Before going on the disabled list with an oblique injury, Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez hadn't allowed a home run in his last two starts, and surrendered only two in his last six. He served up two in five innings against the Rays after being activated on June 17, and he's down 1-0 tonight after the White Sox's Gordon Beckham took him deep in the first inning. The Orioles are 12-27 when their opponent scores first. Gonzalez threw 23 pitches in the first. Conor Gillaspie doubled with one...

The Orioles used the longball early and late last night to beat the White Sox. Home runs are a big part of the Orioles' offense and they lead the majors with 33 in June. The Orioles hit 16 homers in April, 37 in May and now 33 in June. They are also spreading the wealth more. They had just six players hit homers in April and nine in May. This month, 12 different Orioles have contributed to the homer surge. Orioles June homers: 8 - Adam Jones 6 - Chris Davis 3 - Nelson Cruz, Nick Markakis 2...

Veteran left-hander Mark Hendrickson received a tryout from the Orioles today at Camden Yards in his latest attempt to reach agreement on a minor league deal. Hendrickson, 40, has been pitching for the independent York Revolution, where he's 1-0 with a 2.25 ERA in 24 innings. He's a York resident and prefers staying close to home, which the Orioles can make possible if they choose to sign him. Hendrickson contacted the Orioles requesting the tryout. He hasn't pitched in the majors since...

Manny Machado's appeal of his five-game suspension will be heard tomorrow in Baltimore. Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette will join Machado at the hearing. Earlier today, before reporters were informed of the appeal date, Machado talked about the appeal process and the organization's hope that his suspension will be reduced. "I hope we get it down at least below four (games)," he said. "Four for sure. Just because they gave me that extra day without me getting thrown out of...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed today that third baseman Manny Machado's hearing on his appeal of a five-game suspension will take place Wednesday in Baltimore. Executive vice president Dan Duquette will attend the hearing with Machado. A verdict may not be handed down until this weekend, which suits the Orioles, who would prefer to have Machado available for Friday night's doubleheader against the Rays. The Orioles will add Kevin Gausman as a 26th player and he's scheduled to...

MILWAUKEE - Jordan Zimmermann starts at Miller Park tonight with a chance to extend a run of tremendous starts. The Nationals right-hander has allowed three runs in 32 innings for a miniscule 0.84 ERA over his last four starts. He has struck out 27 and walked three while holding opponents to a .153 average and .383 OPS. Despite that, he's just 2-2 in those four starts. Zimmermann, an Auburndale, Wisc., native, matches up with perhaps the Brewers' hottest starter, Yovani Gallardo. The...

As expected, Chris Davis returns to the Orioles lineup tonight following his pinch-hit walk-off home run last night. Steve Pearce continues to bat second as the left fielder. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate after homering in each of the last two games. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Steve Pearce LF Adam Jones CF Nelson Cruz DH Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Caleb Joseph C Miguel Gonzalez RHP For the White Sox Adam Eaton CF Gordon Beckham 2B Conor...

MILWAUKEE - After shutting out the Brewers - the team with the fourth-most runs scored in the major leagues - last night, the Nationals now have the top team ERA in the bigs. Through their first 75 games, the Nats have a 3.00 ERA as a team. And if you prefer more advanced metrics that determine the quality of a pitching staff, consider this: the Nats also rank first in the majors in overall team FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching). Their rotation has been fantastic, especially the last few...

Can one swing turn around a player's season? I guess we are going to find out after Chris Davis' pinch-hit, walk-off homer in the ninth Monday that lifted the Orioles to a 6-4 win over the White Sox. With Toronto's win over New York, the Orioles moved ahead of the Yankees into sole possession of second place and remained 1 1/2 games back of Toronto for the division's top spot. I had a perfectly fine game story ready to go last night. All I needed to do was hit publish when the third out...

MILWAUKEE - Reporters didn't just get to meet with manager Matt Williams after tonight's 3-0 Nationals win. We also got to meet with bench coach Randy Knorr, who took over the managerial duties in the bottom of the second inning after Williams' first career ejection as a big league skipper. Williams was tossed by home plate umpire Mark Wegner for arguing balls and strikes, leaving Knorr in charge the rest of the way. It didn't really matter much who was at the reins tonight, as Gio Gonzalez...