight, no need to ask. Past success, especially fleeting past success, of course does not guarantee future success. Martinez knew this, but he also knew you don't tempt the baseball gods after a game like that. So he instructed Hale to fill out...