HOUSTON - Former heavyweight boxing champion and Houston native George Foreman will throw out the ceremonial first pitch for tonight's Civil Rights Game between the Orioles and Astros. Then it's up to Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez to stay on his feet through the later rounds. Gonzalez has registered three straight quality starts, allowing six earned runs in 19 innings. The streak began on May 10 at Camden Yards, when he held the Astros to two runs over seven innings in a 5-4...

Single-A Delmarva outfielder Josh Hart will have arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee and the recovery time is four to six weeks. So the hope is Hart can return to play later this summer. The Orioles' No. 13 prospect according to Baseball America, Hart was injured in the second game of a doubleheader on Monday night. He was going back to play a ball of the wall when the injury happened. Hart was the Orioles' second draft pick in last June's First-Year Player...

In 6 2/3 innings pitched this spring, 26-year-old former Nationals closer Drew Storen gave up nine hits, six walks and six earned runs (8.10 ERA) with opposing hitters posting a .310 batting average against him in Grapefruit League action. Storen endured a tough 2013 campaign in which he was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse for a stretch before returning to finish strong with 19 1/3 innings in the majors that saw him allow just three earned runs (1.40 ERA), while holding opponents to a combined...

Manager: Ron Washington, eighth year Record: 28-26 Last 10 games: 7-3 Who to watch: LF Shin-Soo Choo (.297/.423/.465, 6 HR, 18 RBIs); RF Alex Rios (.325/.356/.486, 22 XBH, 29 RBIs, 10 SB); RHP Yu Darvish (4-2, 2.35 ERA, 1.11 WHIP); RHP Nick Tepesch (2-0, 2.95 ERA, 1.04 WHIP) Season series vs. Nats (2013): Did not play Pitching probables May 30: Colby Lewis vs. Stephen Strasburg, 7 p.m., MASN HD May 31: Nick Tepesch vs. Doug Fister, 12 p.m., MASN HD June 1: Yu Darvish vs. Tanner Roark, 1:30...

Cal Ripken Jr. stepped to the plate in the sixth inning on Sept. 29, 1991, and stroked his second home run of the game against the Detroit Tigers. It would be his 34th and final homer of the season. Ripken, Baltimore's career home run leader, tied Boog Powell for seventh on the O's single-season home run list with that effort; both players now rank 17th. Powell, who has the third-most career home runs in Orioles history, held four of the top 10 spots on the single-season list when Ripken...

Browse the Nationals' individual offensive numbers this season, and it'll take you a bit to get to Nate McLouth's name. In pretty much any major category, go past Jayson Werth and Denard Span and Anthony Rendon. Keep skimming down the page past Wilson Ramos and the struggling Danny Espinosa. Eventually, you'll find McLouth, who sports a lowly .182 batting average and a .582 OPS on the season. But those numbers don't tell the whole story of how McLouth has performed over the season's first...

HOUSTON - With a loss tonight, the Orioles would fall below .500 for the first time since they were 9-10 on April 22. They also would have their third four-game losing streak of the season. The Orioles are 6-12 in their last 18 games, beginning with a loss to the Astros on May 11 at Camden Yards that denied them a sweep of the series. The offense bogs down or the starters can't get through the middle innings or the bullpen buckles under the weight of constant use. "I think we've seen flashes...

There have been a few players off to real solid starts in the Orioles minor leagues this season, but perhaps none is faring better right now than Double-A Bowie first baseman Christian Walker. Walker has always been a good solid hitter with gap-to-gap power, but this year he's continuing to hit for a high average and he's mashing more homers, too. Through 52 games, the 23-year-old right-handed hitter is batting .330 with eight doubles, a triple, 14 homers and 46 RBIs. He has an OBP of .390, a...

HOUSTON - For the first time since April 27, the Orioles are a .500 team. Losing three straight games and eight of 12 will remove you from the positive side of the ledger. "I think if there was an easy fix we would have found it by now," said first baseman Chris Davis. "It's kind of the nature of the beast. Sometimes, you're playing well and you're not clicking on all cylinders, but you're able to get away with it. Right now we're obviously not able to get away with it." Is the...

HOUSTON - There may come a point during the 2014 season when the Orioles are clicking on all cylinders. Quality starts, an abundance of runs and a string of easy victories. For now, it seems to be one or the other. Ubaldo Jimenez escaped enough jams tonight to hold the Astros to one run over six innings, but the Orioles were unable to do much at the plate in a 3-1 loss at Minute Maid Park. The Astros have won six in a row. "He deserved a better fate, but we knew coming in here that they...