Nolan Reimold

The moment seemed perfectly scripted for Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis. With Monday night's game against the Toronto Blue Jays on the line on a chilly night at Camden Yards, the steadiest of the Orioles' bats resonated calm at the plate. Down to his last strike, Markakis delivered the Orioles their second walk-off win in five games as his game-winning, two-out, bases-loaded single off Toronto reliever Aaron Loup gave the Orioles a 2-1 win over the Blue Jays and their fourth win in their past five games.

The last time the Orioles faced knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, they were mystified by pitches with so little spin that you could nearly make out Bud Selig's signature on the baseball. But Tuesday, the Orioles figured out the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner at Camden Yards in their first meeting against him as a member of the bolstered Toronto Blue Jays. The Orioles batted around in a four-run second inning against Dickey, slapping his fluttering knuckleball around the holes in Toronto's infield, and then held on for a 4-3 win. Almost as impressive was how the Orioles bullpen closed out another late-inning, one-run lead for the team's 100th consecutive regular season win when leading after the completion of the seventh inning, a run that began Aug. 8, 2011 and correlates with the team's transformation into a winning ballclub.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter had confidence that Nolan Reimold's bat would eventually come around. Even though Reimold's batting average dipped below .200 just two days ago as he struggled to find a comfort zone splitting time between designated hitter and left field, Showalter remained patient. And it was patience at the plate that led Reimold to the game-winning hit in the Orioles' 7-5 interleague win Saturday afternoon in Game 1 of their day-night doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Another night, another oh-for at the plate for an Orioles designated hitter. On Wednesday night, it was Nolan Reimold who kept his glove in the clubhouse and took some hacks as the designated hitter. He was hitless in four at-bats -- with three strikeouts -- in a 6-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays. Through 14 games, the Orioles have gotten just three hits in 53 plate appearances from their designated hitters. So just how poorly have their designated hitters performed? Seven National League teams have gotten more production from their pitchers than the Orioles have from designated hitters.

NEW YORK - Less than two weeks into the season, the Orioles' ability to bounce back from difficult defeats has already been tested. Friday night's was a hard one to swallow - a game lost on a dropped fly ball that plated three runs and a rally-killing triple play. These Orioles, however, showed their mettle Saturday, getting a much-needed jolt from the bottom of the batting order in a 5-3 win over the New York Yankees in front of an announced 41,851 at Yankee Stadium. “I can look at highlights tonight,” Orioles manager Buck Showalter said.

BOSTON -- Orioles manager Buck Showalter said in the first days of spring training that he wanted to float the designated hitter spot among different players. After seeing his DH's open the season 1-for-26 with a .038 batting average, the lowest in the American League, Showalter has placed Nick Markakis in that spot for the Orioles' series finale in Boston on Thursday. The move also allows Showalter to get left-handed hitting outfielder Chris Dickerson, who joined the team Wednesday from Triple-A Norfolk, into the lineup against Boston right-hander Alfredo Aceves.

BOSTON - Crazy things happen when the Orioles come to Boston. This wasn't a 17-inning game. No position players had to pitch. But the comeback the Orioles staged Wednesday night was one they needed to salvage this three-game series at Fenway Park. Trailing by two runs, the Orioles rallied for a five-run ninth inning against Boston closer Joel Hanrahan, capped by Manny Machado's three-run homer over the Green Monster in left field that gave them a dramatic 8-5 win. “It was a huge win for us,” Machado said.

Each Wednesday, blogger Matt Vensel will highlight five statistics that really mean something for the Orioles. 20 -- home runs on off-speed pitches for Chris Davis since the start of 2012. With his four home runs in the first four games of the season, Orioles first baseman Chris Davis had 11 home runs in a span of 11 regular-season games. According to ESPN Stats and Info, Davis did most of his damage on off-speed pitches to the outer half of the plate. Seven of those 11 home runs came on such pitches.

Last night, I wrote that Triple-A Norfolk outfielder Chris Dickerson would join the Orioles in Boston today . The tweet that Dickerson sent from his personal Twitter account (@CDickerson_PFTP) would also indicate we will see him at Fenway Park tonight. “Rise and shine!! Nice little birthday present, a trip to #Boston. A W would be even better. Time for takeoff,” Dickerson tweeted this morning. Following the Orioles' 3-1 loss to the Red Sox on Monday, Orioles manager Buck Showalter was asked whether the shuttle from Norfolk would start this Wednesday.

BOSTON -- It's a thought that most Orioles fans can't imagine, but it's true. The Orioles really miss Wilson Betemit. You don't know how much you miss things until they're gone - or they're out six to eight weeks. I've seen many comments and tweets since last season berating the Orioles' acquisition of Betemit two offseasons ago. And while the idea of giving Betemit - who isn't a great defensive player - a two-year guaranteed deal with a vesting option for a third doesn't pass a first-glance litmus test, the Orioles could definitely use him in the designated hitter slot these days.