The Orioles have a later reporting time today after last night's debacle. May as well let the players catch a few hours sleep before they try to catch a fly ball. Former Orioles left-hander Bruce Chen is starting for the Royals, which means manager Buck Showalter will break out his right-handed lineup. Taylor Teagarden will catch today, and Showalter must decide whether to use Matt Wieters as the designated hitter or give him the day off. Lew Ford will start in left field. Mark Reynolds...

Pitcher Jason Hammel was back in the Orioles clubhouse on Saturday for the first time after his right knee surgery. While he is in the early stages of a process he hopes leads him back to the team by early September, yesterday he was just excited to be among his teammates once again. "A lot of new faces, but I've already talked to all of them," he said. "This feels like the first day of school where you come back to see your buddies you haven't seen all summer long. I've missed the guys...

Chris Tillman had allowed two earned runs or less in five of his first six Orioles starts this year. But tonight, the Royals got six runs and six hits off him over 5 2/3 innings in a 7-3 Kansas City victory at Camden Yards. "Not a very good night for me. A frustrating night. I was working up in the zone and didn't have my breaking ball going for the whole game. I wish I would have pitched better," Tillman said after his 109-pitch outing. "It was a battle. I fell behind (in the count)...

A rain delay that lasted more than three hours tonight provided a convenient excuse for the Orioles if they chose to reach for it. Manager Buck Showalter's arms aren't that long. "It was a challenging night and they did a better job with it than we did," Showalter said after the Orioles lost to the Royals 7-3 at Camden Yards. "It was impressive that Tilly (Chris Tillman) fought his way through five-plus. Usually, three or four runs, you can hold them right there. I thought giving up the...

Chris Tillman has been pitching well and not giving up the longball for the Orioles. Tonight, though, he gave up three homers and six runs as Kansas City beat the Orioles 7-3 in front of 40,456 at Camden Yards. Tillman had allowed just two homers over 34 innings in six O's starts, but tonight he gave up that trio in the first 2 2/3 frames as K.C. led 4-0 after three innings and 7-0 heading to the last of the seventh. Tillman gave up six hits over 5 2/3 innings, along with two walks and five...

Not only did Manny Machado break up Luis Mendoza's shutout in the seventh inning, he hit for the cycle in a three-day period. I know it doesn't count, but humor me. Machado tripled and reached on an infield hit Thursday in his major league debut, and he homered twice on Friday. All that remained was the double, which he collected off Mendoza to score Wilson Betemit. Omar Quintanilla, who went 3-for-4 with a two-run homer last night, followed with a two-run double to reduce the Royals'...

Speaking with left-hander Sean Burnett last week, I asked him if it was surprising that the Nationals carry three southpaws in their bullpen. Burnett said, "Our left-handers can get both lefties and righties out. We are not just lefty specialists. I think (Michael) Gonzalez has been a huge part of the bullpen and saves my arm. (Tom) Gorzelanny eats up innings, too. We got some valuable lefties out there." Fast forward to Saturday night, and manager Davey Johnson goes to Gonzalez to get...

Chris Tillman has pitched well for the Orioles this year in just about every inning but the first. Now he's been scored on in the second as well. Tillman gave up a leadoff homer to Alex Gordon tonight on a 1-1 pitch as the Royals took the early 1-0 in the first at Camden Yards. Lorenzo Cain led off the second with a single and then scored on a Salvador Perez homer to give Kansas City a 3-0 lead. The game began after a rain delay of 3 hours, 9 minutes. First pitch was at 10:14 p.m. after a...

After a slow start, the Nationals have stormed back to take the lead over the Diamondbacks thanks to a monster fifth inning. Jayson Werth, Ryan Zimmerman, Michael Morse and Jesus Flores all delivered run-scoring hits in the fifth, with Zimmerman's single plating two. That five-run inning turned a 4-1 Nats deficit into a 6-4 Washington lead. Seven Nationals hitters reached in the fifth, knocking Diamondbacks starter Wade Miley out after just 4 1/3 innings. The Nats put up a run in the top...

We have not been given a time for tonight's game to start at Camden Yards - if it does start. As of about 8:40 p.m. the rain had greatly subsided at the ballpark, but just a few moments later the skies opened up again. The tarp is still on the field. The Orioles held the ceremony to unveil the Eddie Murray statue earlier today but if they do plan to play tonight, it appears that the on-field ceremony for Murray would still take place before first pitch. Chris Tillman, who is 5-1 with a...