BOSTON - If the benches empty tonight at Fenway Park, it's only because both teams realize they have an 11 a.m. game the following morning and are in a rush to get out of there. Seriously, who made up this schedule? What's next, a night game at Camden Yards followed by breakfast at Wimbledon? It's probably too soon to put heavy emphasis on a start, but Ubaldo Jimenez could use a quality one. He's 0-3 with a 7.31 ERA in his first three outings, with 13 runs and 23 hits in 16 innings....

Are some fans concerned about O's first baseman Chris Davis? I can sense the answer to that question is yes but I don't see any reason to be concerned yet. Yes, Davis has just one homer and has not looked good at the plate in the Boston series so far, but it's just too early to draw any conclusions. Davis has just three hits over his 18 at-bats. He does not have a multi-hit game over his last eight games, going 5-for-26 in that time. In his first 16 games, he's batting .255 with four...

BOSTON - There was more to talk about today other than the dugouts emptying in the seventh inning and Orioles starter Bud Norris wondering why Red Sox catcher David Ross took exception to an inside pitch. Norris took the loss after being charged with four runs in 6 1/3 innings. The last two scored in the turbulent seventh. "I think their gun's a little high here, but still he was crisp," said manager Buck Showalter. "He was good. He deserved a better fate. We just weren't able to do a...

BOSTON - David Ross wanted to lay down a sacrifice bunt today with a runner on first base and nobody out in the seventh inning of a tie game. Orioles pitcher Bud Norris says he wanted to take the out. So exactly what happened to make Ross yell at Norris? And to make Orioles catcher Matt Wieters get in Ross' face? Ross apparently didn't like a pitch that rode up and in, and he let Norris know about it. "He yelled, 'Make an adjustment,' " Norris said following the Orioles' 4-2 loss at...

A somber Nationals left fielder Bryce Harper reacted to manager Matt Williams' decision to take him out of the game for not running to first base on a grounder back to the pitcher. "I respect what he did and it is part of the game," Harper said after the Nats' 4-3 loss to the Cardinals. Harper led off the sixth inning with a comebacker to starting pitcher Lance Lynn, who threw to Matt Adams at first base for the first out of the inning. Harper peeled off toward the home dugout before...

Bryce Harper was pulled from tonight's game after six innings, but manager Matt Williams' decision to remove Harper had nothing to do with his tight quad muscle. What was the reason? "The inability to run 90 feet," Williams said sternly after the game, a 4-2 loss to the Cardinals. "Lack of hustle. That's why he came out of the game." Harper grounded back to Cardinals pitcher Lance Lynn leading off the bottom of the sixth inning. He trotted about two-thirds of the way down the first base...

The Orioles won a replay challenge today and it gained them a run, but they lost the game 4-2 in Boston as the Red Sox evened the four-game series at a win each. The Orioles' three-game winning streak ended as they fall to 8-8 on the season and 2-3 against Boston. Matt Wieters drew a leadoff walk against Koji Uehara in the ninth, but the former Oriole then struck out the next three hitters. He got the save, his fourth in four chances in 2014. The Red Sox scored twice in the last of the...

BOSTON - Nelson Cruz picked up his second RBI today and the 500th of his career. It came in unorthodox fashion. Cruz was called out on a bouncer behind third base with runners on the corners and two outs in the top of the sixth inning. He immediately signaled that he was safe and manager Buck Showalter strolled onto the field to give Adam Gladstone - who was hired this season to check the video for possible challenges - enough time to review the play. Gladstone doesn't have a formal title....

BOSTON - The Orioles no longer have three errors this season. And I'm no longer welcome in manager Buck Showalter's office. Kidding. He doesn't really believe in jinxes. Right? Jonathan Schoop mishandled Mike Napoli's grounder with runners on the corners and one out in the bottom of the first inning, and Dustin Pedroia crossed the plate with the tying run. Schoop was most likely thinking about a double play, especially with David Ortiz lumbering to second base. The Orioles now have...

An early fielding mistake hurt the Nationals again. In the top of the second with one out, Allen Craig walked. Jhonny Peralta grounded to third base and Anthony Rendon attempted to get Craig at second and start a double play. But his throw to second baseman Danny Espinosa was offline and both runners were safe. Rendon was charged with his first error of the season. It was the league-leading 20th error committed by the Nationals this season. Tony Cruz followed with a two-run single, and the...