jeff samardzija

Here's what you need to know before the Orioles' home game Sunday afternoon against the San Francisco Giants

The Orioles could conceivably be left without a representative in an All-Star Game being played just 40 miles away from downtown Baltimore.

Did the Orioles spend too much in re-signing slugger Chris Davis and can they still improve the team before spring training?

Major league teams obsess throughout the month of July about the deadline for making trades without passing players through waivers, then some of them sacrifice their best young talent for the prospect of some instant postseason gratification.

Jon Lester gets traded, and it isn't to the Orioles. The club may still be on the hunt for a left-handed reliever, a catcher or a second baseman.

If reports are true that the Oakland Athletics have made their second blockbuster deal of the summer and sent Cuban slugger Yoenis Cespedes to the Red Sox for Jon Lester and Jonny Gomes, then there¿s really only one way to look at the situation: A¿s president Billy Beane has decided that it¿s now or never.

Jonathan Schoop's batting average might not be where he'd like it, but the Orioles second baseman has had a flair for coming up with big hits in critical times.

As they try to rebound from a 5-4 walk-off loss to the Oakland Athletics at O.co Coliseum, the Orioles will face right-hander Jason Hammel ¿ Baltimore's Opening Day starter in 2013 ¿ for the first time this season.

Josh Donaldson¿s three-run walkoff homer off Zach Britton, sealed a devastating 5-4 loss at the O.co Coliseum.

The Orioles open the second half of their season tonight in Oakland, their first stop in a three-city, 10-game West Coast road trip.

Class-A Frederick is where the Orioles can begin plucking the fruit of a strong 2013 draft for trade purposes, with some of the best-performing and more developmentally advanced players from that class getting their feet wet in the second half of the Carolina League.

The Baltimore Orioles top trade chips in Double-A include Dariel Alvarez, Christian Walker, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Tim Berry.

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.

Here's a roundup of what national media outlets are saying about the Orioles-Cubs trade, which sent pitcher Scott Feldman and catcher Steve Clevenger to Baltimore in exchange for pitchers Jake Arrieta and Pedro Strop.