ryan dempster

BOSTON -- Orioles slugger Chris Davis set a new single-season club record on Tuesday night with his 51st homer of the season, breaking Brady Anderson's mark set in 1996.

On a night when slugger Chris Davis made Orioles history with his 51st home run of the season ¿ setting a single-season franchise record ¿ the team's hero was its unheralded hottest hitter.

Orioles slugger Chris Davis set a new franchise single-season home run record on with his 51st home run Tuesday night at Fenway Park.

Down the Stretch is a daily Orioles Insider blog that will set up the coming night for the O's and their American League competition as the push for the postseason continues.

BOSTON ¿ The Orioles will open their three-game series at Fenway Park tonight just two games out of the second American League wild-card spot.

The Orioles are optioning designated hitter Danny Valencia to Triple-A Norfolk to make 25-man roster space for trade acquisition Francisco Rodriguez.

The evolution of Orioles right-hander Chris Tillman continued on Friday night with a statistical gem that was an obvious struggle. In the Orioles¿ 2-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in front of a nearly packed house, Tillman did what good pitchers are supposed to do.

Manny Machado's three-run home run caps a five-run ninth-inning rally as the Orioles beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-5, to snap a three-game losing streak.

Last night, I wrote that Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Chris Dickerson would join the Orioles in Boston today.

Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold isn¿t in the starting lineup for today¿s afternoon game against the Red Sox, but is listed among the available reserves for today¿s game.

Hall of Fame pitcher and TBS MLB analyst Dennis Eckersley joined for a quick Q&A where we discussed the Orioles, Red Sox, bullpens and his expectations for the AL East.

With several American League East opponents on the spring schedule, Orioles manager Buck Showalter has chosen to pitch some of his starters in minor league games at Twin Lakes Park.

As we continue to poke and prod at the Orioles' competition in the American League East, it's worth a quick check of how these teams have been addressing their glovework in the offseason.

How would I rank the five American League teams in position of finish for 2013? Certainly, rosters aren¿t set yet.

One major league scout says he'd predict that the Orioles would finish fourth in the AL East in 2013, just above the Tampa Bay Rays, if the rosters were set today.

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.

In a season of surprises, rookie Miguel Gonzalez may qualify as the biggest one for the Orioles. But he couldn't continue his dominance against the Texas Rangers in a 5-1 loss Monday night.

Buck Showalter said he had been looking for a night off for shortstop J.J. Hardy, and Monday made sense, considering Hardy is 2-for-27 against Texas' Ryan Dempster in his career.

The Orioles' first-half statistics aren't pretty, but they hold one statistical trump card. The only one that really, truly matters right now: .529. That's the fifth best winning percentage in the American League.

I want to know what you think the Orioles¿ five-man rotation should be by, say, the start of the second half. I¿ll let you pick one guy out of the organization, but only one.

Here's a look at five important questions concerning the 2012 Baltimore Orioles, no matter who is in charge.