With the All-Star Game being played tonight at Citi Field in New York, it seems like the right time to hand out some first-half awards for the Orioles. We're actually more than halfway through the season, but we're at the break. That's close enough. Most Valuable Oriole Only in 2013 could Manny Machado finish as the runner-up for this honor. Chris Davis is hitting .315/.392/.717 in 95 games. He leads the majors with 37 home runs and trails only Miguel Cabrera with 93 RBIs. What he's...

Left-hander Sammy Solis returned from the disabled list to throw four shutout innings in the Potomac Nationals' 9-4 win at Salem on Monday night. Richie Mirowski (8-3) pitched two solid innings for the victory. He allowed one hit and struck out three batters. Solis allowed just an infield single, no runs, one walk and struck out two. In his eight innings against Salem this season, Solis has given up just the single Monday night. He retired the first five batters he faced, allowed the infield...

Yoenis Cespedes has set the bar pretty darn high, crushing 17 homers in the first round of the Home Run Derby. Bryce Harper didn't quite get to that level, but he showed well in his first-round hacks, hitting eight homers off pitches thrown by his dad, Ron. Performing in his first home run derby since taking part in an aluminum bat showcase at Tropicana Field when he was 15 (the event that made Harper a YouTube sensation), Harper got off to a strong start tonight, roping a line drive homer...

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis hit eight home runs in the first round of the Home Run Derby tonight at Citi Field, putting him in second place behind Oakland's Yoenis Cespedes, who belted 17 and mixed in plenty of tape-measure shots. The top four advance. There are three more hitters coming up. Michael Cuddyer hit seven, Pedro Alvarez six and Prince Fielder five. The Nationals' Bryce Harper is up next. Orioles coach Einar Diaz pitched to Davis and received a hug from the majors' home...

You know what's weird? Seeing Bryce Harper's name in the No. 9 spot in a batting order, that's what's weird. Harper will hit ninth for the National League All-Star team, which makes me wonder whether Harper has ever, in his life, hit ninth before. It probably ensures that Harper will only get on at-bat in the Midsummer Classic. Harper will play center field. Here's the National League starting lineup: 2B Brandon Phillips RF Carlos Beltran 1B Joey Votto 3B David Wright LF Carlos...

Orioles first baseman Chris Davis, baseball's leader in home runs with 37, will bat cleanup for the American League in Tuesday night's All-Star Game at Citi Field in New York. Davis, who's also second in RBIs with 93, is wedged between Tigers third baseman Miguel Cabrera and Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista. Orioles center fielder Adam Jones is batting seventh and shortstop J.J. Hardy is batting ninth. Hardy has batted ninth in 67 games during his career. He hasn't done it since...

So how good is Manny Machado at third base? I decided to ask a 19-time All-Star and two-time Most Valuable Player who moved from shortstop to third base in the minors, and from the hot corner to shortstop and back again in the majors. "He's carving out how to play third base," said Cal Ripken Jr., "and he's playing it unbelievably well." If that's how baseball's Iron Man feels, that's good enough for me. "It's fun to watch him over at third base because it's a new position for...

Even after Sunday's 5-2 extra-inning win over the Marlins, it's hard to describe the Nationals as doing anything but limping into the All-Star break with a 48-47 record. However, the Nats still have a chance to take advantage of a post-break schedule that's loaded with home games, division opponents - and for the most part - kinder, gentler road trips. After starting July with a 5-2 homestand in which the offense finally seemed to be getting in gear, last week's disastrous 2-5 swing...

We've officially finished up the first half of the 2013 season. We'll ignore the fact that the Nationals have already played 95 games (59 percent of their season) and continue calling the pre-All-Star break portion of the schedule the first half. Is it weird that's a little bit of a pet peeve of mine? Yes? I thought so. The Nationals head into the All-Star break with a 48-47 record. They went 27-18 at home, 21-29 on the road and have a run differential of minus-14 to this point. They've...

The Orioles offense looks good enough to make the playoffs. The bullpen, most nights, is good enough. The defense is plenty good enough. That leaves the rotation. Will the O's rotation be good enough? The latest version of the O's five-man rotation - one that includes both Wei-Yin Chen and Scott Feldman - just completed its first turn Sunday, and the early returns were promising. There were four quality starts, a 4-1 record for the team and a starters' ERA of 3.82 for those five games. Had...