Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Freddy Garcia remains the scheduled starter for Monday's series opener against the New York Yankees at Camden Yards. Jake Arrieta also was a consideration, but Garcia apparently will pitch on normal rest. "Freddy's scheduled right now," Showalter said. Garcia has allowed eight runs and 12 hits in 9 2/3 innings over his last two starts after taking a perfect game into the seventh inning in his Orioles debut in Anaheim. Miguel Gonzalez will come off...

Saturday's loss at San Diego was tough all around for the Nationals. Any time a team falls 2-1, there are several moments in the game they would love to rewind and try again. But baseball can be a cruel game, and just like any sport, the opportunity was there. Starter Jordan Zimmermann was blaming himself afterward. One for a home run ball early and the other for his bad throw to check a runner hanging off of first base. But the Nationals would not have been in a tie ball game in the...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled infielder/outfielder Danny Valencia from Triple-A Norfolk. Valencia, 28, is batting .306/.339/.600 with 14 doubles, 11 home runs and 35 RBI in 40 games for the Tides this season, including seven home runs in his last 10 games and a line of .324/.381/.838 with six home runs in 37 at-bats against left-handed pitching. He has hit .316/.359/.472 in 326 plate appearances against southpaws in his major league career. Valencia batted...

The goal of any player in Triple-A is to play well enough to force the big league team to bring him to the major leagues. Danny Valencia has certainly done that. He's been having a very solid year with Triple-A Norfolk and now, after a recent batting tear, he is back in the big leagues, joining the Orioles today. Valencia is in today's starting lineup, batting seventh as the DH. "Everybody wants to do well," he said this morning in the Orioles clubhouse. "I was able to get off to a good...

Danny Valencia will serve as the designated hitter today, as the Orioles try to avoid being swept by the Tampa Bay Rays at Camden Yards. Valencia is wearing No. 35. Steve Pearce is playing left field and Chris Snyder is catcher. Matt Wieters gets the day off despite being 6-for-11 with two home runs lifetime against Tampa Bay left-hander Matt Moore. Yamaico Navarro gets his third consecutive start at second base. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Chris Davis...

Orioles starters have gone more than five innings only once in the last seven games. That starter is on the mound today. Chris Tillman held the Padres to one run over seven innings Tuesday night, allowing four hits, walking two and striking out seven. The Orioles lost 3-2 when Jim Johnson blew the save - the beginning of a four-game losing streak that they will try to stamp out this afternoon. Tillman has to play the role of stopper today. He's registered five straight quality starts in a...

Second baseman Ryan Flaherty was called into manager Buck Showalter's office after last night's game and given the news. To break out of his season-long slump, he would need to go back down to the minors. Flaherty wasn't exactly floored by the Orioles' decision to option him to Triple-A Norfolk. He was batting .133/.228/.233 with two homers and six RBIs in 30 games. He had 26 strikeouts in 90 at-bats. He had run out of chances. "It was obvious that I was kind of struggling and it could...

Nice homestand, huh? The Orioles have lost all four games and have been outscored 33-22 by San Diego and Tampa Bay. They won nine of their first 12 series this season and now have lost two series in a row. They must try to beat a 7-0 pitcher today in Matt Moore to avoid being swept by a division rival at home. The Orioles now have a losing record at home, with a 9-10 record. Seeing the Orioles lose when they take the lead into the ninth inning is pretty rare. How rare? Last season, they...

Jordan Zimmermann and losses are two things that haven't been paired together too often this year. But on a night when the Nationals right-hander lowered his already-stellar ERA from 1.69 to 1.62, he absorbed just his second loss of the season, snapping a personal four-game winning streak with a 2-1 defeat against the Padres. Zimmermann (7-2) pitched his major league-best third complete game of the year, but was burned by his own error - a pickoff throw that got past first and put speedster...

Jordan Zimmermann has been doing an exceptional job keeping opponents in the ballpark of late, which made Yonder Alonso's blast to start the second so striking. Alonso's fifth homer gave the Padres a 1-0 lead over the Nationals, making him the first player to clear the fence against Zimmermann since April 21. The Nats right-hander pitched 36 2/3 innings and four full starts in between homers allowed. Zimmermann came into the game as hot as can be. Overall, he started the year 7-1 with a...