After he gave up one unearned run over four innings in his latest start last night for Single-A Delmarva, right-hander Hunter Harvey lowered his ERA, which was tied for first in the South Atlantic League at first pitch. The O's 2013 top draft pick is now alone atop the ERA leaders in that league, lowering the number from 1.06 to 0.86 last night. A check of his pitching line indicates his command was not as sharp as usual. He walked five, more than he had in his first three starts...

Human nature can be defined as the general psychological characteristics, feelings and behavioural traits of humankind, regarded as being shared by all humans. One such characteristic is that most of us enjoy hearing about a genuine feel-good story. In life, feel-good stories often focus on achievements by individuals who have had to fight to overcome adversity, and in the world of sports, that exact sentiment rings true. A feel-good story is never far away in professional baseball and each new...

I'm here to offer a few simple facts and check whether you like your eggs scrambled or over easy. The starting pitching has to get better. Period. Bash the bullpen for allowing a pair of three-run homers in last night's 9-3 loss to the Blue Jays. Bash the offense for producing nothing except for Nelson Cruz's three-run homer. Bash Steve Lombardozzi for the error that opened both the bottom of the sixth inning and the floodgates. The bottom line is, the rotation can't give the Orioles...

Angels first baseman Albert Pujols crushed a pair of home runs to reach 500 for his career in a 7-2 win over the Nationals on Tuesday night. Pujols hit both home runs off Nationals starter Taylor Jordan. "It was a really good swing, a fastball middle up and obviously, probably the best swing I have taken this year so far," Pujols said. "It came at a good time." Although Jordan thought his pitch on Pujols' 499th home run was a good one, he admitted that he missed his target on Pujols'...

A couple of familiar early-season trends popped up again in tonight's 7-2 Nationals loss - an early deficit and defensive miscues. The Nats trailed 3-0 three hitters into the game following a double, an Anthony Rendon throwing error and Albert Pujols' 499th career homer. The Angels added another run later in the frame, and had a four-run cushion before the Nats even got their first ups. The lead was trimmed to two in the third when the Nats scored twice without the benefit of an RBI (a wild...

The Orioles have not been hitting many homers this year, but did get one tonight. But Toronto hit three and those three big swings produced a 9-3 win for the Blue Jays over the Orioles at Rogers Centre. The O's let another lead get away. They led 3-0 heading to the last of the sixth. Evan Meek started the last of the eighth of a 3-3 tie. He had pitched 9 1/3 scoreless innings this season. But he gave up a single, walk and then three-run homer to Brett Lawrie. It was the fourth of the year...

Edwin Encarnacion is 3-for-20 lifetime against Orioles starter Miguel Gonzalez. All three hits are home runs. Is that weird? Encarnacion has hit 24 home runs versus the Orioles, the most against any opponent. Gonzalez took a shutout into the sixth before Encarnacion's three-run shot. Now he's out of the game and can't get a win. The Orioles didn't have a quality start during their four-game series against the Red Sox, and they're not getting one tonight. Gonzalez struck out seven...

The first inning did not start off well for the Nationals and Taylor Jordan. And again, the defense added to the early deficit. Jordan allowed a double to J.B. Shuck to lead off the game. Mike Trout reached on a throwing error by third baseman Anthony Rendon. With two men on, Albert Pujols stepped to the plate. On a 1-1 pitch, Pujols launched a mammoth shot deep over the left field wall for his seventh homer of the season and No. 499 of his career. He is 26th on the all-time list behind Eddie...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed to reporters in Toronto this afternoon that third baseman Manny Machado will begin his injury rehab assignment Friday night at Single-A Frederick. His pregame interview will air on MASN2 HD, which begins at 6:30 p.m. Machado had five at-bats today at extended spring training after receiving five yesterday and four on Saturday. The Keys conclude a three-game series against Myrtle Beach on Friday before hosting Carolina in a four-game series beginning...

Last week, the Orioles played a pair of American League East opponents, the Tampa Bay Rays and Boston Red Sox. The club was in Boston during the Red Sox's emotional tribute for Boston Marathon bombing victims. While Roch Kubatko and Steve Melewski have you covered with wall-to-wall Orioles coverage, here are some stories from other media outlets. * ESPN's Buster Olney touched on the Orioles' stellar defense in his column from Sunday. Heading into last Sunday's game, the Orioles had...