Manager Buck Showalter and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail have discussed bringing up outfielder Nolan Reimold when rosters expand next month. Reimold is batting .247 with 11 doubles, 10 homers, 34 RBIs and a .750 OPS in 83 games at Triple-A Norfolk. As I noted last night, he's reached base in 30 of his last 31 games, batting .321 with four homers, 15 RBIs and 29 walks. "I can't say I know him well," Showalter said. "I do know he's playing well there consistently. I've...

Partially due to an effort to stack his lineup with right-handed bats vs. Rangers lefty C.J Wilson, Buck Showalter is starting Julio Lugo in left field tonight vs. Texas. "It's been a while since I've been out there," Lugo said. He played as a reserve in the outfield in 2008 with Boston, but you have to go back to 2006 when he was a Dodger for a Lugo start in the outfield. Tonight will be just his 7th career outfield start. "He's the boss. I'll do whatever he says. I'm open to it....

How much does manager Buck Showalter want to avoid putting left-handed hitters in his lineup tonight? Julio Lugo's starting in left field. It's not a huge reach. Lugo has played 18 games in the outfield, most recently patrolling left for one game with the Red Sox in 2008. He played six games in the outfield with the Astros in 2000 and eight more in 2001. He played three in the outfield with the Dodgers in 2006. "He's actually played more in the outfield than third base," Showalter said....

Brian Roberts 2B Julio Lugo LF Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Adam Jones CF Jake Fox DH Matt Wieters C Cesar Izturis SS Josh Bell 3B Jake Arrieta RHP The last time the Orioles went four straight starts with eight innings or more from their starter was July 20-23, 1999 (Sidney Ponson, Mike Mussina, Scott Erickson and Juan Guzman.) The longest streak of consecutive starts with eight or more innings in franchise history was a 12-game run from Aug. 15-28, 1970.

As you probably know by now, the Orioles' last three starters have each gone eight innings, which hasn't happened in this organization since May 2005. Yes, it's been a long time. And it's only occurred twice in the 2000s. On May 3, Daniel Cabrera was outdueled by former Oriole Josh Towers in a 1-0 loss to Toronto. He allowed one run and four hits, walked four and struck out eight while throwing 119 pitches. Sammy Sosa went 0-for-3 as the cleanup hitter. Javy Lopez, serving as the...

I've been checking out various reports on last night's game, and one of them mentions how it was "marred" by a sixth-inning confrontation between Ty Wigginton and Andres Blanco. Funny, but it made my night. I had wandered to the far end of the press box to chat up Dave Johnson when the play occurred. I was watching a replay on one of the big screens when he tapped me on the shoulder to redirect my attention to the field, where players were coming out of the dugout and bullpen. At that...

If you're not busy tonight, head down to Woodbridge to pick up your one of a kind Drew Storen bobblehead, courtesy of Geico. The first 1,000 fans through the gates will receive the signature collectible. Stay after the game and enjoy a classic family friendly movie on the new scoreboard. Also, reminders about two upcoming events: The final Ladies Night of the 2010 season will be on Thursday, August 26th before the Nationals face the Cardinals. The theme is Vegas, and as always, the...

All year, it seems, the Aberdeen IronBirds have had a penchant for late-inning offense and comebacks. The last two nights, the IronBirds have produced walk-off wins at Ripken Stadium. Wednesday, they beat Hudson Valley 7-6, scoring twice in the ninth. Last night, Aberdeen's Kipp Schutz hit a one-out, RBI triple in the bottom of the ninth to tie Hudson Valley 2-2. One inning later, Austin Rauch homered on the second pitch of the last of the tenth for a 3-2 sudden death win. Aberdeen, now...

You can win a lot of games. The O's starting pitching has probably been the biggest reason the Orioles are 11-6 since Buck Showalter took over. The stats say that Orioles starting pitchers had pitched to an ERA of 5.61 before Buck. In the 17 games since he's been with the club, the starters' ERA is 2.82. It's been quite a roll for the O's starters: *They have 13 quality starts over the last 17 games. *They have pitched six innings or more in 15 of the 17 games and have gone seven...

Nationals right-hander Stephen Strasburg has made a statement with his pitching. He also made a statement about Bryce Harper before the signing deadline last week that really defines where this team is at right now, how they feel about themselves, and what they expect people outside the organization to think about the Nats: "If he wants to play here, then he is going to play here," Strasburg said. "He doesn't need any advice from anybody. You don't need to convince him otherwise. If he...