I wondered this morning whether last night's brawl would serve as a "rallying point" tonight. I warned that they could fall behind by 18 runs in the first inning. Wrong and wrong. The Orioles went down quietly, managing only four hits and losing, 4-0, at Fenway Park. Buck Showalter meets with Jim Hunter after the O's are shutout by the Red Sox 4-0 They've dropped six in a row and been outscored, 50-18, during the stretch. They've lost 20 of 26. They're crawling to the All-Star break....

No runs, not many hits and no hit batters. That was part of the Orioles' scorecard tonight. At least they didn't give up 10 runs this time. The Orioles were held to just four hits and shut out for the fourth time on the season. John Lackey entered his start against the Orioles tonight with an ERA of 7.47 on the year and a batting average against of .304. He had given up six runs or more in six of his 13 starts and gave up seven in his last outing versus Toronto. His home ERA on the year...

The Red Sox have now hit a major league leading 50 batters on the year after John Lackey hit Derrek Lee with two outs and no one on in the Orioles seventh. It was a pretty obvious purpose pitch and both benches were warned afterwards even though no Boston batters have been hit tonight. Lackey just left the game to a big ovation. He has mostly been an $82 million bust for the Red Sox with an ERA of 5.17 in two years and 7.47 for Boston this year. But he left after striking out Mark Reynolds...

In typical Orioles fashion, the starting pitcher didn't complete five innings tonight and the opponent did all of its damage with two outs. The Orioles should receive a check in the mail whenever it happens to another team. Alfredo Simon took a shutout into the fifth inning, but the Red Sox scored three runs with two outs on doubles by Kevin Youkilis and Josh Reddick. Simon matched his season high in innings by going 4 2/3. He allowed seven hits, walked three batters - two intentionally -...

For a pitcher making his first big league start of the season tonight, Alfredo Simon has pitched a good game for the Orioles. The Birds and Boston are 0-0 after four innings at Fenway. Simon has allowed four hits with one walk and strikeout so far, throwing 59 pitches. David Ortiz is 0-for-2 as he grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the first and flied out to deep center in the fourth with Adam Jones making a nice running catch near the wall. The Orioles have just two hits...

There was some early drama in tonight's game as David Ortiz came to bat with the bases loaded and one out in the last of the first against Alfredo Simon. After he walked to the plate to a rousing ovation, he took the first two pitches to get ahead 2-0 on the count. But then he bounced one toward second base where Robert Andino fielded it and started a 4-6-3 double play. No bad blood. No inside pitches. No incidents. Just two outs on one pitch and the Orioles and Boston go to the second...

Well, this game tonight has garnered a little more interest than it would have before Kevin Gregg and David Ortiz went at it last night. Nothing against Alfredo Simon, but Buck Showalter probably wishes say, Jeremy Guthrie was on the mound tonight. Simon probably doesn't need any extra pressure but now he has some as he takes the mound tonight. His command isn't the greatest to start with and if he buzzes a Red Sox hitter tonight we may have to wonder if it were on purpose or he just missed...

The Orioles today announced that they have selected the contract of left-handed pitcher Mark Hendrickson from Triple-A Norfolk. To make room for Hendrickson on the 25-man roster, the Orioles optioned left-handed pitcher Zach Britton to Double-A Bowie. Hendrickson, 37, went 2-4 with a 2.87 ERA (47.0IP, 15 ER) in 19 games for the Tides. He did not allow an earned run in seven of his last eight outings for Norfolk. Hendrickson is 7-11 with a 4.74 ERA (180.1IP, 95 ER) in 105 games for Baltimore...

The Orioles found a way to reduce Zach Britton's innings, at least on the major league level. Britton will be optioned to Double-A Bowie to make room for Mark Hendrickson on the 25-man roster. Didn't see that one coming. Britton is 6-7 with a 4.05 ERA in his rookie season. He's won only once in his last 12 starts, and lasted only two-thirds of an inning last night, allowing seven earned runs (eight total) and six hits. He's given up 17 earned runs (20 total) and 26 hits in his last four...

Looking for some baseball to fill the void during the All-Star break? Nationals fans, you're in for a treat. On Thursday, July 14, Democrats and Republicans will meet on the diamond, as Nationals Park serves as host for the 50th anniversary of the Congressional Baseball Game for charity. It's a chance for fans to watch our nation's two primary political parties become even more divided, this time substituting the podium and microphone for a glove and a bat. The game itself is an intense,...