It figures that the lineup chosen tonight by manager Buck Showalter would produce a bunch of firsts. Jonathan Schoop collected his first major league hit and scored his first run in the third inning. He later hit into his first double play. And yes, this is his first game with the Orioles. Ryan Flaherty followed Schoop's hit with his ninth home run, and his first onto Eutaw Street. It's the 77th Eutaw Street home run in Camden Yards history and the 31st by an Oriole. It's the 11th this...

Jason Pridie, starting in center field tonight, is the 54th player to suit up for the Orioles this year, tying the 1955 team for most in a season. They dressed 53 last year. I don't have a list available of the ones who declined to wear clothes. Pridie grounded out to end the second inning, with Jays second baseman Ryan Goins making a lunging stop and throw. Chris Davis struck out in the second inning, breaking Mark Reynolds club record of 196 set in 2011. He doesn't lead the majors,...

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado hobbled into the auxiliary clubhouse on crutches today and left the same way. He's not quite ready to walk on his own, but he's otherwise in pretty good spirits. That will happen - the crutches and the positive attitude - when an MRI reveals far less damage to the knee than once feared. "Obviously, when it first happened, it was a terrifying moment for myself, all the fans and my teammates," Machado said, recalling the horrific spill he took at first...

ST. LOUIS - Davey Johnson readily admits the Cardinals kicked the Nationals' butts this season. Denard Span doesn't disagree. In fact, he agrees 100 percent. "I think they just flat-out kicked our butt. You lose six games, they just were better than us," Span said. On paper, the Nationals and Cardinals seemed to match up pretty evenly this season. They both have talented, deep rotations. They both have lineups filled with run-producers. But the Cardinals outplayed the Nats by a wide...

ST. LOUIS - After a rough month of July in which he battled a lingering neck injury and went 0-3 in a four-start stretch, Jordan Zimmermann's chances of even approaching the 20-win mark seemed pretty darn slim. But Zimmermann rebounded this month, going 4-0 with a 2.25 ERA in four September starts coming into today's outing, giving him a shot at reaching 20 victories on the season. He came up short today, getting the loss after allowing four runs over seven innings in a 4-1 Nationals...

The Orioles today announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Jason Pridie from Triple-A Norfolk. To make room for him on the 40-man roster, infielder Manny Machado has been placed on the 60-day disabled list, retroactive to September 24, with a tear of the medial patellofemoral ligament of the left knee. Pridie, 29, batted .269/.333/.434 in 118 games for the Tides and was named an International League All-Star. He led IL outfielders with a .996 fielding percentage, making one...

ST. LOUIS - The Nationals and Cardinals played an incredibly tight, entertaining five-game postseason series last fall. This year, the Cardinals pushed the Nats around, winning all six games between the teams in sweeping the season series. Coming into this three-game set at Busch Stadium, the Nats had hoped to keep their slim postseason chances alive into the final series of the season in Arizona. Then, after getting eliminated from the playoff picture Monday, they hoped to play the spoiler...

Baltimore native Steve Clevenger has played at Camden Yards before, just not as a Baltimore Oriole. Tonight he will, making his home debut, batting seventh and catching. Clevenger, a graduate of Baltimore's Mount St. Joseph's high school, played at Camden Yards in 2004 in the Brooks Robinson high school All-Star game. "First time I will play in Camden Yards besides in high school. It will be fun and exciting," Clevenger said. He is 2-for-7 with a double and two RBIs in two starts for the...

Outfielder Chris Dickerson underwent an MRI on his sore right hamstring and hasn't been available. That's why Jason Pridie's contract was selected from Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles placed third baseman Manny Machado on the 60-day disabled list to make room for Pridie on the 40-man roster. Machado will meet with reporters at 6:15 p.m. Pridie was expected to arrive at Camden Yards around 4 p.m. Showalter has talked to Chris Tillman about Sunday's start against the Red Sox. Showalter told...

Some changes are under way at Harbor Park in Norfolk, the home of the Orioles' Triple-A International League affiliate. Very much a pitcher's park where it is tough to hit a homer, the fences are being moved in 10 feet in center field and the left- and right-field power alleys. In addition, they are completely redoing the playing field with new turf and dirt. The Orioles had input into the move and Norfolk manager Ron Johnson, who is with the Orioles this month, said moving the fences in...