Hey, O's fans, and welcome to the latest edition of Yard Work. On this week's episode, Steve and I recap the Orioles' road trip, which has included a solid three-game series win against the Angels and a mystifying and frustrating three-game sweep at the hands of the Astros. During the series in Houston, there were strikeouts aplenty, though the majority came from the Baltimore dugout. Is there any reason to panic? We'll discuss. Also, we'll take a look back at the trade the Orioles made...

HOUSTON - The Houston Astros brought a four-game losing streak into their series with the Orioles. They leave it with a three-game win streak, their first sweep of the year and the Orioles have their first four-game losing skid. Starting this weekend we find out if the Orioles can stop chasing curveballs and start scoring more runs. Houston's 52 strikeouts in the three-game series is a new major league record. Houston becomes the first team since 1913 to strike out 15 or more in three straight...

HOUSTON - When it was over, the Houston Astros had beaten the Orioles 4-2 tonight and swept them three straight. The Orioles set a major league record with 52 strikeouts in a three-game series, and center fielder Adam Jones put it into a perspective that only he can. All losses hurt, but was Jones disappointed in the how the Orioles lost, with strikeouts and errors hurting the team? "You lose, you lose," he said. "There is no sugar-coating a loss, is there? Doesn't matter how you lose, you...

Jonathan Papelbon hadn't emerged out of the bullpen gate, Ric Flair's voice booming over the PA system, in a long time. It had been six days, in fact, since Papelbon last appeared in a game, 12 days since he had done it at Nationals Park. And now here the veteran closer was, asked to protect a 2-1 lead against the heart of the Cardinals lineup, cold as ice after the long layoff. Which didn't prove to be a problem at all. Papelbon retired the side in short order last night, inducing two...

Manager Dusty Baker now has 1,700 wins to go with his No. 17 ranking all-time. Baker reached 1,700 wins as a Major League manager as the Nationals dropped the Cardinals 2-1 on Thursday night at Nationals Park. Baker trails Giants manager Bruce Bochy by 32 wins for No. 16 marker on the all-time list. After the win Thursday, Baker reflected on getting to 1,700. "It just means I've been around a long time, number one," Baker said. "And number two, it's sort of ironic that my first victory in...

When Bryce Harper stepped to the plate in the bottom of the sixth inning tonight for his third at-bat of the game, something was noticeably missing: His batting gloves. Harper occasionally decides to hit without them, so the sight of the struggling Nationals slugger gripping the bat with his bare hands perhaps left many thinking he purposely was trying to shake things up, trying to find anything that might change his luck. And so, of course, when Harper proceeded to crush a baseball 434 feet...

The May blues are over for Joe Ross. Thursday night, the Nationals bounced back from an early deficit to down the Cardinals 2-1, snapping Ross' personal four-game skid. Ross allowed a fourth inning solo shot to Cardinals shortstop Aledmys Diaz and then nothing else to notch his fourth win of the season and first since April 30, also against St. Louis. The biggest matchup for Ross came in the seventh inning. Despite arriving close to the century mark in pitches thrown, Ross pitched around a...

The Orioles need a change of scenery. It may be the best argument for visiting Cleveland. (I kid, I kid. I have friends in Cleveland. But seriously, it's a good reason.) Fewer strikeouts would be one way to reverse their skid. Fifty-two in a three-game series is a major league record. Perhaps manager Buck Showalter should write out his lineup on contact paper. The Orioles took five of six games from the Indians last year, the first time they won the season series since 2006. They outscored the...

Shortstop Danny Espinosa delivered the game-changing play on offense for the Nationals in a 2-1 victory over the Cardinals on Thursday. With the game even at 1-1 in the seventh, Espinosa launched a Mike Leake fastball over the right field fence giving the Nationals their first lead of the game. Espinosa arrived into the game hitting .199. It was Espinosa's second homer this season and third of his career against Leake. He now has eight homers against St. Louis in his career. Those 45 hours of...

HOUSTON - Luis Valbuena did it again. The Houston third baseman, who had hit just two homers this year before the Orioles got here, tonight hit his third in this series. Valbuena's two-run shot to right off Kevin Gausman broke a 1-1 tie in the second and Houston went ahead 3-1. The homer scored Tyler White, who drew a one-out walk. At the start of this series, Valbuena was batting .197 with two homers and 10 RBIs. After the homer, he is 4-for-8 with three homers and five RBIs in this...