KANSAS CITY - With J.J. Hardy hitting the disabled list with a left groin strain, Ryan Flaherty will start tonight at shortstop in the opener of a four-game series against the Royals. Steve Clevenger is batting .414/.452/.586 during a career-high seven-game hitting streak. He's hit safely in 10 of 12 games with the Orioles this season, batting .395/.422/.535. Adam Jones is batting .341/.364/.659 (14-for-41) over his last 10 games. Ubaldo Jimenez ranks 10th among Dominican-born pitchers with...

KANSAS CITY - The Orioles designated outfielder Nolan Reimold for assignment today, one of their four roster moves before their series opener against the Royals. Shortstop J.J. Hardy was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain. The Orioles activated Steve Pearce from the disabled list and recalled reliever Jorge Rondon from Triple-A Norfolk. Reimold, 31, appeared in 39 games for the Orioles this season and batted .227 (22-for-97) with three doubles, one triple, two home runs...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled right-hander Jorge Rondon from Triple-A Norfolk and have reinstated infielder/outfielder Steve Pearce from the 15-day disabled list. In corresponding moves, the Orioles have placed shortstop J.J. Hardy on the 15-day disabled list with a left groin strain and designated outfielder Nolan Reimold for assignment. Rondon, 27, has gone 3-1 with a 2.42 ERA (14 ER/52.0 IP) in 29 relief appearances with Triple-A Norfolk this season. In 34 combined...

A large part of the expectations heaped on the Nationals this year had to do with Anthony Rendon. The 25-year-old was coming off a breakthrough season, leading the National League in runs scored (111), while slashing .287/.351/.473 with a .824 OPS. In just his second year in the big leagues, he finished fifth in the NL MVP voting. But his promising season was derailed before it even got started. Rendon sprained his left MCL making a spectacular diving stop on a grounder in his second Grapefruit...

It was nice to see the offense take advantage of opportunities in winning their series against the Brewers. In 6-1 and 9-5 wins over the weekend against Milwaukee, the Nationals went 6-for-15 with runners in scoring position. Even more importantly, the Nationals were able to get two-out base hits that scored runs. In wins Saturday and Sunday, the Nationals combined for 12 two-out RBIs. Danny Espinosa and Anthony Rendon each had three RBIs Sunday, while Ryan Zimmerman and Ian Desmond also added...

It was one eventful 10-game homestand for the Orioles. They swept a four-game series and got swept four in a row. They won three of the first six games of the homestand on walk-off homers. They then lost leads the last three days against the Twins, dropping three consecutive one-run games. The Orioles had an 18-2 win against Oakland where they tied a team record with 26 hits and a 15-2 loss to Minnesota. The Orioles got swept four straight by a Minnesota team that came to Camden Yards with a...

Funny how quickly your outlook can change. A week ago, many Nationals fans were calling for manager Matt Williams' firing, for the team to cut bait on Jayson Werth and the $42 million the team still owes him through 2017, and for the benching of Anthony Rendon, who had gone more than two weeks without an extra-base hit or an RBI. But after Williams placed the struggling Werth atop the batting order and Rendon was forced back to his natural third base position because of an injury to Yunel...

The Twins staggered into Camden Yards and swept a four-game series. Can the Orioles repeat those moves in Kansas City? They're 6 1/2 games out of first place in the American League East. They're two games back for the second wild card, with the Angels and Twins now ahead of them. Adding injury to insult, shortstop J.J. Hardy is headed to the disabled list with a groin injury and will be lost for a minimum of 15 days. Steve Pearce will be activated and reliever Jorge Rondon will be recalled...

Shortstop J.J. Hardy is going on the disabled list with a groin injury, leaving the Orioles with two roster moves as they head to Kansas City. The club will activate Steve Pearce from the disabled list and call up a reliever. The Orioles could option Mychal Givens, who worked two scoreless innings today. T.J. McFarland also has options, but he's fresher. Pearce went 1-for-3 with a double today at Double-A Bowie. He's been on the disabled list since July 19 with a strained left oblique. Hardy...

In the quiet of the Orioles clubhouse, after a third straight one-run loss to the Minnesota Twins, a reporter asked Manny Machado what happened on his error in the top of the 12th. Playing shortstop in that inning for the first time in the majors, Machado had a grounder go under his glove for a two-base error. Eduardo Escobar reached on the play and then scored the go-ahead run on a Jimmy Paredes error at third base. "What do you think happened?," Machado said. "We lost, plain and simple. Go...