Going back over the Orioles' rotation, Jake Arrieta is starting tonight, followed by Tommy Hunter on Thursday, Brian Matusz on Friday and Jason Hammel on Saturday. Arrieta is taking Matusz's place. Manager Buck Showalter wanted to give Matusz a few more days to recover from being hit in the nose by a ball yesterday during a bunting drill. Also, Hammel will only have to pitch once in a National League ballpark, which puts less strain on his right knee. Hammel's next turn wouldn't come...

Major League Baseball and the Orioles today announced that the start time for their Saturday, July 14 game against the Detroit Tigers at Oriole Park has been moved from 7:05 p.m. to 4:05 p.m. The change in time is due to the selection of the game for broadcast by FOX. July 14 also marks the unveiling of the Jim Palmer sculpture as part of the Orioles Legends Celebration Series. The Palmer sculpture unveiling will take place at 2:15 p.m. that day, with all ballpark gates opening at 2:00 p.m. ...

Brian Matusz said he could have started tonight for the Orioles, but the decision has been made to push his start back now to Friday night in Atlanta. Matusz suffered a nose contusion yesterday here when he tried a bunt a ball and it hit him in the nose. "Yeah, pushed back to Friday," Matusz said. "I woke up this morning and felt good. I feel good enough to go, but just talked with Buck (Showalter) and we feel like it was best to give me a couple of extra days and I feel like I should be...

Wishing reliever Pedro Strop a happy 27th birthday and passing along an Orioles lineup that once again includes Brian Roberts at the leadoff spot and second base. Jake Arrieta is getting the start tonight in place of left-hander Brian Matusz, who fouled a bunt off his nose yesterday. Arrieta will work on normal rest. Matusz is still expected to pitch Friday in Atlanta, with Tommy Hunter taking the ball tomorrow night. We're waiting for official word. Matusz is taking batting practice today...

Have yourself a day, Tyler Moore. Filling in for Adam LaRoche, who is getting his first day off since May 7, Moore not only notched his first career RBI with a two-run double to left in the second inning, he also recorded his first major league homer in the fourth inning. That was a two-run shot that made it a 4-2 game. But Moore wasn't done. His next time up, the rookie crushed another ball, this one to dead center field. It landed in the tarped-off seats for another homer, giving the...

Among the fans in attendance at last night's game at Camden Yards was a gentleman who's practically become part of Brian Roberts' family. No one else outside of it talks to him more - almost on a daily basis - or has a better understanding of what the Orioles' second baseman has gone through since he suffered his first concussion late in the 2010 season. Dr. Michael Collins, director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Sports Medicine Concussion Program, wouldn't have missed...

On June 1, the Orioles lost 5-0 on the road against Tampa Bay. They trailed 5-0 in the first inning and never got on the board as they lost for the ninth time in an 11-game stretch. There was, for some fans, a feeling of impending doom and that the other shoe had, in fact, dropped at that point. Some fans said, "It's been fun, but they're done now." It was looking like an 11-game stretch of losing could turn into a 20-, 30-, 50- or even an 80-game run of futility. That could still...

For the first time since May 7, the last day of a four-game stretch in which he was sidelined by an oblique injury, Adam LaRoche is not in the Nationals' lineup. LaRoche will get the day off today, while rookie Tyler Moore will make his first career start at first base. First base is Moore's natural position, but he's strictly played the outfield during his time with the Nats, largely because LaRoche has been a mainstay in the Nats' lineup at first. Also, on a side note, Bryce Harper...

Right-hander Alex Meyer served up his best performance as a professional with six innings of shutout baseball Tuesday night, allowing just two hits. Meyer struck out five Hickory Crawdads and walked just one in a 4-0 Hagerstown victory in a rain-shortened affair at Municipal Stadium. Meyer showed a 93 mph sinker and had better quality on his fastball by keeping it down in the zone, according to a club source. Meyer benefited from three outstanding defensive plays behind him and has done a good...

Remember when some felt this portion of the Nationals' schedule was supposed to bring the team back down to earth a little bit? The Nats are now 22 games into a stretch which has them playing 32 straight contests against teams from either the National League East or American League East. So far in those games, the Nats are 14-8. They've won five straight on the road and now have the top road record in the NL with a .594 road winning percentage. They could notch the second-longest road...