Given his age and experience level, Bryce Harper's rookie season has been pretty impressive. Harper has appeared in every game but one since his promotion to the big leagues and has found a way to make an impact on nearly all of them. Even when he isn't hitting, he's able to make highlight-reel defensive plays and put pressure on the defense with his full-throttle baserunning. There have been plenty of positives. But after a hot start to his major league career, even the rookie can admit...

That is probably a good name for this 2012 Orioles team.: a team with a ticker. It means a team with heart. A team that shows character and a will to win with team chemistry. It is probably a bit cliched to say that, but the Orioles play like that. They've shown a ticker in abundance in recent days. They showed it as much Friday as probably in any game this year. In the opener of a big series with Oakland, they fell behind 5-0 only to rally to lead 6-5. After falling behind again 8-6, they...

The overwhelming theme of both Davey Johnson and Stephen Strasburg's sessions with reporters after tonight's game was that Strasburg needs to do a better job of managing his emotions when things aren't going his way. Johnson commented that Strasburg "lost a little poise" tonight. Strasburg wasn't about to disagree with that theory, acknowledging that after allowing a few runs early, he got a bit rattled and got out of his gameplan instead of just rolling with the punches. "Yeah, it's...

NEW YORK - For whatever reason, the Orioles are playing a 1:05 p.m. game in the middle of the week. Had I planned it better, I would have taken the train back home tonight, spent the off day there and flown to Tampa on Friday. But enough about me. How about those Orioles? They've won three games in a row, and this is the first time they've won consecutive series in the Bronx in the same season since 2007. Today, they go for the sweep. "Any game you play that's with a division rival,...

Three starts ago, Stephen Strasburg pitched six scoreless innings, striking out seven Marlins. Two outings ago, Strasburg got hit around a bit by the Braves, allowing four runs and 11 baserunners over 5 1/3. His last time out, the Nationals ace was dominant, striking out 11 over seven one-run innings in Flushing, NY. Tonight, the run of inconsistency continued, as Strasburg lasted just four innings, surrendering six Phillies runs on eight hits. In Davey Johnson's eyes, it wasn't hard to...

NEW YORK - Chris Tillman looks like a guy who should be wrapped in a blanket and fed chicken soup, not a major league pitcher who should be standing on the mound in front of a hostile crowd at Yankee Stadium. It hurts to watch Tillman try to speak, to think, to stand up straight while waiting for reporters to approach him. But he gutted out five innings tonight to win his third consecutive start and snap a three-game losing streak to the Yankees, defeating them for the first time since Sept....

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter made contingency plans yesterday in case Chris Tillman was too sick to take the mound tonight at Yankee Stadium. Showalter sent Tillman back to the team hotel yesterday with antibiotics and instructions to stay in bed. Tillman almost was sent to the showers in the first inning tonight, but he survived the Yankees' five-run onslaught and shut them out over the next four frames. "We talked to him that first inning," Showalter said following the...

For the second night in a row, the Orioles posted an impressive win in New York. Last night, they held on late to win. Tonight, they came back early on to win. After falling behind 5-0 after the bottom of the first, the Orioles erupted for seven runs in the top of the second to quickly regain the lead on their way to a 11-5 win over the Yankees. In that big inning, all seven runs scored with two outs. Mark Reynolds produced an RBI double, Omar Quintanilla added a two-run single, and then...

One of the teams playing at Nationals Park tonight has the best record in the major leagues. The other has essentially given up on the 2012 season. Hard to tell which is which, isn't it? The Nationals trail the Phillies 6-0 entering the fifth inning, and frankly, the Nats are lucky their deficit is only a half-dozen. They've been completely pushed around by their division rivals so far tonight. Stephen Strasburg tied a career-high by allowing six earned runs. He and catcher Jesus Flores...

NEW YORK - The Yankees don't have Mark Teixeira or Alex Rodriguez tonight, but they still have Chris Tillman's number. They grabbed a 3-0 lead only three batters into the game, and it took Tillman 15 pitches to record his first out. Two more runs scored, as the Yankees sent nine batters to the plate and Matt Lindstrom began to warm in the bullpen. Four of the five runs were earned. Tillman committed an error on Ichiro Suzuki's comebacker before Russell Martin's RBI single. Yes, it's...