In the series and homestand finale today at Camden Yards, the Orioles host Seattle with Chris Tillman (7-5, 3.97 ERA) facing right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma (9-5, 3.06 ERA). Tillman is 5-0 with an ERA of 2.45 in five career starts against Seattle. Four of his five starts have been quality starts. He last faced the Mariners on Aug. 2, 2013 and got the win at Camden Yards. He went 5 1/3 innings, allowing eight hits and six earned runs. Tillman has now gone six straight starts without a win,...

Nelson Cruz is out of the Orioles lineup today for only the second time this season. Cruz's average is down to .262. He batted .215/.282/.364 in June and .211/.292/.379 in July, and he's 1-for-8 with four strikeouts this month. "They're not getting him out. He's getting himself out mostly," said manager Buck Showalter. "It's so tough. You get down 1-2, you just miss a pitch, you hook a ball foul you might normally have kept fair because you're a little quick with your front hip....

Bryce Harper is not in the starting lineup for today's series finale against the Phillies as the Nationals seek a four-game split. Harper had started the Nats' last 11 games and has appeared in all 27 contests since coming back from the disabled list on June 30. Instead, Scott Hairston is starting in left against Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels. Hairston has had tremendous career success versus the Philadelphia southpaw, batting .390/.432/.878 with five homers, five doubles and nine RBIs...

Chris Davis has returned to the Orioles lineup today. Nelson Cruz is on the bench. Cruz is in a 1-for-28 slump. He struck out three times last night. Delmon Young is batting cleanup. He has one at-bat in the fourth spot this season. Manny Machado has four multi-hit games in his last six games, going 11-for-29 (.379). He's totaled six hits in his last two games. Over their last 12 games, Orioles relievers have posted a 1.67 ERA in 37 2/3 innings. Brad Brach has a 1.23 ERA in his last 13...

You have to wonder how much longer the Orioles can count on their pitching to carry them. They are not scoring many runs but have continued to win and lead the American League East by 2 1/2 games with Toronto's loss last night. In the last 20 games, 12 times the Orioles have scored three or fewer runs. They are batting just .213 in those games and scoring 3.2 runs per game. Yet they are 12-8 in that stretch due to strong pitching. Maybe that goes to show that pitching is every bit as...

Nationals third baseman Anthony Rendon had three hits, including a double and a three-run shot, with four RBIs in an 11-0 shutout of the Phillies Saturday night. Rendon needed a triple in one of his final two at-bats to hit for the cycle, but grounded out and flew out. "I heard people in the stands, 'Get the triple, get the triple.' I didn't want to. That means I've got to run more," Rendon smiled. "So I can just stop at second base." Rendon was happy to be able to get just one base...

Orioles catcher Caleb Joseph said he'd like to have one pitch back tonight. It was a changeup on a 1-1 count from Miguel Gonzalez to Robinson Cano with two men on in the fifth inning. The game was tied 1-1 at the time and runners were on second and third. Cano hit his 29th career homer off O's pitching to break the game open and Seattle went on to earn a 6-3 win. "It cost us the game," Joseph said. "We had a base open there and he's a dangerous hitter. We've done the best we can to...

Now that the Orioles' streak of one-run games has ended at seven, they can concentrate on increasing their lead in the American League East. The important stuff. They must be tired of playing the American League West. Not that they're thrilled with Monday's makeup game in D.C., or how they're forced to play at night before boarding their flight to Toronto. Would an afternoon game have killed the Nats? Anyway, Chris Tillman will try to win his second home game this afternoon. He's 1-5...

The Orioles need to get their offense cranked up. They've scored three runs or fewer in six of their last eight games, and four or fewer in 12 of 13 games. The pitching has been outstanding, but that's too much pressure to put on the arms every single night. Miguel Gonzalez's streak of quality starts ended at four. Here's a sampling from manager Buck Showalter following a 6-3 loss to the Mariners before 36,508 at Camden Yards: On Gonzalez "OK. Really made one mistake. Obviously, he's...

Nationals fans can't possibly find much wrong with tonight's ballgame. The Nats pounded out 14 hits, pushed across 11 runs and shut out the Phillies, earning a nice 11-0 win. Jordan Zimmermann worked seven scoreless, Anthony Rendon drove in four and came up a triple away from the cycle and Asdrubal Cabrera had two hits - including a triple - in the win. Here's manager Matt Williams after the game. On Rendon and Denard Span combining to give the Nats a lead two batters into the bottom of...