Just like that, the Orioles are back to .500. Last night in Toronto, the Birds took care of business and secured a series win to even their record at 39-39. After being shut out the night before, Ubaldo Jiménez delivered his strongest start of 2017 with eight shutout innings of two-hit ball in the finale against the rival Blue Jays. It's amazing what good starting pitching can do for this club. The Orioles have struggled mightily away from Camden Yards in 2017, going 15-25, but just...

TORONTO - On April 17, 2010, then-Colorado Rockies right-hander Ubaldo Jiménez threw a no-hitter at Atlanta in a 4-0 win. Tonight, he said the quality of his pitches compared to that outing. Jiménez was dominant against the Toronto Blue Jays, allowing just two doubles over eight scoreless innings as the Orioles beat Toronto 2-0 to take two of three here. "Yeah (this compared to the no-hitter). It felt pretty good," he said. "I could throw any pitch in any count. Everything was moving....

While the Orioles begin a three-game series tonight against the Rays at Camden Yards, a brief homestand before hitting the road again next week, closer Zach Britton will continue his injury rehab assignment at Single-A Frederick. Britton will enter toward the end of the game, putting him in more of a late-inning mindset as he nears a return to the active roster. Pitch tonight at Frederick, pitch Monday at Triple-A Norfolk and rejoin the Orioles' bullpen on July 5. Britton's return will take...

What great reading. What accomplished writing. "High Notes" by Gay Talese was a joy to read. The book contains selected articles written by Gay Talese for the likes of The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly and the New York Times. Talese is one of the most important nonfiction writers of our time, capturing individuals and situations vividly and in color. is unique, expansive magazine articles are becoming a lost art. As Talese points out in notes in the book, editors want quicker reads written in...

TORONTO - Coming off a start where he allowed a career-high-tying nine runs in just 2 1/3 innings, no one could have expected this. But Orioles right-hander Ubaldo Jiménez blanked the Toronto Blue Jays on two hits over eight innings as the Orioles beat the Jays 2-0 in front of 37,291 at Rogers Centre. It was a sensational outing for a pitcher that began the night at 2-3 with a 7.26 ERA. Jiménez allowed just one walk and had eight strikeouts, throwing 98 pitches, 71 for strikeouts. He was...

The Nationals fell to the Cubs 5-4 on Thursday when Blake Treinen struggled in the ninth inning and allowed three runs. But the news got worse after the game when the Nats announced that postgame X-rays revealed shortstop Trea Turner has a non-displaced fracture in his right wrist. A similar injury was suffered earlier this season by the Braves' Freddie Freeman. He was injured May 17 against the Blue Jays and is still out of the lineup. The diagnosis for Freeman was approximately eight to 10...

TORONTO - The Orioles will send two players to the All-Star Futures Game set for Sunday, July 9 in Miami: Triple-A Norfolk catcher Chance Sisco and Double-A Bowie pitcher Tanner Scott. They will play for Team USA against the World Team. Sisco played in the game last year and homered in his hometown of San Diego. Sisco is batting .266/.342/.383 with 16 doubles, three homers and 28 RBIs. He is batting .311 with an OPS of .805 in 21 games this month. He was ranked before the season as the...

TORONTO - Before his team meets Toronto in the final game of a three-game series tonight, Orioles manager Buck Showalter provided another positive report on Orioles closer Zach Britton. Britton pitched the fourth inning today for Double-A Bowie in a win over Altoona. He got a groundout and two strikeouts on 14 pitches with eight strikes. "He got the win," Showalter said. "He got the lineup card. I started to ask him when was the last time he got a win at Double-A? No, it went well and he...

The Nationals have two starters - and possibly a third - with a case to make the National League All-Star team, but NL manager Joe Maddon has no idea if there's a scenario that would put Max Scherzer, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg on the team for the July 11game in Miami's Marlins Park. "I haven't even looked at it,'' the Chicago Cubs' manager said before Thursday's game at Nationals Park. "I'm relying on Major League Baseball to tell me what we have. I don't even know who is...

TORONTO - Orioles reliever Mychal Givens had a very solid 2016 season. He is having an even better 2017. Last year, he went 8-2 with an ERA of 3.13 and a WHIP of 1.272. This season, he is 6-0 with a 2.31 ERA and a WHIP of 1.077. Givens has made dramatic improvement in getting left-handed batters out. Last season, they hit .366 with an OPS of 1.025 against him. This season, those numbers are .174 and .557, respectively. He has even lowered his batting average against versus righty batters from...