CHICAGO - Hello from the South Side, where the Nationals are appearing for the first time since the John McLaren Era. For those who have forgotten, that was June 24-26, 2011, when McLaren served as Nats manager for three games following Jim Riggleman's surprise resignation and before Davey Johnson took over, and proceeded to go 2-1 against the White Sox. That technically makes McLaren the most successful manager in team history, at least based on that .667 winning percentage. But anyways, that...

Hyun Soo Kim is back in the Orioles lineup tonight, playing left field and batting second. Mark Trumbo is in right field and Pedro Alvarez is the designated hitter. Francisco Pena is behind the plate again to catch Ubaldo Jimenez. Closer Zach Britton has converted his first 18 save opportunities, tying him with Chris Ray (2006) for the longest streak to open a season in club history. Britton is nine saves shy of becoming the fifth pitcher in Orioles history to record 100 career saves, joining...

Manny Machado continues to lead American League third basemen in All-Star Game voting, but Mark Trumbo has slipped to fourth among the outfielders. Catcher Matt Wieters moved up to second in the voting. Machado has received 898,715 votes to lead Kansas City's Mike Moustakas (725,721), who's on the disabled list and out for the season. Toronto's Josh Donaldson is third with 588,957. Trumbo has received 816,276 votes to put him behind Anaheim's Mike Trout (1,344,578), Kansas City's Lorenzo...

Mike Wright made the absolute most of his do-over last night. Ubaldo Jimenez could use a case of mulligans as he takes the mound again for tonight's game against the Royals. Jimenez is 2-6 with a 6.59 ERA and 1.849 WHIP in 11 starts over 57 1/3 innings. He's allowed 74 hits, walked 32 and struck out 48. Over his last five starts, Jimenez has surrendered 28 runs (24 earned) and 33 hits with 16 walks in 21 2/3 innings. To say he's due is being polite. Left-handers are hitting .330 against...

Friday night in Cincinnati, Ohio was the setting for the 2016 debut of possibly the most exciting player in baseball, and his name is Trea Turner. He is not a home run hitter and he doesn't crow-hop throwing 97-mph darts across the diamond. Turner is the true throwback to a simpler game to the bygone years of "Charlie Hustle," who is still loved in Cincinnati. Pete Rose was not particularly fast, as he only averaged nine stolen bases a year against seven caught stealing, which surprises most...

Sunday's 10-9 win over the Reds was the best offensive output for the Nationals during the three-game set. Bryce Harper, Daniel Murphy and Wilson Ramos combined for nine hits, seven runs, two homers and five RBIs. Manager Dusty Baker said it was a welcome sight to see, following losses in the first two games of the series in which the club combined for five runs on 10 hits. "That was big for Harp, that's the first time he's had three hits in long time," Baker said. "You'd like to see...

The Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds will send four players to the 57th South Atlantic League All-Star Game, which will be played on Tuesday June 21 at Whitaker Bank Ballpark in Lexington, Kent. Catcher Yermin Mercedes, catcher-first baseman Alex Murphy, and pitchers Garrett Cleavinger and Ryan Meisinger have been selected to represent the Shorebirds. This marks the third consecutive year in which at least three Shorebirds have been named All-Stars. Mercedes will serve as the Northern Division's...

The 2016 MLB season has passed the one-third mark, but that doesn't mean every small-sample fluke has disappeared. Some players still haven't played up to their true talent level, while others have performed far above where they should have. For the Orioles, a few position players -- Adam Jones for the former, Hyun Soo Kim for the latter -- fit each of these molds. The best example of an unfortunate player, though, lies on the other side of the ball. In his sophomore season, Mychal Givens has...

Major League Baseball's First-Year Player Draft is just two days away. The draft begins at 7 p.m. Thursday night and the Orioles have four of the first 91 picks. They will select at Nos. 27, 54, 69 and 91. After having very high picks, ranging anywhere from No. 3 to No. 5 overall, every year from 2007-2012, producing the likes of Manny Machado and Matt Wieters, the Orioles have picked lower in the draft since they started winning more in 2012. That presents a different challenge on draft day...

Most of the postgame talk in the Orioles clubhouse was about right-hander Mike Wright. In desperate need of a good outing, he got one tonight. Seven innings and one unearned run against Kansas City in the Orioles' 4-1 win. He needed just 95 pitches to throw seven innings. Five days after giving up four homers in 2 2/3 innings to the Red Sox and briefly being optioned to the minors, he came back driven and hungry for a win. "I think the focus he had tonight was big," catcher Matt Wieters...