ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Nick Markakis led off today's game against the Rays with a single into center field, his 1,459th hit with the Orioles. He's 115 behind Boog Powell for fifth on the club's all-time list. Too soon to keep track? Markakis began the day batting .301/.360/.418 with 14 doubles, a triple, six homers and 28 RBIs in 70 games. He's now batting .406 in the first inning this season. Showalter was curious about the All-Star voting and how Matt Wieters continues to lead American...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter is giving rookie Caleb Joseph the start behind the plate again today following a night game. What do you get a catcher for his 28th birthday? More at-bats. Joseph has caught Kevin Gausman's last two starts, with the right-hander allowing two runs in 13 innings. "I don't know about paired, but that's some of it," Showalter said. "We've got an off-day tomorrow. Just stay there for the time being with Caleb. "We'll see what...

The Orioles have not lost a road series to an American League East rival this year and they'd like to avoid doing that today. They are 10-5 in American League East road games and 3-0-1 in four series. The Orioles went 2-1 at New York, 2-2 at Boston, 2-1 at Toronto, 3-0 at Tampa Bay and now are 1-1 in this series against the Rays. When the Orioles made the 2012 playoffs, they went 9-3 in AL East road series and went 21-15 on the road in the division. Kevin Gausman (2-1, 3.71 ERA) gets the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Steve Pearce is starting in left field and batting second for the Orioles again today after contributing a home run, double and two walks in last night's game against the Rays. Caleb Joseph is catching a day game after a night game to keep him working with Kevin Gausman. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Steve Pearce LF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Nelson Cruz DH J.J. Hardy SS Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Caleb Joseph C Kevin Gausman RHP For the Rays Matt Joyce...

We're almost three months into the season, so you might not think the new Nationals skipper is very new anymore. But how well do you know Matt Williams? We'll be getting to know just what the manager is all about with his "Ask Matt" blog all season long. This week, we sent Dan Kolko to Williams' office to ask the hard-hitting question: Would you rather? Would you rather only chew bubble gum or sunflower seeds? Would you rather have Jayson Werth's facial hair or Adam Laroche's? Would...

Worn fingernails, mood swings and high blood pressure - Welcome to the life of an Orioles fan. A frustrating season has continued to fray the nerves of us fans this past week or so, after our team failed to take advantage of eight consecutive quality starts by winning just four games. Those that follow me on Twitter (@DC_TBLDaily) will know I speak my mind and immediately after Monday night's painful loss to the Rays, I said there won't be any holding back in this week's blog post. I'm...

Over Ian Desmond's first 20 games played this season, he made a whopping eight errors in just 66 chances. His fielding percentage three weeks into the season was .879, and Desmond admitted at the time that he was getting frustrated by all the miscues, even saying that stretch was comparable to other "dark places defensively" that he'd been in earlier in his career. "The errors in the past have made me who I am today," Desmond said at the time. "These are going to make me a better man,...

Here is a pretty impressive stat: In Zach Britton's last five saves, he has needed just 42 total pitches to get those 15 outs. Talk about a lack of drama in the ninth inning. Orioles fans could get used to that. We can't expect Britton to keep doing it this efficiently, but in those outings he needed, in order, eight, eight, 10, 10 and six pitches to get those saves. He is 8-for-9 in save chances this season. He is pounding that two-seamer and getting grounder after grounder. He got three...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles wrap up their series with the Rays this afternoon before enjoying an off-day in New York. The schedule actually favors them for a change. No 4 a.m. arrival. And, you know, an entire day and night in the Big Apple before another big series against a division rival. Time to unwind, fellas. Kevin Gausman makes his second career start and third appearance against the Rays. He allowed seven runs and eight hits over 4 1/3 innings in a June 8, 2013 loss at...

The Nationals had only one extra base hit against the Cardinals over the weekend. They lost all three games and managed three total runs. On Tuesday, the Nationals edged the Astros 6-5 thanks in a pair of doubles each from Ryan Zimmerman, and Anthony Rendon. The duo combined to go 4-for-8 with two runs, four doubles, a walk and five RBIs. Astros starter Dallas Keuchel (8-4) arrived in D.C. with an 8-3 record and was 6-0 on the road. He had won six of his last seven decisions. Rendon said...