Slumping Jonathan Schoop is out of the Orioles' lineup for today's game against the Angels. Steve Wilkerson is starting at second base with Schoop's average down to .197. Tim Beckham is leading off. Danny Valencia remains in right field and Chris Davis is batting seventh against left-hander Tyler Skaggs. Caleb Joseph is catching. For the Orioles Tim Beckham 3B Adam Jones CF Manny Machado SS Danny Valencia RF Trey Mancini LF Mark Trumbo DH Chris Davis 1B Steve Wilkerson 2B Caleb Joseph...

PHILADELPHIA - Erick Fedde was well aware of the situation. He had started seven previous big league games and had yet to emerge with a win in any of them. "I mean, it was a thought," the rookie right-hander admitted. "Not something ever when I was out on the field. Maybe when I get back home. But it's really nice to get that first one out of the way." Pitcher wins are a strange stat, and often they aren't at all a reflection of a pitcher's actual performance. But they do still mean...

Double-A Bowie third baseman Ryan Mountcastle might be making up for some lost time with his bat. He didn't begin his season at Bowie until May 10, but as June comes to an end, his bat has heated up for the Baysox. On June 23 at Richmond, Mountcastle went 6-for-7 in a doubleheader. It was part of a run where he had 12 hits in 16 at-bats. And that was part of a stretch where, over his last 10 games, he is batting .447 (17-for-38). It raised his season OPS from .763 to .842. The 21-year-old...

Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph can frame pitches and critique prospects. He just doesn't do it at the same time. Manager Buck Showalter sought Joseph's opinion in the past while the veteran went down to the minors to rehab an injury. He stated yesterday that he did the same earlier this season while Joseph was playing at Triple-A Norfolk. The information must have come in handy with the Orioles selecting the contracts of pitchers Ryan Meisinger and Paul Fry, who made their major league debuts...

PHILADELPHIA - Answering a question this afternoon after his team's dramatic drop in home runs during this long and frustrating month, Davey Martinez offered up a different cure for the Nationals' offensive woes. "If you've noticed the days we've actually had good at-bats, we've hit a lot of balls up the middle," the manager said. "And the approach was like that. There's a lot of hits up the middle and in the gaps. So just stay there. They're going to hit home runs, I know they are....

David Hess was introduced the Mike Trout tonight. Not on the field during batting practice or in the portion of the tunnel that connects the clubhouses. From 60 feet, six inches away in the top of the first inning. The advance meeting didn't include instructions that Hess feed Trout a belt-high fastball over the plate. It just worked out that way. Trout spun around and watched its flight - over the corner of the Orioles' bullpen near the batters eye, an estimated 408 feet with an exit...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals entered play tonight dead-last in the majors with only 12 home runs hit this month. Two innings later, they've taken over sole possession of 29th place, and they're only one away from moving into a tie for 28th. Three big blasts by Trea Turner, Juan Soto and Anthony Rendon have brought this previously moribund lineup to life and allowed the Nats to open up a commanding 7-0 lead on the Phillies after only two innings. The Nationals roughed up Nick Pivetta, with...

Well, one of these teams will snap a losing streak tonight when the Orioles host the Los Angeles Angels to begin a three-game weekend series. The Orioles (23-57) have lost five in a row and the Angels (41-41) have lost six straight. The O's reach the 81-game midpoint of the season after this game. With a best-case scenario of 24 wins then, the O's would be on a pace to finish with a 48-114 record. Baltimore has lost 16 of 20, and 25 of its past 33 games. The Orioles are 11-27 at home with...

The news that reliever Darren O'Day sustained a Grade 2 tear in his left hamstring, which an MRI revealed, was viewed in a positive light because he apparently could avoid surgery. However, O'Day sought a second opinion today and seems more likely to undergo a procedure. The Orioles transferred O'Day to the 60-day disabled list today to create an opening on their 40-man roster while selecting the contracts of pitchers Ryan Meisinger and Paul Fry from Triple-A Norfolk. "We knew it was a...

PHILADELPHIA - Ryan Zimmerman took the unusual step this afternoon of walking into the visitors' bullpen at Citizens Bank Park with a bat in hand. The purpose: To stand in the batter's box as both Max Scherzer and Gio Gonzalez threw pitches during their standard between-starts bullpen session. "Just trying to see pitches as much as I can," said Zimmerman, who has been on the disabled list with a strained oblique muscle since May 12. "So when it is time to come back, I've already seen as...