As the Orioles top two minor league affiliates, Triple-A Norfolk and Double-A Bowie, close in on division championships, their accomplishments are being noted in the dugout in Baltimore. That should come as no surprise. Orioles manager Buck Showalter often takes time during his afternoon press conferences to throw props and praise to players and coaches from the minors. He did again today. Norfolk is 72-51 and leading its division by 6 1/2 games over Gwinnett with 21 games to play. The Tides...

Orioles outfielder Steve Pearce took live batting practice today in Sarasota and was hit by a pitch in his third at-bat. Chris Perez, serving a 50-game suspension that was handed down in June for a second positive test for a drug of abuse, drilled Pearce in the back. The Orioles ended the BP session and will check on Pearce Thursday before determining how close he is to going on a rehab assignment. Pearce is on the disabled list retroactive to July 19 with a strained left oblique. The Orioles...

Win or go home. That was the situation the Washington Nationals found themselves in on a cool October afternoon at Nationals Park in 2012. Ater three games of the National League Division Series, they had their backs against the wall, down two games to one against the Cardinals. Heading to the ninth inning in Game 4, both the Nats and their opponent had mustered just one run. With All-Star Lance Lynn on the mound, Jayson Werth stepped in the box for what is now the most well-known at-bat in...

Caleb Joseph has returned to the Orioles lineup tonight for the finale of a two-game series against the Mets. Joseph, who's catching, is batting .342/.359/.816 with six doubles, four home runs and 12 RBIs in 11 games this month. Matt Wieters, on the bench tonight, has hit safely in his last seven games, producing a .385/.407/.500 slash line. Gerardo Parra is batting .478/.500/.913 (11-for-23) in his last five games. He's hit three home runs in his last four games. Parra is batting...

The Orioles took their 2015 team photo the other day, positioning the members of this year's club in gleaming home whites on chairs and risers in front of the right field scoreboard before Monday's finale of a four-game series against the A's. I can't see a team photo - the year and team really don't matter - without thinking about the first time I was credentialed to cover an Orioles game. It happened back in 1980. No, the bitterness over losing the 1979 World Series still hadn't...

Manager: Paul Molitor (1st season) Record: 59-61 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: 2B Brian Dozier (25 HR, 61 RBIs), 3B Miguel Sano (.285 with 9 HR), LF Eddie Rosario (.275 with 9 3B, 7 HR, 28 RBIs, 9 SB), 3B Trevor Plouffe (18 HR, 66 RBIs), RF Torii Hunter (18 HR, 60 RBIs) , RHP Mike Pelfrey (6-7, 3.62 ERA) Season series vs. Orioles: 3-0 Pitching probables: Aug. 20: RHP Tyler Duffey vs. RHP Miguel Gonzalez, 7:05 p.m., MASN Aug. 21: LHP Tommy Milone vs. LHP Wei-Yin Chen, 7:05 p.m., MASN Aug. 22:...

When it comes to professional sports, looking good on paper can be deceiving when weighed against the actions of a team in any given season. This is what seems to be plaguing the Nationals in 2015. Two division titles in three years and the Nats are struggling to paw their way back to the top of the National League East and dethrone the New York Mets before time runs out on the regular season. And while wins like last night's 15-6 blowout victory against the Rockies in Colorado are nice to see...

Searching for a way to ignite his slumping offense and jumpstart his grizzled veteran's season, Nationals manager Matt Williams opted to pencil in Jayson Werth in the leadoff spot Tuesday night. For one night, the move delivered, with Werth ripping a double and a single, drawing a walk and scoring all three times he reached base in the Nationals' 15-6 win over the Rockies in the series opener. "It's comfortable for him, he's been there before," Williams told reporters. "He's a good run...

It wasn't pretty for a while, but the Nationals finally took advantage of Coors Field to put an end to their six-game losing skid with a lopsided 15-6 win over the Rockies. With the Mets beating the Orioles 5-3, the Nats needed this seesaw battle to tip in their favor just to remain within 4 1/2 games of the lead in the National League East. "We came out offensively and had a good approach tonight," Nationals manager Matt Williams said to reporters. "This ballpark, you never know. Six...

He was once a big, strong power hitter on the Orioles farm who played in 95 big league games for the Orioles and three other teams in parts of five seasons. Now 38-year-old Calvin Pickering is back in the Orioles organization. He was hired this year to serve as hitting coach at short season Single-A Aberdeen, where he is currently working with top draft pick DJ Stewart and other IronBirds batters. It was not that long ago that Pickering flew from his California home back to Maryland for some...