Lost a bit in the O's bullpen meltdown Saturday night was that Brian Matusz did not give up a run over seven innings vs. Cleveland. Matusz was coming off his worst start of the year, when he gave up six runs last Sunday vs. Minnesota. But he was not necessarily motivated by that effort on Saturday, he said. But he pitched shutout ball and it was the first time in 16 career Major League starts that he did not allow a single run. "I forgot about the last start. I don't think about that. ...

The Orioles will call up a reliever from Triple-A Norfolk tomorrow to replace first baseman Rhyne Hughes on the 25-man roster. Alberto Castillo and Kam Mickolio are on the 40-man roster. The choice doesn't appear to be non-roster pitcher Dennis Sarfate, though he hasn't allowed an earned run in 7 2/3 innings and International League batters are 1-for-26 against him. Update: Mickolio is dealing with a sore back, so you can eliminate him from consideration. Look for Castillo to be in...

The Nationals will attempt to even up the four-game set with the Rockies in the final game of the series Sunday at Coors Field in Denver. With a win, the Nats would be 4-3 on the nine-game road trip. Two wins in both New York and Denver would be big before a pair in St. Louis to wrap up the trip. This is another opportunity for the Nats to separate themselves from 2009. But they need to get some early offense against the Rockies today, who have pretty much shut down the Nats since...

I don't second guess Alfredo Simon, a pitcher who has recently thrown some nasty split-finger pitches, for going with that pitch on that 0-2 offering to Austin Kearns in the ninth Saturday. To me it was much more about pitch location rather than pitch selection there, although Dave Trembley would not offer an opinion on pitch selection there after the game. But you need to bury that splitter on 0-2 and Simon had been doing that for the most part while going 5 for 5 in save chances. This...

After the game, Dave Trembley said he did not want to say publicly if he agreed with Alfredo Simon throwing a split-finger pitch on that 0-2 count to Austin Kearns in the ninth inning. The pitch found the middle of the plate and was not low in the zone as you intend with the splitter and Kearns three-run homer gave Cleveland a 4-2 lead. Alfredo Simon talks with the media about his blown save in the O's 8-2 loss "It was a split ball that didn't do too much. It was up and they got a good...

In the quiet of the Orioles clubhouse, Rhyne Hughes was gracious enough to talk about the news he got after the game, that he has been optioned back to Triple-A. "I'm just going back down to Norfolk, I'll meet those guys I guess on Tuesday. "He told me to go down there and find my swing again. Hopefully I'll just go down there and do what I was doing before and get things going again. Just be ready when they are ready for me to come back, that's all." Hughes was batting .213-0-4 in...

So, about that ninth... "We made real good pitches up until that point in time, but we didn't close it out," manager Dave Trembley said following tonight's 8-2 loss to the Indians, which is going to sting long after the lights are turned off at Camden Yards. "(Brian) Matusz made quality pitches in the seventh. Koji (Uehara) got a real big third out for us after a walk. (Alfredo) Simon hung a split and (Austin) Kearns hit a home run." That pretty much sums it up. Dave Trembley talks...

The Orioles optioned first baseman Rhyne Hughes to Triple-A Norfolk after tonight's game. A corresponding move will be announced tomorrow. Hughes hit .213 (10-for-47) with four RBIs in 14 games. He was 5-for-31 with 14 strikeouts in his last 10 games.

Talk about a ninth-inning meltdown. After getting out of jam after jam for eight innings, the O's pitching staff, living on the edge, toppled over the edge in the top of the ninth. Alfredo Simon, who had been five for five in save chances, came on to try and preserve a 2-0 win for Brian Matusz. With one out, he gave up a single, walk and RBI single to Shin-Soo Choo to cut the O's lead to 2-1. Then he made a huge mistake, serving up a fat 0-2 pitch that Austin Kearns hit out to left for a...

Is it really going to take five pitchers to wrap up a 2-0 victory? If the Orioles hold on, it will be the first time they've allowed one run or fewer in back-to-back games since Aug. 8-9, 2008. They defeated the Texas Rangers 9-1 and 9-0. Alfredo Simon will need to get the last three outs and record the save to make it happen. Unfortunately for the Orioles, they'll turn over the Indians lineup after Cleveland sent five batters to the plate in the eighth. Simon will face the ninth, first...