Clay Rapada wasn't available to reporters once the clubhouse opened for us at 3:35 p.m. He might have already packed up and left the ballpark. Rapada posted a 7.30 ERA in 22 appearances. Left-handers were 4-for-35 with three walks and 13 strikeouts against him, but right-handers were 9-for-13 with two doubles, a triple, two homers, three walks and no strikeouts. In 12 1/3 innings this season, Rapada allowed 10 runs and 13 hits, walked six and struck out 13. Yes, he was good against...

Luke Scott is feeling better today after suffering a right knee contusion when he made a great catch in the top of the ninth last night. But, he is not in the starting lineup against St. Louis. "Yeah (still sore)," Scott said. "I feel better today than when I left the field. I iced my knee a bunch of times at home. I've got a little stem machine of my own at the house and I did what I could. "Woke up this morning and still have some swelling. It's still a little tight and sore, but I...

The Orioles announced today that they have reinstated right-hander Alfredo Simon from the 15-day disabled list, where he was placed retroactive to June 13 with a right hamstring strain. To open up a spot for him on the 25-man roster, left-hander Clay Rapada has been designated for assignment. Simon has appeared in five games for the Orioles this season, going 1-1 with a 3.14 ERA (14.1IP, 5ER). He pitched 3.0 innings or more in each of his last three outings. Rapada appeared in 22 games for...

The Orioles will activate Alfredo Simon from the disabled list this afternoon and designate left-hander Clay Rapada for assignment. The club has 10 days to trade Rapada, pass him through waivers and outright him to Triple-A Norfolk or release him. The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec tweeted the roster move, and a team official just confirmed it. Rapada was effective against left-handers, as advertised. They went 4-for-35 against him, with one home run, three walks and 13 strikeouts. However,...

Luke Scott's right knee remains sore after he slammed into the left field fence last night, so it's doubtful that he'll be in tonight's lineup. Scott will continue to ice the knee. Meanwhile, you can list him as day-to-day, like the rest of us. Scott bruised his knee while making a leaping catch to rob the Cardinals' Matt Holliday of a home run in the top of the ninth inning. He wanted to bat in the bottom half of the inning, but manager Buck Showalter sent up rookie Blake...

Two words: Don't panic. Manny Machado homered in his second at-bat in the Carolina League, but he is hitting just .158 at 3-for-19 in six games with Single-A Frederick. I don't think anyone in the O's organization is worried in the least about a player who is playing in that league at the age of 18. Machado doesn't turn 19 until July 6. Before Machado was promoted to Frederick, he had been struggling some this month with Single-A Delmarva. In fact he is batting just .176 (13-for-74) this...

Happy July 4! While teams trot out those patriotic stars-and-stripes uniforms for the Independence Day holiday, we here at Orioles Buzz renew our heartfelt belief that every major league club should play (preferably a single-admission doubleheader) on each of the holidays that falls during the sport's six-month regular season - Memorial Day, July 4, Labor Day. You'd think you'd always get every team in action on those days, but that's not always the case - though all 30 teams are playing...

As All-Star roster selection time approaches, the Nationals' Tyler Clippard and the Orioles' Jim Johnson are in the usual predicament for pitchers that act as the bridge between starter and closer: They have dazzling statistics, but not much hope of making an All-Star roster for the July 12 game in Arizona. "Setup pitchers don't always get the credit they are due,'' Nationals pitching coach Steve McCatty said. "It would be hard to imagine where a team would be without good middle...

Balloting for the All-Star Game continues through 11:59 p.m. Eastern time Thursday, and it's not too late to help Orioles outfielder Adam Jones - a MASNsports.com blogger, in case you didn't know - in his push to Phoenix for the July 12 Midsummer Classic. The latest results for the American League's outfield should be particularly troubling to O's fans. It's not that there isn't an Oriole in the top five in any position. It's not even that Toronto outfielder Jose Bautista, an ex-Oriole,...

There are two days left in June, and for the entire month, there has been exactly one game when the starting pitcher for the Orioles pitched at least seven innings. That game was June 10, when Jake Arrieta pitched seven innings against the Tampa Bay Rays. That's it. Since his disappointing return from the disabled list, Brian Matusz is averaging less than 4.5 innings per game. Since joining the rotation, Chris Jakubauskas has pitched 20 1/3 innings in four starts. Rookie Zach Britton is...