Bats

The focus is going to be on Brian Matusz, who allowed a career-high 13 hits on Tuesday and lost his fourth consecutive decision. But the microscope has to be on the Orioles' offense. For the ninth time in their last 10 games they have scored three runs or fewer. In that span, they have scored just 20 runs on 55 hits, including a terrible 14 for extra bases, and they're 5-for-52 with runners in scoring position. That's a .096 average, folks. “We keep getting ourselves into position, we just need to hit,” says center fielder Adam Jones.

Chris Dickerson received the start in center field Tuesday night against the Yankees, and through his first two at-bats, he's making the most out of the opportunity. Dickerson has hit two solo homers off Yankees starter Phil Hughes for his first multi-homer game of his major league career. Dickerson spent the past two seasons with the Yankees, hitting just three homers in a 64 at-bats. Now he has three homers -- all in his past three starts -- in 33 at bats with the Orioles this season In the third inning, Dickerson took a 3-2 fastball over the outer half of the plate into the center field bleachers.

Maryland's first industrial-scale wind energy project would be required under a federal plan issued Monday to slow down its turbines at certain times of the year to reduce the number of endangered bats that might be killed by the long, spinning blades. Exelon Power, which owns and operates the 28-turbine Criterion wind project in Garrett County, also would have to protect one or more bat caves in other states to make up for any federally protected Indiana bats its turbines might harm.

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy, who has spent the entire season hitting in the sixth and seventh spots in the lineup, is batting third tonight against the Yankees. Hardy had his 13-game hitting streak snapped Sunday, but he's still hitting .333 (18-for-54) with two doubles, five homers, eight runs and 10 RBIs over his past 14 games. He is also 9-for-28 (.321) with one homer and five RBIs in his career against Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia. Second baseman Alexi Casilla, who is 14-for-24 (.583)

The Orioles apparently left their bats back in the visitors' clubhouse at Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Texas. They enter tonight's game against the New York Yankees with just six runs in their past three games, which is obviously a pretty big reason why they are trailing the Yankees, 2-1, in the American League Divisional Series. But it's not just that they aren't having any success at the plate. It's which hitters haven't yet come through when they need to. Center fielder Adam Jones, catcher Matt Wieters and shortstop J.J. Hardy are a combined 4-for-38 with six strikeouts in this series.

There might be just one player who is swinging a hotter bat than Orioles first baseman Mark Reynolds these days. And that's Rays center fielder B.J. Upton. Both are players who have received their share of criticism over their careers, but as the season winds down with both of their teams in the pennant race, Upton and Reynolds will both play huge roles in their teams' success. Upton was named American League Player of the Week on Monday after going 8-for-20 (.400) with one double, five homers, six RBIs, seven runs, three stolen bases in six games this past week.

There is a built-in explanation for why the Orioles suffered consecutive shutouts on Monday and Tuesday for the first time since 2005. The New York Mets' pitching. The Orioles had to face knuckleball extraordinaire R.A. Dickey  on Monday and then former Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana on Tuesday. So, yeah, tough pitching, says Orioles manager Buck Showalter. “We've been swinging the bats OK,” Showalter said. “You're going to have some ups and downs, usually that correlates to a quality pitcher on the other side.

Orioles right-hander Tommy Hunter grasped for answers after his team's 8-1 loss to the White Sox on Wednesday night at U.S. Cellular Field.   The Orioles' run of success on the road - filled with late-inning dramatics, plenty of home runs and clutch pitching - came to a crashing halt Wednesday evening on Chicago's South Side. The Orioles, who entered the night 4-1 midway through their three-city, 10-game road trip, suffered their worst defeat on the road this season. Hunter struggled in his second consecutive start, allowing eight earned runs on nine hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Michael Morse, who had struggled early in the season after winning the left-field job in spring training, went 3-for-4 with his first home run of the season, a three-run blast in the third inning, to lift the Washington Nationals to a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday and back to .500 for the season. The Nationals provided a break from their offensive stagnancy, piling up a season-high 15 hits and scoring more runs than they had in their three previous games combined.

Having been cleared to resume baseball activities Thursday, Orioles outfielder Nick Markakis said he's confident he will have enough time -- and at-bats -- to be ready for the regular season. Markakis hasn't played since March 1, when he was scratched from the starting lineup with neck stiffness. After an MRI, Markakis was diagnosed with a small disk herniation in his neck. On Friday, he will take swings off a tee and do some light throwing. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said the progression, which is slated to take three to four days, will include soft-toss hitting, long-toss throwing and live batting practice thrown by coaches.

Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor, decided not to use his specially made MaxBat black bat with a pink label Sunday. Players on the Orioles and Twins used various pink apparel and equipment on Mother's Day as part of a MLB campaign promoting breast cancer awareness. Markakis donned pink cleats, pink wristbands and pink batting gloves, but used his regular MaxBat bat with an orange label instead of the one that likely would have cost him a $1,000 fine.

Infielder Alexi Casilla, who has been a switch-hitter since he was 16, said hitting coach Jim Presley approached him about concentrating on hitting from the right side only, and he has been working on that for a few weeks in the cage. “They think I can stay better on the ball, on top of the ball better from my right side. I don't know. Let's see. Let's see what happens,” Casilla, naturally a right-hander, said before Friday night's game. “It's a test now for me. And I'm very confident I'm going to do good.” Casilla has primarily started at second base this season against lefties while left-handed hitting Ryan Flaherty, who is batting just .122 this season, has started against right-handers.

MINNEAPOLIS - An annual Major League Baseball undertaking to provide exposure and money to cancer-awareness charities became embroiled in a bit of a controversy Friday, with an Oriole being one of the players inadvertently involved. On Sunday, as part of its Mother's Day celebration, participating players will wear and use pink equipment - to bring more awareness to breast cancer issues - as they have since 2006. The items will then be auctioned off with proceeds going to charities including Susan G. Komen For The Cure, which has championed breast cancer research for decades.

First baseman Chris Davis was voted the American League Player of the Month for April, becoming the first Oriole to earn that honor since Melvin Mora in August 2008. Davis hit .348 (32-for-92) with eight doubles, nine home runs, 28 RBIs, 19 runs scored and 16 walks in 27 games last month. The 27-year-old first baseman finished first in the league in slugging percentage (.728) and total bases (67), tied for first in homers and RBIs, second in extra-base hits (17), fourth in batting average, fifth in on-base percentage (.442)

ANAHEIM, Calif. - Left fielder Nate McLouth is one of the Orioles' hottest hitters at the plate over the past two weeks, but it still hasn't been enough to earn everyday starts against left-handed pitching. Over his past 10 games entering Thursday, the left-handed hitting McLouth had recorded a .432/.523/.676 batting line. He's reached safely in 17 of the 20 games he's started this season. "When you see guys spitting on balls a couple inches off the plate….you can tell he's seeing the ball good and letting it travel," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

Wei-Yin Chen said he was “speechless” after throwing eight shutout innings Friday. He has now faced the Oakland A's three times, and is 3-0 with a 0.44 ERA in  20 2/3 innings against them. He was truly dominant on Friday. The A's hitters were completely lost. Watching Chen pitch in a chilly Oakland Coliseum, with all that extra space in foul territory and the ball not traveling well, he just looks tailor-made for this place. He throws strikes, the hitters swing and make plenty of contact.

The brick wall that the Orioles' offense has hit over the past eight games can be somewhat attributed to the quality of pitching it has faced. But as the missed opportunities - and goose eggs on the Camden Yards scoreboard - continue to mount, frustration is creeping in. Playing in front of their fifth home sellout crowd of the season Saturday, the Orioles bats went quiet again, their offense able to scrap only a solitary run in a 3-1 loss to...

In what is thought the be the first dual-Bundy interview in the history of modern civilization, brothers and fellow Orioles pitching prospects Dylan and Bobby Bundy were guests on “The Norris & Davis Show” on 105.7 The Fan on Wednesday morning. The Orioles selected the former with the fourth overall pick on Monday. By no fault of host Steve Davis, the interview might have made a few decaffeinated people fall asleep at the wheel on the way to work. That sort of thing can happen when you interview a senior in high school.

BOWIE -- Before his first professional home game for Double-A Bowie on Friday night, Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia said he'd be a little nervous playing in front of the crowd at Prince George's Stadium. He certainly didn't show any anxiousness when he stepped to the plate for his first at-bat to open the second inning. Urrutia,  the Cuban defector whom the Orioles signed to a $778,500 signing bonus in July, smoked the first pitch he saw from Harrisburg starter Brian Broderick over the center-field fence, an estimated 405 feet.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter often is tough on pitcher Jake Arrieta, pointing out things the 27-year-old right-hander didn't do well when he turns in a strong performance. Tuesday was another adequate but uninspiring start this season from Arrieta, who allowed one run on three hits and five walks in five innings. He threw 112 pitches, 63 strikes, and couldn't record an out in the sixth. Showalter wasn't too critical of Arrieta this time, though. In fact, he seemed annoyed by the line of questioning afterward - basically saying that Arrieta needs to have better control and go deeper in games, but he won Tuesday and that should be the main point of emphasis.