The Orioles started this 10-game homestand getting swept three straight by the Chicago Cubs. They need a win today to avoid ending it being swept three by Houston. Astros hitters have produced 31 hits and six homers the last two nights in 8-7 and 8-4 wins over the Orioles. They are 5-0 this season and have won eight in a row over the Orioles. Right-hander Dylan Bundy (9-8, 4.18 ERA) makes his second start of the second half this afternoon, his 20th on the year and his 11th at Oriole...

With an RBI surge this week, the Orioles' Jonathan Schoop now ranks third in the American League RBI race. Nelson Cruz of Seattle is first with 75, Aaron Judge of New York is second with 73 and Schoop comes next at 69. Schoop is on some hitting tear. He has now homered in three straight games and has an RBI in six straight games. He has had multiple RBIs in five straight games, recording 14 RBIs in those five games. Over the current six-game stretch with at least one RBI, Schoop is 10-for-25...

Hyun Soo Kim gets a rare start today, serving as the designated hitter as the Orioles try to avoid being swept by the Astros. Mark Trumbo is in right field and Caleb Joseph is catching. Adam Jones is 9-for-23 with two doubles, three home runs, nine RBIs and nine runs scored in his last five games. The Astros placed rookie Colin Moran on the 10-day disabled list with a facial fracture sustained last night on a foul ball. They recalled infielder Tyler White. For the Orioles Adam Jones CFManny...

PHOENIX - Already dealing with a thin outfield following the long-term injuries to two starters and their primary backup, the Nationals now may find themselves in a full-fledged outfield crisis for today's series finale against the Diamondbacks. Ryan Raburn is going on the bereavement list today following his grandfather's death. And Chris Heisey may need to go on the disabled list after tweaking his groin during a key triple in Saturday night's 4-3 victory at Chase Field. Even if Heisey can...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter wrote Caleb Joseph's name into Wednesday night's lineup against the Rangers, then switched to Welington Castillo on Thursday. He went back to Joseph Friday night in the series opener against the Astros and selected Castillo last night. An early afternoon game today most likely will put Joseph behind the plate. No quick turnaround for Castillo. For Showalter, it's nice to have catching choices. Castillo began last night with eight hits in his last 18 at-bats,...

Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop made his first All-Star game earlier this month. Lately, each night he continues to show us why he got that honor. Schoop hits a lot of ropes lately. He has now homered in three straight games and has an RBI in six straight games. He has had multiple RBIs in five straight games, recording 14 RBIs in those five games. Over this six-game stretch with at least one RBI, Schoop is 10-for-25 (.400) with three home runs and 15 RBIs. Going back six games he has...

PHOENIX - There are two traits required to pitch the eighth and ninth innings in the big leagues. The obvious one is stuff, the exceptional repertoire of pitches that gives a guy the best chance to retire hitters with the game on the line. But the other one, many believe, is more important. There's no one word for it, and some of them aren't clean enough to use on a family website, but let's just use the term Dusty Baker used tonight in describing why Ryan Madson and Sean Doolittle were able...

On the same night that executive vice president Dan Duquette told season-ticket holders at Camden Yards that the Orioles still could make a run at a playoff berth, two home runs by the Astros in the sixth inning delivered the loudest message. Marwin Gonzalez's pinch-hit three-run shot off Darren O'Day completed a bizarre series of events in the inning and pointed the Astros toward an 8-4 victory over the Orioles before an announced crowd of 32,524 at Camden Yards. The Orioles have lost two...

PHOENIX - Others in the Nationals lineup may be slumping a bit right now. Bryce Harper most certainly is not. The slugger continued his recent torrid stretch at the plate tonight, blasting a towering home run off Diamondbacks rookie Anthony Banda in the top of the first to give the Nationals a quick 1-0 lead at Chase Field. Harper's homer against the lefty, who is making his major league debut, landed on the concourse that sits high above the pool in right-center field here. No official...

PHOENIX - It's no secret Ryan Zimmerman has been in a prolonged funk at the plate, masked only by the MVP-caliber first 2 1/2 months of his season, a start that allows him to take the field tonight at Chase Field still sporting a .319 batting average and .939 OPS. That batting average, though, stood at .372 back on June 13, his OPS at 1.140. In the five weeks since, he has hit a scant .210 with a .528 OPS, only one homer and three doubles. Zimmerman knows this. He doesn't like it. But he also...