Rangers

ARLINGTON, Texas - A couple of wisecracking Orioles couldn't help themselves when they watched Tommy Hunter against the dugout railing shaking hands with members of the Texas media or Chris Davis and Omar Quintanilla chatting with Rangers fans in the stands. "Cut the cord," one player coughed into his glove. "You're an Oriole now," another one jabbed. Traveling to Texas is as much a homecoming as it is another tough road trip for the Orioles these days. Six Orioles on the 25-man roster - Davis, Hunter, Quintanilla, Darren O'Day , Taylor Teagarden and Pedro Strop - played for the Rangers at one point.

The Orioles' 7-3 loss to the Kansas City Royalson Saturday night was a necessary reminder of why the franchise hasn't made the playoffs in 15 years: It drops games it should win. The O's are 61-53. They're just a half game behind Tampa Bay and Oakland for a wild-card spot with 48 games remaining. Yet just like they've done so many times in the past, they continue to shoot themselves in the foot. The Royals have the third-worst record in the American League and none of their starters have an ERA below 4.3. The O's, meanwhile, entered Thursday's series opener on a tear.

As Dan Rodricks points out in his column ("Getting used to weather's new normal," July 3), the current power outage is only the latest in a series resulting from severe weather events in the last few years. Whether man-made or not, the global climate is changing, and we are likely to experience more frequent events in the coming years at a time when we are ever more dependent on electric power. What is surprising is that our response practices have not changed. The local crews are insufficient for the job, and others are called in not only from neighboring states but from all over the North American continent - from Texas to Quebec - at no little expense and increased delay.

After Wednesday's game at Camden Yards was postponed -- forcing a doubleheader Thursday -- the Orioles needed both games against the Rangers, and quality starting pitching, to salvage a series tie. And the Baltimore bats were ready to partake in a slugfest early, while making history in the process. The Orioles hit home runs in their first three at-bats of the game -- getting solo shots from Ryan Flaherty, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis -- as part of a five-homer game in a 6-5 win in Game 1. It marked the first time in AL history that a team opened with three consecutive homers and the fourth time overall, the previous time coming when the Milwaukee Brewers did it Sept.

The Orioles entered Thursday's doubleheader with the hot-hitting Rangers focused on survival. Orioles pitchers served up eight home runs (and 24 runs) in the first two games of the series to the most dangerous hitting lineup in the American League. A string of injuries - the Orioles made 12 roster moves since Monday - had players shuttling back and forth between Baltimore and Triple-A Norfolk. A beleaguered bullpen staff - still taxed from playing 39 innings in three games in Boston over the weekend - needed to avoid an early arrival in both games.

Tonight's Orioles game against the Rangers at Camden Yards has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader tomorrow that will begin at 4:05 p.m. Game 2 will not start before 7:05 p.m. Both games will be telecast on MASN. Tickets for tomorrow's game will be valid for both games of the doubleheader, while tickets for tonight's game may be exchanged for seats of equal value for tomorrow's doubleheader or any remaining non-prime home game during the 2012 season, subject to availability.

The last time Koji Uehara was around the Orioles, he was saying tearful goodbyes in the visitor's clubhouse at Yankee Stadium last July. This week, Uehara was back at Camden Yards, this time with the Texas Rangers, the club that acquired him from the Orioles for Chris Davis and Tommy Hunter at the nonwaiver trade deadline. There were some hugs and handshakes this week, but Uehara said, he is a Ranger now. Uehara, the former Japanese star who spent his first 21/2 big league seasons in Baltimore, didn't fare as well in two months in Texas.

Finding a way to respond from demoralizing, soul-crushing defeats is nothing new for the Washington Capitals this season. They've managed to follow up disappointing losses by rallying around one another for weeks now, throughout the playoffs and dating to the end of the regular season. When they host the New York Rangers for Game 6 tonight, though, the Capitals will face the greatest challenge to their collective resiliency as they try to stave off elimination. Washington trails the top-seeded Rangers three games to two in their Eastern Conference semifinal series, and a loss at Verizon Center would end the Caps' season.

So much of the Washington Capitals' success in the postseason has stemmed from their ability to protect and hang on to even the slimmest of margins regardless of the adversity they faced. At a certain point, though, there was bound to be a break that went against them. On Monday night at Madison Square Garden it came in the form of a high-sticking call and double-minor penalty on Joel Ward late in the third period as Washington protected a one-goal lead. The New York Rangers scored twice on that power play — Brad Richards to force overtime, then Marc Staal 1:35 into the extra session — to secure a 3-2 victory and a three-games-to-two lead in this Eastern Conference semifinal series.

There are few times when a visiting player comes to Camden Yards and puts on such a spectacular show that he turns the fans in his favor. But Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton, the 1999 No. 1 overall pick who overcame the depths of drug and alcohol abuse to become one of the game's top sluggers, orchestrated one of the most magnificent power displays in baseball history in the Rangers' 10-3 win over the Orioles on Tuesday night. He gained a share of fans along the way. When Hamilton rounded the bases in the eighth inning -- becoming the 16th player in major league history to hit four home runs in one game -- those who remained of the announced 11,263 on hand at Oriole Park offered their appreciation by giving Hamilton a standing ovation.