To say the least, Danny Valencia is a hot hitter. Valencia will bat fifth as the DH tonight for the Orioles against CC Sabathia and the Yankees in the opener of a four-game series. On the year, Valencia is batting .314 with seven homers, 15 RBIs and a .973 OPS in 33 games. But in his last nine games, he has eight multi-hit games. Even being optioned to the minors couldn't slow him down. His hot hitting began when he went 2-for-4 with a homer Aug. 4 against the Mariners. Two days later he...

Nick Markakis' wife, Christina, is due to give birth to the couple's third child on Wednesday. Doctors will induce labor in the morning, and Markakis is planning to play that night against the Yankees if there are no complications. "That's the way he's got it set up. We'll see," said manager Buck Showalter. "It's one thing to induce. It's not like going to the dentist. I just hope everything goes well, and when he gets here, he gets here. I'm planning on him being an 'if' on...

It was an anniversary that Nick Markakis certainly didn't celebrate. One year ago yesterday, his 2012 season ended when he was hit by a pitch from Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia. Markakis suffered a broken left thumb then and his season was over. Click here to read the story from that night. There are some Orioles fans that still feel, a year later, that the pitch was intentional, although several Orioles players said they did not feel that way. Either way, it kept Markakis out of the 2012...

With Bryce Harper still out of the Nationals' lineup with a hip injury, Tyler Moore will play left field tonight in the opener of the Nats' four-game series against the Mets. Gio Gonzalez will oppose Mets right-hander Carlos Torres, who the Nats got to for eight earned runs in just three innings in a 14-1 win back on July 28. For the Nats CF Denard Span 3B Ryan Zimmerman RF Jayson Werth SS Ian Desmond 1B Adam LaRoche C Wilson Ramos LF Tyler Moore 2B Anthony Rendon LHP Gio...

Alexi Casilla is in the Orioles lineup tonight, making his third start since Aug. 18. Casilla is 16-for-31 (.516) lifetime against Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia. Of course, he's in the lineup. Michael Morse is starting in left field. He's 4-for-7 with a double and home run against Sabathia. Danny Valencia is the designated hitter. He's batting .375 against southpaws this season. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Danny Valencia DH J.J....

The Orioles announced today that infielder Alex Liddi cleared waivers and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. Liddi was designated for assignment on Friday to make room for outfielder Chris Dickerson on the 40-man roster. The Orioles acquired Liddi and International Signing Bonus Slot No. 3 from the Mariners for International Signing Bonus Slot No. 2 on July 6. He went 1-for-17 in eight games with Seattle this year. He batted .222/.269/.378 with 11 doubles, three triples, four homers and 22...

I was out of town over the weekend, so I missed catching Tanner Roark's first major league start live, but I did cue it up on the DVR once I got home. What I saw was another really strong outing from an impressive right-hander getting by not just on pure stuff, but on location and aggression. Roark's six scoreless innings on Saturday add just the latest line to what's been a dominant start to the 26-year-old's major league career. He now has put up a 0.94 ERA over his first 10 outings,...

The Orioles have 20 games remaining and they are all against AL East opponents with 10 at home and 10 on the road. They host New York for four beginning tonight and then go on the road to face Toronto, Boston and Tampa before ending the regular season with a six-game homestand against Toronto and Boston. Adam Jones feels it will be fun. "I do. Because the teams that are ahead of us are in our division, so I think how we play these next X-amount of games will dictate if we're going home or...

The Baltimore Orioles will host the team's Fall Instructional League at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota with games that are free and open to the public from September 16 through October 8. The Instructional League program focuses on specific individual development while providing additional playing time to accelerate a player's progress through the minor league system. Games are played on the Main Field, with parking available in the East Lot at no charge. Spectators may enter the ballpark...

The Orioles will begin celebrating their 60th anniversary next season with a March 31 home opener against the Red Sox. The schedule was released this afternoon, and it includes a home-and-home series against the Pirates, which I wrote here. Now, we know that the dates are April 29-30 at Camden Yards and May 20-21 in Pittsburgh. The Orioles also will host the Blue Jays, Rays and Royals in April, the Astros, Tigers and Indians in May, the Athletics, Red Sox, Blue Jays, White Sox and Rays in...