Chris Tillman gave up a rare home run, but not much else tonight. The Orioles hit back-to-back homers again. Their bullpen had another good night and they returned to the win column with a 5-2 victory over Seattle. Tillman got the win and is now 6-1 with an ERA of 2.61, and the Orioles are 8-1 in his nine starts. He went 6 1/3 innings, allowing four hits and two runs with three walks and six strikeouts. Tillman threw 109 pitches, 65 for strikes, in improving to 7-0 with an ERA of 2.96 over nine...

NEW YORK - Gio Gonzalez has been sharp early. And his Nationals teammates have scrapped their way to one early run off Bartolo Colon, thanks to a great at-bat by one of the veteran right-hander's former teammates. Gonzalez has posted three zeroes so far against the Mets, his only baserunner coming via a walk. The left-hander, who entered with a 1.93 ERA in seven starts, has continued to pitch efficiently (26-of-37 for strikes) while also putting away opposing hitters (three strikeouts of the...

The Orioles have received five straight quality starts from Chris Tillman and they seriously could use more of the same tonight. Vance Worley saved the bullpen last night with three scoreless innings after starter Ubaldo Jimenez and left-hander Brian Matusz combined to allow 10 runs. That's the silver lining. The hard reality is that manager Buck Showalter doesn't have a long reliever for tonight's game if Tillman is knocked out early. Showalter always considers the what if, such as, "What...

After winning seven in a row, the Orioles have now dropped back-to-back games heading into their game tonight against Seattle at Camden Yards. At 23-14, the Orioles still lead the American League East by percentage points over Boston with Tampa Bay five games back, Toronto six out and New York 7 1/2 games off the pace. The Orioles have won nine of 13 games, 12 of their past 18 games and are 16-7 at home Seattle, a 10-0 winner last night as Nelson Cruz drove in five runs, is 22-16 overall and...

NEW YORK - The Nationals play game No. 40 tonight, a traditional milepost that represents the one-quarter point of the season and is viewed by some around the sport as the point in which you have a pretty clear idea whether a team is good or not. The Nationals reach this juncture in first place in the NL East, though only by percentage points over the surprising Phillies and 1/2-game over the Mets. They do so with one of the majors' best-performing pitching staffs, a couple of the majors'...

Brooks Robinson, the Orioles legend, Hall of Famer and owner of 16 Gold Gloves, turned 79 today. Manager Buck Showalter wasn't going to forget. He had the date marked on the calendar in his office that's usually reserved for pitching matchups and important appointments. "Thank God he was born," Showalter said. "Wish he'd come out more." There's a big gap in generations and not every player knows his baseball history, but the Orioles are quite familiar with Robinson and the mark he left...

Yovani Gallardo threw from 120 feet today in his latest progression as he nears a return to the mound Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Gallardo's session was encouraging and will be repeated on Thursday before the club boards its flight to Anaheim. Gallardo will accompany the Orioles on their road trip, which includes games in Houston and Cleveland. Showalter, pitching coach Dave Wallace, bullpen coach Dom Chiti and the athletic trainers will continue to monitor his program. Assuming there...

NEW YORK - It's a new day at Citi Field, where the sun has come out and the Nationals hope their bats break out tonight against Bartolo Colon and the Mets. It's been a rough couple days for the Nats lineup, which over the last two games has scored a total of two runs while striking out 28 times. Of course, when the opposing pitchers those games are Jose Fernandez and Noah Syndergaard, it's a bit of a challenge scoring runs. So perhaps the task will be a bit easier tonight with Colon taking...

Hyun Soo Kim is starting in left field tonight and Pedro Alvarez is handling third base, as the Orioles try to even the series against the Mariners. Matt Wieters is catching again on consecutive nights. Joey Rickard has reached base in 10 straight games, his second-longest streak of the season. He reached in 14 straight from April 4-21. Chris Davis is 13-for-30 (.433) in his last nine games. Vance Worley is 4-2 with a 2.19 ERA in 30 career major league relief appearances. He won't be available...

As you all know, Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy fouled a ball off his left foot on May 1 and was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hairline fracture, with the expected return being six to eight weeks. The veteran shortstop was off to a solid start to the season, especially with the glove. His trip to the disabled list created questions among Orioles fans, analysts, reporters and the ballclub. A few hours prior to the start of the team's next game, the O's lineup card featured Ryan...