ANAHEIM, Calif. - On his 26th birthday, Mike Trout hit a huge homer. Moments later, 25-year-old Manny Machado trumped him. With the game tied 2-2 and the bases loaded with two outs in the top of the seventh, Machado hit a rocket grand slam to left to provide a 6-2 lead. The Orioles won by that score tonight over the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They started a 10-game West Coast trip in impressive fashion and moved to within 1 ½ games of the second AL wild card spot. They also get back to...

With the game tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth and a man in scoring position, it was a pretty obvious choice which pinch-hitter Nationals manager Dusty Baker would go to. He went with pinch-hitter Adam Lind. All Lind has done this season is hit .314 with three homers and 14 RBIs in the eighth inning. In the last three innings of a game this season, Lind was batting .382 with four doubles, five homers and 21 RBIs. The inning began with a Wilmer Difo base hit. After a perfect sacrifice...

Six days ago in Miami, Max Scherzer threw one warm-up pitch to begin the second inning way outside and quickly walked off the mound towards the dugout. Seeing their ace pitcher in discomfort, manager Dusty Baker, Nationals players and fans were concerned about a worst-case scenario. When a pitcher as strong and resilient as Scherzer leaves before the second inning begins, in a game where he had hit a home run himself, it has to be pretty bad, doesn't it? It turned out to be a neck spasm. This...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - During his pregame media session today, Orioles manager Buck Showalter spent some time talking up his middle infielders tonight - second baseman Jonathan Schoop and shortstop Tim Beckham. He had praise for Beckham, the latest American League Player of the Week announced today. He wondered if more praise should be forthcoming for Schoop and if he will be in the hunt for some postseason awards. Here is Buck on Beckham, who went 14-for-24 with three doubles, a triple and three...

The Orioles finally are back at .500, they're 1 1/2 games behind for the second wild card and FanGraphs now puts their playoff chances at 11 percent. It's a long season, folks. Buckle up and enjoy the ride. Craig Gentry stole third base twice in the series opener against the Tigers last week at Camden Yards, which left people scrambling to find out the last time that an Orioles player did it in the same game. Or maybe I was the only one curious about it. Anyway, Corey Patterson was the last...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said he was asked to take part in a pre-game ceremony tonight honoring the life of Dan Baylor. The former Oriole and Angel passed away today at 68 after a 14-year battle with multiple myeloma. Baylor spent six of his 19 seasons with the Orioles after they selected him in the second round of the 1967 draft. He was named American League Most Valuable Player with the Angels in 1979, his team losing to the Orioles in the AL Championship Series....

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Orioles infielder Tim Beckham doesn't seem too interested in trying to analyze his stunning start with the Orioles. But after going 14-for-24 (.583) in his first six games with the team, today Beckham was named the latest American League Player of the Week. One thing that Beckham will credit for some of his success, he's played every day since arriving in Baltimore. "It's a good feeling, man," Beckham said this afternoon in the visiting clubhouse. "It's a good feeling...

Already this start is going better for Max Scherzer than his last outing. Minus his very own three-run homer, of course. Scherzer has allowed only a Derek Dietrich double in the second inning so far. After three innings, he has struck out four hitters. No sign that his neck is bothering him at all. Scherzer had to leave his last start against the Marlins in the second inning after suffering a neck spasm. The Marlins starter this time around, George Mason product Chris O'Grady, got injured...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter is sticking with Joey Rickard in right field for tonight's series opener against the Angels in Anaheim. Seth Smith is in left field. Welington Castillo is catching. Opponents are 3-for-32 against Dylan Bundy with runners in scoring position and two outs. For the Orioles Adam Jones CF Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Chris Davis 1B Trey Mancini DH Tim Beckham SS Seth Smith LF Welington Castillo C Joey Rickard RF Dylan Bundy RHP For the Angels Cameron Maybin LF...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - With a road record of 20-33 for the season, the Orioles play in Anaheim tonight to begin a three-game series versus the Los Angeles Angels. It is the first stop of a 10-game, three-city road trip. It is an important stretch for the Orioles, who are in fourth place in the AL East (7 ½ games out). They are 2 ½ games back for the second AL wild card spot. At 55-56, the Orioles look to get to .500 for the first time since June 29. They have won two in a row, seven of nine...