I try to put Alfredo Simon in the bullpen and he holds the Twins to one run over eight innings. I try to put Jo-Jo Reyes in the bullpen and he holds the Twins to one run over six innings. That settles it. The Orioles should go with a 12-man rotation. Empty the bullpen. Everybody gets a start. Yankees manager Joe Girardi really wanted a doubleheader today. I feel terrible that he didn't get his way. How can we make it up to him? We still have more than a month left in the season, but you...

The Orioles got a fourth straight well-pitched game, along with clutch hits from Craig Tatum and Mark Reynolds, as they beat Minnesota 6-1 this afternoon to complete a four-game series sweep. It's the Orioles' first four-game sweep in Minnesota and the first time they have won four in a row there since April 15 to Sept. 5, 2000. They outscored the Twins 24-4 in the series. Jo-Jo Reyes gave up just one run and five hits over six innings, throwing 107 pitches. All four starters in this series...

Double-A Harrisburg Senators first baseman Tyler Moore and current Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs right-hander Brad Peacock have been named to the Eastern League All-Star team. Moore has batted .269 with 29 doubles, four triples, 28 home runs and 81 RBIs in 126 games this season. Nationals director of player development Doug Harris said while Moore's numbers have been off the charts he has also worked very hard on his fielding at first base. "He had a tremendous year," Harris said. "His power...

Orioles outfielder Felix Pie cleared waivers today and was outrighted to Triple-A Norfolk. And while Pie has the right to refuse the assignment, I'm told that he plans to accept it and report to the Tides. Pie would have to forfeit the remainder of the $985,000 salary he's receiving this year, which doesn't make much sense. Pie has to inform the Orioles of his decision by Saturday, but it appears that he's staying in the organization. The minor league seasons ends in a few weeks, so...

There has been a stunning turnaround by the Orioles' starting pitchers in the series at Minnesota. In the first three games of the series - all Orioles wins - the starting pitchers' ERA was 1.35. The staters in the series before today - Zach Britton, Alfredo Simon and Jeremy Guthrie - had combined to give up just three earned runs and 14 hits over 20 innings. Today, Jo-Jo Reyes has given up just one run over the first five innings of a 1-1 tie. Craig Tatum's two-run double in the sixth...

Nationals right-handed reliever Ryan Mattheus remembers a year after his July 2009 Tommy John surgery and how physically demanding his rehab workouts had become. He can empathize with Stephen Strasburg, who is scheduled to make his fifth rehab start Saturday night in Syracuse for the Triple-A Chiefs. Strasburg is scheduled to pitch a maximum of 80 pitches or five innings and then have another rehab start Wednesday, most likely in Double-A Harrisburg. "I know this part of my rehab, I was dead...

The Orioles are trying to conduct business as usual today. They're trying to complete their first-ever sweep of a four-game series in Minnesota. They're just trying to get through the day and head back to Baltimore. Today's MASN broadcast is more subdued than usual. Jim Hunter and Jim Palmer have referenced Mike Flanagan multiple times, though usually in relation to his work with a particular pitcher. The last time the Orioles won four straight games in Minnesota was April 15-September 5,...

Adam Jones isn't in the lineup after leaving last night's game with more discomfort in his chest that's believed to be caused by a strained muscle. Matt Angle gets his first major league start in center field. Vladimir Guerrero returns to the lineup after being scratched last night. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 3B J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Vladimir Guerrero DH Mark Reynolds 1B Nolan Reimold LF Ryan Adams 2B Craig Tatum C Matt Angle CF Jo-Jo Reyes LHP Also, ignore the rumors...

The Orioles will play an afternoon game today and the lineup should be posted shortly, but it still doesn't feel like a normal day. Far from it. This team has won three games in a row, has finally won a series, and it seems so insignificant. The news of Mike Flanagan's death knocked the wind out of us. Trying to make sense of it is a futile exercise. It wasn't until late last night that I realized Flanagan was the first major league player that I interviewed for a game story. I was...

The images of Mike Flanagan during his long Orioles career come rushing back in a slideshow format of memories: the mane of hair tucked under the cartoon bird cap, the lefty staring out through eye slits at an opposing batter, World Series in 1979 and 1983, tenures as a coach and teacher, standing at a podium or prowling the back fields at Fort Lauderdale Stadium as a club executive, his engaging way in the MASN broadcast booth. Flanagan's tragic passing at 59 on Wednesday brings back a flood...