If the Orioles can get past Texas tonight and into a five-game series, that might be where one of their strengths - their bullpen - can really help the team. This unit has been sensational this year and is a big reason the club is so outstanding in one-run and extra-inning games. In the playoffs, it often seems that teams with deep bullpens do well. The Orioles have a deep and talented bullpen, and given a chance to show his mastery at using it, I would expect Buck Showalter to put the right...

ARLINGTON, Texas - The Atlanta Braves already posted their lineup for today's National League wild card game. It actually was tweeted yesterday. Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't in quite the same hurry. We won't know his lineup until later this afternoon, but it shouldn't be difficult to figure out, based on the pattern that he's established. Four of Showalter's last six lineups have been identical, all of them with the Orioles facing a right-handed starter. The two exceptions came...

A day dawns that Orioles fans have waited 15 years for. Your Baltimore Orioles are back in the playoffs. As I've said a few times now, I am so happy for all O's fans, but especially the very large number of you that stuck with the team through every loss, every negative article, every negative phone call on the talks shows and everything that was negative, negative, negative. Take those days and trash them. This is a new day and time of Orioles baseball. I hope every one takes time today...

ARLINGTON, Texas - No shortage of storylines here. You want the ex-Ranger factor? The Orioles have six of them: Chris Davis, Darren O'Day, Pedro Strop, Tommy Hunter, Taylor Teagarden and Endy Chavez. Perhaps a fired manager returning to the scene tickles your fancy. Buck Showalter guided the Rangers from 2003-06. What does it mean to Showalter to be back in Arlington in the postseason, with a chance to knock out his former team? "We grinded like heck for a chance to roll the dice in...

ARLINGTON, Texas - Unless Joe Saunders steps on a nail on his way to Rangers Ballpark on Friday, Steve Johnson will be sitting in the Orioles' bullpen at first pitch. Johnson said he's ready to help out in a relief role. No pain in his left knee and no hard feelings over being passed over for Saunders. "Disappointed wouldn't be the right word," he said. "It was great to at least be considered. It means a lot to me. But Joe's getting them out and he's going to do a great job. I'm...

ARLINGTON, Texas - Mark Reynolds has his left foot wrapped after fouling a ball off a bone near his big toe during Wednesday night's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. X-rays were negative, but he's hurting. Just not badly enough to consider missing the wild card game. "It's sore, but it's not anything I'm going to sit out over," he said. "It won't be a problem once you get under the lights and get a little adrenaline flowing. We know how important this game is and I'm sure all the...

ARLINGTON, Texas - Orioles manager Buck Showalter is ignoring Joe Saunders' career stats against the Rangers and will start him Friday night in the wild card game. Saunders, who will be working on normal rest, is 3-7 with a 6.48 ERA in 11 career starts against the Rangers, and 0-6 with a 9.38 ERA in Texas, with 41 hits allowed, 16 walks and 13 home runs in 31 2/3 innings. Showalter isn't certain that rookie Steve Johnson's left knee is completely healthy. He's also comfortable playing the...

"It was a pretty good season, all things considered," said outfielder Jayson Werth after the Nationals' 5-1 win over Philadelphia on Wednesday. "We had a lot of injuries and things to overcome. The fact that we ended up here, it really came down to the last game for the best record. We showed up again today. "I like where we are sitting heading into the postseason. This is what it is all about. This is what you play your whole life for. We got a chance to do something special here. We...

The results of the National League Cy Young award voting won't be released until the postseason has come to a close, but Gio Gonzalez has already earned himself some hardware. Gonzalez was named the winner of the 2012 Warren Spahn Award today, an award given out to the best left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball based on a pitcher's wins, strikeouts and earned run average. "I'm honored to even be mentioned in the same breath as Warren Spahn and the past winners of this award. I...

So you're not jetting to Texas to see the Orioles battle the Rangers in Friday's wild card game? And you still want to root on the O's with like-minded fans clad in orange and black? No problem. We've got you covered. When the Oriole magic continues in Arlington, Texas, MASN is inviting you to join us at Frank and Nics West End Grille for a viewing party for Friday's wild card game. The fun begins at 6:30 p.m. - more than two hours before first pitch - at Frank and Nic's, which is...