ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter knew that Chris Tillman wanted to stay in tonight's game after issuing a two-out walk to Logan Morrison in the seventh inning. Tillman offered confirmation later, of course. He never wants to come out. Showalter needed to give relievers Darren O'Day, Brad Brach and Zach Britton some work before a four-game series against the White Sox. Tillman just got in the way. "He's probably not real happy with the manager right now," Showalter...

The Nationals offense has struggled in the first two games of the series against the Phillies. On Wednesday, Jeremy Hellickson allowed only two hits over seven innings as Philadelphia won 3-0, handing the Nationals their first shutout loss of the season. The Nationals were unable to produce any runs on the night, settling for a double by Daniel Murphy and a single from Danny Espinosa, the 500th hit in his career. Over the last three games, the Nationals are 3-for-28 with runners in scoring...

Chris Tillman was dominant. Joey Rickard was clutch. That duo led the Orioles to a much-needed 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays tonight. The Orioles had lost the first two games of the series. The Orioles ended a three-game slide and improve to 12-8. They completed a 2-4 road trip and will return to Camden Yards tomorrow night still in first place. The Birds are now 7-4 against American League East foes. Steve Pearce came up with a pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth off Zach...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - If the Rays were going to keep making all the plays in the field tonight, the logical countermove from the Orioles was to hit a ball into the seats. Baseball really is a simple game. Why try to complicate it? Joey Rickard, in the midst of his first major league slump, drove a Matt Moore pitch over the left field fence in the fifth inning for a three-run homer that broke a scoreless tie. Chris Tillman kept hanging zeros and the Orioles avoided a sweep with a 3-1 victory at...

The good news: Gio Gonzalez continues to pitch like a new man. The bad news: His Nationals teammates are making Jeremy Hellickson look just as good so far tonight. Both Gonzalez and Hellickson have posted dueling zeroes for four innings, turning a chilly Wednesday night at Nationals Park into a bit of a surprising pitchers' duel between the Nats and Phillies. Gonzalez set the tone right from the outset, getting through a scoreless top of the first on 14 pitches. He then retired nine...

Over the past few years, the Orioles have been rejuvenated. Since 2012, the team has recaptured its historic success, including postseason appearances in two of the last four seasons and a division championship in 2014, the team's first since 1997. There's no doubt that Birdland is back, and fans are excited at the promise of coming to Camden Yards to watch the Orioles contend for a World Series championship. Yet 1,000 miles away - just a quick 15 1/2-hour drive down Interstate 95 and a hard...

Manager: Mike Matheny (5th season) Record: 12-10 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: LF Jeremy Hazelbaker (.310/.344/.690 with 5 HR, 13 RBIs), C Yadier Molina (.333/.422/.436 with 10 RBIs), RF Stephen Piscotty (4 HR, 15 RBIs), RHP Carlos Martinez (4-0, 1.93 ERA), RHP Seung Hwan Oh (1.50 ERA in 12 IP) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (4-2 in 2015) Pitching probables: April 29: RHP Stephen Strasburg vs. RHP Mike Leake, 8:15 p.m., MASN2 April 30: RHP Joe Ross vs. LHP Jaime Garcia, 2:15...

ST. PETERBURG, Fla. - Orioles second baseman Jonathan Schoop may lead the league in loud outs. Deep drives down the left field line that hook foul, avoiding the pole like it's contagious. Blistering ground balls, ropes in the gap that find a glove. These are consolation prizes at best, their bulk dragging down his average. Schoop began tonight's game batting .200, the cost of a 2-for-30 slump. He cooled off immediately after his two-homer game in Texas on April 15 that left him with five hits...

We all know the Orioles offense is very reliant on the home run ball. That is clearly true through the small sample of the 19 games the team has played so far this year. The simple stat of runs scored in relation to homers hit points that out. When the Orioles don't homer, they score fewer runs than when they hit one homer. When they hit two or more homers, they score even more. They also win more. Here are the numbers: * When the Orioles don't hit a home run, they have averaged just 2.0 runs...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles third baseman Manny Machado confirmed today that he's going to represent the Dominican Republic in the 2017 World Baseball Classic, a way of honoring his family and allowing it to fulfill a dream. "It's a great experience," he said. "It's a great tournament, so I always wanted to be a part of it, always wanted to represent our country. I always wanted to play for the Dominican. I'm just going to enjoy every moment of it. I'm going to try to represent the...