NEW YORK - The sky looks like it could open up any second and drench us in heavy rains, but tonight's game doesn't appear to be in jeopardy. Brian Matusz could use a break in the clouds - the black ones that have hovered over him since spring training 2011. Matusz has lost 12 consecutive decisions, but he's coming off his finest start, allowing two unearned runs over six innings against the Blue Jays. Rays of sunlight are beginning to reach him. He's also 2-2 with a 3.67 ERA and four...

Even with four losses in four games so far this year against the Yankees, the Orioles are 14-9 and just one game out of first place as the calender turns to May in baseball's toughest division. There have been some stories written already this year, especially after Boston's poor start, that the American League East is slipping a bit, but the standings after one month tell a different story. All five AL East teams begin play today at .500 or better and there are just four teams at .500 or...

Think Danny Rosenbaum is almost ready for a promotion to Triple-A Syracuse? The 24-year-old lefty threw seven shutout innings for Double-A Harrisburg yesterday, allowing six hits with no walks and five strikeouts. Rosenbaum lowered his season ERA to 0.76 and now has gone his last three starts, spanning 23 innings, without allowing a run. In that time, he's given up just 13 hits with two walks and 16 strikeouts. Yeah, Triple-A might be calling shortly. For those who have asked, I can't...

There was plenty of frustration for the Orioles last night in New York. They lost another game to the Yankees. They lost another close game to the Yankees. They are winless this year against the Yankees at 0-4. The last three losses have been by one, two and one run. The frustration for the offense started in the first inning last night, when two balls were hard hit but outs. That trend would continue at times during the night. Chris Davis' long sac fly in the second scored a run, but...

Blogs across NatsTown have spent the better part of a week bemoaning the lethargic offense that the Nationals have shown throughout the season, and they probably deserve it. The team has scored just 74 runs, or just 3.36 runs per game, which is sixth worst in all of baseball. Yet the Nationals are still 14-8 heading into May, and they hold a half-game lead over the Atlanta Braves for first place in the National League East. Everyone's heard how awesome this team's pitching rotation has...

The Nationals have activated shortstop Rick Hague to Single-A Potomac's roster. The 6-foot-2, 190 lb., infielder missed over a year with dislocated shoulder suffered in the first week of last season. Hague went 2-for-4 with a pair of singles, scored a run and had two strikeouts in his first game back in Woodbridge, Va., since April 2011. When healthy, Hague is considered one of the top infielders in the system and was one of the top choices to accelerate through the system quickly before...

Power makes the offense go 'round and the Orioles received it in large doses from a quartet of sluggers over a terrific April that left them five games over .500. I thought I would take a closer look at their performances so far in terms of their Isolate Power (ISO), a stat that measures power independent of batting average. Matt Wieters - We'll start with Wieters, who just 14 months after being labeled one of the 50 biggest busts in baseball history, is building on his breakout 2011 season...

NEW YORK - Mark Reynolds served as the Orioles' designated hitter last night and was hitless in three at-bats in a 2-1 loss to the Yankees. In 23 games this season, the Orioles' designated hitters are a combined 18-for-80 (.225) with three doubles, one home run and three RBIs. Reynolds has done it, and he's batting .143 with no homers and three RBIs this season. Nick Johnson has done it, and he's 0-for-26 this season. Chris Davis has done it, and he's batting .310 with six doubles,...

NEW YORK - Tonight's 2-1 loss dropped the Orioles' record to 11-5 when they score first. The key is to keep scoring, which they failed to do after tallying one run in the second inning. The Orioles are 5-17 against the Yankees since the start of the 2011 season and 10-30 since the start of 2010. They're 6-22 at the "current" Yankee Stadium, as it's called in the postgame notes. The bullpen turned in two more scoreless innings - one each by Matt Lindstrom and Jim Johnson. Jason Hammel...

NEW YORK - The Orioles are 0-4 against the Yankees this season and 14-4 against the rest of their April schedule. They had plenty of chances tonight, but every ball they hit hard seemed to find a glove, except for Matt Wieters' long single in the second inning. "We squared up, I think, eight balls, but you've got to applaud their defense, too. They caught them," manager Buck Showalter said following a 2-1 loss at Yankee Stadium. "Some nights, it happens like that. We won a ballgame...