Orioles fans have seen it before - Robinson Cano with a big home run at Camden Yards. This time it was a three-run shot in the fifth inning tonight that lifted the Seattle Mariners to a 6-3 win over the Orioles. The Orioles fall to 61-48, but with Toronto's 8-2 loss to Houston, they maintain their 2 1/2 game lead on the Blue Jays atop the American League East. Seattle came up in the fifth of a 1-1 tie against Miguel Gonzalez. Austin Jackson singled with one out and went to third on Dustin...

Dustin Ackley homered onto the flag court in right field with one out in the top of the third to draw Seattle even with the Orioles at 1-1. Miguel Gonzalez followed his 11-pitch first inning with 30 pitches in the second, leaving the bases loaded. He wishes he hadn't thrown Ackley that two-seam fastball in the third. The Orioles stranded two runners in the bottom of the second after J.J. Hardy reached on an infield hit and Jonathan Schoop walked. James Paxton has thrown 46 pitches in two...

Friday night, manager Matt Williams repeated a famous line by actress Susan Sarandon, playing Annie Savoy in the movie "Bull Durham," where she said, 'Hit 'em where they ain't.' The Nationals had only seven hits in Friday's 2-1 loss to the Phillies, their sixth loss in the past nine games. On Saturday, the Nationals started the game by listening to Sarandon's character with a pair of base hits in the bottom of the first against Phillies right-hander A.J. Burnett. Denard Span singled...

Miguel Gonzalez had a nice little 11-pitch inning in the top of the first, retiring the Mariners in order on a line drive, popup and ground ball. Robinson Cano is now 2-for-25 against Gonzalez after his roller to second. Mariners left-hander James Paxton came off the 60-day disabled list to make tonight's start. He hasn't faced major league hitters since April 8. Manny Machado followed Nick Markakis' leadoff walk with a double to left field, and Adam Jones' ground ball gave the Orioles a...

Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper had a single in his first at-bat Friday night. He grounded out to short in the fourth. His final two at-bats were strikeouts. But the last at-bat, in a critical bottom of the ninth situation with two men on and one out, Harper worked Phillies closer Jonathan Papelbon to a 3-2 count before finally succumbing to a wicked splitter. Manager Matt Williams talked about what a hitter like Harper goes through as he tries to get into a better rhythm to find...

The Orioles have won four of their last five and six of eight games. They are 24-12 in their last 36 games. They are 10-3 in their last 13 home games. They'd like all that winning to continue tonight at home against Seattle when Miguel Gonzalez (5-5, 3.77 ERA) faces 24-year-old left-hander James Paxton (2-0, 2.25 ERA). Gonzalez is pitching very well recently. He's given up two or fewer earned runs in four straight starts and seven of his last 10. He is 1-0 with an ERA of 1.82 in the past...

In the third game of the Nationals' four-game series with the Phillies, they will be fielding the same lineup as they did for Friday night's 2-1 loss. Asdrubal Cabrera makes his second appearance since being acquired from Cleveland on Thursday. He'll again bat seventh and play second base. Right-hander Jordan Zimmermann is on the hill against Phillies right-hander A.J. Burnett. Zimmermann is coming off a strong start in Miami where he allowed two runs on four hits in seven innings. That...

This is quite a good trend for Orioles pitching. The staff ERA has improved during each month this year. The ERA went from 4.49 in March/April to 4.00 in May to 3.46 in June to 2.96 in July. That July mark was the fourth-best team ERA in the majors for the month and best July ERA by an O's pitching staff since the 1976 team posted a 2.90 ERA. It was the best ERA in a full month (minimum 20 games) by any O's squad since the 2.90 mark from May 1981. For the season, the Orioles' 3.69 team ERA...

Chris Davis is out of the Orioles lineup tonight for a variety of reasons, but his prolonged slump seems to be the primary issue. Davis batted .175/.292/.381 with six homers and 36 strikeouts in June, and .167/.250/.333 with four homers and 38 strikeouts in July. He showed up early again today to work on his swing mechanics in the indoor cage. The Orioles are facing a tough young left-hander in Seattle's James Paxton. Nick Markakis is the only left-handed batter in tonight's lineup. Also,...

One day after returning to the Orioles lineup following a bout with the flu, Chris Davis is sitting once again. Davis has started just one of the Orioles' last five games and is mired in a lengthy slump. Steve Pearce will man first in his place. Miguel Gonzalez, tonight's starter, is 2-2 with a 3.24 ERA in seven home starts this season. He's faced the Mariners once in his career, allowing one earned run in six innings on July 27. Robinson Cano is 2-for-24 lifetime against Gonzalez....