It was his seventh hold of the season. He managed to get three straight outs. Oh, yes, and did I mention the Marlins had two men in scoring position? And it was the eighth inning? And the Nationals had watched their 5-0 lead dwindle away until they led 6-4 as they looked to snap a season-high five-game losing skid? And the heart of the Marlins order was due up, led by the big bat of Carlos Lee? I didn't? Well, I should have. I am talking about closer-turned-eighth-inning-super-saver Drew...

Bryce Harper crushed two home runs tonight and the Nationals pulled out a big 8-4 win over the Marlins to snap a losing skid. Unfortunately, I fear that the one play tonight which will generate much of the national attention was Harper getting ejected in the top of the ninth inning. Harper grounded into a double play with no outs in the ninth, and the play at first was a close one. Harper was ruled out by first base umpire C.B. Bucknor, and as soon as he saw the call, Harper spiked his helmet...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't going to judge Joe Saunders after one outing. He expects the left-hander to contribute down the stretch. Tonight, Saunders gets a mulligan. "I think he's had eight days off. Probably a little rusty. Then he settled in and pitched pretty well there. Gave up an unearned run," Showalter said following the Orioles' 8-1 loss to the White Sox. "He'll be better. Thought second, third and fourth, you can see what he's capable of. His work day, get back in...

Joe Saunders was excited about getting his chance to join his hometown team and pitch in a pennant race, but the feel good story ended early for him and the Orioles tonight. Saunders, the Falls Church, Virginia native, gave up four runs in the first inning as Chicago beat the Orioles 8-1 in front of 13,098 at Camden Yards. A win would have pulled the Orioles to within 2 1/2 games of first place New York, which lost this afternoon. A win would have also moved the Orioles 15 games over the .500...

The Nationals didn't have a hit off Jacob Turner their first time through the order. The second time through, the Nats did some damage. Finally. The Nats put up a four-spot in the fourth inning, giving Ross Detwiler a 4-0 buffer and finally giving them a lead. Bryce Harper's two-run home run to right (his 13th homer of the season) got the party started, but he wasn't the only guy to hit the ball hard in the fourth. Michael Morse destroyed a ball to center which went for a triple but...

This isn't the way left-hander Joe Saunders imagined that his Orioles debut would unfold. Four of the first five White Sox reached base against Saunders, who allowed four runs and four hits in the first inning. Chicago loaded the bases on two singles and a walk, and Alex Rios stroked a two-run double. Alexei Ramirez looped a two-out, two-run single into right field before catcher Tyler Flowers struck out on Saunders' 31st pitch. In his last three starts, including two with the...

A lot of times before a game, Matt Wieters will watch video of a pitcher to see what he can expect in batting against the pitcher that night. Today, the Orioles catcher watched tape of Joe Saunders because he will catch him for the first time tonight as Saunders makes his Orioles debut against Chicago. "I did (watch video of Saunders)," Wieters said. "I think maybe I have three at-bats off him, so you can't get a good read off that. So I just went back to watch his last game or two to get...

With a win tonight, the Orioles would move to within 2 1/2 games of the first-place Yankees in the American League East. The Blue Jays posted an 8-5 victory in the Bronx earlier today. Also, the Orioles would be 15 games above .500 for the first time since the end of the 1997 season, when they posted a 98-64 record and reached the American League Championship Series for the second consecutive year. The Orioles are 16-8 in August, their most wins in any month this season. They won 15 games in...

It's been more than 30 years since the 1979 World Series, a slice of Orioles history that represents both the best and worst for Kiko Garcia, the shortstop on the team that lost a three games to one series lead to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Now 58, Garcia recently made his first trip to Baltimore since the final game at Memorial Stadium in 1991, and got his first in-person look at Camden Yards. Speaking following the Orioles Advocates Hall of Fame Luncheon last week, where he feted former...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter indicated today that the Orioles will send pitcher Dylan Bundy to the fall instructional league once Double-A Bowie's season ends, which apparently will keep the organization's top prospect from making his major league debut in 2012. Bundy, 19, has long been rumored as a September call-up at the latest, with the possibility of him working in relief or getting a start. He's 9-3 with a 2.08 ERA in 23 combined starts with three affiliates, with 67 hits, 28 walks...