Orioles manager Buck Showalter was asked in a joking manner whether he had any roster moves to announce following today's game. He replied that the club already made one or two. Nice return of serve. There are no roster moves and there's no more baseball until Friday night in Detroit. The Orioles enter the All-Star break on the decline, losing again today 3-2 to the Nationals before 46,247 at Camden Yards. They've lost 10 of their last 13 games and will be four back in the division if the...

This was not the way the Orioles wanted to head into the All-Star break. They could not overcome Nationals ace right-hander Max Scherzer today and lost 3-2 to hit the break with a record of 44-44. Last year the Orioles were 10 games over .500 at the break and led the American League East by four games. Today they fall back to .500 and will be at least three games out by the end of the day. The Orioles have lost five of six and 10 of 13 games. This was their first series loss to the Nationals...

Manny Machado spent part of Sunday preparing for his All-Star trip to Cincinnati. He was folding his No. 13 gray Orioles uniform, trying on his orange glove and packing his Orioles duffle. The 2015 All-Star bag was going to Cincinnati empty, but the plan is to return with it full of memorabilia. At 23, Machado, the Orioles' youngest leadoff batter since Paul Blair in 1965, will be one of four Orioles representatives in Tuesday's All-Star Game. Machado was 21 when he played in his first...

Adam Jones did more today than give the Orioles an early lead. He also moved into a tie with a Hall of Famer. Jones hit his 179th home run as an Oriole, a solo shot off Nationals starter Max Scherzer in the first inning that allowed him to join Frank Robinson in eighth place on the club's all-time list. Jones has played in 1,109 games with the Orioles. Robinson played in 827 before - and this is still too soon for me - being traded to the Dodgers on Dec. 2, 1971. Scherzer struck out Manny...

BALTIMORE - The Nationals narrowly missed a prime opportunity to light up the scoreboard in the first. After Yunel Escobar legged out an infield single, Bryce Harper drilled an 0-1 slider from Wei-Yin Chen over Chris Davis' head and off the wall in right. Davis regrouped and managed to throw the ball in, forcing Escobar to hold at third. Wilson Ramos followed with a drive to right-center which appeared to be headed for the gap before Davis sprinted over, reached up and made the grap to end the...

Nationals right-hander Max Scherzer has been one of the best pitchers in baseball this year and the Orioles will have to get past him today to win their series against the Washington Nationals. Wei-Yin Chen (4-4, 2.82 ERA) faces Scherzer (9-7, 2.12 ERA) this afternoon at Camden Yards in the game to decide this three-game series. Scherzer had a rare poor start in his most recent outing on Tuesday when he allowed seven hits and five runs in 4 2/3 against Cincinnati. But over 17 starts this year,...

Not much news coming out of today's pregame media session with Orioles manager Buck Showalter. If you've been following along, you know that left-hander Wesley Wright's injury rehab assignment at Triple-A Norfolk ends later today. He could re-join the Orioles or extend the assignment for a second time. Wright followed up his most impressive outing with a dud last night, allowing four runs and five hits, walking two and hitting a Charlotte batter in 1 2/3 innings. He's 0-2 with a 7.71 ERA in...

BALTIMORE - Nationals manager Matt Williams will send his ace Max Scherzer to the mound this afternoon in hopes of winning the team's final series before heading into the All-Star break. Scherzer is looking to rebound from his worst start of the year after surrendering five runs over only 4 2/3 innings in the Nationals' 5-0 loss to the Reds last Tuesday night. Scherzer is 3-1 with a 3.92 ERA in six career regular season starts against Baltimore. However, the Orioles did plate five runs,...

The All-Star break is here, and for rabid baseball fans, it's kind of like going through withdrawal. No Orioles box score to pore over in the morning, no game to plan your evening around. Sure, there's the Home Run Derby tonight and the All-Star Game tomorrow in Cincinnati, but it's not the same thing as rooting for the home team. You might need something to satisfy your baseball fix. If you're in or near Baltimore, this might be a good time to visit one of Charm City's treasures, the Babe...

Chris Davis stopped inside manager Buck Showalter's office this morning, said he felt fine and is included in today's final lineup before the All-Star break. Davis was a late scratch yesterday with the stomach flu, but he's batting cleanup today and starting in right field. The Orioles' average with runners in scoring position is down to .290, though they still rank third in the majors. The Orioles are 19-13 in day games this season and 17-12 in the last game of a series. For the Orioles...