Potomac Nationals right-hander

Seven wins on an 11-game west coast road trip are enough to turn even the Orioles' fiercest doubter into a believer in 2013. For the first time this season, I stopped comparing this year's team to its surprising playoff roster from a year ago and instead just enjoyed watching the O's starters pitch a 3.76 ERA, the bullpen to a 3.60 mark and cheered as the offense totaled 5.27 runs per game against the A's, Mariners and Angels. It took just over a month for me to stop making that comparison...

There was too much Sterling Marte and A.J. Burnett in Pittsburgh, too little Bryce Harper. Yet the Nationals still looked like the better team when all was said and done. The Pirates are capable of beating anyone. They won their series against the Nationals in 2012 and recently swept the Atlanta Braves. Pittsburgh has an obvious weakness in their bullpen, however. They lead the league in bases on balls and a good team will exploit that. On Saturday night, the Nats' veteran hitters took the...

Here is a story from extended spring training that may not resonate much with the average fan, but when O's manager Buck Showalter was told about it, I heard he was quite pleased. The story was relayed by new Aberdeen IronBirds manager Matt Merullo Saturday at Ripken Stadium during a fan Q and A session on Fan Day in Aberdeen. Merullo, who is currently running the O's extended spring training program in Florida, was asked about the games being played in Sarasota at extended spring. He told...

The Orioles are back in action and back home tonight after completing their 11-game road trip and taking off yesterday. The Royals are visiting after playing back-to-back extra-inning games against the White Sox. CBSSports.com's Danny Knobler came up with an interesting note on this series. On Sunday, the Orioles won their 107th consecutive regular season game when leading after the seventh inning. Also on Sunday, the Royals won a game for the fourth time, tops in the majors, when trailing...

The Orioles are proud to support Major League Baseball in the PEOPLE Magazine Tribute for Heroes program and are asking fans to nominate a veteran to represent the Baltimore Orioles at the 2013 MLB All-Star Game. Fans may nominate a veteran who has served, or is still serving in the armed forces at www.tributeforheroes.com and are encouraged to include information about the nominee's extraordinary military, community service, personal and professional accomplishments. One veteran or active...

A somewhat surprising move today for the Nationals, as Double-A Harrisburg announced right-hander Trevor Holder has been released. The team has assigned veteran left-hander Bill Bray from extended spring training to Harrisburg. Holder was off to a good start again with the Senators. In seven games, Holder was 0-1 with a 2.89 ERA, allowing just six earned runs, with 13 strikeouts and four walks. On May 4, Holder tossed two innings of shutout baseball. Nationals director of player development...

The Orioles announced today that pitcher Zach Clark has cleared waivers and been outrighted to Double-A Bowie. Clark was designated for assignment on Saturday to make room for pitcher Freddy Garcia on the 25- and 40-man rosters. Clark made his major league debut May 1 and allowed three runs and three hits in 1 2/3 innings. Clark (UMBC) was 1-2 with a 4.56 ERA in five starts at Triple-A Norfolk. The Tides rotation is full with Steve Johnson, Jair Jurrjens, Zach Britton, Jake Arrieta and Josh...

The Triple-A Norfolk Tides remain the winningest and also the hottest team in the O's minors right now. The Tides beat Syracuse in 11 innings Sunday to conclude a 7-1 homestand at Harbor Park. Here is a look at each of the O's four full-season clubs: Norfolk is 20-10, tied for first and has won nine of its last 10 games. Double-A Bowie is 13-16 and has lost nine of its last 12. Single-A Frederick is 17-13 and tied for first and has won three in a row and seven of its past nine games....

I'll be as frank and up front as I possibly can in saying this: I'm not a big fan of youth. At 32, some people might ask what I mean by that, given that I'd like to hope that I'm not that old myself. However, when it comes to athletes, I like guys with a bit of experience. I'm not suggesting that the Orioles should nab other teams' good players out from under them as Boston and New York have done for years. What I am saying is that I like players that marinate a bit in the minor leagues...