CLEVELAND - Trea Turner had been standing out in center field in a big league game for all of two minutes when the first ball came his way. It was a drive to the gap in right-center by the Indians' Jason Kipnis, and though Turner ran a good route in an attempt to make the play, he pulled up ever so slightly at the fence and couldn't do much as the ball struck the warning track and bounced over the fence for a ground rule double. Then, fewer than 10 minutes later, it happened again. Jose...

For the Orioles, two right-handers took the mound last night, one that had been struggling lately and the other who was looking to become the majors' first 15-game winner. Who would thought it would be Chris Tillman that would give up six runs to slow the recent momentum of the Orioles starting rotation? Who would have thought that Tyler Wilson would get back on the mound for the Orioles and be unhittable for four innings? It was a reversal of recent fortune for both. On July 3, Wilson was...

CLEVELAND - Jonathan Papelbon has blown more than a few saves in his career. Forty-nine of them, to be precise. So when it happens, he refuses to convey any sense of fear. "My confidence in this game has never fluctuated, and it never will," the 35-year-old closer said tonight. "I think that's something that's never really happened to me." Papelbon's confidence may not fluctuate, but his opinion honestly isn't the one that matters most right now. In the wake of his latest meltdown, a...

Just how long do the Orioles intend to stay with 13 pitchers and what's the motivation behind it? I'm seriously asking anyone who's got inside information. Why should I do all the heavy lifting around here? I'm not getting any younger and my back flares up. I wouldn't expect it to last long. And that's what ... Nevermind, I've got it. The Orioles want to keep an extra pitcher until Monday's off day, figuring a fortified bullpen is more important than a full bench. I sensed a few days...

Over his previous four starts, Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman allowed four runs on 16 hits in 28 innings. Tonight, he gave up four runs in one inning when he allowed five hits in the top of the third of the Orioles' 6-3 loss to Colorado. Tillman gave up a season-high-tying six runs on nine hits over five innings and 89 pitches. His ERA was 1.29 those previous four starts. What was the difference from those games to tonight? "Not a whole lot," he said. "I went back and looked at it and...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed tonight that Ubaldo Jimenez will start Thursday night's game in Minnesota. Tyler Wilson worked four perfect innings in relief of Chris Tillman in the Orioles' 6-3 loss to the Rockies before 23,677 at Camden Yards. He won't be available for at least a few days after throwing 40 pitches. Showalter had been leaning toward Jimenez as Thursday's starter and made it official tonight. Jimenez is 5-3 with a 2.55 ERA in 10 career appearances (nine starts)...

CLEVELAND - The new-look lineup produced some early runs, knocking out a tough opposing starter. The erratic lefty bounced back from a shaky first inning to turn in a quality start. All the Nationals needed was for the back end of their bullpen to close out the opener of a tough road trip. Which that much maligned unit once again could not do. Jonathan Papelbon blew a two-run lead in the bottom of the ninth, suffering his second loss in as many games as the Nationals were left stunned by the...

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman was a pitch away from getting out of a third-inning jam. Then he was a pitch away from allowing just two runs. But both times the Colorado Rockies hitters won the battle. Tillman, who was 4-0 with a 1.29 ERA his last four starts, allowed four runs in the third and six over five innings tonight as the Orioles lost 6-3 to the Rockies. The Orioles' five-game winning streak ends as they fall to 58-41. The Orioles were 12-0 in Tillman's home starts until tonight....

CLEVELAND - When the Nationals chose to demote Michael A. Taylor to Triple-A Syracuse as the corresponding move for Ryan Zimmerman's activation off the disabled list, they dropped something of a hint in the process: Trea Turner was going to find his way into the lineup, perhaps in center field. Sure enough, when he filled out his lineup card for tonight's interleague series opener against the Indians, Dusty Baker went with the rookie in the leadoff spot and (for the first time in his brief...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette spoke with manager Buck Showalter on the field during batting practice, grabbed a cup of water in the dugout and headed back to his office. He paused only to say hello to reporters, who tried unsuccessfully to pry trade information from him. Duquette smiled, said he needed to get back to work and that he's always trying to improve the roster, and he might have something to say later in the week. Ubaldo Jimenez remains with the Orioles after the...