Right-hander Alex Meyer was bumped to high Single-A Potomac on July 20 and has become even more consistent than he was at low Single-A Hagerstown. On Sunday, Meyer went six innings again, striking out seven hitters, allowing one earned run with no walks. He threw 87 pitches, 56 for strikes, in a loss, but that was because the offense was unable to score a run. A team source reports Meyer has "good fastball command and is getting ahead of every hitter. The changeup is improving. His curveball...

A week in Ocean City, Md., does wonders for perspective. Yes, it's August and the Orioles remain in postseason contention. Hard to imagine, isn't it? But as I rode the Boardwalk tram last week, I was heartened by the amount of orange and black being worn from the Dunes Motel down to Trimper's Rides and Amusements. Seems the Orioles have replaced the Steelers as Ocean City's favorite team - really, shouldn't they always have been? - if the absence of those annoying Polamalu and...

Let's forget the final game in Phoenix, though the Nationals did not go easily in their only loss in nine games. Rather, it is easier to remember the loose and easy smiles all around the dugout and positive demeanor of the eight-game winning streak. What's not to like when you are 27 games over .500 with the best record in baseball? But in truth, there is a very serious confrontation under way. Like arm wrestlers locked into combat across a barroom table, the Nationals and the Braves are...

Despite only splitting this weekend's series against the Kansas City Royals, the Orioles seem to have turned it up a tick in the past few weeks. This is not in the least bit surprising to me; in fact, I expected it. The Birds have always finished strong under Buck Showalter. In 2010, he had them take the competition to the opponents who figured that they'd walk all over the O's due to their record. And who could forget last September, which I believe was the launching point for 2011?...

Here is a question for you Orioles fans: How are you dealing with all this good news? Let's see, the team is currently the holder of the second AL wild card, Manny Machado seems to set a new record daily, Dylan Bundy is moving to Double-A and Baltimore still could be in his near future, and now the club's latest first-round pick, Kevin Gausman, looks like the real deal. I ask that question somewhat tongue in cheek. I know you'll find a way to deal with a lot of good news if it keeps coming...

Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang has been removed from the Double-A Harrisburg roster and remains on the disabled list. He has reportedly continued to have issues with hip soreness, so his minor league injury rehabilitation assignment has been halted. He left his start four days ago after just 4 2/3 innings when the hip issue returned. Now that he is no longer on the 30-day rehab clock, he can remain on the disabled list. He has allowed 13 runs and 23 hits in his last three rehab starts for...

Yesterday marked the first time in Kurt Suzuki's Nationals career that he experienced a loss. I hope the guy made it through the night OK. After eight straight wins to kick off his tenure as a Nat, Suzuki and his new teammates were on the losing end of things yesterday in Arizona. They battled back from a 7-0 deficit to make things interesting in the ninth inning, bringing the tying run to the plate and allowing manager Davey Johnson to utter one of his favorite lines about there being no...

The Orioles are off today, which means that I'm sort of off today. My immediate plans are to go outside and run around in circles while waiving my arms over my head. That's it. Just ... go outside and run around in circles. And the arms thing. In case you missed my tweet last night (and shame on you for not following me at @MASNroch), Jake Arrieta's latest start at Triple-A Norfolk was a dud. He allowed six runs and five hits in 5 1/3 innings, with five walks and five strikeouts. He threw...

The Orioles have optioned reliever Miguel Socolovich to Triple-A Norfolk. A corresponding roster move will be announced later. Socolovich has appeared in six games, allowing eight earned runs in 10 1/3 innings for a 6.97 ERA. He let two inherited runners score last night after replacing starter Chris Tillman and also was charged with one run. Socolovich has posted a 1.90 ERA in 28 appearances with the Tides. He was chosen to the International League All-Star team. Could the Orioles be...

ABERDEEN, Md. - In his second pro outing, Aberdeen IronBirds pitcher Kevin Gausman was very impressive today, so much so that the Orioles may even be thinking about altering the original plan, which was for Gausman to make all his starts this year at Aberdeen. After seeing Gausman dominate in a three-inning outing today, it appears the O's are open to the possibility of having Gausman pitch at a higher level, even though they want him limited to three-inning outings after he threw 124 innings...