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...

The Orioles were done in pretty much by one swing tonight and this time there was no late-inning comeback. Eric Chavez hit a two-run homer to right in the last of the second tonight and Yankees pitching made it stand up in a 2-1 win over the Orioles in the start of a three-game series. The Orioles fall to 14-9 overall, 6-5 on the road and 0-4 against the Yankees. They have lost the last three games against New York by four total runs. The Orioles are 14-5 against every team but the Yankees...

NEW YORK - Jason Hammel was handed a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but Eric Chavez snatched it away from him. Chavez used brute force, hitting a long two-run homer off Hammel in the bottom of the second after Mark Teixeira singled and Raul Ibanez lined to right. Hammel didn't bother to turn and watch the flight of the ball. He stared straight ahead and raised his glove, waiting for a new ball. Chavez has three home runs this season, his highest total since 2007. Hammel has...

Orioles top pitching prospect Dylan Bundy of the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds allowed his first professional hit tonight, but then went on to pitch four shutout innings against Asheville in his fifth pro start. He is expected to now come out of the game for a reliever. Bundy allowed just the one hit over the four frames with one walk and four strikeouts. He has now pitched 17 innings over five starts allowing just the one hit in 50 at-bats against South Atlantic League hitters with two walks...

The Nationals return home after a six-game road trip out west. Things started out well, as the Nats took two of three in San Diego, but a sweep by the Dodgers has Washington looking to rebound upon its return to Nationals Park. One thing a homestand also ensures is another set of perks and incentives for fans to get out to the ballpark and root root root for the home team and it kicks off with the annual All-Star voting beginning Tuesday when the Nationals open a series with the...

The Orioles have compiled some strong stats during an impressive 14-8 start. Here are a few of them: * The Orioles lead the American League with five wins this year when trailing after seven innings. In fact, the only other AL team that has more than two of those wins is Tampa Bay with three. AL East records, when trailing after 7: Orioles 5-6 Boston 1-9 New York 2-8 Tampa Bay 3-7 Toronto 2-5 * Nolan Reimold has a 14-game hitting streak since going 0-for-4 on opening day. He is batting .356...

NEW YORK - Dr. Lewis Yocum examined Tsuyoshi Wada's left elbow today in Los Angeles, and the Orioles are waiting for the results. We might hear something later today. Wada is seeking a second opinion, and he's conceded that he might need to undergo ligament-reconstructive surgery. The Orioles still haven't set a target date for second baseman Brian Roberts to start playing games at extended spring training or go on an injury rehab assignment in the minors. "He's progressing well. Little...