Since B.J. Ryan allowed a three-run walk-off homer to David Ortiz on June 2, 2005, the Orioles are 9-34 at Fenway Park and have lost 15 of their last 17 games on Yawkey Way. Ty Wigginton hit his 14th home run Wednesday and his first as a first baseman. According to Elias, Wigginton is the only player in the major leagues to homer while playing three different infield positions this year (11 as a second baseman and two as a third baseman). Kevin Millwood (June 19 and 24) and Jake Arrieta (June...

This time last year, O's pitcher Brad Bergesen was 5-2 with an ERA of 3.53. He was a rookie pitcher on a roll. Now he is 3-4, 6.83 and struggling to find consistent mechanics and solid results. Twice this year he has been sent back to Triple-A to try to find his sinker and iron out his mechanics. Riding the Norfolk-to-Baltimore-and-back shuttle is not what he had in mind for this season. "It's been very tough," Bergesen said. "It's something that I've had to deal with for the first...

I devoted my final entry last night to the Orioles' defense. I hope it didn't contain any errors. I recall a time when the organization stressed tightening up the defense to assist the young starting pitchers. Just using last night as an example, you've got center fielder Corey Patterson in left, rookie work-in-progress Josh Bell at third, corner infielder Scott Moore at second and third baseman Ty Wigginton at first. Most nights, shortstop Miguel Tejada starts at third. We've seen...

Nationals utility man Willie Harris has not had that many chances to play after battling out of an 0-for-20 slump last Friday against the Orioles. He was a defensive replacement in just one game in Atlanta and came up Thursday against the Mets as a pinch hitter with one out in the ninth. Harris, who is a free agent at the end of the 2010, certainly has not played the role he did even last season for the Nats. His playing time has diminished to the point that he is currently on pace for...

The game was without too much drama, but it was an eventful night for Josh Bell. The 23-year-old third baseman made his Major League debut which included his first hit and his first error in the field during Oakland's 8-1 win over the Orioles on Thursday night. "Amped up a little bit. I didn't think I put that much on it. But, just getting out there was a good thing," Bell said about his fifth-inning throwing error. After ground outs in the second and fifth, Bell singled to left on a...

The Orioles were charged with two errors tonight, but they failed to make plays all over the field. "There's no doubt that we do have to pick it up defensively," interim manager Juan Samuel said. "We have been able to overcome those mistakes the last few days, but most of the time it's not going to happen. Anytime you give the opposing club four or five outs, those kinds of things are going to happen. We do need to play all-around solid baseball if we're going to continue to make...

The O's wanted to cap off a good homestand with a win and they also had a chance to win back-to-back series for the first time all year. But Trevor Cahill had other thoughts. He shut down the Birds over seven innings as Oakland beat the Orioles 8-1, in front of 15,712 at Camden Yards on Thursday night. The O's went 5-4 on the homestand and now head to Boston. Cahill, now 8-2, 2.74 gave up just one run on four hits over seven innings, throwing 95 pitches. He shut down an Orioles club that...

Josh Bell lined a 2-0 fastball from Trevor Cahill into left field in the seventh inning for his first major league hit. The Orioles retrieved the ball for him. Jake Arrieta went six innings tonight and turned in a quality start by definition. Three of the four runs he allowed were earned. Arrieta gave up seven hits, walked four and struck out two. He threw 99 pitches, 55 for strikes. That's an improvement over his last two starts, when he allowed 10 earned runs (12 total) and 13 hits over...

The O's offense, one night after scoring nine runs, has a tall order tonight in taking on Trevor Cahill. The A's right-hander is 7-2, 2.88 on the season and over his last eight starts is 6-0, 2.24. So it's a hot pitcher vs. a team that has scored 48 runs during the eight games on this homestand. Cahill's winning percentage of .778 is 4th best in the AL and he is 2-1, 2.84 in three career starts vs. the Orioles. They did do something vs. Cahill that no team had done all year - score a run...

Josh Bell's first major league game has included his first error. Bell made a sliding stop of Kevin Kouzmanoff's shot near the line in the fifth inning, but his throw pulled first baseman Ty Wigginton off the bag. Wigginton was charged with an error earlier in the inning, and the Orioles failed to turn a double play on Kurt Suzuki's grounder to Cesar Izturis. Bell swung at the first pitch he saw in the bottom of the fifth, a changeup, and bounced to first baseman Adam Rosales. Rosales...