On Saturday against Detroit, the Orioles allowed four homers in one inning for the first time in team history. Last night against Houston, they allowed six homers in a game for the first time since July 7, 2011. Last season, the Orioles allowed four or more homers in a game eight times all season. So far in 2013, that has already happened seven times. The Orioles pitching staff has given up 13 homers over the last four games and 23 in the last eight, giving up four homers or more four times...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled outfielder Xavier Avery from Triple-A Norfolk and placed right-hander Steve Johnson on the 15-day disabled list with a left oblique strain. Avery, 23, began the season with Double-A Bowie, where he batted .300/.391/.406 with 34 runs scored and 12 stolen bases in 39 games. He has also played in 15 games with Triple-A Norfolk, batting .192 (10-52). He will wear uniform #70. Johnson, 25, is 1-1 with an 8.49 ERA (11.2IP, 11ER) and 11.6...

The Orioles are prepared to place reliever Steve Johnson on the 15-day disabled list with an oblique injury. Johnson felt the discomfort while warming up last night and allowed two home runs in 2 1/3 innings. An announcement will come later in the day. For the Orioles Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Chris Davis 1B Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters DH J.J. Hardy SS Chris Dickerson RF Ryan Flaherty 2B Taylor Teagarden C Miguel Gonzalez RHP For the Astros Brandon Barnes CF Jimmy Paredes RF Jason...

The Orioles today announced that first baseman Chris Davis has been selected as the AT&T Fans' Choice Bobblehead. For the second consecutive year, fans were able to select the player they wanted immortalized in a bobblehead giveaway. The bobblehead is scheduled to be distributed during Fan Appreciation Weekend on Sunday, September 29 to the first 20,000 fans age 15 and over. Voting began on March 25 and fans voted three different ways throughout the promotion: through unlimited mobile...

For the past several seasons, Chris Tillman has been a very promising young arm for the Baltimore Orioles. However, from time to time, he is inconsistent, confounding and frustrating to watch on the mound. On Tuesday night, the Orioles defeated the Houston Astros 4-1, and Tillman was excellent, only allowing one run in seven innings of work. The Astros - universally predicted to be awful this season - were flying high and had won six straight games before facing Tillman and the Orioles. I...

A common saying among the Nationals' players and coaches this season is, "We're better than this." My question in retort is, "But, are you really?" Let's be frank here - this conversation has been running in circles for weeks now. Despite the thrilling victory on opening day in which Stephen Strasburg pitched a gem and Bryce Harper came up big at the plate, wins have been rare and cries lamenting that the team hasn't been meeting its potential are aplenty. Sure, the successful 2012...

The Nationals have certainly faced their share of tough pitchers this season. They got beat by Johnny Cueto, who had a 2.17 ERA prior to landing on the DL. They suffered losses at the hands of Adam Wainwright and Shelby Miller, two insanely talented Cardinals hurlers. Mets righty Matt Harvey pushed the Nats around in New York, and they got dominated by Clayton Kershaw out in Los Angeles. No shame in that. Plenty of teams have been there. But what's a bit troubling so far this season - in...

By the end of tonight, the Orioles will have added three new players to their organization. The First-Year Player Draft begins this evening at 7 p.m. The Orioles have the 22nd pick in the first round, the 37th overall selection - a competitive balance pick they were awarded - and the 61st overall pick in the second round. MLB Network will televise the first two rounds which will include 73 picks tonight. Counting their third round pick (98th overall), the Orioles have four of the draft's...

The Orioles hold the 22nd pick in the first round of tonight's First-Year Player Draft, which makes it a heck of a lot harder to project their selection than back in the days when they chose third or fourth. They like South Carolina high school catcher Nick Ciuffo, but they usually lean toward pitching, and University of San Francisco right-hander Alex Balog has been linked to them in some mock drafts. That's as deep as I'll venture into this guessing game. But check back with...

What can you really say after being on the receiving end of a 10-1 spanking at the hands of the Mets, who are 10 games under .500 after tonight's game? "We'll just turn the page on this one," Nationals manager Davey Johnson said. "We swung the bats better, but we didn't hit with runners in scoring position." No, they didn't. The Nats put up 10 hits tonight, but went just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position and left 11 on base. In the Nats' last 15 games, they've scored three...