Chris Tillman had an off night. But the Orioles' offense just kept on coming. They got back in the game by bashing homers, but then used a few humdrum singles to go-ahead. Down 6-5 to the last of the seventh, the Orioles scored twice to go ahead and went on to beat Tampa Bay 8-6 tonight. They sweep a day-night doubleheader at Camden Yards. Joey Rickard doubled off Erasmo Ramirez to start the seventh. Adam Jones' single to right scored him for the 6-6 tie. Later in the inning, a Chris Davis...

MILWAUKEE - Just when it felt like the Nationals had absorbed all the frustration they could stomach in one disappointing day - after the Brewers had handed them a 6-5 loss, stretching their season-worst losing streak to seven games - fate delivered a parting gut punch. Stephen Strasburg felt a recurrence of his upper back issue when throwing this afternoon and has been scratched from Sunday's scheduled start, manager Dusty Baker said as he closed his postgame press briefing. Tanner Roark will...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter broke out his right-handed lineup for Game 2 of tonight's doubleheader against the Rays. He had a choice between doing it in the opener or the nightcap, with the Rays sending right-handers Matt Andriese and Jake Odorizzi to the mound. Or he could have mixed it up in both lineups. Manager's choice. Showalter did his homework as usual and noted how Odorizzi is a reverse-splits guy. Left-handers are batting .192 against him, while right-handers are hitting...

After posting a 6-3 win last night and a 5-0 victory this afternoon, the Orioles host Tampa Bay tonight in the third game of this series and second game of the day-night doubleheader. Right-hander Chris Tillman (10-1, 3.11 ERA) makes his 16th start and pitches against right-hander Jake Odorizzi (3-3, 3.63 ERA). The Orioles are 13-2 when Tillman starts this year for a dazzling .867 win percentage. Tillman is 9-0 in 12 starts since his only loss on April 14 at Texas. He has allowed two earned...

The Orioles have replaced their corner outfielders and designated hitter for Game 2 of today's doubleheader. Nolan Reimold is in left field instead of Hyun Soo Kim and Joey Rickard is in right instead of Mark Trumbo. Trumbo is the designated hitter instead of Pedro Alvarez. Also, Matt Wieters is catching instead of Francisco Pena, but everyone saw it coming. Wieters wasn't catching a day game after a night game and Pena wasn't working both ends of a doubleheader. Jonathan Schoop moves up to...

As the Orioles blanked Tampa Bay this afternoon 5-0, Kevin Gausman made his 13th start and finally got his first win. Was he starting to wonder when that elusive first victory would come? "Every time you take the mound, you expect to win," Gausman said. "So, that is what I've done 13 times now. I've expected to win 13 times. There were some games that got away from me and I hoped the team would pick me up and they have before. You just try to be that guy every fifth day. As much as we can...

Pitching and defense made the difference for the Orioles today in Game 1 of their doubleheader against the Rays. It used to be a tradition in Baltimore and the Orioles turned back the clock and the Rays, winning 5-0 before 18,229 in a makeup game from April 9. Tampa Bay has lost nine in a row. Meanwhile, the Orioles have won three straight and hold a two-game lead over the Red Sox in the American League East. Kevin Gausman turned in his second scoreless outing this season without walking a...

MILWAUKEE - Gio Gonzalez usually has good first innings. So today's opening-inning effort by the struggling left-hander was a little out of the ordinary. Or was it, considering that the Nationals are mired in a six-game losing streak. Gonzalez, who has posted a 2.57 first-inning ERA in his previous 14 starts this season, trailed 3-0 after facing five batters. He surrendered an infield single to Jonathan Villar and a single to left by Aaron Hill before getting two outs. On the verge of getting...

He got a few swings and misses early in his outing. He pitched to contact later and the Orioles' infield defense was up for that. Kevin Gausman pitched 7 2/3 scoreless this afternoon as the Orioles blanked the Rays 5-0 in the opener of the day-night doubleheader at Camden Yards. Gausman needed a good outing and could have really used a win today, and he got both. He gave up just four singles with no walks and seven strikeouts. He threw 113 pitches, 75 for strikes and is now 1-5 with an ERA of...

Pitchers shouldn't be judged on wins and losses. Too much is out of their hands. It's not an accurate barometer. However, let's not downplay Kevin Gausman's effort today that could lead to his first victory in 2016. Gausman has retired 17 of the last 18 batters he's faced in Game 1 of the doubleheader against the Rays. He's allowed only two hits and hasn't issued a walk over seven innings. He's struck out seven, mostly on the strength of a fastball that touched the upper 90s. In his...