So, who's irritating Yankees manager Joe Girardi the most tonight? Is it Orioles third base coach Bobby Dickerson, manager Buck Showalter or starter Chris Tillman? Right now, my money is on Tillman. Tillman has retired 14 batters in a row to carry a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the seventh inning. He struck out the side in the top half of the inning. The Yankees have one run and three hits off Tillman, who's walked none and struck out nine to tie his career high. Tillman also fanned nine...

The Orioles tied the game in the bottom of the first inning tonight, but the score became secondary to what transpired between the two managers after the final out. Chris Davis flied to right field to end the inning. Suddenly, Orioles manager Buck Showalter bolted out of the dugout, his face reddening as he screamed at Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Girardi walked out of the visiting dugout in a much calmer state and said, "What?" Showalter pointed his index finger at Girardi and appeared...

Denard Span extended his hitting streak to 20 games in style. Then Ryan Zimmerman kept his hot streak going with some flash, as well. Span and Zimmerman hit back-to-back homers to open tonight's game, giving the Nationals, and starter Gio Gonzalez, an early 2-0 lead. Span's shot was a laser to right field that cleared the wall and skipped up into the netting above the bullpens. It's his fourth of the season and takes away whatever drama there might have been thanks to Span's hitting...

Let's get the runners in scoring position stat out of the way first: The Orioles went 0-for-11 yesterday with RISP, 2-for-29 over the last two games, 3-for-37 in the Chicago series and are batting just .109 (7-for-64) over the last seven games with RISP. Over the last 15 games, the Orioles are batting .174 with RISP and are 7-8 in those games, going 3-6 in the nine games in the stretch decided by two runs or less. Has to get better, right? It should come as no surprise when you see those...

The Orioles will have 19 games remaining after tonight, all of them against division opponents. Nobody said the path to the postseason would be a smooth one. Does manager Buck Showalter take it day-by-day? "It's hour-by-hour almost," he said. The Orioles have home series remaining against the Yankees, Blue Jays and Red Sox, and trips to Toronto, Boston and Tampa. As part of their September schedule, the Yankees will host San Francisco and end the regular season with a trip to...

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....