On a night when they twice trailed by a run and didn't score over their first five innings, the Orioles used late offense to beat Pittsburgh 6-3 last night. Tonight they look for a second straight win over the Pirates, which would provide them with yet another series win. The Orioles (25-13) sit at 3 1/2 games behind Tampa Bay and could pull to wit

Orioles outfielder Ryan McKenna is dealing with some back soreness, which explains why infielder Joey Ortiz showed up today from Triple-A Norfolk with his bags in hand. Ortiz is on the 24-hour taxi squad in case McKenna goes on the injured list. Ortiz will return to the Tides on Sunday if he isn’t recalled. Teams normally are allowed to carry only

His stay here this time could be potentially very short and he is not on the active roster, but infielder Joey Ortiz, one of the Orioles' top 100 prospects, is in the clubhouse today. He is on the taxi squad for tonight’s game with Pittsburgh. Acting manager Fredi González - working as skipper of the Orioles tonight while Brandon Hyde attends the g

Fredi González is managing the Orioles tonight while Brandon Hyde is at Syracuse University for daughter Aria’s graduation, and their bench coach is hoping to guide the team to its ninth series win in 10 tries. Joey Ortiz is in the clubhouse today. A new rule allows a non-catcher to join the taxi squad for 24 hours. Ortiz will return to Triple-A No

Bullpens are an ever-evolving beast, even in good times. Few relievers hold a single role from Opening Day through Game 162, aside from a handful of the most established closers in the sport. This has already proven the case for the Nationals, who only a few weeks ago seemed to have established a bullpen hierarchy but have since been forced to mix

It’s not exactly a beautiful day for baseball in the nation’s capital. Rain is expected all afternoon, so there’s a reasonable chance the second game of his four-game series between the Nationals and Mets doesn’t start on time. Will it be played at all today? Well, according to my sources (aka the same weather app all of you use), it’s supposed to

Jake Alu has waited for this moment his whole life, just like any ballplayer. After four seasons of college ball and the last four seasons of professional ball in the minor leagues, he has finally made the major leagues. The moment came on Sunday, when the Nationals learned Victor Robles needed to go on the 10-day injured list with back spasms and

The Orioles trailed by a run twice last night – in the third and seventh innings against Pittsburgh – but as they have done many times this year, they found ways to win a game late. They did it this time by scoring two runs in the seventh, and three on a huge swing in the eighth. The 6-3 win over Pittsburgh moved the Orioles to 12 games over .500 a

Colton Cowser led off Thursday night’s game in Jacksonville by homering on the first pitch, the ball clocked at 110.3 mph off the bat and slamming off the back row of bleachers in right field before arcing back onto the warning track. Jumbo Shrimp outfielder Jerar Encarnación was forced to watch and retrieve. Cowser led off the third inning with an

It was unrealistic to expect MacKenzie Gore to repeat a career-best outing this time against the Mets. That’s a difficult feat to accomplish on any given night, much  less twice against the same team in about a two-week time frame. And sure enough, tonight’s outing was unlike when the young left-hander took the mound at Citi Field on April 26 and s