ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Delmon Young is batting .296 this season. He's collected a hit in five of his last six games - he failed as a pinch-hitter Friday night - and has homered in two of his last five games. The Orioles are facing a left-hander tonight. Young seems like the obvious choice to serve as the designated hitter, with Nelson Cruz starting in left field. Or is he? Young is 2-for-21 (.095) lifetime against Tampa Bay's Erik Bedard, the former Oriole who's making his 13th appearance...

Manager: Bo Porter, second year Record: 32-39 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: RF George Springer (.245/.341/.470, 12 HR, 36 RBIs); CF Dexter Fowler (.284/.389/.412, 19 XBH, 41 R, 22 RBIs); 2B Jose Altuve (.318/.359/.428, 25 XBH, 22 RBIs, 24 SB); LHP Dallas Keuchel (8-3, 2.38 ERA, 0.99 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats: 0-2, 3 runs scored, 11 runs allowed Pitching probables June 17: Dallas Keuchel vs. Tanner Roark, 7 p.m., MASN2 HD June 18: Scott Feldman vs. Gio Gonzalez, 7 p.m., MASN HD Series...

The outpouring of condolences and stories of prowess seen in the wake of Tony Gwynn's passing yesterday were befitting of the man who embodied so much of what was and still is right with the game of baseball. A tireless worker with a fatherly physique that ran counter to many of his contemporaries and to his talent, Gwynn was the ultimate ambassador of the game. That was the case despite Gwynn playing for a San Diego Padres team often mired in mediocrity and often forgotten in terms of...

When the Orioles chose to sign what Ubaldo Jimenez and Nelson Cruz, two free-agent stragglers with free-agent compensation attached to them, it was a blessing and a curse for the amateur scouts in the organization. Bad news first - the curse was the continual loss of top selections in the draft. Add in the loss of a competitive pick, which the team dealt in the Bud Norris trade last year, and the Orioles handed over three picks over the first two rounds. The major league draft is one where...

In the nine games prior to the Nationals' current four-game losing streak, the offense came to life in a big way. The Nats slugged 36 extra-base hits in those nine contests (eight homers, three triples and 25 doubles). They hit .265 as a team with a .338 on-base percentage and .442 slugging percentage. They averaged 5.67 runs per game. Combine that offensive punch with the tremendous pitching that the Nats got during that stretch, and it's not a surprise that the team went 8-1 over those...

Sure, he has a famous baseball name, but this year Mike Yastrzemski is making a name for himself. He's had a huge year, filling up the stat sheet for Single-A Delmarva, and is one of seven Shorebirds that will play in tonight's South Atlantic League All-Star game in Hickory, N.C. Over 63 games, the grandson of Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski is batting .306 with 14 doubles, a league-leading 10 triples, 10 homers and 44 RBIs. The Orioles' 14th-round pick in 2013 out of Vanderbilt has an OBP...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles will make a roster move this afternoon, activating Miguel Gonzalez for tonight's start against the Rays and sending out a pitcher. It won't be Kevin Gausman, who starts on Wednesday. Orioles catcher Matt Wieters will undergo surgery at noon to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow, also known as a "UCL." It's not to be confused with the school that won 10 national championships under John Wooden. The Orioles will let us know...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - For one of the few times since he moved to the bullpen, Orioles left-hander Brian Matusz couldn't keep an inherited runner from scoring. The batter also rounded the bases tonight, the decisive blow in the Orioles' 5-4 loss to the Rays at Tropicana Field. Pinch-hitter Jerry Sands smacked a two-run homer off Matusz with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to break a 3-3 tie. He got ahead in the count 2-0 and pulled a 91 mph fastball into the left field seats. Matusz...

Another quality start, but another loss for the Baltimore Orioles. Another night with not much offense and this one went wrong with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. After the Orioles tied the game 3-3 in the top of the eighth, Brian Matusz came on to face lefty David DeJesus with two outs and a man on first, but the Rays instead sent up pinch hitter Jerry Sands, a right-handed hitter. Sands hit a two-run homer to left on a 2-0 pitch to snap the tie and lift Tampa Bay to a 5-4 win...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Jerry Sands picked an opportune time to hit his first home run of the season. Sands, pinch-hitting for David DeJesus, belted a two-run homer off left-hander Brian Matusz with two outs in the eighth to give Tampa Bay a 5-3 lead. It's the first pinch-hit homer of Sands' career and the second for the Rays this season. The Orioles had tied the game in the top of the eighth, but they couldn't score again after loading the bases with one out. The run was charged to Grant...