Orioles manager Buck Showalter has declared left-hander Zach Britton ready to resume closing at the next opportunity. Britton has entered games in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings since coming off the disabled list again, and he hasn't been used in a save situation. He finished up last night's 12-1 win over the Rangers. The last of Britton's five saves came on April 14 in Toronto before his first trip to the disabled list. "He's ready to go," Showalter said. "If we get in a close...

The Orioles will try tonight to build their first three-game winning streak since June 24-27. Another quality start tonight from Kevin Gausman would give the Orioles three in a row for the first time since May 19-21. The Orioles are alone in fourth place, eight games behind the first-place Yankees and 4 ½ out for the second wild card. Joey Rickard is in right field tonight with the Rangers starting left-hander Martín Pérez. Caleb Joseph is catching. According to the Elias Sports...

As the Orioles approach an important home run milestone, the club is encouraging fans to predict who will hit the 10,000th regular season home run in Orioles history (since 1954) for a chance to win unique prizes. To date, the Orioles have hit 9,976 regular season home runs in club history, just 24 homers shy of the milestone. To enter the contest, fans should guess the player who will hit the 10,000th regular season home run in team history, as well as the inning and the number of men on base...

It was always a matter of when not if the Nationals would make a trade to bolster their bullpen, and it finally happened over the weekend. Byron Kerr and I are back to break down the acquisition of right-hander Ryan Madson and left-hander Sean Doolittle from the A's and the ripple effect on the Nats bullpen on a new episode of the District 34 podcast. Madson and Doolittle both made their Nationals debuts in a 4-3 win over the Angels Tuesday night, with the righty putting together a shutdown...

Through the first half of the 2017 campaign, to say Orioles third baseman Manny Machado was underperforming at the plate would be an understatement. Machado slashed a combined .290/.351/.518 with 72 long balls and a 132 wRC+ from 2015 through 2016. Being just 24 heading into this season, many expected him to stay on the same track, if not get even better. However, this hasn't been the case. From the start of this season to the All-Star break, Machado posted just a .230/.296/.445 with a 91...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Maybe it was the presence of Mike Trout in the opposing dugout. Maybe it was the knowledge he was getting the next day off. Maybe it was just another ballgame and the opportunity to show off his skills like he does so many other nights. Whatever the case, it was hard to watch Tuesday night's game at Angel Stadium and not believe Bryce Harper was particularly motivated to do something special. And Harper indeed did something special during the Nationals' 4-3 victory. He went...

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Dusty Baker handed the ball to three pitchers during tonight's 4-3 victory over the Angels. Not one was a member of the active roster until 2:30 p.m., each summoned to join this staff at this particular moment in time out of necessity. Edwin Jackson was here because Joe Ross blew out his elbow and suddenly this team with All-Stars anchoring its rotation needed a fifth starter. The 33-year-old journeyman promptly threw seven innings of two-run, three-hit ball to earn his first...

The Orioles reminded themselves how it can look when pitching and hitting come together in the same game. They scored six runs before they made a single out last night in beating Texas 12-1 at Camden Yards yesterday. Chris Davis hit a two-run homer during the Orioles big first inning and added his eighth career grand slam in the fourth as the Orioles built the early 10-1 lead. The Orioles had 16 hits, including two doubles and four homers and went 5-for-12 with runners in scoring position. It...

Not that more examples are required to drive home the point that the Orioles' rotation has been a mess, but Kevin Gausman's 71 earned runs allowed ranked highest in the majors before last night, followed by Ubaldo Jiménez and the Giants' Matt Moore with 68. Gausman's 20 starts were tied for first. It's a large sample size. Gausman brings a 6.39 ERA and 1.790 WHIP into tonight's game against the Rangers. Since tossing seven scoreless innings against the Rays, he's allowed a combined 13...

The Orioles offense had produced just six runs and two homers the last three games. They matched those numbers in the first six batters of the last of the first tonight. But it would get even better. First baseman Chris Davis hit two homers, one a grand slam, and drove in a career-high six runs as the Orioles hammered Texas 12-1 at Camden Yards. On the second pitch of the game, Texas outfielder Shin-Soo Choo homered off right-hander Dylan Bundy. But it was all Orioles from there. Adam Jones...