Kevin Millwood will make his 400th major league appearance tonight, including his 392 start, becoming the 52nd active pitcher to reach that level of games. His 391 starts rank seventh among active pitchers, and his 1,889 strikeouts are fifth. Among active pitchers with 350 or more starts, Millwood's 4.08 ERA is second only to Andy Pettitte's 3.87. Millwood has allowed at least two runs in the first inning in each of his last seven starts, raising his total to 20, after not allowing a...

The movement of left-handed starting pitching upward in the O's farm system continued today when southpaw Nate Moreau moved from Delmarva to the Frederick Keys. Moreau will be make his Keys debut tonight when he starts at Salem. He is taking the rotation spot of Rick Zagone, who as we reported last night, has moved to Double-A Bowie and will start for the Baysox at home tonight vs. Erie. Zagone moved to Bowie when Zach Britton moved to Triple-A Norfolk, where he will make his first start on...

Though a final decision hasn't been made, it's becoming more likely that Felix Pie will join the Orioles on the second leg of their road trip in Detroit. There's still a chance that Pie will be activated Friday, when the Orioles begin a three-game series in Boston, but team officials want him to receive more starts in left field on his injury rehab assignment before removing him from the disabled list. Pie will be re-evaluated after tonight's game at Double-A Bowie. He went 4-for-5 with...

For the Orioles: Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Ty Wigginton 1B Luke Scott DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Scott Moore 2B Cesar Izturis SS Kevin Millwood RHP A team official confirmed that reliever Cla Meredith cleared waivers and will report to Triple-A Norfolk. For the Athletics: Crisp CF Barton 1B Jackson LF Suzuki C Kouzmanoff 3B Sweeney RF Ellis 2B Gross DH Pennington SS Sheets RHP If Sheets is knocked out early, should I write that the Orioles short-sheeted the...

Left-hander Troy Patton held Charlotte to one earned run over six innings, but it wasn't good enough to pick up a win. Patton also was tagged with an unearned run in a 2-1 loss. He allowed five hits, walked two and struck out two, as his record fell to 5-9 with a 4.84 ERA. The unearned run scored when catcher Michel Hernandez dropped a pop up with two outs in the second inning. Josh Bell, who homered twice and drove in six runs last night, went 2-for-4 to leave his average at...

Norfolk Tides pitcher Chris Tillman and outfielder Jeff Salazar have made the International League All-Star team. They will be on the 30-man squad that will take on the Pacific Coast League on July 14 at Lehigh Valley in the 23rd Triple-A All-Star game. Tillman is 7-4, 3.07 in 12 Triple-A starts on the year over 70 1/3 innings. He pitched a no-hitter on April 28 vs. Gwinnett. Tillman is 2-0, 2.84 in two starts since leaving the O's and going back to Triple-A. Salazar is batting .284-13-34...

I'm not sorting through a collection of fond memories from last night. I can name two, and one of them involves talking to Cal Ripken on the phone, which has nothing to do with the game. It doesn't hurt to step back once in a while and recognize that I've talked to three Hall of Famers in a span of four days - Ripken, Brooks Robinson and Jim Palmer. And that doesn't include standing within a few feet of Earl Weaver and Frank Robinson. I usually take it all for granted because I'm jaded...

For Brian Matusz, it was another night like a lot of the others on Tuesday vs. Oakland. He pitched pretty well, but not great, he got little run support and he lost. I have heard fans term his 2010 season as "disappointing." Matusz is now 2-9, 4.90 in 16 starts this year. He is tied for the AL lead in losses. I see Matusz's performance this year as encouraging not disappointing. I admire the fact that the kid still has his sanity and hasn't wavered much amidst all the losing by his...

Here are more notes and stats to ponder from the Orioles 4-2 loss to the Oakland A's Tuesday in the opener of a three-game series. Not this time: After scoring 37 runs and batting .330 over the last six games, and after scoring 17 runs in the series vs. Washington, the O's were held to two runs on five hits by Oakland. The O's went 5 for 29 at bat with four doubles. The O's had the leadoff runner on base in seven of nine innings but left nine on base and went just 2 for 9 with runners...

Maybe it is time to give Gonzalez a few more games. Alberto Gonzalez went 4-4 with an RBI in Tuesday's 7-2 win over the first place Atlanta Braves and played a solid overall game to help the Nats snap a five-game skid. Gonzalez is a quality second baseman in the field. He works hard every day in batting practice and fielding drills and that translates to the field. With Ian Desmond struggling on defense, manager Jim Riggleman went with Cristian Guzman back at his familiar shortstop...