The hook came rather quickly today for Ubaldo Jiménez. So did the power that allowed the Orioles to recover, the letdown in the eighth and the subsequent response to it. Manager Buck Showalter called upon his bullpen with two outs in the third inning, four runs already on the board for the Mariners and Jiménez at 54 pitches. He didn't need to see anymore. A team can't rally for a win and extend its streak if it's giving up more runs than it scores. It says so in every book ever written...

Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has kept the Marlins off the board through three frames. Dee Gordon led off the game with an infield single but was caught stealing at second a few pitches later. J.T. Realmuto doubled in the second, but Strasburg recorded two more outs to get out of inning. Strasburg has one strikeout. Wilmer Difo and Anthony Rendon singled in the first. Marlins starter Adam Conley then got Ryan Zimmerman on a lineout and Howie Kendrick struck out. Michael A. Taylor...

It's been 18 days since Bryce Harper slipped on first base, hurtled awkwardly to the ground and had to be helped back to the dugout at Nationals Park. Eighteen days later, Harper is up and about, walking without a particularly noticeable limp. Which doesn't mean the star outfielder is anywhere close to returning to the Nationals lineup. Harper revealed today that in addition to the significant bone bruise and hyperextension in his left knee, he also strained his calf during the Aug. 12 play...

Manager Dusty Baker announced that the Nationals will push back right-hander Max Scherzer to Sunday's game in Milwaukee. Left-hander Gio Gonzalez will start Thursday's opener against the Brewers, while right-hander Tanner Roark gets the nod for Friday night. Baker said there is nothing physically wrong with Scherzer, but he wants to spread out his start, and for that matter other starters, for the rest of the regular season as they get ready for October. "It's late in the year," Baker...

Triple-A Norfolk's Pedro Álvarez is one of the players that the Orioles are discussing as part of their expanded September roster. Álvarez hasn't played in the majors this season. He's been named to the International League's postseason All-Star team as a designated hitter after batting .241 with 30 doubles, 26 home runs, and 89 RBIs in 135 games. The 26 home runs and 89 RBIs are the most by a Tides player since Norfolk became an Orioles affiliate in 2007. Álvarez leads the minors...

It never entirely feels like Stephen Strasburg is out of the woods from a previous injury, and there will always be those who hold their breath every time the right-hander throws a pitch. But based on what we've seen in two starts since his return from his latest elbow injury, he sure does look like he's 100 percent. Strasburg has been real sharp in both outings, holding the Padres and Astros to a combined two runs on seven hits in 12 innings, striking out 15 while walking only two. The...

Last season the Orioles went 1-6 against Seattle. This season they are 3-2 and can complete a three-game sweep of the Mariners today. The Orioles have not swept Seattle three in a row at home since Aug. 6-8, 2012. The Orioles have won six in a row overall to move to 67-65, are 40-26 at home and two games over .500 for the first time since June 10. A win today would produce a season-high seven straight victories. With 7-6 and 4-0 wins the last two nights the Orioles have now won three straight...

Welington Castillo remains behind the plate today as the Orioles close out their series against the Mariners and try to extend their winning streak to seven games. He's starting a fourth consecutive game. Manager Buck Showalter is sticking with the hot hand. Craig Gentry is in right field with the Mariners starting left-hander Ariel Miranda. Manny Machado is batting .345 with 12 home runs and 34 RBIs in 27 games this month. His 12 home runs are a career-high for a single month. Tim Beckham has...

Anthony Rendon and Matt Albers have had their minds and hearts with Texas for the last few days as Hurricane Harvey has devastated parts of the state, including their hometown of Houston. On Tuesday evening, the duo set up a YouCaring page, raising money to help those affected by Hurricane Harvey, with proceeds going directly to the Houston Food Bank plus other area shelters. In less than 24 hours, the page surpassed the original $50,000 goal, which has now been raised to $80,000. More than 600...

When you think about the production in the Orioles lineup, who comes to your mind? My guess would be Jonathan Schoop, Manny Machado, Trey Mancini, Tim Beckham or maybe even the catching duo of Welington Castillo and Caleb Joseph. Aside from Machado coming back to a superstar level in the second half and Beckham not coming over to the Birds until August, all of these players have produced at the plate fairly consistently all season long, so they're the obvious choices that would come to mind....