Suddenly, the biggest problems the Orioles seem to have are getting playing time for bench players and getting some innings for relievers. These are issues they can deal with. The Orioles are playing some of their best baseball of the year now with eight wins in the last nine games. The offense, the rotation and the defense have all come together at the same time and it's a beautiful sight for those all over Birdland to see. It is almost like the Orioles realized the time had come to take...

Dan Haren was asked after tonight's 6-5 Nationals loss, a loss that dropped them to 48-51 on the season and eight games back of the Braves in the National League East, whether he thinks the Nats have reached their low-point, or "rock bottom," as one reporter phrased it. "That I don't know," Haren said. "Obviously the mood in the clubhouse right now isn't really good. I haven't really talked to the guys about how they're feeling about today with Eck being gone, but yeah, it was a...

The Nationals' rally fell short in the ninth because they needed to score three runs instead of just two. Jayson Werth's second two-run shot of the game pulled the Nationals within one at 6-5. The reason they needed three to tie was a costly run scored by the Pirates because of a wild pitch. Looking back at the eighth inning, a wild pitch by Drew Storen allowed the Pirates Pedro Alvarez to break for home. Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos retrieved the ball and threw back to the plate, but...

Davey Johnson normally walks through life with a smile on his face and a joke ready for those he encounters, regardless of the circumstances. The 70-year- old is typically upbeat and cheerful, even if his team is going through a rough patch on the field. When reporters met with Johnson this afternoon, he spoke quietly and slowly, his spirits severely dampened by the firing of Nationals hitting coach Rick Eckstein, a move made by general manager Mike Rizzo without Johnson's endorsement. When...

Jason Hammel is making his 20th start for the Orioles tonight, matching his total for the entire 2012 season. That's where the similarities end. Hammel hasn't won since May 27, a span of eight starts. His ERA is up to 5.24. In his last outing, he allowed six runs and 10 hits in six innings against the Blue Jays. Manager Buck Showalter moved Scott Feldman ahead of Hammel in the rotation. Should we read anything into it? I don't sense that Hammel is on the verge of being yanked from the...

The Orioles scored early. They scored often. They now have a five-game winning streak for the first time in 2013. The Orioles won for the eighth time in the last nine games as they pounded Kansas City pitching for 18 hits to tie a season high tonight in a 9-2 win over the Royals. Now at 57-43 after 100 games, the Orioles moved to within 2 1/2 games of first-place Boston, which lost to Tampa Bay tonight. The Orioles continued a recent trend of getting early offense and they scored twice in...

I understand that it's a short major league career for Henry Urrutia, but his second start has been second to none. Urrutia is 3-for-3 tonight, with all of his singles going to left field. He's 4-for-8 in three games since the Orioles selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk. My math skills are poor, but that's a .500 average. His baserunning needs work, as advertised, but he's a designated hitter who's getting on base. The Orioles will take it. The Royals are starting former...

The Orioles jumped on Royals starter Wade Davis for two runs in the top of the first inning, as they continue to take early leads and take advantage of their opponents' shoddy defense. Nate McLouth drew a leadoff walk and scored on an error by Kansas City third baseman Mike Moustakas, making me wonder whether the Royals watched video of the Rangers series. Nick Markakis singled, and Chris Davis lifted a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 2-0. Matt Wieters also singled, extending his...

Seriously. Just stop. Andrew McCutchen has come to the plate twice tonight in three innings of play. He's twice hit a two-run homer off Dan Haren. This is McCutchen's 27th career game against the Nationals. In those 27 games, McCutchen is hitting .444 with 13 homers, 26 RBIs and a 1.448 OPS. Yes, those numbers are accurate. Yes, those numbers are insanely high. McCutchen has now homered every 7.62 at-bats against the Nats in his career. Yes, that number is insanely low. You get the idea...

Outfielder Scott Hairston remembered working with new hitting coach Rick Schu when he was battling back and forth between Triple-A Tucson and the Arizona Diamondbacks in 2004 and 2005. Hairston remembered a hitting coach that communicated well with the players and knew his craft. "It was good with Rick," Hairston said. "I think he is good at communication. From what I remember, he really didn't say much right away until he saw you hit in the cage or in a game. "It wasn't always...