White Sox

The Orioles are seeking a series win here in Chicago this afternoon in their final game of thise four-game series against the White Sox atU.S. Cellular Field. Nolan Reimold wiil get a day off in left field. Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Reimold has had some neck spasms the past few days and was treated for them after last night's game. Endy Chavez will start there after starting in right last night. Nick Johnson will hit fifth today. He's still looking for his first hit of the season, starting out 0-for-16.

The Orioles may be able to keep Rick Peterson after all. The Boston Red Sox have chosen Juan Nieves, who had been the White Sox's bullpen coach, to be their new pitching coach. Peterson, the Orioles' organization's director of pitching development, interviewed Saturday for the Boston position and had been reported to be the favorite. Peterson and new Red Sox manager John Farrell have had a relationship for more than two decades. The Orioles would like to retain Peterson, who was named the Cal Ripken Sr. Development Award winner this year for his work with minor league and rehabbing pitchers.

Buck Showalter's magical touch as Orioles manager finally met reality Saturday night at Camden Yards. Not a harsh reality, but at least a reminder of why he was brought to Baltimore in the first place. The Orioles squandered an early two-run lead and Kevin Millwood's best performance since early April -- if not the entire season -- to lose to the Chicago White Sox, 4-2, before an announced 24,129. After Millwood limited the White Sox to one run and four hits in six innings and left with a 2-1 lead, the Orioles' bullpen let him down, giving up single runs in each of the last three innings, the last after an error by rookie third baseman Josh Bell.

Orioles fans, your time has finally come. Who's had it tougher than you the past 14 years? The Backstreet Boys? You watched so much bad baseball you almost forgot what good baseball looked like. Season after season, it felt as if the Orioles were out of the race by Arbor Day. You watched the parade of mediocre players, over-matched managers and timid front office types come and go, took all that abuse from your out-of-town friends, and wondered if it would ever get better. And now it has. Oh, man, has it gotten better.

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale answers questions in the visitors' clubhouse following Chicago's 6-0 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday night.

In an unusual early start time - due to the pending Grand Prix of Baltimore - the Orioles' first pitch is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. If you are coming here, I hope you left early. Like Tuesday or last weekend. The streets are already a mess (and the Russell Street ramp is closed, though it wasn't supposed to be). The lineups are out and Matt Wieters is getting a day off, just protocol for the starting catcher for a day game following a night game. Mark Reynolds is batting cleanup for the first time this season.

The Orioles improved to 5-1 under new manager Buck Showalter with a 4-3 victory over the Chicago White Sox today at Camden Yards. The White Sox had tied the score at 1 in the fifth inning, but the Orioles scored two in the sixth and one in the seventh to support Jeremy Guthrie's solid eight innings of work. Guthrie (6-11) gave up just the one run on six hits while striking out four. Chicago scored two in the ninth off closer Alfredo Simon on Ramon Castro's two-run homer. Mark Buehrle (10-9)

The contrast couldn't have been any more glaring from the first inning Thursday night at U.S. Cellular Field. Chicago White Sox starter Edwin Jackson threw 12 of his first 13 pitches for strikes and struck out five of the first seven hitters he faced. Orioles starter Jake Arrieta missed the strike zone with eight of his first 13 pitches, walked three batters in the first inning and needed 35pitches to get the first three outs. Things never got much better for Arrieta, whose night was over after four rocky innings, or for the Orioles, who dropped another series with an 8-0 loss to the White Sox in front of an announced 23,898.

Orioles manager Buck Showalter said Sunday he believed his team's toughest game of their six-game road trip would be Monday's series opener in Toronto. Monday's 1 p.m. game will be the team's third straight afternoon game - a rarity. And it's also unheard of  that you come into a new city and play the first game of the series during the day. Sometime uncommon can lead to uncomfortable. But truly the test is replacing the atmosphere and excitement of this weekend's three games at Yankee Stadium with the antisceptic north-of-the-border feel of the Rogers Center.

Miguel Gonzalez spent two full years out of the game, one with a torn miniscus in his knee and the other recovering from Tommy John surgery. When the Orioles signed him to a minor-league deal in late February, the Angels and Red Sox had already given up on him. And on Friday night - in the middle of a pennant race - the 28-year-old right-hander put the Baltimore Orioles within two games of the AL East lead with seven shutout innings against the...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter often has the same reaction when he thinks a question is obvious, when he thinks something is astounding or when he is sidestepping a pointed inquiry - he tilts his head slightly, cocks an eyebrow and utters one word: “Really?” With their 5-3 victory over the tough Chicago White Sox on Thursday afternoon, these surprising, befuddling Orioles (72-58) have moved within three games of the American League East-leading New York Yankees, who were idle Thursday.

In an unusual early start time - due to the pending Grand Prix of Baltimore - the Orioles' first pitch is scheduled for 12:35 p.m. If you are coming here, I hope you left early. Like Tuesday or last weekend. The streets are already a mess (and the Russell Street ramp is closed, though it wasn't supposed to be). The lineups are out and Matt Wieters is getting a day off, just protocol for the starting catcher for a day game following a night game. Mark Reynolds is batting cleanup for the first time this season.

Moments after striking out 10 in the Orioles' 5-3 win over the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, lefty Zach Britton was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. This makes room for left-hander Randy Wolf, who  will be activated tomorrow and added to the 25-man roster. With major league rosters expanding on Saturday and Norfolk's regular-season ending Monday, Britton could quickly return to the Orioles and take his regular turn in the rotation Tuesday. Wolf, released by the Milwaukee Brewers Aug. 22, was added to the 40-man roster, which didn't require a corresponding move.

Orioles left-hander Joe Saunders acknowledged he carried some extra adrenaline into his first start with his new team Wednesday night. Saunders grew up in Northern Virginia cheering for the Orioles, and said he spent a handful of times every season at Camden Yards. But his debut as a member of the Orioles didn't lead to positive memories. The 31-year-old veteran, dealt to the Orioles on Sunday from the Arizona Diamondbacks,  allowed four runs in the first inning in a 8-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox. The Orioles missed an opportunity to gain ground in the American League East with the loss.

Orioles fans, pinch yourselves. It is just four days until the calendar turns to September and your team is just 3 1/2 games out of first place in the American League East, the O's smallest deficit in the division since June 24. If they remain steady this week against the Chicago White Sox, they can chip into that lead even more this weekend in the Bronx. Take a deep breath. As you wake up today, after the Orioles' 4-3 comeback win over the White Sox, they are tied for the two AL wild card spots with the Oakland Athletics.

White Sox pitcher Chris Sale answers questions in the visitors' clubhouse following Chicago's 6-0 loss to the Orioles on Tuesday night.