The Orioles and Athletics were scoreless through three innings tonight before the home run bug bit Tommy Hunter again. You know exactly where it got him. Yoenis Cespedes hit a two-run shot deep into the left field seats in the fourth to give Oakland a 2-0 lead. Hunter started off Cespedes with four consecutive four-seam fastballs. He threw an 83 mph slider and Cespedes launched it for his 14th homer of the season. Hunter has allowed 23 homers in 99 1/3 innings. In four innings tonight,...

ABERDEEN, Md - Wearing a blue No. 17 Aberdeen IronBirds jersey, but using his specially-designed Orioles batting helmet, Brian Roberts moved to the plate here a few moments ago for his first-ever at-bat in a New York-Penn League game. Starting what he hopes will be just a two-game rehab assignment before he can rejoin the Orioles, Roberts led off the last of the first drawing a walk on a 3-2 pitch. He scored moments later when Creede Simpson ripped an RBI double into the gap in...

Needing a right-handed hitter and a deeper bench, the Orioles are prepared to purchase outfielder Lew Ford's contract from Triple-A Norfolk tomorrow and add him to the 25- and 40-man rosters. Ford is batting .331/.390/.550 with 14 doubles, three triples, 11 home runs, 40 RBIs and eight stolen bases in 62 games at Norfolk. He's not in the Tides' lineup tonight. Ford, 35, hasn't played in the majors since 2007 with the Twins. He's a career .272/.349/.402 hitter in 494 games over parts of...

Bryce Harper has been scratched from tonight's game due to a stomach virus, forcing manager Davey Johnson to shuffle his starting lineup just a bit. Corey Brown will now play center field as the Nationals take on the Brewers in Milwaukee. Brown will also take over Harper's No. 2 spot in the batting order. According to the Nationals, Harper will be available to pinch hit tonight, indicating that the virus isn't anything serious. It has been enough to knock the rookie out of the starting...

Robert Andino took batting practice again today and is ready for his injury-rehab assignment to begin tomorrow at Triple-A Norfolk. Andino could be activated on Tuesday on the first day that he's eligible to come off the disabled list. "We'll see. I'll probably play two games and see what happens after that," he said. The original projection had Andino being out three to four weeks with a strained left shoulder, but he's way ahead of schedule. "Every day, it really got better," he...

ABERDEEN, Md. - After taking his cuts during batting practice in front of short-season Single-A Aberdeen manager Gary Allenson, Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts is going to bat leadoff and play second tonight for the IronBirds. His goal is to play nine innings the next two days here with the IronBirds and come through the games healthy enough to rejoin the Orioles for a road trip that begins Monday in New York. Roberts has been on the disabled list since July 3 with a labral tear in his...

The Houston Astros have claimed outfielder Steve Pearce off waivers from the Orioles, who were unsuccessful in working out a trade for him. Pearce batted .254/.321/.437 with four doubles, three homers and 14 RBIs in 28 games after the Orioles purchased him from the Yankees on June 2. They designated him for assignment on July 21 to make room for Omar Quintanilla. The Astros had first dibs on Pearce and took him. Pearce would have accepted an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk if he...

Though Matt Wieters said his right biceps feels much better today, he remains out of the Orioles lineup for tonight's game against the Athletics. Endy Chavez is starting in left field and Chris Davis is serving as the designated hitter instead of Jim Thome, who sat in manager Buck Showalter's office early today. For the Orioles: Nick Markakis RF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis DH Adam Jones CF Wilson Betemit 3B Endy Chavez LF Mark Reynolds 1B Omar Quintanilla 2B Taylor Teagarden C Tommy...

Jordan Zimmermann will take the ball tonight for his 21st start of the season. He'll also take the ball in his home state of Wisconsin for the first time in his major league career. The Auburndale, Wisc., native and former star at the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point will face the Brewers tonight as he looks for his eighth win of the season. Zimmermann has been on fire lately, allowing a total of four earned runs over his last six starts. Earlier this week, a reporter asked...

Brian Roberts, who has been on the Orioles' disabled list since July 3 with a labral tear in his right hip, has progressed to the point where he will test the injury in game action. MASNsports.com has learned that Roberts will play for Aberdeen tonight at Ripken Stadium, beginning an injury-rehab assignment. It's uncertain how long this assignment will last, but Roberts is expected to play second base for the short-season Single-A IronBirds tonight. After his return from concussion symptoms...