CHICAGO - As of last night, the Orioles had not released their starting pitchers yet for the weekend series against Tampa Bay. But barring a huge surprise, right-hander David Hess will make his third major league start against the team he faced in his MLB debut. "Anytime you get out there it's a lot of fun," Hess said in looking forward to Friday. "Just to get another opportunity to kind of show what I can do means a lot to me. Sometimes the learning process is difficult. But through that...

CHICAGO - The night began with some promise for Orioles right-hander Alex Cobb. He had pitched to an ERA of 3.38 his previous four starts. He retired his seven batters faced. But when it turned against him, it turned fast. Cobb allowed six runs and eight hits over 3 2/3, as the Chicago White Sox beat the Orioles 11-1 at Guaranteed Rate Field. They have taken two of the first three in this series. The Orioles fall to 15-34 overall and 5-21 on the road, where they have lost 17 of their past...

As the Manny Machado trade rumors swirled at the Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., the White Sox were deemed as a potential partner based on the Orioles interest in some of their young pitching. In fact, the club was tabbed by multiple outlets as the frontrunner over the final days. Never mind that the White Sox were more inclined to keep right-handers Lucas Giolito and Michael Kopech. The sides met and proposals were discussed. And "frontrunner" status was bestowed upon the...

The result - a 3-1 loss to the Padres - was frustrating, no question. If the Nationals can take a step back and view today's game with a wider lens, though, they'll come away with a much more positive vibe. No, they didn't do nearly enough at the plate against Tyson Ross, Craig Stammen and Brad Hand, who combined to allow one run on seven hits. Yes, they could've played a crisper game in the field and prevented San Diego from scoring those runs. But Erick Fedde looked like a quality big...

CHICAGO - When the Orioles lineup came out today and Mark Trumbo was not in it, there was at least some reason to wonder if he was being benched after failing to catch a fly ball in the eighth last night that ignited a three-run game-winning rally for Chicago. But at the same time, you had to keep in mind that Trumbo went 4-for-4 Tuesday night and why take a hot bat out of the lineup? Well, Trumbo is being held out tonight due to a physical reason. "He banged his (right) knee, he thinks,...

The Nationals continue to get excellent starting pitching. But as has too often been the case, great starting pitching doesn't count for much without competent offense and defense. So even though Erick Fedde continued the rotation's strong run this afternoon over 5 2/3 impressive innings, the Nationals were left to stew over a 3-1 loss to the Padres because they managed only seven hits against Tyson Ross and San Diego's bullpen and also saw the decisive two runs score on a drive to deep...

Mark Trumbo had four hits last night, but he's out of the lineup for tonight's game against the White Sox. Danny Valencia is the designated hitter and Joey Rickard is in right field. Trumbo, who also failed to hold onto a fly ball in the eighth inning that sparked the White Sox's three-run rally, is 2-for-3 lifetime against right-hander Dylan Covey. Chris Davis is batting fifth again tonight. He's 2-for-31 with 15 strikeouts in his last eight games. Alex Cobb is coming off his first win as...

CHICAGO - The Orioles and Chicago White Sox have split a pair of 3-2 decisions to start a four-game series that continues tonight at Guaranteed Rate Field. At 15-33, the Orioles are 5-20 in road games, with losses in 16 of their past 18 away from Oriole Park. While they are 7-6 over the last 13 games, over a longer stretch they have lost 13 of 20 and 27 of the last 38 games. The Orioles didn't hit a homer last night after Manny Machado, Mark Trumbo and Adam Jones connected Monday night. The...

CHICAGO - The Orioles selected him in the sixth round of the 2011 First-Year Player Draft out of a high school in Knoxville, Tenn. They liked his bat a lot and signed Nicky Delmonico then to an overslot bonus of $1.525 million. But at the trade deadline in 2013, in a search for immediate relief help, he was traded to Milwaukee for veteran right-hander Francisco Rodriguez. He was the Orioles No. 4 ranked prospect at the time. Now Delmonico makes the Chicago White Sox clubhouse home. He signed...

He homered and singled in his first major league start. He singled and walked three times in his second major league start. So when it came time to figure out where to bat Juan Soto in his third major league start, Davey Martinez decided to throw a new challenge at the 19-year old: The No. 2 spot in the lineup. Soto will hit in that prime position today against the Padres, sandwiched in between Trea Turner and Bryce Harper in the latest display of confidence from the Nationals in a kid who was...