Steve Pearce remains in the Orioles lineup tonight, but he's starting at first base against White Sox left-hander Chris Sale. Chris Davis is on the bench, with manager Buck Showalter stacking his lineup with right-handed hitters. Delmon Young is serving as the designated hitter. He's 2-for-9 with a double and home run off Sale. As I wrote this morning, Sale has held left-handed hitters to a .194 average in his career. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Steve Pearce 1B Adam Jones CF Nelson...

Kevin Gausman is starting today at Triple-A Norfolk, where he's scheduled to throw one inning against Indianapolis at Harbor Park. It's basically the equivalent of a side session for Gausman, who was optioned late Friday night with the understanding that he will be recalled as the 26th player for this Friday's doubleheader. Gausman will start Game 1 against the Rays. The plan also calls for Gausman to be optioned following his start and return to the Orioles for his next scheduled turn....

Due to emergency repairs to the tracks at the Mount Washington, Cold Spring and Woodberry stations over the next three weeks, fans planning to take the Light Rail to and from Oriole Park should allow extra time in each direction. During the three-week closure, Light Rail will operate on a modified schedule and trains will not travel to the Mt. Washington, Cold Spring or Woodberry stations. Bus bridges will be in place to accommodate passengers traveling between Falls Road station and North...

Second baseman Danny Espinosa has rebounded from a difficult month of May to have a positive month of June so far at the plate. In May, Espinosa struggled to a .125 batting average (10-for-80) before hitting .303 (20-for-66) so far this month. In April, he struck out only 20 times. In May, that ballooned to 37 whiffs. In June, he is back down to 25 with a handful of games to play. In the just-completed four-game series against the Braves, Espinosa connected for five base hits and was able to...

MILWAUKEE - The Nationals wake up this morning in first place in the National League East, 1 1/2 games up on the Braves, right where they were prior to the four-game set with Atlanta over the last handful of days. Looking at the standings, it's as if those four games with the Braves never happened. But they did, and while the Nats just earned a split, it felt like more than that. They had been pushed around by Atlanta over the last couple of seasons, including the first two games of that...

Manager: Ron Roenicke, fourth year Record: 47-30 Last 10 games: 7-3 Who to watch: C Jonathan Lucroy (.331/.397/.520, 26 doubles, 8 HR, 39 RBIs); CF Carlos Gomez (.317/.382/.532, 20 doubles, 12 HR, 40 RBIs); 3B Aramis Ramirez (.297/.341/.500, 10 HR, 38 RBIs); RHP Yovani Gallardo (5-4, 3.34 ERA, 1.20 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats (2013): 3-4, 27 runs scored, 31 runs allowed Pitching probables June 23: Matt Garza vs. Gio Gonzalez, 8 p.m., MASN2 HD June 24: Yovani Gallardo vs. Jordan Zimmermann, 8...

Manager: Robin Ventura, third year Record: 35-41 Last 10 games: 2-8 Who to watch: 1B Jose Abreu (.270/.320/.598, 21 HR, 57 RBIs); 3B Conor Gillaspie (.338/.383/.446, 19 XBH, 26 RBIs); LHP Chris Sale (6-1, 2.20 ERA, 0.75 WHIP); LHP Jose Quintana (3-7, 3.87 ERA, 75 K) Season series vs. O's (2013): 3-4, 18 runs scored, 21 runs allowed Pitching probables June 23: Chris Sale vs. Wei-Yin Chen, 7 p.m., MASN HD June 24: Jose Quintana vs. Miguel Gonzalez, 7 p.m., MASN HD June 25: Hector Noesi vs....

The Orioles are finding some of their best offensive production from the unlikeliest of places through the first three months of the season. Steve Pearce has given the Birds a surprising boost and is forcing Buck Showalter to pencil his name into the lineup more often lately. It's a bit funny to look at the 31-year-old's career numbers and realize that some of the game's best players enjoy those types of spoils in one season. Pearce has 23 home runs and 110 RBIs in his seven big league...

The Summer Solstice is a day of celebration in many cultures, and now Nationals fans might want to adopt it as a holiday of their own after a magical and momentous series against the Atlanta Braves. Those who paid close enough attention Saturday evening might have actually noticed the Earth tilting and the momentum shifting at Nationals Park. In the waning moments of the year's latest daylight, the Nats rolled back the tide of disappointment against the Braves, and possibly set the tone for...

Two Orioles players have consistently led at their respective positions in the 2014 All-Star voting. As for the rest, well, they are running out of time. With less than two weeks remaining in online All-Star voting, Nelson Cruz is still leading at designated hitter, and Matt Wieters stands atop the leaderboard among American League catchers. Cruz is tied for first in the majors with 23 home runs, and has collected 2,457,349 votes. He holds about an 800,000-vote lead over the Red Sox's David...