NEW YORK - The Yankees scored five runs tonight. The Orioles had three baserunners. It's easy to figure out which team was victorious. The Orioles were held to one hit, J.J. Hardy's single in the fifth inning, in a 5-0 loss at Yankee Stadium. Michael Pineda retired 22 of 24 batters, and the Orioles lost for the third time in their last four games. Wei-Yin Chen allowed four runs (two earned) in six innings. He's scheduled to start again on Saturday, which lines him up to pitch Game 2 of...

Micheal Pineda was on tonight and that meant the Orioles' offense was off. The New York right-hander retired 22 of the 24 batters he faced as the Yankees beat the Orioles 5-0 on a one-hitter in the opener of a four-game series. With the loss the Orioles are 93-63 with six games to play in the regular season. This ends any longshot hopes at a 100-win season. The Orioles have lost three of four since they went through a stretch with 10 wins in 11 games. With the Detroit Tigers loss tonight...

NEW YORK - Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen needed only seven pitches tonight to retire the Yankees in order in the first inning. Now, he needs an Orioles rally after giving up two runs in the third. Both runs were unearned after Ryan Flaherty's throwing error to start the inning. Jose Pirela, making his major league debut, tripled to left-center field, and he scored on Derek Jeter's bouncer to short. Pirela is the 57th player used by the Yankees, setting a franchise record for the most in a...

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter hasn't passed along his rotation for the Division Series, but he confirmed that he's going to use four starters. Showalter joked that the Game 1 starter is obvious. It's going to be Chris Tillman. I believe that Wei-Yin Chen will start Game 2, followed by Miguel Gonzalez in Game 3 and Bud Norris in Game 4. However, changes are possible depending on the opponent. Nothing is official or etched in stone. Showalter has his rotation lined up for the...

From 1998 through last season the Orioles never won a season series against the New York Yankees. They tied the season series twice - going 9-9 in 2007 and 2012 - but lost the season series 14 times. This year is quite different, however. The Orioles are 11-4 against the Yankees, going 7-2 at home and 4-2 on the road. The teams have played five series and the Orioles have won all five. Baltimore's current .733 winning percentage against the Yankees is the third-best mark in single season...

NEW YORK - The Orioles slowly are regaining their health. Nick Markakis has returned to the lineup after being sidelined with a bruised right shoulder, and Steve Pearce expects to play Wednesday night after receiving a cortisone injection in his right wrist. Pearce was scratched from Friday's lineup after batting practice. "They said I'll either play tomorrow or the following day. I don't know. The way it sounds, most likely the following day," Pearce said. "Everything's fine. We...

NEW YORK - Nick Markakis returns to the Orioles lineup tonight after missing four games with a bruised right shoulder. He's been out since being hit by a pitch from Toronto's Aaron Loup on Tuesday. He'll lead off and play right field. Wei-Yin Chen comes into tonight's start with 16 wins, the most by an Orioles left-hander in a single season since Jeff Ballard went 18-8 in 1989. Mike Cuellar and Dave McNally share the single-season club record for wins by a southpaw with 24 in 1970. For the...

Major League Baseball and Chevrolet, the official vehicle of MLB, announced that Ian Desmond was named the Washington Nationals' 2014 nominee for the prestigious Roberto Clemente Award presented by Chevrolet. Desmond is one of the 30 Club finalists for the annual Award, which recognizes a Major League Baseball player who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement. During the pregame ceremony...

Like many Orioles fans, Karl Breslaw had today's date circled on his calendar. He was awaiting the delivery of his postseason tickets, coveted ducats that would allow him to view his beloved Birds in the American League Division Series, maybe the American League Championship Series and, hopefully, their first World Series since 1983. There's only one problem: Breslaw briefly ignored the sound of the package being tossed onto his porch by a FedEx driver. And there were almost disastrous...

NEW YORK - The Orioles' starters for the last three games of their series against the Yankees are no longer listed as TBA. Ubaldo Jimenez will take the mound Tuesday night at Yankee Stadium, a game that's now going to air on ESPN. Bud Norris starts Wednesday afternoon and Kevin Gausman starts Thursday night. (ESPN refers to Tuesday's matchup as a "Postseason Impact Game," which is an odd way of spelling "Jeter.") Manager Buck Showalter wants to provide an extra day of rest for his...