Jim Thome will make his Orioles debut today in the finale of a four-game series against the Indians. He's in the lineup, hitting fifth as the designated hitter. Here's the Orioles lineup for Sunday: Brian Roberts 2B J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis RF Adam Jones CF Jim Thome DH Wilson Betemit 1B Ryan Flaherty LF Ronny Paulino C Robert Andino 3B Brian Matusz, P Pitcher Miguel Gonzalez is in the clubhouse, but no roster move has been announced to accommodate his placement on the 25-man roster....

The Orioles are prepared to make two roster moves tomorrow after Dana Eveland threw 77 pitches in 3 2/3 innings and Tommy Hunter threw 51 in 1 2/3 relief innings in an 11-5 loss to the Indians before 35,335 at Camden Yards. Veteran designated hitter Jim Thome will arrive tomorrow, but the Orioles apparently aren't ready to go back to a four-man bench with left-hander Brian Matusz starting the series finale. Miguel Gonzalez was scratched from tonight's start at Triple-A Norfolk, with Oscar...

Major League Baseball announced today via Twitter that the American League posted a 142-110 (.563) record in interleague play, winning the season series for the ninth consecutive year and 12th time in 16 years. The Orioles may want to switch leagues to avoid facing the Angels' C.J. Wilson and Jered Weaver the next two nights. A team with 17 runs in its last nine games will be severely challenged to get hot against those two arms. "They're trying to get it all back in one at-bat. It's...

Here is the question a lot of fans have been asking lately: Will the Orioles have enough starting pitching to continue their good season, to stay in contention to the end? Despite the O's pitching back-to-back shutouts over the weekend in Atlanta, their rotation ERA of 4.54 ranks just 10th in the AL and is behind the league average of 4.35. The Orioles got off to an excellent start with their starters this year and on May 5, they were 18-9 with a rotation ERA of 3.38. But in the 41 games...

A day without an Orioles roster move is like a day without sunshine. Second baseman Brian Roberts was activated from the 60-day disabled list yesterday, with Steve Tolleson being optioned to Triple-A Norfolk and Nolan Reimold being transferred to the 60-day disabled list. That's three in one press release. Endy Chavez limped off the field last night after straining his right hamstring. Brian Matusz avoided the DL, but Chavez could be headed to it. Hamstring strains don't usually go away...

Jake Arrieta retired the first two Phillies batters tonight on a fly ball and grounder, but three straight singles by Hunter Pence, Jim Thome and Shane Victorino produced a run. Thome's ball never left the infield. Arrieta was late chasing it and couldn't make a play. Carlos Ruiz struck out on Arrieta's 21st pitch to end the inning. The Orioles have scored one run while Arrieta's been in the game in six of his 12 starts, and they've scored two runs in three other outings. In his last 10...

The news content was light in manager Buck Showalter's pregame session with the media. Still no word on tomorrow afternoon's starter. "We've got our options that we're prepared to use," Showalter said. "Obviously, Miguel (Gonzalez) isn't one of them now. We'll see how we do tonight. But we have options for tomorrow." The Orioles will have to make room on the 25-man roster if Tommy Hunter is recalled. Gonzalez is a candidate to be optioned despite two solid relief outings with the...

The Triple-A Norfolk Tides have starters listed for their next five games, and Tommy Hunter isn't among them. The Orioles pulled Hunter from the Tides' rotation in case he's needed to start tomorrow afternoon against the Phillies at Camden Yards. They wanted to keep that option alive if Miguel Gonzalez was needed in long relief. Well, Gonzalez threw four innings last night in Boston after replacing left-hander Brian Matusz, which eliminated him from consideration. Dana Eveland remains a...

BOSTON - I left my hotel room yesterday confident that Tommy Hunter would start Saturday for the Orioles. I walked out of manager Buck Showalter's office later that afternoon thinking Miguel Gonzalez might have taken the lead. Now I'm back to believing it will be Hunter. Stick with your first instinct. Gonzalez pitched last night, relieving left-hander Brian Matusz and working four innings. It's down to Gonzalez and left-hander Dana Eveland unless Showalter veers in an unexpected...

BOSTON - The Orioles fell behind, 2-0, in the first inning, 4-0 in the second and 6-0 in the third. Going against Clay Buchholz, they had no shot. Buchholz tossed his third career shutout, all coming against the Orioles. Meanwhile, Brian Matusz went two innings plus a batter and was charged with five runs, four of them earned. "Command of the fastball," manager Buck Showalter said when asked to explain why Matusz struggled. "We sit here and talk about it a lot. You can have a couple good...

BOSTON - Brian Matusz threw 97 pitches in 7 1/3 innings against Tampa Bay on Saturday, one of the keys to a 2-1 victory. He was able to go deeper in the game, and the bullpen wasn't needed until later. Tonight, Matusz threw 37 pitches in the bottom of the first and fell behind, 2-0, on Adrian Gonzalez's bases-loaded double down the right field line. Matusz walked Dustin Pedroia and Will Middlebrooks and gave up a single to Kevin Youkilis. The Red Sox kept fouling off pitches and getting...

The Orioles made two more roster moves today, optioning pitcher Tommy Hunter and rookie outfielder Xavier Avery to Triple-A Norfolk, reinstating outfielder Endy Chavez from the disabled list and purchasing pitcher Miguel Gonzalez's contract from Norfolk. Hunter didn't record an out in the fourth inning last night against the Blue Jays, allowing six runs (five earned) and nine hits in a 6-2 loss. He's 2-3 with a 5.59 ERA in 10 starts. This is the second time that Hunter has been optioned...