Miguel Gonzalez had a nice little 11-pitch inning in the top of the first, retiring the Mariners in order on a line drive, popup and ground ball. Robinson Cano is now 2-for-25 against Gonzalez after his roller to second. Mariners left-hander James Paxton came off the 60-day disabled list to make tonight's start. He hasn't faced major league hitters since April 8. Manny Machado followed Nick Markakis' leadoff walk with a double to left field, and Adam Jones' ground ball gave the Orioles a...

Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper had a single in his first at-bat Friday night. He grounded out to short in the fourth. His final two at-bats were strikeouts. But the last at-bat, in a critical bottom of the ninth situation with two men on and one out, Harper worked Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon to a 3-2 count before finally succumbing to a wicked splitter. Manager Matt Williams talked about what a hitter like Harper goes through as he tries to get into a better rhythm to find...

The Orioles have won four of their last five and six of eight games. They are 24-12 in their last 36 games. They are 10-3 in their last 13 home games. They'd like all that winning to continue tonight at home against Seattle when Miguel Gonzalez (5-5, 3.77 ERA) faces 24-year-old left-hander James Paxton (2-0, 2.25 ERA). Gonzalez is pitching very well recently. He's given up two or fewer earned runs in four straight starts and seven of his last 10. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.82 in the past...

In the third game of the Nationals' four-game series with the Phillies, they will be fielding the same lineup as they did for Friday night's 2-1 loss. Asdrubal Cabrera makes his second appearance since being acquired from Cleveland on Thursday. He'll again bat seventh and play second base. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann is on the hill against Phillies right-hander A.J. Burnett. Zimmermann is coming off a strong start in Miami where he allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings. That...

This is quite a good trend for Orioles pitching. The staff ERA has improved during each month this year. The ERA went from 4.49 in March/April to 4.00 in May to 3.46 in June to 2.96 in July. That July mark was the fourth-best team ERA in the majors for the month and best July ERA by an O's pitching staff since the 1976 team posted a 2.90 ERA. It was the best ERA in a full month (minimum 20 games) by any O's squad since the 2.90 mark from May 1981. For the season, the Orioles' 3.69 team ERA...

Chris Davis is out of the Orioles lineup tonight for a variety of reasons, but his prolonged slump seems to be the primary issue. Davis batted .175/.292/.381 with six homers and 36 strikeouts in June, and .167/.250/.333 with four homers and 38 strikeouts in July. He showed up early again today to work on his swing mechanics in the indoor cage. The Orioles are facing a tough young left-hander in Seattle's James Paxton. Nick Markakis is the only left-handed batter in tonight's lineup. Also,...

One day after returning to the Orioles lineup following a bout with the flu, Chris Davis is sitting once again. Davis has started just one of the Orioles' last five games and is mired in a lengthy slump. Steve Pearce will man first in his place. Miguel Gonzalez, tonight's starter, is 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA in seven home starts this season. He's faced the Mariners once in his career, allowing one earned run in six innings on July 27. Robinson Cano is 2-for-24 lifetime against Gonzalez....

SALISBURY, Md. - Mitch Horacek prefers to live in the present, believing that philosophy is a pitcher's best friend. Ignore the call the umpire didn't give you on the batter now standing at first base, even though he might have been the third out of the inning. Forget about the slugger waiting in the on-deck circle in a one-run game. Just focus on the here and now, says the Single-A Delmarva left-hander, and you'll be fine. Not that it's so easy, mind you. "The hardest part is trying to...

How much can one man change how a team performs? Depends how you look at it. The facts are these: the Nationals are 33-19 when Ryan Zimmerman is in the starting lineup this season. Without him, they're 25-30. Since Zimmerman landed on the disabled list with a right hamstring strain a week and a half ago, the Nats are 3-6. In those nine games, they've scored 27 runs and haven't hit a homer. Yes, the Nats miss Zimmerman. Yes, he's a big part of their lineup, both in terms of production...

When Don Buford came to Baltimore in a trade from the Chicago White Sox before the 1968 season, he wasn't sure where he was going to play. So he asked coach Earl Weaver to lobby manager Hank Bauer to let him play in the outfield. "The Orioles had Davey Johnson at second and Mark Belanger at shortstop and the outfield had Paul Blair, Curt Blefary and Frank Robinson, so I didn't know where I was going to play," Buford says. "I asked Earl if he'd tell Hank Bauer that I could play the...