Let's be honest, the Orioles are running away with the American League East. A few years ago, I never thought I would get to say those words, but here in 2014, it's totally true. The O's are 21 games over .500 and have a nine-game lead over the Toronto Blue Jays. Their postseason odds have now soared as high at 97.1 percent, according to Baseball Prospectus, with a 96 percent chance of winning the division. Baseball in October is almost a certainty in Baltimore this year. There's even a...

CHICAGO - Regarded as the best left-handed reliever available at the non-waiver trade deadline, Andrew Miller had to feel some pressure upon entering the Orioles bullpen, upon cracking their inner circle. The team was in the thick of a pennant race and he jumped into the middle of it with expectations taller than his listed height. The guy is 6-foot-7. You get the point. Miller has responded beautifully, allowing one run and two hits in 7 1/3 innings, with three walks and 11 strikeouts. "I...

Jeff Manto is in his first season as the Orioles' coordinator of minor league hitting. He was hired Nov. 5 and brings a lot of experience to this job. That includes time as a big league player and also as the major league hitting coach with Pittsburgh from 2006-07 and with the Chicago White Sox from 2012-13. This week, I had the chance to talk at length with Manto about his first year in this job and also get his opinion on some of the hitters in the O's minors. We'll run several blogs in...

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon was given the day off to rest. But he still managed to produce the biggest hit of the ballgame. Rendon's walk-off single down the left field line scored Bryce Harper from third base and the Nationals upended the Diamondbacks 3-2 for their ninth win in a row. It is their longest winning streak since 2005. Rendon admitted pinch-hitting was "different to say the least, but it was awesome." "I talked to a lot of the veteran guys, (Greg) Dobbs when he...

CHICAGO - Reliever Darren O'Day remains one of my favorite interviews inside the Orioles clubhouse, so let's start with him tonight. O'Day stranded two runners in the eighth by striking out Jose Abreu and Avisail Garcia. Zach Britton retired the White Sox in order in the ninth and the Orioles completed their sweep with a 4-3 victory at U.S. Cellular Field. "Actually, I didn't feel that good tonight," O'Day said. "Sometimes that's when you pitch better. But it's late in the season....

This is starting to get ridiculous. The Nationals have won nine games in a row. They've had four walk-off wins in their last five games. They've had three blown saves in a four-game span, and it hasn't seemed to matter. They continue to come back, they continue to scratch out runs late in games, and they continue to roll off victories. If you're a Nats fan, it doesn't get much better than this. Tonight, the Nats took a 2-0 lead into the eighth, until Tyler Clippard surrendered a...

Some nights the Orioles get a high percentage of their runs from home runs. Some nights they get all their runs from home runs. It often seems to work out well for them. The O's bashed three more homers, producing all their runs tonight in a 4-3 win over the Chicago White Sox as they swept the three-game series at U.S. Cellular Field. The Orioles improved to 73-52 to go a season-high 21 games over the .500 mark. The Orioles completed their third sweep of the season of three or more games....

CHICAGO - The Orioles' rotation came through with another quality start, Darren O'Day made another clutch appearance, Zach Britton picked up his 27th save and the Orioles swept the White Sox in Chicago for the first time since July 6-9, 1995. Orioles 4, White Sox 3 The Orioles moved 21 games above .500 at 73-52. They lead the Blue Jays by nine games and the Yankees by 9 1/2 in the American League East. The Orioles improved to 25-18 in one-run games and 39-26 on the road. Wei-Yin Chen...

CHICAGO - Orioles left-hander Wei-Yin Chen has now allowed a home run in three consecutive starts after Avisail Garcia's two-run shot tonight with two outs in the bottom of the first inning gave the White Sox a 2-0 lead. Jose Abreu singled with two outs before Garcia hit his third home run of the season on a changeup, the ball traveling an estimated 337 feet to left field. Adam Jones lined a single into right field tonight with two outs in the top of the first inning. He's 6-for-14 with a...

Wednesday's game was delayed a grand total of 12 minutes thanks to a late afternoon rain shower. The Nationals and Diamondbacks got under way with right-hander Tanner Roark facing fellow righty Trevor Cahill. The Nationals are seeking their ninth straight win which would be the first nine-game winning streak for the team since 2005. The Nationals got some work done in the second inning against Cahill. After a one out walk to Ian Desmond, Bryce Harper singled. Desmond moved to second base...