Before tonight, the Orioles hadn't trailed in 36 innings since the All-Star break and hadn't fallen behind in the last 45 innings overall. Their last deficit came at the end of the July 13 loss to Toronto.
All good things must come to an end.
The Royals loaded the bases with no outs against starter Jason Hammel, and Alex Gordon scored on Billy Butler's double play grounder to third.
Hammel is fortunate that he only surrendered one run after the first two Royals reached on singles and...
Once the Orioles traded for starter Scott Feldman, their focus shifted to acquiring a veteran reliever, which they did tonight.
The Orioles announced that they obtained right-hander Francisco Rodriguez from the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league infielder Nicky Delmonico.
Rodriguez will join the team Wednesday in Kansas City, at which point they will make a corresponding move to clear space on the 25-man roster. Jairo Asencio figures to be optioned to Triple-A Norfolk.
The Orioles...
Orioles manager Buck Showalter chose Danny Valencia over Henry Urrutia as his designated hitter for tonight's game against the Royals.
Urrutia had three hits last night, but Valencia is 11-for-20 with seven RBIs lifetime against Royals left-hander Bruce Chen.
Taylor Teagarden is behind the plate tonight. Matt Wieters will sit despite being 9-for-21 with two doubles, a home run, two RBIs, two walks and five runs scored during a five-game hitting streak.
The Orioles are playing the fifth of...
Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold is resting comfortably, or as much as humanly possible while propped up in bed and wearing a neck brace, following corrective surgery this morning to fuse two vertebrae at the Florida Spine Institute in Clearwater, Fla.
Reimold isn't permitted to talk, but he provided information in a text message that was passed along to me this afternoon.
The pseudarthrosis, or false fusion, was causing irritation and compressing the nerve. Dr. Robert Kowalski, a...
A few teams have expressed interest in outfielder Chris Dickerson and the Orioles are continuing attempts to trade him, according to a club official.
Dickerson was designated for assignment on Friday to make room for outfielder Henry Urrutia on the 25- and 40-man rosters.
The Orioles have until the weekend to trade Dickerson or get him through waivers. He figures to be claimed if multiple teams are involved in discussions with executive vice president Dan Duquette.
Dickerson batted...
Jason Hammel is making his 20th start for the Orioles tonight, matching his total for the entire 2012 season.
That's where the similarities end.
Hammel hasn't won since May 27, a span of eight starts. His ERA is up to 5.24. In his last outing, he allowed six runs and 10 hits in six innings against the Blue Jays.
Manager Buck Showalter moved Scott Feldman ahead of Hammel in the rotation. Should we read anything into it?
I don't sense that Hammel is on the verge of being yanked from the...
I understand that it's a short major league career for Henry Urrutia, but his second start has been second to none.
Urrutia is 3-for-3 tonight, with all of his singles going to left field. He's 4-for-8 in three games since the Orioles selected his contract from Triple-A Norfolk.
My math skills are poor, but that's a .500 average.
His baserunning needs work, as advertised, but he's a designated hitter who's getting on base. The Orioles will take it.
The Royals are starting former...
The Orioles jumped on Royals starter Wade Davis for two runs in the top of the first inning, as they continue to take early leads and take advantage of their opponents' shoddy defense.
Nate McLouth drew a leadoff walk and scored on an error by Kansas City third baseman Mike Moustakas, making me wonder whether the Royals watched video of the Rangers series.
Nick Markakis singled, and Chris Davis lifted a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 2-0.
Matt Wieters also singled, extending his...
With a right-hander opposing the Orioles tonight, Henry Urrutia has returned to the lineup as the designated hitter in his second major league start.
Urrutia is batting eighth, as he did in Saturday's debut. He's 1-for-5 with an RBI in two games.
For the Orioles
Nate McLouth LF
Manny Machado 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Chris Davis 1B
Matt Wieters C
J.J. Hardy SS
Henry Urrutia DH
Brian Roberts 2B
Scott Feldman RHP
For the Royals
Alex Gordon LF
Eric Hosmer 1B
Billy Butler...
Outfielder Dariel Alvarez, who defected from Cuba last summer, took his physical today in Baltimore after agreeing to terms with the Orioles last week.
The Orioles haven't announced Alvarez's signing, but he told MLB.com that he would receive an $800,000 bonus.
The Orioles signed another Cuban outfielder, Henry Urrutia, for $778,500 after he finally arrived in the U.S. in late February. Urrutia agreed to terms in July 2012, but was detained in Haiti while waiting for his work...
The Orioles begin a four-game series tonight in Kansas City, where Scott Feldman is 3-1 with a 2.72 ERA in 10 career appearances, including five starts.
