Orioles manager Buck Showalter never second-guessed his decision tonight to send Wei-Yin Chen back to the mound in the top of the eighth inning, and to leave the left-hander out there with the tying run on base. Chen struck out Jason Castro, and Darren O'Day retired the next two batters to preserve a one-run lead. "There were a lot of key outs. It was a close game," Showalter said after the Orioles' 4-3 win over the Astros at Camden Yards. "Just felt like he was still carrying his...

Chris Davis' homer drought is over. The one he hit tonight was a big one as the Orioles beat Houston 4-3 in front of 24,904 in the series opener at Camden Yards. With the Orioles trailing 3-2 in the last of the sixth, Davis took a Lucas Harrell 3-1 pitch out to left field for the 4-3 lead. It scored Nick Markakis, who led off the inning by drawing the fifth walk off the Houston right-hander. For Davis, it ended a 10-game homerless streak, his longest of the year. He didn't have an...

Just as he did in Kansas City, Orioles manager Buck Showalter allowed left-hander Wei-Yin Chen to return for the eighth inning tonight at Camden Yards. Just as he did in Kansas City, Showalter allowed Chen to face a left-handed hitter with the tying run on base. The second-guessers where sharpening their knives, or at least their tongues, but Chen didn't repeat his mistake in Kansas City, when Eric Hosmer homered in the Royals' 4-3 victory. Chen struck out Astros catcher Jason Castro on...

DETROIT - The Nationals might have finally bested Anibal Sanchez back in May, handing the Tigers right-hander his first loss in 20 career starts against the Nats. Tonight, Sanchez returned to his dominating ways, holding the Nats to a single run over seven strong innings in the Tigers' 5-1 win here at Comerica Park. The Nats notched a run and three hits off Sanchez in the first, but then posted just two hits against the 29-year-old over his final six innings of work. Overall, the Nats went...

Remember Buck Showalter and Jim Johnson's MLB Fan Cave prank last year in which they convinced Darren O'Day that he shouldn't be riding his Solowheel around Yankee Stadium? O'Day does. In his live chat today, O'Day recounted the prank, saying that Showalter "is very believable." Watch his reaction to the prank below. Also, check out the original MLB Fan Cave video of O'Day getting pranked by Showalter. It's hilarious every time. Your browser does not support iframes. Click...

DETROIT - Stephen Strasburg cruised through his first three innings of work, but if you make mistakes against this Tigers lineup, they will most certainly make you pay. In the fourth, Strasburg walked Prince Fielder for the second time in as many at-bats, then left two balls right out over the middle of the plate to Jhonny Peralta and Andy Dirks. The result was single from Peralta and a ground-rule double just inside the left field line from Dirks, allowing the Tigers to knot this game at...

Though they could shift in many directions, the Orioles seem to be focused primarily on acquiring starters Bud Norris or Jason Vargas, according to an industry source. The Astros will have to significantly lower their asking price, according to sources. But the Orioles remain interested because Norris, 28, is making only $3 million this season and is under team control through 2015. And he's posted a 3.93 ERA this season on a bad team. One concern beyond the Astros' demands for multiple top...

Ryan Flaherty is making his first major league start at first base tonight. He's appeared in seven innings over four games at first since the Orioles selected him in the Rule 5 draft in the winter of 2011. Flaherty has been fielding ground balls at first, anticipating that he might be needed. He headed out to the field early today and practiced taking throws in the dirt on double plays. "I walked in today and Buck (Showalter) said a little bit ago, 'Yeah, you might be at first tonight,'so...

As the Orioles begin a stretch of games where they play teams with losing records in 14 of their next 17 games, it might be the right time for a team that has lost five of six to get back to winning. Matt Wieters said it is not that important who the opponent is right now. It's pretty much go time for the Orioles. "I don't think it matters what teams we are playing, but where we are in the standings, where we are in the season, it's time to try and put a good run together," Wieters said....

DETROIT - Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty is not with the team here in Detroit as he recovers from an irregular heartbeat and high blood pressure, but he's expected to be released from a D.C. hospital tomorrow, according to manager Davey Johnson. McCatty needed to be taken to a hospital prior to Sunday's game against the Mets, and the Nats had hoped that McCatty would be well enough to join them on the team charter to Detroit yesterday afternoon. But doctors have decided to keep...