Orioles manager Buck Showalter stayed with his plan for today to not start J.J. Hardy at shortstop. He'll get the day off, at least at the beginning of today's game against the Minnesota Twins. Hardy has been bothered for a few days by a sore left groin, but he said he expects to start tomorrow in Kansas City. "Not concerned at all," he said. "Played yesterday and it actually feels better today, so I think that is a really good sign. I never really did anything to it. It was just kind of...

Ryan Flaherty is playing shortstop today as the Orioles close their four-game series against the Twins and their homestand. J.J. Hardy made it through last night's game without any groin discomfort, but manager Buck Showalter wants to rest him. Steve Clevenger remains the designated hitter and Henry Urrutia is in left field. The Orioles are 5-4 on the homestand. For the Orioles Manny Machado 3B Gerardo Parra RF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Steve Clevenger DH Jonathan Schoop 2B Henry Urrutia LF...

Jordan Zimmermann takes the mound looking to claim just the second series win for the Nationals at home since the All-Star break. Zimmermann didn't fare so well facing his home-state Brewers in Milwaukee on June 12. In his second shortest outing of the season, the right-hander allowed six runs on nine hits before being bounced after 3 1/3 innings. Zimmermann is 2-0 with a 3.55 ERA in two career starts against the Brewers at Nationals Park. Bryce Harper has reached safely in 44 of his last 46...

When Jayson Werth showed up at the ballpark Saturday afternoon, he wasn't on manager Matt Williams' original lineup card. The Nationals skipper was looking to give the 36-year-old a night off to recover after the long and late trip back early Friday morning. But moments later, a new batting order was posted with Werth penciled in to lead off. "I really just wanted to play, so he put me in there," Werth said after last night's 6-1 win over the Brewers. Werth's presence was felt early when...

It sure feels like the Orioles missed a real chance the last few days. The Twins have a winning percentage of .479 this year when they are playing any team except the Orioles. They are 6-0 against Baltimore. When the Orioles went to Minnesota in early July, the Twins were just 13-20 in their previous 33 games. They then swept three straight from the Orioles. When the Twins came to Baltimore for this series they were 13-22 over their previous 35 games. Now they have won three in a row against...

If the Twins are victorious again today, they will complete their first four-game sweep of the Orioles since Aug. 23-26, 2007 at Camden Yards. Steve Trachsel, Jim Hoey, Radhames Liz and Erik Bedard were the losing pitchers in that series. Miguel Gonzalez, Darren O'Day and Chris Tillman have been on the short end in these first three games. This year's version of the Twins, at least the group that showed up on Thursday, does all the little things that make them come up big in the clutch. They...

Michael A. Taylor loudly introduced himself tonight, crushing a towering two-run homer in the second to spark the Nationals to a much-needed 6-1 win. It's the third straight night Taylor has flexed his muscles with a titanic blast, beginning with Thursday's monstrous 493 foot moonshot at Coors Field. When asked what it meant to own the majors' longest home run this season after the Nats' loss that night, Taylor simply told reporters, "Nothing." Like tonight's roundtripper, eight of...

Nationals right-hander Joe Ross bounced back well from a pair of losses on the West Coast with a commanding performance in a 6-1 win over the Brewers Saturday night. Ross went seven innings and allowed only six hits, the only run a solo homer, with no walks and four strikeouts. It was his second win of the season against Milwaukee. It was also with only 82 pitches to get those 21 outs. His bread and butter is his fastball in, but he said the big difference this time was the ability to slow down...

It's hard to believe that the Twins were a reeling team with a 21-37 record on the road when they arrived at Camden Yards for a four-game series. The Orioles will need more proof. Once again, the Orioles couldn't break out offensively and couldn't find a way to counter the Twins' small-ball approach. Chris Tillman retired 14 batters in a row before allowing the tying run in the sixth, and he was charged with two more in the seventh in a 3-2 loss before 35,301 at Camden Yards. The Orioles...

Chris Tillman looked to be pitching a strong game. The Orioles took the lead by one run twice. But once again, they could not beat the Minnesota Twins. Minnesota rallied for two runs in the top of the seventh to beat the Orioles 3-2 at Camden Yards. The Twins are 3-0 in this series and 6-0 this season against the Orioles. They have outscored the Orioles 39-15 and have won all four games between the teams decided by two runs or less. This long homestand that produced a promising 4-0 start has...