After Tigers right-hander Max Scherzer retired the last 16 batters he faced tonight, the Orioles must have felt as though they were getting a fresh start with a new pitcher entering in the bottom of the ninth. "Kind of similar to last night with Freddy (Garcia)," said Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Except for the outcome. Jim Johnson got the save for the Orioles last night after Garcia went eight innings, but Tigers closer Jose Valverde blew the save tonight after surrendering a solo...

Maybe it was just Orioles magic. Chris Dickerson hit a three-run walk-off homer on a 2-1 pitch from Jose Valverde as the Orioles scored four in the last of the ninth to stun the Tigers 7-5 tonight. Max Scherzer had retired 16 straight Orioles through the last of the eighth, but he exited after a season-high 119 pitches. Nick Markakis started the ninth with a solo homer off Valverde and it was a 5-4 game. Singles by Adam Jones and Chris Davis put runners on the corners with none out. But two...

ATLANTA - The Nationals' bullpen has put itself in a number of tough spots this season. Tyler Clippard might top the list with his effort tonight, but somehow, Clippard managed to right the ship and allow the Nats to keep clinging to a 3-2 lead after seven innings. Called upon to work the seventh and protect a two-run advantage after Craig Stammen had thrown 49 pitches and retired all 12 batters he'd faced, Clippard got into quite a pickle. He allowed an infield single to Ramiro Pena...

Another Orioles starter completed six innings tonight, the third to do so in the last nine games. Otherwise, it was a fairly disappointing night for Miguel Gonzalez, who was replaced by left-hander Troy Patton to begin the seventh. Gonzalez is charged with a season-high five earned runs and seven hits, with three walks, six strikeouts, two home runs and a wild pitch. He threw 105 pitches, matching his season high - 66 for strikes. Gonzalez still hasn't won since April 23 against the Blue...

ATLANTA - This can't be good. Stephen Strasburg has been pulled from tonight's game after just two innings with an apparent injury. Craig Stammen is now on to work the third inning for the Nationals, who will now have to deal with another injury issue, this one to their ace. Strasburg faced the minimum in the first inning tonight, getting a 4-6-3 double play off the bat of Justin Upton to end the inning. He then surrendered a long solo home run to Freddie Freeman leading off the second,...

It was 90 degrees at Camden Yards tonight as Miguel Gonzalez threw his first pitch to Tigers leadoff hitter Omar Infante. It probably rose to 92 as Infante swung through a slider for the first out. Freddy Garcia is now classified as a flood zone. Before tonight, the Orioles ranked second in the American League with 273 runs scored. The Tigers ranked third with 268. The Tigers led the AL with a .279 average. The Orioles ranked second at .276. The two teams were tied for the AL lead in hits...

So is this going to be a high scoring series? It features the Orioles, who rank second in the American League in runs scored, and the Detroit Tigers, who rank third. They are the only teams in MLB scoring over five runs per game with Detroit at 5.15 and the Orioles at 5.05. Ranking the Tigers and Orioles in some AL stat categories: Batting Average - Detroit first at .279, O's second at .276 Homers - O's first with 75, Detroit is 11th with 54 Slugging - O's first at .464 and Detroit fifth...

ATLANTA - The Nationals have played 11 games without Bryce Harper in the starting lineup this season and have gone 2-9 in those contests. They could now be without Harper for a more extended period. Harper is out of the Nats' lineup for the fifth straight game with bursitis in his left knee, and because the condition hasn't improved much over that five-day span, manager Davey Johnson said Harper might need to land on the disabled list. "It's bothering him," Johnson said. "We've got to...

As he tries to reverse a slide, in which he has been scored on in four straight and five of his last six outings, Orioles lefty Troy Patton is going to the video. He is looking to see what he might be doing differently after a successful 2012 season out of the O's bullpen. Over his last four games, Patton has pitched 5 2/3, allowing nine hits, seven runs and two homers. He walked 12 batters in 55 2/3 innings last season and has already walked 12 this year in 22 2/3. "I'm not happy with my...

Orioles outfielder Chris Dickerson has been receiving treatment for a sore left wrist, which limited him to one at-bat since his last start on May 23. Dickerson was a candidate to go on the disabled list last weekend before the Orioles decided to put reliever Pedro Strop on the DL while recalling pitcher Steve Johnson from Triple-A Norfolk. Manager Buck Showalter had mentioned that there were two or three players being considered. Dickerson is batting .318/.333/.568 with two doubles, three...