His father made his first-ever Major League start in Baltimore and Kyle Drabek will do the same tonight, pitching for Toronto vs. the Orioles. After pitching four times in relief, former Cy Young winner Doug Drabek, who was an Oriole himself in 1998, made his first career start for the Yankees at Memorial Stadium on June 15, 1986. This will be the younger Drabek's Major League debut. The 22-year-old Drabek was the Eastern League pitcher of the year this season, going 14-9, 2.94 over 27...

Whether Jake Arrieta makes his next start depends on a couple of factors, according to manager Buck Showalter. Showalter will monitor the rookie's workout days and wait until Brian Matusz's next start becomes official. Matusz is playing catch today to test his left arm, which is sporting a bruise after being hit by a line drive. "Try to get a feel for where Brian would go back in," Showalter said. "It could affect Jake a little bit." Arrieta's next turn would fall on Tuesday in...

Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 3B Luke Scott 1B Felix Pie LF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Corey Patterson DH Cesar Izturis SS Brad Bergesen RHP

We'll have to wait on the Orioles lineup again because of Brian Roberts' uncertain status. Jake Arrieta is still waiting to find out whether he'll make his next start. He expects manager Buck Showalter to broach the subject during batting practice or right before the game. At this point, it appears that Showalter is leaning toward shutting him down. Brian Matusz says his arm feels good and he's heading outdoors to play catch. Here's the Blue Jays lineup: Wise RF Escobar SS Bautista...

part of a 12-part project on the effects the Orioles' decline has had on Baltimore http://bmore.jschool.umd.edu/summer11/

My entry this morning that included the box score from the forfeited game in Toronto 33 years ago stirred a minor debate over manager Earl Weaver's actual beef with the umpiring crew. I didn't recall every detail and relied on baseball-reference.com's explanation before taking advantage of a job perk and placing a few calls. "I remember that the issue was a tarp down in the bullpen," said center fielder Al Bumbry, who doubled in that game and was the only Oriole with three at-bats...

July 20 was not a day that Jamar Walton likes to remember. It was the day the Kansas City Royals released the outfielder from Advanced-A Wilmington. The former fourth-round selection had struggled to a .200 batting average in 59 games with the Blue Rocks. Then in mid-August the Nationals were in need of outfield depth. Chris Curran, Nick Moresi and Edgardo Baez had all helped out in the outfield. Walton added another clutch bat and strong defense to keep the P-Nats rolling. The 6'4",...

The end of this season is turning out better for Robert Andino than the beginning. Andino was designated for assignment by the Orioles on April 3rd. But he cleared waivers, went to Triple-A and put up enough numbers to get a September recall. Now he has started the last three games, going 4 for 15 and had a big three-run double in last night's win. He may be playing his way back into the O's picture as at least a candidate for the utility infielder job next season. "I'm just trying not...

From the moment Buck Showalter put on his Orioles cap and first took a seat on the bench or brought out the lineup card to home plate, his resemblance to Earl Weaver sparked conversation on this blog and in the press box. How many times has he heard it? "That's the first one" he said yesterday. Well, now he can join the club, because it seems like everyone else is talking about it. Showalter spent part of yesterday afternoon's media session discussing Weaver's influence on the game....

So the Orioles have now won four series in a row for the first time since August 3-15, 2004. Overall, they have won eight of their last ten and 12 of the last 17 games. They are 6-1 in their last seven games vs. the AL East. There are so many positive individual and team stats right now, it is even hard for a reporter like yours truly who enjoys keeping up with stats and trends. But, hey, I'll work at it. Then there is this note. The Orioles have now played 40 games under Buck Showalter...