Jim Thome took over the game tonight in Chicago, hitting two homers in two innings as the Sox pulled away from a 3-3 tie to lead the O's 10-5 in the seventh. Thome hit a 2-0 pitch for a three-run shot in the 5th to break a 3-3 tie. After an Adam Jones homer pulled the O's within 6-5, Thome hit a 2-1 pitch from Danys Baez out to center for a Grand Slam and a 10-6 lead. That's 7 RBI tonight for Thome and 14 in his last three games. He has nine career Slams. His last before tonight was on...

The Orioles had a season-high eight extra-base hits tonight and got homers from Adam Jones and Nick Markakis, but all that was topped by Jim Thome. The slugger had a 7 RBI night as the White Sox out-slugged the Birds, 12-8 to start the second half. Thome's three-run homer in the 5th broke a 3-3 tie and, after the O's had pulled back within a run, his Grand Slam in the 6th made it a 10-6 lead. Thome, who now has 557 career homers, has knocked in 14 runs his last three games. Nick Markakis...

O's righty Jason Berken took the loss, falling to 1-7, 6.44. It was Berken's second worst start, topped only by the 9ER he allowed in just 3 1/3 innings June 6th at Oakland. Tonight, Berken gave six runs in 4 1/3 innings, allowing two homers. He had pitched to an ERA of 3.72 in his previous two starts. Berken is now 0-3, 10.26 in four road starts. He is 0-7 over his last nine starts and the Orioles are 2-8 in his ten starts in 2009. Gary Thorne talks with Dave Trembley after the O's...

On the farm tonight - Triple-A Norfolk hosts Durham after losing the season opener 5-3 last night. The Tides struck out 14 times, their most since May of 2008. Jake Arrieta makes his season debut tonight. Last year with the Tides, he went 5-8, 3.93 in 17 starts. The next homer for Scott Moore will be the 100th of his minor league career. Today is Dennis Sarfate's 29th birthday. Steve Johnson pitches for Bowie tonight vs. Richmond. That is in the second game. The first game begins at...

Game Preview Orioles (40-49) at Chicago White Sox (46-43) It was a night where the O's pitching staff struggled to throw strikes vs. a hot-hitting team. That was not a good combination for the Birds as they lost 12-8 at Chicago to start the second half on Friday night. The O's pitchers allowed seven walks, three homers including a Grand Slam and 13 hits. It was the most runs the Orioles gave up since a 12-1 loss at Boston on April 20th. The Birds team ERA in the previous six games was...

RHP Brad Bergesen (6-3, 3.54) today makes his 17th start of this season, his 7th on the road and his 2nd this year vs. the White Sox. In the final game before the All-Star break, Bergesen got the win vs. Toronto. In 6 2/3, he gave up seven hits and two runs, throwing 91 pitches. Over his last nine starts, Bergesen is 5-1, 2.35 (17ER in 65IP). Bergesen, 2009: Home: 6-1, 2.82 and team is 8-2 in his starts Road: 0-2, 4.82 and team is 1-5 in his starts Bergesen has recorded a team-leading 10...

It didn't take long for Miguel Tejada to win over the remaining fans here who weren't thrilled with his return to Baltimore. Tejada singled in two runs in the first inning and belted a two-run homer to left field in the fifth to tie the game, 5-5, and take Brad Bergesen off the hook. The last time Tejada collected four RBIs or more in a game was July 28, 2009 against the Cubs. He had five RBIs with the Orioles on Aug. 9, 2007 vs. the Mariners. Today's attendance: 48,891. That's a new...

We haven't seen many innings like the bottom of the 5th today in an O's game this year. Brad Bergesen looked on his way to a three up, three down frame, but instead, the Sox went on to score four runs. In the same inning when an O's error opened the floodgates, Nolan Reimold and Nick Markakis threw out runners at the plate to end the frame. The O's have 20 outfield assists on the year. With one out and none on in the Sox 5th, Alexei Ramirez hit a routine grounder to short. Izturis...

The throw from shortstop just glanced off Ty Wigginton's glove for a two-base error on the first baseman. Brad Bergesen, rolling along with a shutout to that point, would soon see this game unravel on him. There would have been two outs and none on in the last of the 5th if Wigginton held that ball. Instead, the White Sox would follow with six straight hits, score four runs, and go on to a 4-3 win over the Orioles on Saturday afternoon. Three pitches after the error, Jermaine Dye hit a...

For the second game in a row, the Orioles out-hit the White Sox, but lost the game. They entered this series with a record of 30-6 on the year when they had more hits than their opponent. That mark is now 30-8. The O's fall to 11-10 in one-run games and are now 21-19 in games decided by two runs or less. The error on first baseman Ty Wigginton in the last of the 5th led to four runs scoring, two were unearned. Brad Bergesen allowed six straight hits after the error. In six innings,...