Yordano Ventura was dominant at times tonight. He struck out six batters in a row at one point. But he also took a tough loss as the Orioles got some good pitching of their own in a 2-1 win over Kansas City in the opener of a four-game series. The drama of who would close the game in a save situation in the ninth was answered and it was Zach Britton. The lefty calmly got three ground ball outs on 12 pitches to record his first major league save. In the O's fourth, Ventura, who entered with a...

Orioles relievers Tommy Hunter and Brian Matusz warmed in the Orioles bullpen in the bottom of the eighth inning tonight as Ryan Webb recorded the last two outs to preserve a 2-1 lead. Webb struck out Salvador Perez, Hunter and Matusz sat down, and the intrigue built. Zach Britton began to warm as the Orioles batted in the top of the ninth, and he entered the game in search of his first career save. None in the minors, none in the majors. The leash on Hunter wasn't as long as the one attached...

Nick Markakis snapped an 0-for-14 skid tonight with a leadoff single in the first inning off Royals starter Yordano Ventura. Time to start another hitting streak. That's one in a row. Manny Machado also singled in the first. He was 5-for-31 in his last eight games before tonight's game. Adam Jones bounced into a double play to kill that rally. Through May 1, the Orioles were batting .315 with runners in scoring position. In the 13 games dating back to May 2, including Jones' at-bat...

As the Orioles face Kansas City for the next four games, they'll need more offense than they got in an earlier three-game series against this same team. The Orioles lost two of three to the Royals in April at Camden Yards. In that series, they were shutout once and scored six total runs on 20 hits. KC pitchers posted a 1.65 ERA in the series. The Orioles scored just seven runs in three games against Detroit and have scored just nine total the past four games. The Orioles have scored three...

Ryan Flaherty gets the start at second base and David Lough returns to left field for the Orioles' series opener against the Royals at Kauffman Stadium. Nothing much to see here. A fairly predictable order. Just came down to the starter at second base. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Nelson Cruz DH Steve Clevenger C J.J. Hardy SS Ryan Flaherty 2B David Lough LF Wei-Yin Chen LHP For the Royals Nori Aoki RF Eric Hosmer 1B Billy Butler...

The Orioles made another change to their pitching staff this afternoon in Kansas City, optioning Kevin Gausman to Triple-A Norfolk and recalling Evan Meek. Gausman started yesterday against the Tigers and retired the first seven batters he faced before allowing five runs and six hits in four innings with two walks, two strikeouts and a wild pitch. He threw 87 pitches, 10 more than his highest total with Norfolk. Gausman, 23, went 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA in six starts for the Tides before being...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled right-hander Evan Meek from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned right-hander Kevin Gausman to the Tides. Meek, 31, went 0-1 with a 6.94 ERA (11.2IP, 9ER) in 12 appearances for the Orioles earlier this season. Gausman, 23, started yesterday's game against the Tigers and allowed five earned runs in 4.0 innings. He went 0-1 with a 2.08 ERA (26.0IP, 6ER) in six starts for the Tides before being recalled.

The Orioles have lost four straight games, which makes Wei-Yin Chen their stopper tonight in the opener of a four-game series in Kansas City. Chen is 2-1 with a 5.40 ERA in three road starts this season and 0-1 with a 4.60 ERA in five career starts against the Royals. He allowed three earned runs over 7 1/3 innings in his only start at Kauffman Stadiium on July 24, 2013. Billy Butler is 8-for-15 with two doubles, a triple (a triple??), two homers and four RBIs against Chen, but the...

Nationals shortstop Ian Desmond had a home run early in the Arizona series. On Wednesday, he delivered a clutch two-run single to put the Nationals ahead for good in a 5-1 series-clinching victory over the Diamondbacks. He finished with five RBIs in the three-game set. Thursday marks a rare day off for Desmond. Despite this week's recent uptick at the plate, does manager Matt Williams believe Desmond needs a day or two off? "I want to give him some time, but we have had a lot of off-days,"...

As the Orioles move toward the quarter pole of this season, they are 20-18 and in first place in the American League East. The bottom line is that just about any fan would have taken that - first place after 38 games going into the season. But how they got there is the interesting part. The Orioles offense is underperforming and their rotation has been inconsistent. They've dealt with injuries and they currently have a rather unsettled closer situation. Being in first place right now is a...