cleveland indians

Jason Hammel and Steve Johnson are back, and Zach Britton is headed to Aberdeen

CLEVELAND -- With two homers in Wednesday¿s 6-4 loss to Cleveland, the Orioles lead the majors with 185 homers, but is the Orioles offense too reliant on the home run to score?

The Orioles (73-65) ended their nine-game road trip to Boston, New York and Cleveland just 3-6, losing all three series.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter took a calculated risk by giving left-hander Zach Britton the start in Wednesday's series finale in Cleveland.

Wilson Betemit has struggled to regain his stroke since returning from a right knee injury that robbed him of most of the season, and as it appears now, his role as the Orioles' designated hitter against right-handed pitching has all but diminished.

CLEVELAND ¿ Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman didn¿t deny it: A pair of leadoff walks that led to runs hurt him in Baltimore¿s 4-3 loss to Cleveland.

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman, making a bid for his 16th win of the season, was chased from the game in the sixth inning and the Orioles offense was held scoreless for eight innings. And then the Jekyll-and-Hyde Orioles offense orchestrated a ninth-inning rally that just fell short in a 4-3 loss to the Indians before an announced 9,962 at Progressive Field.

CLEVELAND ¿ Orioles left-hander Zach Britton, called up from Triple-A on Monday, will start Wednesday¿s series finale against the Indians instead of originally scheduled starter Miguel Gonzalez.

Of the Rays, Orioles, Yankees and Indians, none of them have been able to pull away from the pack.

And when Indians ace Justin Masterson was forced from Monday¿s series opener in the second inning with soreness on the left side of his rib cage, the door of opportunity swung wide open as the Orioles stormed through with a 7-2 win in front of an announced 15,020 at Progressive Field

CLEVELAND ¿ When Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis was called out on an appeal play in the second inning of the Orioles¿ 7-2 win over Cleveland on Monday, manager Buck Showalter couldn¿t argue much because he was following the path of Nate McLouth¿s double into the right-center field gap.

When the Orioles left Baltimore for their nine-game road trip to Boston, New York and Cleveland, they knew how important it would be to play well against three teams they are jockeying with for playoff spots.

Nobody in the Orioles clubhouse is going to cop to this, but their chances of winning the American League East title have all but evaporated.

Monday was a pretty productive off day for the Orioles since both the Rays and Yankees lost. So the Orioles head into tonight's series opener in Boston trailing the Rays by four games for second place in the AL East, as well as the first AL Wild Card spot.

Joe Washington, Rod Laver and Hoyt Wilhelm are part of The Sun Remembers This Week in Sports for Aug. 18 to Aug. 24

Former Oriole Mark Reynolds has agreed to a deal with the New York Yankees days after being released by the Cleveland Indians, CBSSports.com reports.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter often shuns the spotlight, so when the Arizona Diamondbacks showed a video tribute to Showalter -- who was their first manager and played a large role in the expansion club¿s growth -- he hesitated before tipping his cap as fans applauded.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette wouldn't comment on the Orioles' interest in bringing back former first baseman Mark Reynolds, who was designated for assignment by the Cleveland Indians on Thursday, noting that Reynolds is still under contract.

The Orioles spent the off day Thursday in San Francisco and get back to work tonight against the Giants at AT&T Park for their first trip there since 2010, when they lost two of three here and were outscored 17-9 in the series.

Adam Jones had played just three major league games in his hometown before Tuesday night's game against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. But the Orioles center fielder definitely felt right at home.

Matt Hobgood, the Orioles' 2009 first-round pick is finally seeing success in a relief role with the Frederick Keys after shoulder injury sapped the power in his once prized right arm

Sunday's loss to the Seattle Mariners dropped the Orioles to 4-5 on a homestand that featured the division rival Boston Red Sox, the last-place Houston Astros and up-and-coming but below .500 Seattle team.

The best homer-hitting team in baseball did it again Friday night, launching three longballs -- including Chris Davis' 40th homer of the season and Nate McLouth's first career grand slam -- to beat the Seattle Mariners, 11-8, at Camden Yards.

Second baseman called three years with organization 'maybe ... the best' of his career

At 3 p.m. Wednesday, Steve Pearce was in Frederick preparing to take batting practice for his third rehabilitation game with the High-A Keys. By 7 p.m., Pearce was at Camden Yards, batting ninth as the Orioles' designated hitter in an 11-0 loss to the Houston Astros.

The Orioles have just begun a stretch of 11 straight games against four of the losingest teams in baseball, and center fielder Adam Jones isn¿t afraid to call out himself and his teammates for the way they have failed to store up wins against the teams that a contending club is supposed to beat.

On Tuesday night, the Orioles¿ ninth-inning rally fell short as they stranded the tying run on third base in a 3-2 loss to the Kansas City Royals that snapped their season-high five-game winning in front of an announced crowd of 19,072.

The Orioles designated right-hander Jair Jurrjens for assignment Friday to clear room on the 40-man roster for right-hander Jairo Asencio, who joined the Orioles before the series opener against the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Orioles' 7-3 victory over featured one ridiculously weird inning that included an out that wasn't, a safe baserunner who jogged off the field, and the end of Manny Machado's consecutive-innings streak due to an ejection by an umpire making his big league debut behind the plate.

The two Baltimore baseball stalwarts sat at a table at the Four Seasons at the Inner Harbor, reminiscing on the past, like the first time they met, their fathers and their playing days.

If there was one thing Orioles fans were accustomed to since last August, it was the presence of Manny Machado manning third base. Since his call-up on Aug, 9, 2012, Machado had played every possible inning of every game with the Orioles.

Jim Johnson walked off the mound at Camden Yards on Wednesday night, having just given up the one-run lead the Orioles had secured in the previous inning. A spattering of boos drizzled down upon him from above.

Johnson, who hadn't blown a save since May 26 in Toronto, walked off the mound to boos from some in the announced crowd of 18,082 that had braved a rain delay of 1 hour and 6 minutes before the first pitch on a sticky and soggy Baltimore night.

While the Orioles offense struggled for most of Wednesday night¿s 4-3 loss to the Cleveland Indians, third baseman Manny Machado once again provided a spark in a performance that started stagnant.

Through six innings Wednesday night, Cleveland Indians left-hander Scott Kazmir looked like the pitcher that posted an ERA of 3.77 or less for four straight seasons for Tampa Bay in the mid-2000s.

The third game of a four-game series between the Orioles and the Cleveland Indians is expected to begin at 8:05 p.m.

Each Wednesday, Baltimore Sun blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Baltimore Orioles.

Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman didn¿t have his best control early Tuesday night. He was erratic, loading the bases in the first inning and walking four Cleveland Indians in the first three innings.

Making just his fourth start this month, Casilla hit his first homer of the season ¿ and his first since last August ¿ a three-run shot off Cleveland right-hander Justin Masterson in the seventh inning to give the Orioles a 6-3 win over the Indians.