The Orioles today announced that they have signed free agent left-hander Randy Wolf and added him to the 25-man roster. Wolf is 130-117 with a 4.19 ERA (2252.2IP, 1049ER) in 371 games (366 starts) over his 14 season career with Philadelphia (1999-2006), the Dodgers (07 and 09), San Diego (08), Houston (08) and Milwaukee (10-12). He went 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA (142.1IP, 90ER) in 25 games (24 starts) with the Brewers this season. The 36-year old left-hander was originally selected by...

The 1-7 spots in the Nationals' lineup remain the same as the Nats prepare to take on Cardinals right-hander Adam Wainwright. Kurt Suzuki returns to the lineup behind the plate with his buddy, Gio Gonzalez, taking the mound tonight. Gonzalez is 4-0 with a 3.22 ERA in seven starts against the National League Central this season. Wainwright is 13-10 with a 3.63 ERA this season, but he hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last eight starts. In that span, he's 6-1 with a...

NEW YORK - Randy Wolf will officially become a member of the Orioles this afternoon at Yankee Stadium. His debut could come this weekend as the second left-hander in the bullpen. Wolf has made only five relief appearances in his 371 major league games - allowing six runs and 10 hits, and striking out 11 in nine innings - but he figures to stay in the bullpen unless there's an injury or two in the rotation. Manager Buck Showalter keeps saying that both roles are options for Wolf, which is...

He was the Orioles' first-round draft pick in 2008, and for a while, it looked like Brian Matusz would be a fixture in the team's rotation. But for now, he finds himself pitching out of the bullpen. If the Orioles decide to make a bullpen role more permanent for Matusz, how would the 25-year-old lefty feel about that? "You know, right now my focus is just on now and this season," he said. "We're in a special spot right now, fighting for the playoffs. My focus is just to help the team...

NEW YORK - The Orioles are 17-9 in August, including 12-4 at home, the most wins in any month this season. The last time they won 17 games in any month was August 2010. So, how long has it been since they won 18 games in a month? Try September 2004. Tonight, the Orioles will try to equal that mark. They've got one chance remaining before we flip the page on the calendar. The Orioles have played eight road series against the American League East, winning six of them. They've taken two...

Edwin Jackson wasn't the only veteran Nationals starter to pitch a gem last night. John Lannan got in on that action, as well, and the lefty, who is still down at Triple-A Syracuse for now, is showing that he's more than ready to join the Nats once they're ready to call on him. For the second straight start, Lannan delivered a complete-game shutout, holding Charlotte scoreless last night, striking out 10 and walking none. This gives Lannan a 20-inning shutout streak. Once Stephen...

It's been one interesting week since my prediction that the Nationals would make the playoffs with the best record in baseball. It didn't seem so bold at the time, given their 6 1/2-game lead over Atlanta in the National League East and their two-game lead over Cincinnati for the major leagues' best mark. It's amazing, though, how a losing streak can rock some people's faith. Five days later, it seemed I was talking some people down from the ledge. The terms "choking" and "cracking...

Edwin Jackson's overall season statistics won't blow you away. He's 8-9 with a 3.53 ERA over 158 innings of work. That's pretty solid, especially for a team's fourth starter, but not spectacular. Jackson has had a few outings this season, however, in which he shows how special a pitcher he can be. Tonight was one of those outings, one of the times when Jackson reminds the baseball world that the Nationals' starting staff as a whole is pretty darn good, and it will remain that way, even...

The last time the Orioles won a season series from the New York Yankees was in 1997 when they went 8-4. That was the last O's team to get to the playoffs and this team has a chance to do both again. The 2012 Orioles are three games behind New York in the AL East and hold the second wild card position right now. These Orioles are 5-6 against the Yankees. The clubs begin a big weekend series tonight in New York. If you enjoy these games, you'll get to see the clubs play another weekend series...

It didn't matter that Edwin Jackson was facing a Cardinals team which came into tonight leading the National League in batting average and runs scored. It made no difference that he was taking on a St. Louis lineup which had six batters hitting at least .300 and three guys in the top 10 in the NL in batting. Jackson couldn't be stopped. He spun eight sterling innings tonight, allowing just one unearned run and striking out 10. If not for his high pitch count - Jackson's night ended with...