Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy said he expects to be in Tuesday's lineup after leaving today's game with tightness in his back. Hardy was replaced after the seventh inning, one day after manager Buck Showalter gave him the day off. "See what happens? I get a day off and I get worse," Hardy quipped. "No, I honestly feel better right now than I did in the seventh. I think it was the right decision. Buck just saw me favoring it a little bit. It's good. It's not bad. "I think just kind of...

The Orioles were facing the American League's ERA leader, who had given up just one homer all year over nine starts and 64 2/3 innings. But the O's hit two homers today to beat Dallas Keuchel and the Astros 4-3 this afternoon in front of 28,909 at Camden Yards. Caleb Joseph's two-run homer in the last of the second off Kuechel had given the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Joseph's fourth homer came on a 1-1 pitch. With that one swing, the O's matched their run output for the last 23 innings of the...

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy left today's game after the seventh inning with back tightness, according to a team spokesman. Hardy didn't play yesterday in the series finale against the Marlins in Miami. Manager Buck Showalter said he wanted to rest Hardy and keep him healthy, which included not using him as a pinch-hitter in the last two innings. Hardy struck out, grounded out and singled today. He was batting .182 in 16 games since coming off the disabled list. Hardy's single followed a...

Denard Span didn't waste any time lighting up the scoreboard this Memorial Day. The Nats' center fielder crushed a 2-2 fastball from Cubs starter Tsuyoshi Wada deep to right field to give the Nationals a quick 1-0 lead. Two of Span's four homers this season have led off games. The Cubs answered in the bottom of the inning with a blast of their own. Rookie sensation, 23-year old Kris Bryant nailed a Tanner Roark slider just over the fence in the left-center alley. The solo shot is Bryant's...

Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen gave up singles to George Springer and Jose Altuve on his first two pitches this afternoon, but he escaped the jam with a pop-up, strikeout and fly ball. Altuve was in a 3-for-32 slump over his last eight games. Preston Tucker and Jonathan Villar opened the second inning with singles to create another jam, but Hank Conger bunted into a 1-5-3 double play. So this is Chen's plan against the Astros? Two quick singles followed by three outs? Apparently not....

Two years ago, the Houston Astros lost 111 games. They lost 106 in 2011 followed by 107, 111 and 92. So that team is now in first-place? Yep. The 29-16 Astros have the second-best record in the majors (behind only Kansas City at 28-15) and they begin a three-game series in Baltimore this afternoon. Since starting the season 3-5, Houston is 26-11. The Astros have won two in a row and nine of their last 12. They have the best road record in the majors at 14-6. The Astros are 11-4 in one-run games...

The news today from Major League Baseball that Orioles reliever Brian Matusz received an eight-game suspension came as no surprise considering that Milwaukee's Will Smith was handed the same punishment for the same infraction. "Everything is based off precedent," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Matusz is appealing the suspension, also as expected, and remains in the bullpen this afternoon. "Each case is different and that's why you have the appeal process to make sure it's not just...

Judging by appearances and sounds, Orioles pitcher Bud Norris is on the road to recovery as he prepares to hit the road again for his next rehab start. Norris looks like he's feeling better and he's no longer coughing every few minutes. He's moving past the bronchitis that forced him to the disabled list. "I'm getting there," he said. "I didn't know how much it took out of me. I'm glad Buck (Showalter) did what he did and I'm glad I got one under my belt and I've got one more to go....

After pitching in 176 games and 564 innings since 2008 on the O's farm, right-hander Oliver Drake is enjoying his first few days on the Orioles' big league roster. Drake has been with the O's so long that he made his pro debut in Bluefield in 2008, when that club was the Orioles' Rookie-level Appalachian League affiliate. The O's have not had a team there since the 2010 season. Drake spent four years at Double-A Bowie from 2011-2014 before pitching at Triple-A this year. When he got the...

Tanner Roark makes his first start in 2015 after compiling a 15-10 record with an impressive 2.85 ERA as a member of the rotation last season. The blockbuster signing of Max Scherzer bumped Roark to the bullpen this year where the right-hander is 0-2 with a 2.66 ERA and one save in 13 appearances. Doug Fister's trip to the 15-day disabled list with right forearm tightness is the reason for Roark making the spot start for the Nationals. He'll be tasked with facing highly hyped rookie Kris...