ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter already planned on bringing left-hander Zach Britton to Tropicana Field today. Once last night's game stretched to 18 innings, he decided to also include left-hander Mike Belfiore on the expanded roster. "We were the only ones who got normal sleep," Belfiore said with a grin. "I found out at like 3 a.m. They called me right after the game. I kind of updated myself on the game, but I was still sleeping a little bit. But yeah, 3 a.m.,...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled left-handers Mike Belfiore and Zach Britton from Triple-A Norfolk. Britton, 25, is 2-3 with a 5.45 ERA (36.1IP, 22ER) in seven starts for the Orioles this season. In 19 starts for Norfolk, Britton was 6-5 with a 4.27 ERA (103.1IP, 49ER). Belfiore, 24, went 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA (76.1IP, 27ER) in 37 games for the Tides. He has had two prior stints with the Orioles this season but did not appear in a game. He is looking to make his major...

Those of you who watched that entire game last night and awoke this morning were probably not any less frustrated about the O's lack of offense in the 5-4, 18-loss to Tampa Bay. In going 2-for-35 after the seventh inning, the offense came up short again at a time when the O's bullpen was picking up big out after big out. In what was the equivalent of two full games, the Orioles scored just four runs on 12 hits. It was a huge swing game, one where the O's went from being one game out of...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Left-handers Zach Britton and Mike Belfiore shared a ride to St. Petersburg early this morning and sat on a couch together, chatting with catcher Steve Clevenger, when the clubhouse opened to reporters at 11 a.m. Belfiore said he got the call around 3 a.m., after watching the Orioles' 5-4, 18-inning loss to the Rays. He was dozing off, but he's learned to never put his phone ringer on silent or vibrate. Clevenger is behind the plate today. Alexi Casilla is starting at...

It sure is starting to feel like playoff season, all right. The Reds and Pirates played a thrilling 10-inning ballgame last night, in which Cincinnati came from two runs down in the ninth to tie the game and then won it in extras on Joey Votto's home run. The Cardinals and Brewers played a crazy 10-inning game of their own, in which St. Louis scored twice in the top of the ninth to take a 6-4 lead, only to see the Brewers tie it up in the bottom of the ninth with two of their own. The...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles didn't arrive in Tampa until around 3 a.m. on Friday. They played an 18-inning game that night. They have a 1:05 p.m. game today. Sleep fast - if they can sleep at all. The Orioles are 2 1/2 games back and tied with the Royals in the wild card race. Last night's defeat, which became official on David DeJesus' walk-off single, was quite the dagger. Are their playoff hopes dead? Absolutely not. But the degree of difficulty in getting there has been raised...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles will summon one or two pitchers from Sarasota for Saturday's game against the Rays, according to manager Buck Showalter and executive vice president Dan Duquette. No names have been revealed, but left-hander Zach Britton is a likely choice to join the expanded roster. Showalter said the Orioles were going to bring up a pitcher or two no matter how long tonight's game lasted. The decision was made earlier in the day. "I know we'll add at least one,"...

It was the longest game in Orioles history, but it didn't end well for the O's. David DeJesus came up with an RBI single with one out in the last of the 18th as Tampa Bay beat the Orioles 5-4 at Tropicana Field. It was a bitter loss for the Orioles, who would have been one game back of both Tampa Bay and Texas for the AL's second wild card berth with a win. But they didn't get it. The Orioles bullpen kept the Rays off the board from the eighth through the 17th, but the O's offense came...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - T.J. McFarland began to warm in the Orioles' bullpen in the bottom of the first inning tonight after the first three batters reached against starter Jason Hammel. McFarland entered the game in the 14th and has tossed two scoreless innings. It's that kind of a night/morning. This is the 24th time in Orioles history that they've played 16 or more innings. The Rays just announced that it's the longest game by time in franchise history, topping the record of 5 hours,...

The Reds just finished off a 10-inning, comeback win over the Pirates, meaning the Nationals are now five games back of both Cincinnati and Pittsburgh in the wild card chase with just eight games to go. The odds decrease. Jordan Zimmermann's memory doesn't really allow him to give an accurate ranking of how his stuff was tonight compared to his previous 111 big league starts. He's not sure if tonight's two-hit shutout performance, in which he struck out nine (tying a season high) and...