Manager Buck Showalter moved Feldman ahead of Jason Hammel in the rotation following the All-Star break.
Alex Gordon is 6-for-15 with a double and triple against Feldman. Billy Butler is 5-for-24 with a home run.
J.J. Hardy is 8-for-22 with three doubles against Royals starter Wade Davis. Matt Wieters is 8-for-23 with two doubles.
Wieters...
Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman understands how the West was won.
Tillman began tonight with a career 10-1 record and 2.03 ERA in 12 starts against the American League West, and he's leading 4-1 as the game moves to the bottom of the seventh inning.
Tillman is trying to produce the Orioles' seventh quality start in the last eight games. He hasn't dominated tonight, but he's held the Rangers to one run so far.
In three career starts in Arlington, including tonight, Tillman has allowed...
Does Orioles second baseman Brian Roberts look more comfortable at the plate these days?
Roberts is 2-for-2 with an RBI and a run scored tonight, and 4-for-6 with a double, three RBIs and two runs scored in the last two games.
Roberts is 6-for-14 in his last five games. He's collected hits in six of the last nine, raising his average to .266.
Ryan Flaherty is going to have all sorts of trouble getting off the bench with Roberts in a groove and Henry Urrutia on the roster.
Roberts doubled...
Nate McLouth is leading off tonight against a left-hander, the Rangers' Martin Perez, rather than moving down the order and surrendering the top spot to Nick Markakis.
Manager Buck Showalter could be playing a hunch - or the hot hand.
McLouth led off with a single tonight, making him 6-for-14 in his last four games. He has a double, triple, RBI and three runs scored during the streak.
Third baseman Manny Machado wore his batting gloves for his first at-bat last night, then took them off...
Chris Davis remains at first base for the Orioles tonight after fouling a ball off his right ankle last night and playing in obvious pain.
Henry Urrutia is on the bench against Rangers left-hander Martin Perez, with Danny Valencia serving as the designated hitter.
Since June 25, 2012, Chris Tillman is 20-6 and has the second-highest winning percentage (.769) among American League starters, trailing only Max Scherzer (23-3, .885). Tillman is 8-1 in 10 starts since May 24, tying him with...
The Orioles are playing a rare Sunday night game, which gives manager Buck Showalter more time to craft his lineup.
He's probably got a few already made out. That's the norm with Showalter.
The Rangers are sending another southpaw to the mound: Martin Perez, who gave up two earned runs (four total) in six innings July 9 at Camden Yards. Left-handers are batting .286 against him, compared to .257 by right-handers.
Consider that stat, and factor in Henry Urrutia's success against...
Two trips to the plate, two bases-loaded situations.
Henry Urrutia's first major league game tonight has been anything but dull.
Urrutia lined a single off Rangers left-hander Joseph Ortiz with no outs in the top of the third inning for his first major league hit and RBI, increasing the Orioles' lead to 5-0.
Ortiz, who replaced starter Ross Wolf, threw two straight sliders. Urrutia fouled off the first one and pulled the second one into left field to score Chris Davis, who remains in the...
Orioles left fielder Nate McLouth singled and stole second base tonight. It might not seem like a big deal, but it's noteworthy.
McLouth hadn't swiped a base since June 19. He attempted only one since that night, getting thrown out in a June 22 game against Toronto.
Pitchers have been quicker to the plate with McLouth on first base, and he's been extremely patient.
McLouth scored tonight on Adam Jones' single, and Nick Markakis scored on Chris Davis' single for 2-0 lead.
Davis was...
Cuban defector Henry Urrutia, who had his contract selected from Triple-A Norfolk on Friday, will make his major league debut tonight as the Orioles' designated hitter.
Urrutia is batting eighth against Rangers right-hander Ross Wolf, the former Orioles farmhand.
J.J. Hardy will bat ahead of Urrutia, and Brian Roberts will bat behind him.
For the Orioles
Nate McLouth LF
Manny Machado 3B
Nick Markakis RF
Adam Jones CF
Chris Davis 1B
Matt Wieters C
J.J. Hardy SS
Henry Urrutia DH
Brian...
Pitching for the first time since going on the disabled list with a strained left oblique, Orioles right-hander Steve Johnson threw two scoreless innings this morning with the Gulf Coast League team in Sarasota.
Johnson didn't allow a hit, walked one batter and struck out three.
The plan calls for Johnson to continue his rehab with short-season Single-A Aberdeen, where he's expected to report on Wednesday. He's flying back to Baltimore tonight to attend his grandmother's funeral.
Johnson...