Jason Hammel has matched Scott Erickson. Now he can take a look at equaling Jim Palmer and perhaps later Tom Phoebus. Hammel's last two starts have resulted in a shutout and eight innings, allowing just one unearned run on Friday against Washington. According to Elias, it was the first time an O's starter had consecutive starts of eight innings or more without allowing an earned run in a single season since Erickson did that in 1997. Jeremy Guthrie also accomplished the feat in his final...

Is it a little strange to anyone that the team with the best record in the National League doesn't have a single position player in the top three in All-Star voting as his respective position? Obviously, the Nationals' pitching is what has carried them to a 42-30 record and a 3.5-game lead in the NL East. That goes without saying at this point. Stephen Strasburg and Gio Gonzalez will both almost certainly make the All-Star team and there's a slim chance a Nationals reliever does, as...

The Orioles have optioned Steve Tolleson to Triple-A Norfolk to make room for reliever Matt Lindstrom, who's coming off the disabled list. Dana Eveland also has rejoined the team after flying to California for the birth of his son, Asher Perry. Tolleson was called into manager Buck Showalter's office shortly before the lineup was posted. He's not listed among the reserves, and he later confirmed the roster move, which leaves the team with a three-man bench. "It was a lot shorter meeting...

With voting for the 2012 Major League Baseball All-Star Game ending tomorrow at 11:59 p.m., the Orioles will conclude their two-month #VoteOrange campaign with Vote Orange T-shirt Thursday. The first 10,000 fans age 15 and over in attendance at tomorrow night's game against the Cleveland Indians will receive a Vote Orange T-shirt. The Orioles' Vote Orange promo team has made numerous appearances in neighborhoods throughout the city and will make one final stop along with the Oriole Bird at...

Norfolk pitchers Jason Berken and Miguel Socolovich have been chosen to participate in the 2012 Triple-A All-Star Game in Buffalo. Berken, 28, is 1-1 with a 2.32 ERA in 14 starts. I'm not sure how he's managed only two decisions in 14 games, but I digress. Berken's ERA ranks third in the league. He's allowed three earned runs or fewer in each of his starts while holding opponents to a .248 average. Berken had a shot at breaking camp with the Orioles as a long reliever, but a hamstring...

OK. It is time for someone to step in here. Please don't let the All-Star Game Home Run Derby go the way of the NBA slam dunk contest. Calling on commissioner Bud Selig or Cardinals manager Mike Matheny. Someone step in with a "sponsor" exemption. Nationals slugger Bryce Harper needs to be in the home run derby. This event needs a kick. Nothing like the spice of "that's a clown question, bro" to ignite this made-for-TV spectacle. Something has to happen, because National League captain...

On the night of June 14, the Orioles played the Pirates at Camden Yards. They scored 12 runs in that game and went 8-for-17 when batting with runners in scoring position. It is kind of hard to believe, but in the 10 games since, they have a total of just five more hits with runners in scoring position. Here is the rundown with RISP since that game: 6-15 vs. Atl: 0-for-6 6-16 vs. Atl: 3-for-5 6-17 vs. Atl: 0-for-3 6-18 vs. NYM: 0-for-0 6-19 vs. NYM: 0-for-9 6-20 vs. NYM: 0-for-5 6-22 vs....

Right-hander Henry Rodriguez continues his path back to the Nationals as he recovers from a finger injury. Today, Rodriguez is expected to make a rehab appearance for the Harrisburg Senators in a relief role. Outfielder Destin Hood went 2-for-4 with a run scored, an RBI and a walk in last night's game. It was his first game with Harrisburg in over a month. But for today's early game, Hood has the day off. The plan with Hood appears to not have him on an everyday schedule as he gets his...

As fans, we all want the Orioles to win. That's a fair statement, right? In fact, it's probably the only thing we all agree on. Finding common ground can be hard, but there's always the team. We want it to do well and, there, we're actually united. In a lot of ways that's enough. A winning team. It's just sports, after all, right? To some extent, yes, but there's another layer to it, this thing over which we bond. Meaning that when the Orioles win, we in fact are together in a less...

When I leave to go out of town on trips, like today for example, my favorite topic of conversation along the way tends to veer toward sports, baseball in particular. Whether I'm listening in on a stats-based debate or checking game scores on one of the many televisions within the terminal, there's always a lesson to be learned from these types of conversations. There's a little more to those conversations than what appears on the surface, though. It's one thing to strike up a sports...