adam laroche

Adam LaRoche chose to walk away from the game after White Sox team president Kenny Williams told LaRoche of his wishes that LaRoche's 14-year-old son Drake be around the club less frequently. Inside the Orioles clubhouse, players tried to sort through mixed emotions.

The Orioles (50-41) have reached the 50-win mark in their 91st game, the earliest since their wire-to-wire division-winning season of 1997.

Right-hander Darren O¿Day has made 176 appearances in three seasons with the Orioles.

CHICAGO (AP) ¿ Jeff Samardzija thought he would dominate the way he often does. Instead, he walked away frustrated with another loss. Samardzija struggled in a rare rough outing and the Chicago Cubs lost 7-2 to Washington, completing a day-night doubleheader sweep on a rainy Saturday night.

Washington Nationals starter Tanner Roark always will have good memories of his debut at Wrigley Field. His second visit, not so much.

Nate McLouth, who spent two months of the 2012 season and all of last year with the Orioles, signed a two-year deal last week with the Washington Nationals worth a guaranteed $10.75 million with an option for a third year.

A roundup of what national media outlets are saying about the Orioles at the All-Star break. The Orioles have five players, including three starters, in Tuesday¿s midsummer classic.

Left fielder ranks second in American League with 17 stolen bases this season

Anchored by eight scoreless innings from 36-year-old Freddy Garcia, the Orioles beat the Nationals 2-0 in front of an announced 30,655 at Camden Yards.

Kevin Gausman lasted just four innings, allowing seven earned runs on eight hits in the Orioles' 9-3 loss to the Washington Nationals before an announced 35,664.

Orioles righty Kevin Gausman allows seven runs in four innings, including three homers, to the Nationals.

There¿s no secret that the Orioles are interested in acquiring first baseman/outfielder Michael Morse from the Nationals, but they aren¿t the only ones.

That the Boston Red Sox are talking to free-agent outfielder Adam LaRoche, which was reported Wednesday, isn't exactly new.

The Baltimore Orioles highest pick in June would then be the 34th overall (that one is 35th now), which is one of the new competitive balance selections.

One name is going to keep coming up for the Baltimore Orioles and that is free agent first baseman Adam LaRoche, who won a Gold Glove and hit 33 homers for the Washington Nationals last year.

The Orioles and outfielder Nate McLouth, one of their key stretch run players from last year¿s playoff season, agreed to a one-year deal Wednesday, essentially shutting the door on acquiring more major league outfielders, including free agent Nick Swisher.

Dan Haren, one of baseball's best right-handed starting pitchers for a half-decade, needed to choose this winter where to continue his career. He used a rationale that, while sound, for generations would have constituted pure fantasy.

The Orioles are hoping to make a deal adding a power bat. They've been saying it for a while. Some targets include Kansas City's Billy Butler, Washington's Michael Morse and Pittsburgh's Garrett Jones.

Tonight at 11:59 p.m. is the deadline for the Orioles to tender contracts to their 14 players that are arbitration eligible.

The Orioles head into free agency — which starts in earnest Saturday with free agents permitted to negotiate with all 30 teams for the first time this offseason — in a much different situation than this time last year. Executive vice president Dan Duquette is not only in place as club's decision-maker, but he seems to be established as a man with a plan.

It looks like Mark Reynolds is going to be the talk of November, unless you count those guys running for president, so I¿m going to do a little early voting here and give you my opinion on what the Orioles should do now that they have declined to exercise an $11 million option to bring him back for the 2013 season.

As expected, the Orioles have declined their $11 million option on first baseman Mark Reynolds for next season, but that doesn't mean that Reynolds' days in a Baltimore uniform are over.

If you would have asked me in May if there were any chance of Mark Reynolds returning to the Orioles in 2013, it would have been a short conversation. "Nope," would have been the answer.

Ozzie Guillen is no stranger to controversy, and Bryce Harper has made some headlines of his own in a three-month-old career, though he tried to lay low in his battle with the Marlins manager this weekend.

For Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen, the line between good and great Saturday night was as thin as one strike. Chen was close, very close, as he turned in a serviceable performance in the O's 3-1 loss to the Washington Nationals.

It¿s true that the Orioles have faced a fierce lineup of arms over the past seven games, but with another dreadful offensive performance Saturday night against the Washington Nationals, their bats have suddenly gone silent.

In Saturday's 6-5 victory, the trend looked like it finally would be snapped, with their most consistent starter, Jason Hammel, cruising and Adam Jones and Nick Markakis each hitting two-run homers against the Washington Nationals to take a 6-0 lead into the fifth.

Nick Markakis leads the Orioles to victory with home run in 11th inning

Chad Tracy came through again in the Nationals' second comeback win to open the season.

Opening Day offered glimpses of the Nationals' strengths and weaknesses. The pitching shined, as expected, but the offense looks like it could be a problem area.