Checking in with a few Orioles hitting notes before they host Chicago tonight in Game 2 of a four-game series. * Matt Wieters went 3-for-3 with two doubles last night, snapping a stretch where he had just seven hits in 51 at-bats. It was Wieters' first three-hit game since July 5 and the first time he had two doubles in a game since June 24. * Nolan Reimold is struggling right now. He has just three hits over his past 26 at bats. In his last 10 games, Reimold is 4-for-33 (.121) without a...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- A few news and notes as I take in an early afternoon Carolina League Single-A matchup between the Potomac Nationals and the Salem Red Sox. P-Nats right-hander Adam Olbrychowski has added a splitter to his repertoire. The Pepperdine pitcher has won two of his last three starts and is coming off a career-high eight innings in Friday's win. Destin Hood hit home runs No. 10 and 11 in his first two at-bats. The solo shots off of Salem's Stolmy Pimentel were no-doubt-about-it...

I remember hearing the news last season that the Orioles had signed Buck Showalter as the new manager and I, along with everyone else, got really excited. After reading up on his history as a manager, winning American League Manager of the Year twice, and for being known for turning struggling teams into playoff contenders, I thought, 'Wow, this could really be the final piece to this franchise puzzle.' After all, we had the core, young players, the young, prospective pitching staff and the...

One week after the Orioles claimed lefty Jo-Jo Reyes on waivers from Toronto, he will take the mound and get his first Baltimore start. "It's good," Reyes said. "I'm used to starting, so it's not going to be that big of a difference. But just to get back on the mound and start the game off is going to be good." Reyes was 5-8 with a 5.40 ERA this season in 20 starts for Toronto. He gave up 140 hits over 110 innings and really struggled over his last five starts, going 2-2 with an ERA of...

J.J. Hardy: "It's frustrating. We battled back, we took the lead. They got a couple of hits there, I think, it was the eighth, that brought them back the lead. A couple of broken-bat bloopers fell in. That's just bad luck and frustrating. Anytime we're up in the eighth inning, I feel like we've got a pretty good shot. J.J. (Jim Johnson) has been unbelievable all year. It was just a little bad luck tonight." "I definitely hit some balls right down the line. Those could go foul any day -...

Manager Buck Showalter didn't bury third baseman Josh Bell or center fielder Adam Jones during his postgame session with the media. Not that I expected him to do it. Bell committed an error and failed to make a play in the decisive eighth inning that allowed the go-ahead run to score. Jones made a poor throw that put the go-ahead run in scoring position before Bell's botched attempt to field a grounder to his left side. Buck Showalter talks to the media about the O's making it a close...

Well, at least the Orioles got their shortstop back tonight. On a night they rallied from 4-0 down to take the lead, the Orioles still lost, 7-6 against Chicago and they fall to 1-3 on this 10-game homestand. After missing three games with a sore left ankle, J.J. Hardy returned with a big game tonight. He went 3-for-5 with a three-run homer and two doubles. He tied his season high with four RBIs. He also drove in four on May 15 against Tampa and July 26 versus Toronto. Before the game,...

The first 15 Orioles were retired Saturday night. The first nine were retired Sunday afternoon. The first six were retired last night. That's what I call progress. The Orioles are getting off to slow starts. That's the point I'm trying to make here. And the second inning has really been a sinkhole. The Orioles are 0-for-33 in the second inning over their last 10 games since Mark Reynolds hit a home run off A.J. Burnett on July 29. The offense is batting .190 (23-for-121) with 13 runs...

Tonight's attendance: 17,498 J.J. Hardy smacked a three-run homer off White Sox reliever Jesse Crain in the bottom of the seventh inning to give the Orioles a 6-5 lead and set up Jeremy Guthrie for his sixth win. Matt Wieters doubled off John Danks for his third hit tonight, and he reached third base after sliding into Gordon Beckham's glove and jarring the ball loose. Crain replaced Danks with one out, and Hardy greeted him with a shot into the left field seats. Hardy is the first Orioles...

The Washington Nationals' first baseman Michael Morse, is putting up some offensive numbers Washington baseball fans haven't seen in nearly a half century. The 29-year-old Morse has a legitimate shot at winning the 2011 National League batting title. Currently Morse is third in the NL with a batting average of .324 and trails only Ryan Braun of the Milwaukee Brewers who has an average of .326 and league leading Jose Reyes of the New York Mets who is batting .336 in 98 games. If Morse does...