The first 10,000 fans 15 and older who attend tonight's game will receive a Jake Arrieta T-shirt. Yes, I know, a Brian Matusz bobblehead and a Jake Arrieta T-shirt. I can't wait for Jake Fox Photo Night. Before you ask, the Arrieta bobblehead doesn't come with a little bone spur or a sling or a tiny Dr. Yocum. I've heard 'em all. Well, feel free to add your own, but I've probably heard it. Arrieta underwent a CT scan and MRI on his right elbow yesterday - taking the advice of agent...

Shortstop J.J. Hardy hit his 21st home run in the first inning to break a tie with Adam Jones for second place on the team behind Mark Reynolds (26). Jones homered in the fifth to create another tie. Talk about a short-lived lead. At least the Orioles have held one since the first inning. Jones' homer, measured at 405 feet, increased the Orioles' lead to 4-0 and gave him a career-high 71 RBIs. Tommy Hunter retired nine in a row before Alex Rios led off the fifth with a double. He set...

The Orioles are all but assured of a losing record for the 14th straight season. But it's even worse than that. The Orioles are likely not to reach the 70 win plateau for the fifth straight season. That's really bad and it's pretty hard to do. How hard? Here is the short list of teams who have won less than 70 games for five or more straight seasons since the advent of the 162-game schedule in 1961. New York Mets 6 1962-1967* San Diego Padres 6 1969-1974* Tampa Bay Devil Rays...

J.J. Hardy is batting second tonight. He's mostly been leading off. He'd move down to ninth if manager Buck Showalter preferred it. Hardy doesn't care where he hits. The results are pretty much the same anyway. Hardy homered again tonight, connecting off White Sox starter Philip Humber with one out and the count full in the first inning. The ball traveled an estimated distance of 382 feet and gave the Orioles a quick 1-0 lead. Hardy has 21 home runs in 84 games. Remember that he missed...

Baseball America reporter Aaron Fitt, via Twitter, wrote that he expects the Orioles to soon sign sixth-round draft pick Nick Delmonico, a high school third baseman from Knoxville, Tenn. Here is a tweet filed earlier. He later clarified that he meant close to signing with the Orioles and not Georgia, where he has a college commitment. To this point, we have not heard any comment on this report from the Orioles or anyone representing Delmonico. One source told me earlier that Delmonico was...

Baseball America rolled out its "best tools" list for the American and National Leagues today. Of the 25 categories where they surveyed AL managers and ranked the best players, just two Orioles made the list. Matt Wieters was ranked as the best defensive catcher in the AL, ahead of Minnesota's Joe Mauer and Alex Avila of Detroit. Adam Jones was rated by league skippers as the second best defensive outfielder, behind only Franklin Gutierrez of Seattle. Wieters has thrown out 27 of 67...

Third baseman Josh Bell underwent an MRI today that he hopes will explain the source of the pain in his left side that's been bothering him for about three months. Bell said he's been dealing with a sore muscle that's located in the "oblique area." The discomfort intensifies when he's immobile and has been interrupting his sleep. "It feels like somebody is sitting on top of me," he said. "It's fine once I've been moving around, but whenever I wake up, I pretty much have to get...

By just about any measurement or stat you could quote, Mark Reynolds has not had a good year fielding at third base. But it sure seems that Reynolds' defense at the hot corner has improved in recent weeks and he has made just one error in his last 31 games since July 4. That includes four games Reynolds recently played at first base. Reynolds still leads all AL third baseman with 21 errors and the next highest total is 16 by Minnesota's Danny Valencia. Orioles manager Buck Showalter feels...

Manager Buck Showalter told reporters today that he's letting Vladimir Guerrero "freshen up" and expects the veteran to be in the lineup tomorrow night. Guerrero is 1-for-18 on this homestand and has two home runs since July 6. Asked whether Guerrero would be the cleanup hitter tomorrow night, Showalter replied, "More than likely." But he didn't make any promises. Guerrero is 13-for-36 (.361) lifetime against White Sox left-hander Mark Buehrle, who starts tomorrow. He has two doubles,...

Felix Pie is batting first tonight as part of a revamped lineup. J.J. Hardy drops down to second. Adam Jones is batting cleanup, and Vladimir Guerrero is taking a seat on the bench. For the Orioles: Felix Pie LF J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 3B Chris Davis 1B Nolan Reimold DH Robert Andino 2B Tommy Hunter RHP