dan haren

With Major League Baseball's trade deadline Wednesday at 4 p.m., Washington Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo does not see the next two days as an opportunity to blow up a struggling team or a chance to spark a late-season push.

Freddy Garcia's start wasn't just impressive; it was an important lesson for the O's young starters.

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.

When the Orioles brought in Freddy Garcia in late March, he seemed destined to be depth as a fifth or spot starter in the back end of the rotation.

Through the first two months of the Orioles' season, second baseman Ryan Flaherty's reputation hinged much more on his glove than his bat.

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.

Orioles third baseman Manny Machado suffered a bout of meningitis a month ago, but has recovered and will be ready for spring training.

Nick Markakis drove in all of the Orioles runs in their 3-2, 10th inning victory.

Of course, there's no such thing as a must-win game in April, and -- for that matter -- there hasn't been a must-win game involving the Orioles in a long time, but today's series finale against the Los Angeles Angels is one of those games that make a difference in a team's self-esteem.

Blake Griffin's jaw-dropping one-handed jam over Kendrick Perkins sent Los Angeles Clippers fans into a frenzy, fired up his teammates, lit up the Twitterverse and burned the Oklahoma City Thunder.

Orioles knock off Angels 8-3 behind Tommy Hunter's seven shutout innings

Orioles: Brian Matusz ready to make big league return. Lefty to start Tuesday in first outing in majors since June 30; reliever Dan Klein to have season-ending surgery.

Orioles: Orioles playing waiting game with unsigned draft picks. Club has had talks with top choice Dylan Bundy; things not progressing well with second-round selection Jason Esposito.

Long a solid center fielder and one of baseball's best baserunners, Curtis Granderson has turned into a beast at the plate since working with New York Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long to rework his swing.