Friday Bird Droppings

Sweeps are nice, but sweeps against reeling division rivals are better. The Orioles are back at OPACY this weekend to face lowly the Astros, but I beseech you, Orioles...nay, implore you: don't look past them!

Wei-Yin Chen faces Scott Feldman tonight at 7:05 PM.

...for those of you so inclined to channel surf later on, the Wizards return home to face the Pacers at 8 PM.

Orioles Continue Dominance Of Rays With Three-Game Sweep
The Orioles grabbed the top spot in the AL East with a three-game sweep of the Rays May 6-8, and all three games were decided by two runs or fewer.

School of Roch: Looking back and ahead
Roching takes on the Tampa series and upcoming Houston tilt.

Dylan Bundy is close to facing hitters again | HardballTalk Rejoice!

Twins demote Opening Day shortstop Pedro Florimon to Triple-A | HardballTalk
Always had a soft spot for Florimon who worked his way up the ladder only to get dumped by the O's the season after making his debut. He's been a plus defender for the Twins, but is sporting brutal -1 wRC+ this season...and now his watch has ended.

Eutaw Street Report | Greatest Seasons in O’s History: Second Base
The series continues with a couple seasons you might remember and one you might not.

Camden Depot: Caleb Joseph is 28. A look at older rookies and older rookie catchers.

Hal Bodley: Buck Showalter puts game in proper perspective | orioles.com: News
It seems like Hal Bodley has been writing about baseball forever.

Today is a day of homeriffic achievements in Orioles history. In 1961, Jim Gentile hit grand slams in consecutive at bats; in 1962 Brooks Robinson hit a grand slam in his second consecutive game and in 1987, Eddie Murray homered from both sides of the plate in his second consecutive game. It was also on this day in 2006 that Delmon Young was suspended for 50 games by the International League for throwing his bat at an ump.

It's the birthday of Tom Chism and Ron Jackson.