The Orioles beat the Texas Rangers 4-1 this afternoon, to complete their first four-game sweep at Texas since June of 1976. Jake Arrieta followed up Chris Tillman's stellar outing Saturday with one of his own today. Arrieta allowed six hits and one run over 6 1/3 innings. He walked two and struck out three, throwing 90 pitches. He improved to 3-2, 4.38. Arrieta has allowed just 5 ER over his last three starts, pitching to an ERA of 2.41. He has recorded five quality starts among his...

Do I save the leftover chicken piccata for dinner or eat it for lunch? Does it have to be one or the other? OK, here's the actual decision that I'm referencing: The Rangers put a runner on second base with two outs in the bottom of the sixth. Nelson Cruz represented the tying run. Jake Arrieta fell behind, 2-0, on two sliders. He got a strike on a 91 mph fastball, and missed with the same pitch to leave the count at 3-1. Cruz had to be looking fastball, but Arrieta went back to the...

John Stockstill has been with the Orioles for five years. He joined the club in December of 2005 to oversee the O's Major League and pro scouting. He has also served as the club's director of international scouting. Since early April of this year he has worked in his latest role with the club as director of player development. In that role he oversees the development of players at all levels of the organization, to include overseeing the workings in the O's minors. Here are some...

Backup catcher Craig Tatum fouled a ball off his left foot in the fourth inning and collapsed to the ground. He limped out of the batters box, a grimace on his face. He'll have to play through the pain. The Orioles are short on reserves with Matt Wieters unavailable and Felix Pie recovering from a strained quad. Pie says he's ready. Interim manager Juan Samuel says he'd rather wait until after the break. Jake Fox is the backup catcher again today, except he's also the starting first...

It appears that Robbie Widlansky of the Double-A Bowie Baysox will be out for the rest of this season. He suffered what is believed to be a fractured right ankle on Thursday during a game at Erie and is expected to miss at least six weeks, meaning the soonest he would be back is at the very end of the minor league season. Widlansky, who won the Carolina League batting title last year while at Frederick, is batting .269-5-30 in 74 games with the Baysox. He was just two for 21 in July at the...

You can only hope to contain it. The Orioles haven't swept a four-game series on the road since June 1995 in Chicago. They've already taken a 3-1 lead today in the top of the second inning. Who are these guys? They failed to score after Miguel Tejada reached third base with one out in the first inning, but Julio Lugo doubled in the second to tie the game, and Corey Patterson looped a double to left field with two outs to bring home two more runs. That's three doubles in the second...

On Saturday, General Manager Mike Rizzo announced that Jesus Flores experienced another setback in his long road back to the big leagues, saying the team will give Flores several days off from his throwing program after he recently experienced pain, once again, in his shoulder. Flores hasn't played with the team regularly for over a year and he's been rehabbing his shoulder since he had surgery to repair a torn labrum last September. The Nationals had hoped Flores would be ready by Opening...

On Sunday, the Nationals teamed up with the USO and Microsoft for an all-out military appreciation day to say thank you to local servicemen and women who continue to make sacrifices overseas and here at home. "This is a big deal for us," said USO Metro DC president Elaine Rogers. "It's a great way for volunteers to come together to say thank you to our troops and their families." Wounded warriors were treated to a special pre-game BBQ while over 100 volunteers made care packages for...

Nationals reliever Tyler Clippard met with the media before Sunday's game against the Giants after allowing four runs on two hits, one a home run, two walks and just one strikeout in 1/3 of an inning in Saturday's loss. It was his third setback in the last ten games in which his ERA has exploded to 11.00. "I think the bottom line is I am not making quality pitches when it counts," Clippard said. "I am making some good pitches - just not when it counts. "I have felt like I have been...

Look familiar? Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton DH Adam Jones CF Jake Fox 1B Craig Tatum C Julio Lugo 2B Cesar Izturis SS Jake Arrieta RHP Bengie Molina is the only Ranger who has faced Arrieta, going 1-for-3 with a strikeout. For the Rangers: Julio Borbon CF Michael Young 3B Ian Kinsler 2B Vladimir Guerrero DH David Murphy LF Nelson Cruz RF Bengie Molina C Chris Davis 1B Andres Blanco SS C.J. Wilson LHP