Not much in the way of news this afternoon at Camden Yards. The updates were also scarce. Vance Worley will be in the bullpen Thursday night, which makes him available to back up Ubaldo Jimenez in the event of an abbreviated start. Worley could get another start, but he's shifting back into a relief role. One reason why the Orioles went with 13 pitchers was to "buy another day or two of rest for Vance," said manager Buck Showalter. "He's shown that he's capable of doing...

CLEVELAND - Two sure ways to wash away the bitter taste of back-to-back losses via bullpen meltdown: 1) Get a dominant start from one of your aces, and 2) Score enough runs that you don't need to send your embattled closer back to the mound. The Nationals did both this afternoon, riding Stephen Strasburg's seven innings of scoreless ball and clutch hits from Trea Turner and Daniel Murphy to a 4-1 victory over the Indians that salvaged a two-game series split at Progressive Field. Back to work...

Chris Davis, mired in an 0-for-24 slump, continues to bat from the cleanup spot tonight as the Orioles conclude their three-game interleague series against the Rockies. Hyun Soo Kim is batting second and playing left field. Nolan Reimold is batting ninth and playing right field, with Mark Trumbo serving as the designated hitter. The Orioles will try to avoid only their second home series loss in 2016. They're 12-1-3. Ryan Flaherty is celebrating his 30th birthday today. New University of...

Manager: Paul Molitor (2nd season) Record: 37-63 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: SS Eduardo Nunez (.300/.326/.444 with 12 HR, 47 RBIs), 1B Joe Mauer (.359 OBP with 31 RBIs), 2B Brian Dozier (17 HR, 51 RBIs), RHP Brandon Kintzler (2.05 ERA with 8 saves), LHP Fernando Abad (2.61 ERA with 6 holds) Season series vs. Orioles: 0-5 Pitching probables: July 28: RHP Ubaldo Jimenez vs. RHP Kyle Gibson, 7:10 p.m., MASN Inside the Twins: The Twins won all seven games against the Orioles last season. But...

CLEVELAND - Jonathan Papelbon has pitched four of the last five days, and has given up six total runs in two most recent outings, leaving Dusty Baker facing quite a conundrum: Who does he turn to if he needs a closer in this afternoon's series finale against the Indians? The Nationals manager couldn't offer up a definitive answer this morning. "Sometimes as a closer you've got to go four or five days in a row sometimes, which I don't like to do," Baker said. "A closer either pitches a...

CLEVELAND - The illness that made Stephen Drew unavailable to the Nationals for six days last week has now landed him on the disabled list. Drew was placed on the 15-day DL this morning after a recurrence of the dizziness that plagued him last week while he was out with what the club initially called "flu-like symptoms." The veteran infielder no longer has those traditional symptoms, but he continues to feel dizzy, so the club is now referring to his ailment as "vertigo-like symptoms." Drew...

The Washington Nationals recalled infielder Wilmer Difo from Double-A Harrisburg and placed infielder Stephen Drew on the 15-day disabled list (retroactive to July 24) with vertigo-like symptoms on Wednesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Difo, 24, joins Washington for his first Major League assignment of the season. In 96 games with Double-A Harrisburg, Difo is hitting .255 with 14 doubles, two triples, five home runs 33 RBI,...

The Nationals have, over the past few weeks, inched closer to putting Trea Turner in center field, and last night they finally made the leap. Turner in center field makes too much sense to not at least try, and fans should be excited that the Nats are willing to do it. For starters, Turner appears to be an excellent hitter, and just the kind of table setter they are missing at the top of their lineup. He is making solid contact, and yesterday, on more than one occasion, his speed probably got...

Who would have thought Orioles closer Zach Britton could continue to get better? In his age-28 season this year, Britton has converted all 32 of his save opportunities, recording 10.55 strikeouts per nine innings and an MLB-leading 0.63 ERA over 42.2 innings pitched. He's one of the best, if not the best, relievers in all of baseball. With 2016 being his first year of arbitration eligibility, Britton is earning $6.8 million. He has two more years of arbitration prior to reaching free agency,...

CLEVELAND - And we're back. Only 11 hours have passed since the Nationals walked off the field in disgust following a 7-6 loss to the Indians, but everyone is back at Progressive Field, preparing for today's early matinee (12:10 p.m.) to wrap up this unusual two-game interleague series. This could be a good thing (no time to stew over the loss) or it could be a bad thing (the hangover effect). We'll just have to wait and see. One good thing from the Nats' perspective: Stephen Strasburg is...