Steve Pearce was drafted in round eighth by Pittsburgh in 2005 and that was the only organization he knew between the 2005 and 2011 seasons. But he moved this year to the Yankees organization and was batting .321 with 15 doubles, 11 home runs, 30 RBIS and a .996 OPS in 52 games for Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre when some things changed last weekend. He could have opted out of his contract a week ago today and did, fully prepared to find a job with another team. But then the Orioles acquired...

From Rule 5 pick to the starting lineup. For the third game in a row, Ryan Flaherty is in the Orioles' starting lineup. He'll bat eighth and start in right field tonight after patrolling left in front of the Green Monster the past two nights. While Flaherty is batting just .183 in 29 games and 60 at-bats on the season, he came up with three hits in six at-bats over the last three games in Fenway Park and put together some nice at-bats in that series. Before the Orioles selected him in last...

The news content was light in manager Buck Showalter's pregame session with the media. Still no word on tomorrow afternoon's starter. "We've got our options that we're prepared to use," Showalter said. "Obviously, Miguel (Gonzalez) isn't one of them now. We'll see how we do tonight. But we have options for tomorrow." The Orioles will have to make room on the 25-man roster if Tommy Hunter is recalled. Gonzalez is a candidate to be optioned despite two solid relief outings with the...

Ryan Flaherty is starting in right field tonight for the Orioles, with Endy Chavez in the other outfield corner. Adam Jones remains in center field despite being removed for a pinch hitter again last night in the ninth inning. For the Orioles: Endy Chavez LF J.J. Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Chris Davis DH Wilson Betemit 3B Mark Reynolds 1B Ryan Flaherty RF Robert Andino 2B Jake Arrieta RHP For the Phillies: Jimmy Rollins SS Juan Pierre LF Hunter Pence RF Jim Thome...

BOSTON - Literally as soon as I stepped foot in the press box at Fenway Park, the grounds crew pulled the tarp over the infield. I'm pretty excited to be here for this series (my first time at Fenway in a professional capacity), and I'm not going to let Mother Nature rain on my parade. Actually, they're only calling for a brief thunderstorm here shortly and then possibly another sprinkling later on. Nothing too big, it seems. With the Red Sox throwing two lefties this series and having...

The Triple-A Norfolk Tides have starters listed for their next five games, and Tommy Hunter isn't among them. The Orioles pulled Hunter from the Tides' rotation in case he's needed to start tomorrow afternoon against the Phillies at Camden Yards. They wanted to keep that option alive if Miguel Gonzalez was needed in long relief. Well, Gonzalez threw four innings last night in Boston after replacing left-hander Brian Matusz, which eliminated him from consideration. Dana Eveland remains a...

When it comes to the All-Star Game, I've always functioned under one simple mantra: one man, one vote. Each summer since balloting was returned to fans in 1970, I've gotten one ballot on a visit to either Camden Yards or Memorial Stadium and punched out my dream team. I usually wait until near the end of the voting - wouldn't want to have an untimely slump or injury make me regret a certain selection, right - and dutifully use my car key to punch out the appropriate player's slot. Heck,...

Chris Marrero, recovering from a torn hamstring, played two games with low Single-A Hagerstown this week. Now he is headed to high Single-A Potomac, according to club sources. It was the first baseman's first pro action since he tore his hamstring in winter ball. His recovery was slowed a bit this year because he also had to battle shoulder soreness, spending more time in extended spring training. The right-handed hitter finally returned to the field for two games with the Suns this week,...

Low Single-A Hagerstown Suns catcher

The Orioles are certainly aware that their third-round draft pick, high school shortstop Adrian Marin,