He is continuing to wait for the birth of his daughter, but while he was waiting, Miguel Gonzalez took some time today to pitch in a big league game. He pitched 6 1/3 innings to lead the Orioles past the Red Sox, improving to 3-0 with a 3.18 ERA in four career games against Boston. Has it been hard to pitch with matters at home on his mind? "It gets me pumped up. I'm excited," Gonzalez said. "I'm excited for her to come. She's taking a little longer than we thought, but just waiting...

Miguel Gonzalez picked up his fifth win today for the Orioles, but he's still waiting to hold his first child. "They have a baby as stubborn as Miguel when they told him he couldn't do this," manager Buck Showalter quipped after today's 6-3 win over the Red Sox. Here's a sampling from Showalter's postgame press conference: On significance of taking three of four in this series "It's early. Four-game series are really tough because it's obviously, you consider how good the...

He hasn't pitched in a game since April 21 for the Orioles but they need a starter for tomorrow's game in Detroit and it's going to be Jake Arrieta getting that start, Buck Showalter said after today's game. "Been waiting for an opportunity and I look forward to capitalizing on that and trying to help this team continue to win," Arrieta said after today's game. "If I go out there and do my job, we have a great chance to win that game. I feel like I've done everything I need to do to...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter named Jake Arrieta as Monday night's starter in Detroit. Jason Hammel is being pushed back at least one day while he recovers from a stomach virus that swept through his family's home. If Hammel is unable to start Tuesday, the Orioles could recall left-hander Zach Britton from Triple-A Norfolk and option Arrieta. Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland also would be an option if he isn't used in relief during the series opener against the Tigers. Arrieta was optioned to...

The Orioles beat Jon Lester. They won the series over Boston three games to one. They moved to within 1 ½ games of the first-place Sox. What was there not to like about the O's 6-3 win today over the Sox in front of 41,311 at Camden Yards? The Orioles continued their recent dominance of the Red Sox by winning their sixth straight series against Boston and they have taken nine of the last ten series between the teams since Sept. 19, 2011. The Orioles are 5-2 in 2013 against the Red...

Even with though he was struggling with his command, Stephen Strasburg gave the Nationals a chance. But in the end, the offense could not deliver the clutch hit, and the Nationals fell 2-0 at Cleveland on Sunday. The Nationals had no outs and runners on first and third in the sixth, but could not score. A Ryan Zimmerman strikeout and an Adam LaRoche double play groundout ended the threat. In the seventh, the Nationals loaded the bases with nobody out. Jhonatan Solano lined into a double play...

Imagine that you're Miguel Gonzalez. Your wife is due to give birth to your first child in three days. She could go into labor at any minute. Babies don't wear watches. And your home is in California, on the opposite coast. You're still required to throw bullpen sessions, attend meetings, watch video of your upcoming opponents. Today, you're facing the Boston Red Sox, the first-place team in your division. Stay focused. Gonzalez continues to do it, no matter how difficult. He held the...

That lat strain that sent Stephen Strasburg to the disabled list seems a distant memory. Through three innings at Progressive Field, the Nationals right-hander has yet to allow a hit, walked two and struck out two in a scoreless tie. Strasburg has thrown 47 pitches, but has only 25 strikes - an unusually high rate of balls for the power pitcher. He's got five outs on ground balls. Now the Nationals have to generate some offense. They had Anthony Rendon on second in the first on a one-out...

As Jon Lester faces the Orioles at Camden Yards this afternoon, maybe his aura of invincibility against them is over. The Orioles pinned their first-ever loss on Lester the last time the Birds faced him on Sept. 21, when Lester went seven innings and gave up eight hits and four runs in a 4-2 Orioles win at Fenway Park. While Lester is 14-1 with an ERA of 2.63 in 21 career starts against Baltimore, he was 0-1 with an ERA of 4.26 in three starts last season. The Orioles were 3-0 in those games...

The way Nick Markakis explains it, he has a pretty good view to watch Manny Machado hit. He has watched other top hitters and had a good angle to see their swings from right field over the years. Now he bats behind Machado at times, where has a good view of the kid's work from the on-deck circle. "From right field I have a good view of a lot of right-handed hitter's swings," Markakis said. "I've always said Alex Rodriguez has one of the best swings, he and Manny Ramirez from what I see...