Jake Fox provided the first run today and some comic relief. Fox homered in the third inning to reduce the Indians' lead to 2-1 over the Orioles. Fox stumbled as he rounded first base and had to go back to make sure he touched the bag and avoid an embarrassing appeal and out. Players were laughing in the dugout as he came down the steps. You'll recall that Fox had 10 home runs in spring training, 11 if you count the interleague game. He was 0-for-7 before today's game. Fox is making his...

I was wondering today if Derrek Lee and Vlad Guerrero have been slow starters in their careers. They have not hit much so far and maybe they are just not good hitters in early-season games. Well, both do have some good stats hitting in April. Lee has a career .270 average and .852 OPS in the month with 51 homers. But maybe the good news is that his April OPS ranks just fifth highest among the six months of the season. So he gets better after April according to his track record. The same is...

The sun came out in Cleveland and then it disappeared again. Another bad storm moved through the area, but they're projecting a 3:05 p.m. start at Progressive Field. How are the bats supposed to heat up in these conditions? The Orioles rank 24th in the majors with a .226 average. They've scored 46 runs, more than only four teams. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters earlier today that he doesn't have any immediate plans to juggle the lineup. He believes in track records and figures that...

Hello, MASNsports.com readers. My name is Heath Bintliff and I have been writing Dempsey's Army, a Baltimore Orioles blog, since 2006. Although I grew up in Maryland, I now live in Atlanta and have been away from Maryland for 11 years. As you might imagine, there are not a lot of O's fans down here in Georgia, so I needed an outlet for my Orioles thoughts and the blog was born. Dempsey's Army offers statistical analysis, historical perspective, commentary, prospect watching and various...

There are many who will tell you that the Washington Nationals are a team in waiting. After several years of terrible misfortune on the field, they were unprecedented benefactors of great luck off of it. In back-to-back seasons, arguably the two greatest, or at least most hyped, prospects of all time would enter the Major League Baseball draft, and each year the Nationals had the first overall pick. Washington shelled out the money to sign the two, and now the Lerners, general manager Mike...

Jeremy Guthrie will take the mound today as the Orioles attempt to halt a five-game losing streak. Guthrie has got to play stopper today, and he seems the most qualified on the staff. He's allowed one run and seven hits in 14 innings, and he should have better stamina today. Here's the Orioles' lineup, which includes Jake Fox behind the plate: Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Vladimir Guerrero DH Luke Scott LF Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 3B Jake Fox C Robert Andino...

So much for sleeping in on a Saturday morning. My daughter has her first SAT prep class today, which begins at 9 a.m. and lasts 4 1/2 hours. And honestly, what else would a teenage girl want to do on a Saturday morning? You can imagine her excitement. Bet she could barely sleep last night. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters a few days ago that there was a 90 percent chance of rain today. The Orioles could be facing a doubleheader tomorrow because they don't come back to...

HAGERSTOWN, Md. - Bryce Harper, last year's No. 1 overall draft pick by the Washington Nationals, made his home debut for the Single-A Hagerstown Suns on Friday night, going 0-for-3 with a walk and a strikeout in an 8-4 loss to the Lakewood BlueClaws, the Phillies' South Atlantic League affiliate. The game, the home crowd's first chance to get a peek at the slugging catcher-turned-right fielder, drew a sellout crowd of 6,017 to 80-year-old Municipal Stadium, making it perhaps the most...

Last year, when the Orioles had a pretty mediocre offense, they averaged just 3.8 runs per game. So far this year, with an offense that is expected to be greatly improved, they are averaging 3.8 runs per game. The Orioles just are not hitting much right now and I'm sure some fans are getting restless to see some runs at this point. It's too early to get real concerned, but the team batting average is just .226. During the five-game losing streak, the O's have scored just 12 runs with a...

It wasn't all going to be all roses and gumdrops for Zach Britton in his major league career. After two dominating efforts in his first two major league starts - Britton had allowed just one run in 13 2/3 innings prior to last night, earning two wins in the process - the left-hander finally proved he is, in fact, human. It's sad to read, I know. But it's true. Britton was touched by the Indians for five runs in six innings of work. He allowed eight hits and gave up the first home run of...