If you've watched the Orioles on MASN recently, you've likely seen the ad featuring Jonathan Schoop. The announcer provides the denotations for a number of words like "fluke" and "luck," interspersed between clips of the second baseman's more impressive plays, before bragging about some element of his performance. These doubts have always seemed to haunt Schoop, which is why his apparent breakout in 2016 feels so sweet. Through, Schoop had hit .302/.335/.515, by far the best line of his...

The 2016 non-waiver trade deadline is less than two weeks away, and while the trade winds are blowing, we are throwing caution to the wind. Sometimes the best trades you make are the trades you don't. What does that mean? It means that when you are contemplating a trade that does not feel right that it is best to not do it. How many trades would teams want to have back? Plenty. The Orioles want to reverse the deal sending Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop to the Cubs for Steve Clevenger and Scott...

High Single-A Potomac dropped Salem 7-2 on Monday, but the P-Nats lost center fielder Victor Robles just two pitches into the game after he was hit by pitch on his arm. Robles was hit by a fastball from right-hander Michael Kopech. Robles is hitting .289 through 83 minor league games with 12 doubles, six triples, seven homers and 37 RBIs. His on-base percentage is .390. In a game last Friday, he was hit by pitch three times, but manager Tripp Keister told me that the opponent wasn't going...

The Nationals own a 5 1/2-game lead in the National League East and the third-best record in the NL. They have the lowest ERA in the majors, have hit the most homers in the NL and boast the best fielding percentage in baseball. Yet the biggest question facing general manager Mike Rizzo these days is a simple one: Could he make his team even better before the non-waiver trade deadline, now looming in the not-too-distant future on Aug. 1? (The deadline was pushed back this year from the...

NEW YORK - The Orioles will be busy today before they take the field for the second game of their series against the Yankees. Darren O'Day is pitching a simulated game this afternoon that might determine whether he's ready to come off the disabled list. He could be assigned a second sim game, sent on a rehab assignment or activated. Hyun Soo Kim will get some swings against O'Day to further test his right hamstring. It's more important for him to run the bases. It's imperative that the...

Last night seemed like a good time for the Orioles to break out of a developing batting slump. Try to nip it in the bud before it could develop any further. They just could not do it. They lost 2-1 to the Yankees and figured to have trouble in the late innings with Dellin Betances, Andrew Miller and then Aroldis Chapman, who was throwing 105 mph in the ninth inning. I digress here, but in the midst of throwing pitches at 104 and 105 mph to J.J. Hardy last night, Chapman, for some reason, threw...

NEW YORK - Orioles catcher Matt Wieters rode past the media on the back of a cart following tonight's game, on his way to get his right foot X-rayed after being hit by a pitch in the first inning. Has injury been added to a 2-1 loss to the Yankees? Wieters was drilled by an Ivan Nova pitch to load the bases with two outs before Pedro Alvarez popped up. He stayed in the game, but would have been lifted for a pinch-runner if he reached in the eighth instead of grounding into a double play. The...

NEW YORK - Kevin Gausman is going to win a road start. It's bound to happen. He certainly is due. The Yankees scored twice off Gausman in the first three innings and turned to their imposing bullpen to defeat the Orioles 2-1 before an announced crowd of 31,102. The loss dropped the Orioles' record to 53-38 overall and 20-24 on the road. They're 2-2 since the break. The Orioles have scored 51 runs in their last 14 games since leaving San Diego. Why would anyone leave San Diego? Gausman...

NEW YORK - Vance Worley is back in the Orioles rotation, with his first start in three months scheduled for Tuesday night. However, he's making it in a most unfamiliar place. Worley had never been to Yankee Stadium until arriving this afternoon, leaving Oakland's ballpark as the only one left on his bucket list. The Orioles visit the Athletics for a four-game series beginning Aug. 8. Worley will try to contain his enthusiasm. "A little different than this place," he said, grinning, "but...

NEW YORK - Orioles first baseman Chris Davis became ill on the flight from Tampa and spent last night at a local hospital in New York. He's not in tonight's lineup and may not be available to play. "I saw him on the elevator last night," said manager Buck Showalter. "He was throwing up on the plane last night. I'm not sure if it's a virus. It might be the same thing that Zach (Britton) and Matt Wieters had at the All-Star Game." It's spread to the coaching staff. "I know Wayne...