The Orioles will activate Miguel Gonzalez from the 15-day disabled list this afternoon and hand him the ball tonight at Camden Yards. Nobody is asking me about Gonzalez, but I'm getting plenty of inquires about other players. And I keep getting them. The same ones. On this blog and via Twitter (@MASNroch). That's why I created "Because You Asked" and all of the sequels. You ask, I answer. You ask again, I answer again. It's the School of Roch dance. And as always, please keep your hands...

Making his first big league start since July 10, 2011, Zach Duke could go just 3 1/3 innings tonight, and as we go to the fifth inning, Duke and the Nationals trail the Giants 5-0. Duke didn't pitch incredibly poorly tonight, allowing just one extra-base hit in his spot start, but the Giants just base-hit him to death. They put up seven hits on Duke, knocking the veteran left-hander from the game. Craig Stammen came in to relieve Duke and allowed three runs (two of which were charged to...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't ready to change closers after Jim Johnson's third consecutive blown save. Asked if there was any doubt that he would go right back to Johnson tonight in another save opportunity, Showalter replied, "Come back tomorrow and watch it again." "He was one pitch away," Showalter said after the Orioles' 6-4, 10-inning loss to the Yankees at Camden Yards that extended their losing streak to six games, their longest since May 26-June 1, 2012. "It's tough....

After talking about his recent struggles after tonight's game Jim Johnson was asked about the Orioles' losing streak that has reached six games. "Three of them are my fault," he said. "The other guys do their job. If I do mine we are not standing here. I think everyone is doing a great job, I'm not pulling my weight, but I'll figure it out. "Ball was up. That seems to be a common theme lately. Not making an adjustment. I'm doing everything to work though it and just need to execute....

The Orioles' losing streak reached six games tonight and each loss seems more gut-wrenching than the last. Tonight the Orioles came back to gain a 4-3 lead and took that edge to the ninth only to see closer Jim Johnson suffer a third straight blown save as the Yankees tied it then and won it 6-4 in 10 innings. Travis Hafner's one-out solo homer off Johnson in the ninth made it a 4-4 game. Hafner had just three hits over his past 24 at-bats and was hitting only .147 in May when he launched...

The Nationals don't have a lefty reliever in their bullpen, and the division-rival Braves are running out of bullpen lefties as well. The Braves will be without lefties Jonny Venters and Eric O'Flaherty, their main setup guys for All-Star Craig Kimbrel. In addition, the Braves are without Jordan Walden, the right-handed reliever they acquired in a trade with the Angels, and ex-Oriole Luis Ayala, who is on the disabled list with an anxiety disorder. Walden should be back next week, but...

It happened again. Closer Jim Johnson blew his third consecutive save opportunity, serving up a solo home run to Travis Hafner with one out in the top of the ninth to tie the game 4-4. Robinson Cano grounded out with the count full, but Hafner drove a 3-1 pitch into the seats in left-center field. Johnson shouted at himself as the ball cleared the fence, his head snapping down. And the Yankees fans in attendance erupted. Hafner is now 2-for-4 against Johnson. Lyle Overbay followed with a...

We're no longer tied. Troy Patton entered the game in the top of the seventh, and the first batter he faced, first baseman Lyle Overbay, belted a home run to give the Yankees a 3-2 lead. The Yankees have four hits tonight. Three are home runs. Meanwhile, Alexi Casilla is making a strong argument for receiving more starts at second base. Casilla is in the Orioles' lineup because of his career numbers against Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia, though he's 0-for-2 tonight. But one night after...

Don't underestimate the black and orange. More than 147,000 votes were cast in the final round of ESPN's "Battle of the Uniforms." Facing the No. 1 seeded Cardinals, the Orioles emerged as champions after fans voted for the cartoon bird over the Redbirds by a final percentage of 59 to 41. But it didn't start there. The Orioles entered the competition as a No. 13 seed, which begs the question: "Have you seen the orange alternates?" Regardless, they started off the battle by facing the...

The Yankees have seven left-handed hitters in tonight's lineup against Orioles right-hander Freddy Garcia. Somebody has been reading the splits. Left-handers were batting .333 against Garcia heading into the game. Right-handers were batting .156. Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano wasn't going to dispute the numbers. He homered to the opposite field with one out in the top of the first inning to give the visitors an early lead. Third baseman David Adams ignored the splits. Batting from...