Chris Davis entered tonight with 20 homers, one shy of his career high. He took care of that and more tonight as the Orioles beat Toronto 6-2 in Game 1 of a three-game weekend series. Davis produced the 19th three-homer game in Orioles history and first since Nick Markakis went deep three times against Minnesota on August 22, 2006. Davis had 21 homers for Texas in 2009 and now he has 23 for the Orioles with 37 games remaining. He hit a Eutaw Street homer off Carlos Villanueva in the second...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals just can't seem to solve Kyle Kendrick this season. Against teams who don't wear a Curly W on their helmets, Kendrick has been average at best, making 15 starts and pitching to a 4.52 ERA. In starts against the Nationals, Kendrick has put up a 1.50 ERA over 18 innings. The Phillies right-hander has now made three starts against the Nats this season. Tonight, he's thrown six scoreless innings, allowing just three hits in the process. Overall, Kendrick has been...

Chris Davis has homered onto Eutaw St. tonight. He's homered into the back row of seats in right field. He's homered to left field. He's on a home run rampage. Davis became the first Oriole to hit three home runs in the same game since Nick Markakis kept harassing the Twins' Carlos Silva on Aug. 22, 2006. Tonight marks the 19th time that an Orioles player has achieved a homer hat trick. Davis' first two homers came off Blue Jays starter Carlos Villanueva. Steve Delabar entered in relief...

Anyone out there tonight? Not many comments coming on a day that included an Orioles Hall of Fame luncheon and multiple roster moves. Maybe you've hit a wall. It happens to the best of 'em. Zach Britton shut out the Tigers on six hits over seven innings in his first start after being recalled from Triple-A Norfolk, but he fell behind, 1-0, tonight in the second inning. Edwin Encarnacion led off with a double and scored on Kelly Johnson's single. Left fielder Nate McLouth bobbled the ball,...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals' offense has been clicking on all cylinders lately, largely thanks to the fact that they finally had all their players healthy. That's suddenly not the case anymore. Ian Desmond was scratched from tonight's game (albeit for precautionary reasons) because of a right knee injury, and less than 10 minutes after first pitch, Michael Morse had to leave after being hit in the right hand with a pitch. Morse took an 84 mph Kyle Kendrick changeup squarely on his hand...

PHILADELPHIA - Rewarding one of their most productive bench bats this season, the Nationals have extended the contract of veteran infielder Chad Tracy through the 2013 season. Tracy signed a minor league deal with the Nats this winter after playing the 2011 season in Japan. The 32-year-old battled for a roster spot in camp and admitted that if he hadn't made the Nationals' 25-man roster, he might have opted for retirement. But Tracy earned a roster spot as a left-handed bat off Johnson's...

Ryan Flaherty is back on the Orioles active roster. He was on the disabled list from August 2-24 with a bacterial infection and just returned from playing nine game at Triple-A Norfolk, where he hit .289 with two homers, three RBIs and an .868 OPS. "I started a little bit slow down there for the first three or four games and then I got it going," Flaherty said. "Want to take that back here and help this team win." Flaherty began 0-for-15 in Norfolk but brings a hot bat back to the team as...

At the risk of bombarding you with too much news and too many quotes, here are a few comments from manager Buck Showalter that came from his pregame session with the media. On Jason Hammel's simulated game: "Hamm's thing went well today. We'll see how it feels tomorrow before we kind of set the next part of his schedule. But so far, so good." On Tommy Hunter: "Not sure yet whether we're going to option Tommy to Bowie or Norfolk. See where it fits best. Both those clubs' seasons end on...

On Saturday, August 25, the Orioles and Oriole Advocates will hold a formal induction ceremony prior to their 7:05 p.m. game with the Toronto Blue Jays to honor 2012 Orioles Hall of Fame inductees Mike Mussina and Rich Dauer and Herb Armstrong Award recipient Walter Youse. Fans are encouraged to be in their seats by 6:30 p.m. In his 10 seasons as a starting pitcher with the Orioles, Mussina compiled 147 wins and a 3.53 ERA, pitching more than 200 innings seven times. He will become the 50th...

The Orioles optioned Tommy Hunter today, destination unknown, and designated left-hander J.C. Romero for assignment. They recalled left-hander Brian Matusz and activated infielder Ryan Flaherty from the disabled list. Matusz is the only left-hander in the bullpen, but the Orioles could select Zach Phillips' contract from Triple-A Norfolk. It's still being discussed. Hunter will be assigned to Norfolk or Double-A Bowie. Romero is considering retirement. He's headed to his Alabama home to...