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...

It happened 17 days apart, one outing before the All-Star break and one after, but right-hander Chris Tillman has put together back-to-back solid outings. Tonight, he will try to make it three in a row against Houston, the American League's highest-scoring team. In the two games, Tillman went 11 innings, allowing nine hits and three runs. In his previous six starts, he had given up five runs or more each time. That raised his ERA to 8.39, but maybe he is finally turning a corner. Tillman ended...

The tarp remains on the field today at Camden Yards as a light rains falls, the kind that sent fans scurrying and cut short the annual "State of the Orioles" event for season-ticket holders. No word on whether the game will be delayed at the start. Update: It's delayed at the start. The Orioles already have endured 12 games delayed by inclement weather or the threat of it. I'm not certain how to categorize the one in D.C. Now that Mike Wright is back at Triple-A Norfolk, the Orioles must...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette painted the Orioles today during at Q&A session with season ticket holders as a team that's trying to improve its starting pitching and make a playoff run in 2017. Duquette, sitting on top of the visiting dugout with manager Buck Showalter during the annual "State of the Orioles," seemed to challenge reports that the Orioles are in sell mode. He wasn't going to make a concession speech this afternoon. It felt more like a rally. "I still...

PHOENIX - Good afternoon from Chase Field, where after last night's wild 6-5 loss, the Nationals return to action and attempt to beat a quality Diamondbacks club that is handing the ball to a rookie for his major league debut. Left-hander Anthony Banda gets the call-up from Triple-A, filling the vacancy created when Taijuan Walker was placed on the paternity leave list. Banda's numbers at Reno (5.08 ERA, 1.426 WHIP) were not impressive, but he is regarded as a top pitching prospect (88th in...

Rubén Tejada continues to play shortstop for the Orioles and he continues to rake. Tejada, in tonight's lineup again, has 12 hits in his last 28 at-bats for a .429 average. Welington Castillo is catching. Seth Smith is in right field. Chris Davis is 4-for-30 with a double, three home runs, eight RBIs and 13 strikeouts since coming off the disabled list. Manny Machado is batting .333 (23-for-69) in 17 games this month. For the Orioles Adam Jones CF Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Chris...

PHOENIX - Max Scherzer has made his share of history over the years. He's one of only 30 pitchers to throw multiple no-hitters. He's one of only 18 pitchers to win multiple Cy Young Awards. He's one of only four pitchers ever to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game. But the history Scherzer made Friday night in a 6-5 loss to the Diamondbacks was perhaps the most shocking thing he's ever done in the major leagues. Because you simply don't expect one of the best pitchers in the game...