This isn't how Blake Davis wants to remember his major league debut. Davis let a sharp two-out ground ball from Josh Harrison scoot through his legs in the fifth inning, allowing two runs to score and giving the Pirates a 5-4 lead. Zach Britton should have been out of the inning. Instead, he's trailing again and his pitch count continues to increase. It's up to 70 through the fifth. Britton isn't blameless here, of course, He surrendered back-to-back singles to open the fifth. He's...

Seeing Nick Markakis hit two doubles in today's game at Pittsburgh had to be a nice sight for Orioles fans. Markakis, formerly a doubles machine, had just seven doubles all year and this is his first game of the year with more than one double. Markakis, who had 43 or more doubles the last four years, was on a pace this year to produce just 16 doubles coming into today's game. Last season, he was tied for fourth in the American League with 45 doubles and he became just the third player in...

Nick Markakis extended his hitting streak to 13 games today with a double in the first inning. I just wanted to make sure everyone knew about it. The Pirates lead, 2-0, as we head to the top of the second inning. Update: Markakis singled in the third to score Zach Britton, who collected his second major league hit and moved up on J.J. Hardy's single. That's two hits for Markakis in two at-bats. Adam Jones tied the game with a grounder. Orioles pitchers are 6-for-13 on this trip. Update...

The Nationals' young catcher Wilson Ramos made a coming-of-age play Tuesday with his dramatic three-run walk-off home run to stun the Seattle Mariners, 6-5. It is one of those hits that can make players and fans believe the Nationals can win any game at any time. The fact that it was the 23-year old Ramos who hit the homer shows that the Nationals' younger players are learning how to win games when given the opportunity. Last Thursday, 24-year old second baseman Danny Espinosa came to the...

Blake Davis is in the starting lineup today at second base. For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Derrek Lee 1B Matt Wieters C Luke Scott LF Mark Reynolds 3B Blake Davis 2B Zach Britton LHP Orioles pitchers are a combined 5-for-12 (.417) at the plate this year with two doubles and two RBIs. All other AL teams are a combined 9-for-120 (.075). Britton recorded his first major league hit Friday in Washington. The Orioles have collected 62 hits in the last five...

The cities of Baltimore and Pittsburgh have been through quite a bit with their baseball teams in the last decade. They are roughly four hours apart in terms of driving distance, and of course, have passionate fan bases when it comes to their sports. As we all know, both cities have quite a few parallels; however, none of them mirror more closely than the futility of their baseball franchises. The Orioles have not had a winning season since 1998, and the Pirates have not had one since Barry...

SALISBURY, Md. - The only thing that went wrong with last night's South Atlantic League All-Star game was the home team lost. The South beat the North 6-3 in front of a sellout crowd of 7,410 at Perdue Stadium. The North squad had won four straight from 2006-2009 and last year's game ended in a tie, so this was the first win by the South since 2005. But despite the fact that the team with five Delmarva Shorebirds on it came up short, everything else was pretty much a huge hit last night in...

The Orioles and Pirates have a 12:35 p.m. game today at PNC Park, which means an early lineup posting and a free night. I'm talking about myself. I don't care what they do. Zach Britton is taking the mound for the 15th time today. Nine of his outings have resulted in quality starts. I'd settle for him getting through the game without an injury. Brad Bergesen probably woke up with a bruise on the right side of his back after being nailed by Jose Tabata's liner last night. I've woke...

SALISBURY, Md. - The news that was very expected became official after tonight's South Atlantic League All-Star Game. The Orioles are sending top prospect Manny Machado from low Single-A Delmarva to high Single-A Frederick. Machado played his last game representing the Shorebirds tonight and went 2-for-4 with a run scored as his North team lost 6-3 to the South in front of a sellout crowd. Before tonight's game Machado said he had not been told anything about his next move, but shortly...

A 9-3 loss to the Pirates tonight assures the Orioles of finishing below .500 on this nine-game, three-city road trip. During his interview that aired on MASN, Jeremy Guthrie told reporters that he felt very comfortable. The back wasn't an issue, and neither was an adjusted throwing schedule leading up to tonight's start. What hurts is the 2-9 record.