BOSTON - The Orioles are using almost the same lineup as Tuesday with a change at catcher being the only exception. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate after Nick Hundley caught last night's win. Alejandro De Aza is back in left and batting second after recording three extra-base hits yesterday, including his first two Orioles homers. Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen is on the mound seeking his 15th win of the season. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Alejandro De Aza LF Adam Jones CF Nelson Cruz...

I saw a graphic on one of the national sports highlight shows last night that listed the teams in the National League wild card race. There were the Giants, holding the top spot, four games clear of the Pirates, who would earn the second wild card if the season ended today. A couple of the teams chasing them: the Braves, now 1 1/2 games back of Pittsburgh after losing the first two games of this three-game set with the Nationals, and the Brewers, who are in an absolute freefall the last few...

For three consecutive days, the Nationals have not only beaten their National League East opponents and whittled their magic number to 10, but relief pitcher Drew Storen has found himself closing out games and tallying saves. It's nice to see him back in that role after the rough end of season he found himself a part of in 2012 with the Game 5 collapse during the National League Division Series against the St. Louis Cardinals. Since 2012, the Nats have invested in multiple bullpen arms and...

Holding onto a 10-game division lead with a postseason berth looking more likely each day, the focus for many Orioles fans is now shifting toward whether or not their team can claim the American League's No. 1 seed heading into the playoffs. Currently, the Angels hold possession of this, four games ahead of the 85-59 Orioles. While there are many variables within each game that ultimately decide the result, the number of errors committed in the field and the impact they have is a variable,...

BOSTON - Does everyone remember the Orioles' magic number for winning the American League East? Number nine, number nine, number nine, number nine. Hope that helps. Chris Tillman wasn't particularly sharp last night - 108 pitches in five innings offered a clue - but he escaped a jam in the fifth and held the Red Sox to one run. Not a quality start, but a winning one. Nice little rotation the Orioles have built for themselves. Fresh eyes may have been the slogan going into spring...

Chris Tillman's streak lives. He didn't have his best game or stuff by any stretch last night, but he has now recorded 18 straight games allowing three earned runs or fewer. Tillman is is 7-3 with a 2.24 ERA during this stretch that began June 10. Yeah, pretty impressive run of pitching. Tillman's streak is now tied for fourth-longest in Orioles history. From last night's "O's Xtra," here is the list of the longest such streaks by an Oriole: * Dave McNally, 25 straight from May...

BOSTON - The Orioles' magic number is down to nine. Single digits. Don Buford's uniform number. Brady Anderson's number, too, for younger fans. Chris Tillman lasted only five innings and threw 108 pitches, but he's held opponents to three earned runs or fewer in 18 consecutive starts to tie Steve Barber for the fourth-longest streak in club history. Alejandro De Aza hit his first two home runs as an Oriole. Adam Jones cleared one of the signs above the Green Monster with his home run, the...

The Nationals' quick start paid dividends late in a 6-4 series-clinching victory over the Braves on Tuesday night. First baseman Adam LaRoche, the co-Player of the Week in the National League, had two singles and two RBIs has the Nationals built a 5-0 lead against right-hander Ervin Santana after two innings. "That doesn't happen too often against that guy," LaRoche said. "He's a pretty good pitcher. He's got a few different pitches and a lot of times they all look the same coming out of...

The Nationals' division lead is now nine games, the largest it's been since baseball came back to D.C. in 2005 You can pretty much lock up the National League East, folks. Matt Williams' ballclub took another game from the Braves tonight, this one by a 6-4 score, their fifth win in their last seven games against Atlanta. This win locked up a third straight series win over an above-.500 team, trimmed the magic number to 10 and left the Nats up nine games over the Braves with 19 games...

Alejandro De Aza hit his first Orioles homer tonight. Then he hit his second. Then Adam Jones hit one so far it should have counted as two. The Orioles used the longball and Chris Tillman's 18th straight start allowing three earned runs or fewer to beat Boston 4-1 at Fenway Park. The Orioles improved to a season-high 26 games over .500 at 85-59, winning for the 10th time in 13 games and for the 30th time in 44 games. The Orioles reduced their magic number to clinch the American League East...