A night of frustration on offense for the Orioles ended with one big swing in the last of the eighth tonight. A Nelson Cruz grand slam tied the game against Chicago at 4-4. It took a bit longer to win it but the Orioles did that. David Lough scored from third on a Daniel Webb wild pitch in the last of the 12th as the Orioles won it 5-4. Catcher Nick Hundley led off the 12th with a walk and Lough came in to pinch-run. Nick Markakis singled to right-center and Lough advanced to third with no...

As a free agent after the 1978 season, pitcher Steve Stone chose the Orioles over other teams because he liked their chances to make the World Series. He was right. In his only Fall Classic, Stone pitched two innings in the Orioles' 1979 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates. His 1980 season, though, was one for the ages in Orioles history: Stone won 25 games and the American League Cy Young Award. He is the last Orioles pitcher to win the award, joining Mike Cuellar, Jim Palmer (three times) and...

Does it still count as an off-day if a game goes past midnight? The Orioles will take it, no matter the definition. It's still going to feel like rest. The bullpen could use it after manager Buck Showalter called upon six relievers in last night's 5-4, 12-inning victory over the White Sox, though he skillfully limited their pitch counts to make them available for Friday's doubleheader. Brad Brach threw eight, Darren O'Day 14, Zach Britton 16, Ryan Webb 19, Brian Matusz 24 and Tommy Hunter...

It happened. The Orioles got into the White Sox bullpen and it happened. Nelson Cruz's two-out grand slam off reliever Javy Guerra in the bottom of the eighth inning tied the game 4-4. It's Cruz's eighth career slam and his second this season, the other coming April 23 in Toronto. He's hit 24 homers and driven in 64 runs this season Sounds like an All-Star to me. White Sox manager Robin Ventura used three relievers in the eighth. It wasn't enough. Or perhaps it was too many. Nick...

The walks that have plagued Orioles pitcher Ubaldo Jimenez this season rest entirely on his shoulders. He takes full responsibility. But he can't control each time the offense goes into shutdown mode while he's on the mound. White Sox right-hander Hector Noesi is blanking the Orioles tonight on four hits over six innings. He's thrown only 63 pitches. Jimenez held the White Sox to two runs over the first six innings before Tyler Flower's two-run single with none out in the seventh. Flowers...

Through three innings of tonight's game against the White Sox, Orioles starter Ubaldo Jimenez has not issued a walk. Through three innings, Jimenez has thrown 29 of his 38 pitches for strikes. He's stayed in control. The Orioles hope it lasts. Jimenez issued six walks in 5 2/3 innings in Friday night's start against the Yankees, and the Orioles were forced to make a roster move after the game, optioning Kevin Gausman and bringing up Brad Brad to aid the bullpen. In his last three outings,...

Manager Matt Williams provided reporters with his thoughts on Stephen Strasburg's rough start, rookie Taylor Hill's first outing and the dustup between Ian Desmond and Carlos Gomez following the Nationals' 9-2 loss to the Brewers. Strasburg fell to 6-6 with perhaps his worst start of the season. Hill saved the bullpen by pitching the final 3 1/3 innings and cooler heads prevailed after Desmond and Gomez went at each other following the eighth inning. Here's what Williams had to say after...

Stephen Strasburg's struggles and Taylor Hill's major league debut in Wednesday's series-ending 9-2 loss to the Brewers were overshadowed by a few tense moments after the eighth inning. The eighth had ended on a double play where Milwaukee's Carlos Gomez, after being hit by a Hill pitch, slid hard into Kevin Frandsen at second trying to break it up. Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond didn't like the fact that Gomez issued a takeout slide in that situation, potentially hurting Frandsen late in...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed this afternoon that Chris Tillman will pitch Game 2 of Friday night's doubleheader against the Rays after Kevin Gausman takes the mound for the opener. However, he can't provide an exact date for Bud Norris' next outing. "Tillman will throw Friday night, second game," Showalter said. "We can push Bud back as far as (July 1) if we want to. Just don't think Friday is a good option. A little tentative, but better." Asked whether Saturday was a...

The Orioles' Nelson Cruz seems on his way to ending Boston's David Ortiz's three-year run as the starting designated hitter for the American League All-Star team. Cruz, an All-Star in 2009 and again last year, has a sizable lead in the fan voting released Sunday. Cruz has 2,457,349 votes to 1,652,470 for Ortiz. With 23 homers, Cruz ranks second in the majors in that category to Toronto's Edwin Encarnacion, who has 24 homers. It seems there is a good chance Cruz will be asked to take part in...