The Orioles begin a nine-game road trip tonight at Toronto. It's pretty much about time - or maybe past time - that the Orioles post some wins there. They begin this series having lost 14 straight and 23 of their last 25 at Toronto. They went 3-15 against the Jays last year, including an 0-9 mark in Canada. The Orioles' records the past five seasons there are 3-7, 3-6, 3-6, 1-8 and 0-9. Yes, that is 1-17 the last two years at Toronto. Perhaps making the Orioles' job more difficult in...

We all know the story. The Baltimore ball club has been a losing club for 13 straight seasons and they have a very good chance to have a 14th straight sub-.500 season in 2011. But for a rebuilding team, how much does that matter? The Orioles took steps in the offseason to improve the offense and turn that trend around. But the Vladimir Guerrero and Derrek Lee signings have not really panned out. Free agency has not really worked out for the bullpen, either, as Kevin Gregg and Jeremy Accardo...

Third baseman Ryan Zimmerman is scheduled to make his return to the Nationals lineup today after missing 58 games as a result of an abdominal injury. It's been a day the club has been looking forward to practically all season, and it's one that could desperately help the club out of its horrendous offensive slump. In his absence, the Nationals have gone 27-31 overall, but have survived on their stellar pitching. At the plate, the club has hit just .229, and has managed to score only 496...

While meeting with reporters following his last start, when he held Oakland to one run in 6 1/3 innings, rookie Zach Britton explained how he found better results after moving from the third base to the first base side of the pitching rubber. As a refresher, I give you the quote that I posted: "I kind of moved over on the other side of the mound. I was on the third base side, went back to the first base side. And I felt like I had a little better action on my pitches. My slider was there...

Pitching for Single-A Hagerstown, left-handed prospect Sammy Solis notched his first win as a professional Thursday with an impressive outing over Delmarva. Solis went 6 2/3 innings in his longest start of the season, allowing just five hits and one run, with five strikeouts and one walk. "It felt great giving the team a chance to win a game after my first two outings," he said. "It is still early in the season for me. I feel as though I can only get stronger." Solis hit 96 mph on...

Brad Bergesen, making his third start tonight for Triple-A Norfolk, gave up three runs over seven innings in a 4-1 loss to the Durham Bulls. Bergesen allowed seven hits - including a home run - walked one and struck out five. He threw 105 pitches, 72 for strikes. His ERA is 1.64. Bergesen was coming off a complete-game shutout in his last outing. He's allowed four runs and 14 hits in 22 innings since the Orioles optioned him, with eight walks and 18 strikeouts. Six of those walks came in his...

We all know the real reason we go to the ballpark. It's not so we can sit and watch a baseball game for nine innings, or spend the afternoon with our friends and family sharing in some quality time. Forget all of that. The real perk of going to a major league baseball game? It's all about the food, baby. It's hard to imagine going to a sporting event without something delicious and equally unhealthy by my side. From Philly cheesesteaks during a Phillies game to a famous Dodger Dog, ballpark...

I devoted a segment of my "O's Xtra" appearance on MASN yesterday to the possibility of the Orioles negotiating a contract extension with shortstop J.J. Hardy, and more specifically, whether it was too soon to consider making such a commitment. My friend Jeff Zrebiec at The Sun beat me to the punch today - after we teamed up to take two of three sets in doubles this morning - but I wanted to address the topic in blog form. The Orioles have held internal discussions about extending Hardy's...

As a fifth-round draft pick with a father who played, coached and managed in the majors leagues,

Nationals left-hander Tom Gorzelanny is scheduled to make a injury rehabilitation start tonight with the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs, playing a 7 p.m. game against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees at Alliance Bank Stadium in Syracuse. Gorzelanny went through bullpen sessions and simulated at-bats with Nationals pitching coordinator Spin Williams last week in Woodbridge, Va., at Pfitzner Stadium. Williams said Gorzelanny looked very good in those outings and deemed him ready to go for tonight's...