Michael Gonzalez made his fourth appearance in five games tonight, which means that manager Buck Showalter has gained a lot more confidence in the left-hander, or he's lost confidence in a few other relievers. Gonzalez loaded the bases with one out in the eighth on a single and two walks. Showalter brought in newest Oriole Mark Worrell, who ran the count full before giving up a two-run, tie-breaking double to Dustin Pedroia. Kevin Youkilis drove in two more runs with a single after an...

After a promising start to this series - Derrek Lee gave the Orioles a somewhat rare first inning lead with a two-run triple - the Orioles now trail Boston 5-2 in the top of fifth. Lee's two-run triple in the first gave him 10 RBIs over his last 10 games and was his first triple since August 17,2009 when he was a Cub. Brad Bergesen retired the first six batters on just 22 pitches, but gave up three runs in the second and two in the third inning. The Red Sox put together five hits in the...

Luke Scott's second game with Double-A Bowie has been put on hold. The Baysox's game in Harrisburg has been delayed by rain, but they should be getting started shortly. Scott is batting third and serving as the designated hitter, just as he did last night when he walked twice and homered. We'll find out tomorrow whether the Orioles activate him from the disabled. list. If so, he can serve as the designated hitter while Vladimir Guerrero is on the DL. Pitcher Alfredo Simon is heading back...

Orioles pitcher Michael Gonzalez has still not had the appeal of his three-game suspension heard and is active for the Boston series that begins tonight. Gonzalez said he doesn't expect any lingering bad blood between the teams after the hit batters and the ejections from the series last weekend. "Definitely not. It's water under the bridge already. What's done is done. It's over. We're starting a clean slate today and we'll go from there," he said. After seeing Kevin Gregg's...

The gathering of media at manager Buck Showalter's pregame press conference today was larger than usual, with more local media and Boston media in attendance. Showalter was asked about his team standing up to a club like Boston and was there any significance to what Mike Gonzalez and Kevin Gregg did in the series at Boston. "I think how you stand up to them is you win," he said. "They're good, they are real good. So is Tampa, they won this division two of the last three years. "You've...

The Orioles today announced that they have placed RHP Alfredo Simon on the Restricted List, recalled third baseman Josh Bell from Triple-A Norfolk and selected the contract of RHP Mark Worrell from the Tides. Bell, 24, batted .254 with 52 runs, 11 doubles and a team-high 16 home runs and 47 RBI in 86 games for Norfolk this season. He has batted .214 in 53 career major league games, all with the Orioles last season. A 2011 International League All-Star, Worrell, 28, pitched to a 2.95 ERA...

After agreeing to begin serving his suspension tonight as it was reduced from four games to three, Orioles pitcher Kevin Gregg once again talked about standing up for his team when he pitched inside to David Ortiz in the last series against Boston. "They're a good club," Gregg said. "But they look at us and when we try to pitch in and I think we've hit maybe 20 guys on the whole year and they're in the mid 50's and they get mad at us when we hit someone. "In the last series we...

Pitcher Mark Worrell, who had his contract purchased earlier today from Triple-A Norfolk, is the 900th player to wear the Orioles' uniform. And I don't mean this season. Worrell is here for as long as Alfredo Simon remains on the restricted list. The Orioles hope that Simon returns for tomorrow night's game. Cesar Izturis is a little sore today, according to manager Buck Showalter, so his injury rehab assignment has been pushed back from Wednesday to Friday. Izturis could report to the...

The Orioles announced today that they have signed shortstop J.J. Hardy to a three-year contract extension through the 2014 season. Hardy, 28, was acquired by the Orioles from the Minnesota Twins on December 9, 2010 with minor league in fielder Brendan Harris in exchange for minor league RHPs Jim Hoey and Brett Jacobson. Through 65 games this season, Hardy is batting .278 (71-255) with 13 home runs, 34 RBI and 22 multi-hit games. He is batting .315 (17-54) with runners in scoring position...

Right fielder Nick Markakis has been named the American League's Player of the Week for the period ending July 17. In four games last week, Markakis hit .429 (6-for-14) with two doubles, two home runs, four RBIs and five runs scored on his way to earning his first career AL Player of the Week honor. He's the first Oriole to be recognized since Luke Scott on July 25, 2010. Markakis tied for first in the league in home runs, runs scored and slugging percentage (1.000), and was second with 14...