masn-baseballs-orioles.jpgWASHINGTON – Adam Jones extended his hitting streak to 10 games in the first inning with an infield single that scored Xavier Avery for a 1-0 lead.

The ball struck Edwin Jackson’s foot and caromed so high I thought one of the Nats’ infielders would signal for a fair catch.

Avery led off with a walk and raced to third on Nick Markakis’ double into left-center field. Jones followed with his single, giving the center fielder his third 10-game hitting streak of the season.

Jones is the first…WASHINGTON – Adam Jones extended his hitting streak to 10 games in the first inning with an infield single that scored Xavier Avery for a 1-0 lead.

The ball struck Edwin Jackson’s foot and caromed so high I thought one of the Nats’ infielders would signal for a fair catch.

Avery led off with a walk and raced to third on Nick Markakis’ double into left-center field. Jones followed with his single, giving the center fielder his third 10-game hitting streak of the season.

Jones is the first major leaguer with three different 10-plus game hitting streaks in his team’s first 40 games since Brian Roberts in 2005.

Jackson struck out the side in the second, so he’s back on course.

Jackson is 5-0 with a 2.68 ERA against the Orioles since the start of the 2008 season, and 3-0 with a 0.90 ERA since the start of the 2009 season.

Robert Andino committed an error in the bottom of the second, losing his grip on the ball while trying to flip it to first base, then scooping it with his glove to the dugout railing. Bryce Harper raced to second – he was given an infield hit on a scoring change – and he took third with one out on Danny Espinosa’s fly ball to center. But Jake Arrieta struck out Rick Ankiel and retired Jesus Flores on a fly ball to right.

It should have been a two-base error. Andino gets the out if he doesn’t drop the ball. But hey, it’s Bryce Harper.

Manager Buck Showalter isn’t a fan of interleague play. He’d love to make it disappear, but it’s not up for a vote.

Showalter believes that American League teams are at a disadvantage.

“All the National League clubs have somebody that they would like to DH,” he said, “and we don’t have any pitchers that we’d like to hit.”

Wei-Yin Chen, who starts on Sunday, batted when he pitched in Japan. Just not very well.

Executive vice president Dan Duquette recently watched University of San Francisco pitcher Kyle Zimmer. In his first mock draft, Baseball America’s Jim Callis has the Orioles selecting Zimmer with the fourth-overall pick in next month’s First-Year Player Draft.

Lew Ford drew a walk in his first at-bat with Triple-A Norfolk. And no, I won’t be providing updates all night.

One more injury update: Hand specialist Dr. Thomas Graham confirmed that reliever Matt Lindstrom has a partial tear in a ligament in his right middle finger. It’s not a complete tear.