With the Blue Jays and Yankees winning today, the Orioles need to defeat the Athletics tonight to maintain their four-game lead in the American League East. No pressure. According to STATS, the Orioles have been tied or led after seven innings in 10 of 11 games against the Athletics dating back to 2013, but are only 6-5. Manny Machado has reached base safely in a career-high 17 consecutive games since June 22, batting .415/.457/.754. In his last 37 games since May 31, he's batting...

When Orioles manager Buck Showalter lined up his rotation coming out of the break, he leaned heavily on match-ups against opponents on their West Coast trip. Wei-Yin Chen's slot was pretty much a no-brainer. Chen starts tonight at O.co Coliseum, and he's 3-0 with a 1.00 ERA lifetime against the Athletics. He's allowed three earned runs in 27 innings, with eight walks and 25 strikeouts. In his only start in Oakland, Chen threw a career-high eight scoreless innings and earned the win on...

Aside from the starting pitcher - in this case, right-hander Tanner Roark - it'll be a familiar Nationals lineup facing Brewers righty Matt Garza tonight at Nats Park. For the NationalsCF Denard Span 2B Anthony Rendon RF Jayson Werth 1B Adam LaRoche 3B Ryan Zimmerman LF Bryce Harper SS Ian Desmond C Wilson Ramos RHP Tanner Roark

Right-hander Steve Johnson is headed to Triple-A Norfolk today and will start Wednesday night against the Toledo Mud Hens at Harbor Park. Johnson has been on the disabled list with shoulder tendinitis. He's made one start with the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles and three with short-season Single-A Aberdeen, never going more than three innings. Johnson will remain on a strict pitch count Wednesday night, likely topping out at 50. In his most recent start with Aberdeen, Johnson allowed...

It was immediately evident when Bryce Harper hopped into the batting cage at Nationals Park yesterday afternoon that the 21-year-old had made some changes to his stance since we last saw him prior to the All-Star break. Harper was standing taller, without much knee-bend at all, and didn't have his hands perched up behind his head like he typically does. I thought that it looked similar to the stance that Steve Lombardozzi used during his time with the Nationals, and others compared it to one...

Well, some Orioles fans may be waking up this morning still feeling that gut punch from just after midnight. The Oakland A's entered the last of the ninth behind 4-2 and Zach Britton came on. He entered with an ERA of 1.30 and was riding a 10-inning scoreless streak. But an impressive win turned into a tough loss in a span of six pitches. Yoenis Cespedes came up with an infield single on an 0-2 pitch. Brandon Moss blooped a single on a 1-0 pitch. Josh Donaldson hit a walk-off three-run homer...

The Orioles opened the second half of their season last night - not the mathematical one, but the one dictated by their schedule - with a rotation that accounted for 543 1/3 innings, the fewest for any team with a winning record. The starters' 4.09 ERA ranked 23rd in the majors and 11th in the American League. Yes, there's been a surge. Before last night, the rotation had posted a 3.18 ERA in 33 games since June 9. Chris Tillman allowed two runs in 6 2/3 innings last night and has notched...

What looked like an impressive win rapidly turned into a stunning loss in the bottom of the ninth inning. Down 4-2 when the inning began, Josh Donaldson hit a three-run, walk-off homer off Zach Britton as the A's stunned the Orioles 5-4 in the series and road trip opener. The Orioles had taken a 4-2 lead on Manny Machado's two-run homer in the top of the seventh. Britton came on to start the ninth and Yoenis Cespedes reached on an infield single to third. Brandon Moss followed with a bloop...

For those of you keeping score at home, Oakland pitchers have hit three Orioles in tonight's game. Starter Jeff Samardzija nailed Caleb Joseph and J.J. Hardy, the latter taking a shot to the back of the helmet. Not to be outdone, reliever Ryan Cook hit Adam Jones on the left shoulder in the top of the eighth inning, the ball coming dangerously close to the face. I'm not suggesting that the pitches were intentional, but that's not going to make the Orioles feel much better. Factor in...

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg took the 4-2 loss Friday night against the Brewers. Two early home runs by Scooter Gennett and Khris Davis set the tone. But a two-out walk turned into a huge play in the game. It came in the third, with Milwaukee already leading 2-0. Strasburg had set down Kyle Lohse and Carlos Gomez to begin the inning. But it only took four pitches to get Gennett on base. Ryan Braun followed with a double. Aramis Ramirez then blooped a single down the right field line that...