After spending the day at his home in Baltimore County, Nick Markakis drove to his former baseball home today - Camden Yards. After nine years as an Oriole, tonight he'll take right field in the last of the first inning and play against the Orioles. "Mixed emotions," he said in the Braves dugout. "It probably won't hit me all until game time standing out in right field in a Braves uniform. I spent nine years here. This was the team that drafted me. To be gone after so many years, it's...

Nolan Reimold is leading off tonight for the Orioles as they begin a three-game series against the Braves at Camden Yards. Reimold owns a .339 (21-for-62) career batting average in the first inning. Tonight will mark his 21st major league start atop the order. Reimold went 72 starts between three-hit games, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. He had a two-run double yesterday as part of a 3-for-3 afternoon at Tropicana Field. Ryan Flaherty remains at first base. Chris Davis is in right field...

The Nationals are slowly getting injured players back. Right-hander Stephen Strasburg is closer to returning to the team as he recovers from a left oblique strain suffered July 4. In that start, he went 3 2/3 innings against the Giants, had allowed only one hit and no runs, before leaving the game. Strasburg will make a rehab start Wednesday night for Triple-A Syracuse against the Buffalo Bisons, the Chiefs announced Monday. The game is at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse at 7:05 p.m. The...

The Nationals have been included in trade rumors for fireballing closers like Aroldis Chapman, Jonathan Papelbon and Craig Kimbrel. The team appears to be looking for the bridge to get them from the seventh inning to closer Drew Storen in order to finish off games. One in-house name that might be able to fit the bill is fastball-throwing left-hander Felipe Rivero. Rivero came up big for the Nationals on Saturday night, notching four outs and a hold in their 9-3 win over the Pirates. Rivero now...

Triple-A Norfolk first baseman Christian Walker has been rewarded for his recent surge at the plate. Not with a promotion to the majors. He has to wait for a return trip. However, Walker was named the International League's Batter of the Week. Walker hit .414, going 12-for-29, and led the league with three home runs, 10 RBIs and seven extra-base hits. He also collected four doubles and scored nine runs. He has hit safely in nine of his last 10 games, batting .372 (16-for-43) with five doubles,...

Michael A. Taylor received his first look at PNC Park over the weekend and the rookie outfielder continued delivering stunning defensive plays for the Nationals. Gregory Polanco led off the sixth inning Sunday with a bullet to the gap in left-center. It appeared to be certain extra bases for Polanco as the ball screamed through the air, until Taylor, on a full sprint, leaped and snatched the ball across his body with his glove high in the air. Polanco threw his hands in the air, in...

This week's non-waiver trade deadline is unlike any in years for the Orioles. Not only do the O's have the clear distinction of not really knowing where they sit on the buy/sell fence, but there's also a certain weight of importance with this deadline because of key pending free agents. Some people you talk to are fully on the sell train, while others believe this team has a real chance to defend its American League East crown. I don't dismiss that this team can be competitive down the...

There's nothing quite like seeing a major league rookie come into his own, especially when he's making the most of an opportunity to fill in for a starter. You can say, "I remember when ..." So it was fun watching Michael A. Taylor have a breakout weekend, even though the Nationals lost a difficult series in Pittsburgh and saw their NL East lead over the New York Mets shrink to two games. The rookie recorded the first four-hit game of his career on Saturday, including a two-run,...

PITTSBURGH - Rookie right-hander Joe Ross delivered another impressive effort in yesterday's 3-1 loss to Pirates. Pittsburgh scored twice in the third on three hits plus a costly error and added a solo homer in the fourth, but that was all the offense Ross allowed in his fifth big league start. "I thought he threw really well," fellow rookie Michael A. Taylor said. "His stuff looked good. His slider was working. We just couldn't pull it out for him. I think he's done great. He's shown...

The Orioles are home tonight for the first time since July 12, the final game heading into the All-Star break. It's been that long. They were a .500 team after losing their final two games to the Nationals. They can reach .500 again with a win tonight over the Braves. The Orioles went 4-5 on their road trip, sandwiching series wins in Detroit and St. Petersburg around the Yankees' three-game sweep in the Bronx. Win two of the three series and it's still not good enough in the heat of a...