MINNEAPOLIS - Jason Hammel goes for his sixth win tonight, as the Orioles begin a three-game series against the Twins at Target Field. Then it's back home. Not worth unpacking the suitcase. Only three other pitchers have six wins in 2013: Clay Buchholz, Matt Moore and Jordan Zimmermann. All five of Hammel's wins have come on the road. According to STATS, Hammel is the fifth Orioles pitcher to win each of his first five road starts in a season since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954....

This might surprise you, but the Minnesota Twins, a team that has lost 99 and 96 games the last two seasons, are 5-2 this season against the American League East. The Twins host the Orioles for three games over the weekend beginning tonight at Target Field. The Twins took two of three in Baltimore in the second series of the year and they just took three of four at Fenway Park, winning the last three in that series by scores of 6-1, 15-8 and 5-3. Minnesota is 16-15 on the season, 7-6 at home...

The Nationals' No. 4 and 5 hitters are starting to put it together. Ryan Zimmerman went 3-for-4 with an RBI yesterday, bumping his average up to .239 on the season. Adam LaRoche added two hits and an RBI yesterday, as well, and he's now getting closer to the Mendoza line, hitting .196 on the season. Over his last six games, LaRoche is 9-for-17 (.529) with a .625 on-base percentage. The power isn't there from these two Nats sluggers yet - they've combined for just four home runs and 22...

The Orioles enter the weekend with a 21-14 record, in a three-way tie for first place in the American League East with the Red Sox and Yankees. If you've followed baseball long enough, you've likely developed the reserved reflex that is so common to the sport. It's the one that produces programmed responses to good news, led by the many variations of "it's early." We're not supposed to get excited about individual efforts yet because of sample size, and as for teams, well, "It's a...

If you just look at the stat sheet, you can't help but be impressed by Double-A Bowie outfielder Henry Urrutia. The Cuban defector signed by the Orioles last July is swinging a good bat for the Baysox during his first 15 games in the Orioles organization. The 26-year-old Urrutia is batting .317 with eight doubles, two homers, 15 RBIs, a .550 slugging percentage and .929 OPS. Urrutia is 7-for-19 (.368) with runners in scoring position and has six multi-hit games. But the Orioles realize that,...

In explaining the Nationals' willingness in recent years to part with top pitching prospects like Tom Milone, Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole (who was eventually reacquired), Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters in early 2012 that there was enough pitching in the system for him to feel comfortable making the type of deal that brought then 26-year-old left-hander Gio Gonzalez back from the Oakland A's. "I like our depth," Rizzo said. "We've got another wave of prospects coming,...

The Orioles' future plans for left-hander Tsuyoshi Wada remain up in the air. I hope my flight to Minnesota this morning does the same. We know that Wada will make another start today at extended spring training. Then he's expected to go on an injury-rehab assignment, which can last up to 30 days for a pitcher. Then what? Wada can't be optioned to the minors without his approval. It's part of the two-year, $8.15 million contract he signed on Dec. 14, 2011. Up to this point, the Orioles...

Matt Wieters didn't throw any pitches tonight, but he took responsibility for one that went over the left field wall in the top of the fourth. Alex Gordon and Eric Hosmer hit two-run homers in that frame to beat Freddy Garcia and the Orioles 6-2 at Camden Yards. "The ball Hosmer hit, you can put that one on me," Wieters said. "That was the wrong pitch at the wrong time. It was a pitch that kind of was a power pitch for him and the ball to Gordon was just a little bit up. I think...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter confirmed tonight that Steve Johnson will be recalled and start Saturday night against the Twins in Minnesota. Johnson will be making his fifth major league start. He was 4-0 with a 2.11 ERA in 12 games last year, including four starts, with 18 walks and 46 strikeouts in 38 1/3 innings. Johnson has made three starts for Triple-A Norfolk this season, including two on his injury-rehab assignment. He's allowed eight runs and 17 hits in 16 1/3 innings, with four...

Orioles starter Freddy Garcia gave up just five hits tonight, but four of them came consecutively in the top of the fourth and two were homers as the Kansas City Royals beat the Orioles 6-2 to salvage the final game of a three-game series. Winning pitcher Jeremy Guthrie was facing the Orioles for the first time and extended his consecutive unbeaten starts streak to 18. He is 10-0 since his last loss, which came last Aug. 8. Guthrie, an Oriole from 2007 through 2011, went six innings, allowing...