NEW YORK - The Orioles have claimed right-hander Jorge Rondon off waivers from the Rockies and assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk, according to a team official. The Rockies claimed Rondon, 27, from the Cardinals in November and designated him for assignment on May 2. He threw one inning over two games for Colorado this season and allowed 11 runs (10 earned) and eight hits, with three walks and one strikeout. Rondon appeared in one game with the Cardinals in 2014 and walked a batter in a scoreless...

Bryce Harper seems unstoppable right now. Harper picked right up where he left off with a two-out laser to dead center in the first. Braves center fielder Cameron Maybin hurried back and leaped up at the warning track, but the ball caromed off his glove. Nats third baseman Yunel Escobar scored easily on the double, which produced Harper's team-leading 28th RBI. First baseman Ryan Zimmerrman then followed with his 21st RBI on a double to the gap in left-center field. The Nationals weren't...

NEW YORK - Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy hit his first home run today and his first in the regular season since Aug. 31, 2014 against the Twins. Hardy saw two four-seamers and two cutters from Yankees starter Michael Pineda before pulling an 85 mph slider into the left field seats to give the Orioles a 1-0 lead. Hardy also homered on Oct. 2 in Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Tigers. He's 2-for-12 since coming off the disabled list. Pineda has struck out five batters in...

In his second year as general manager of the Nationals, Mike Rizzo held the golden ticket to select Bryce Harper with the No. 1 pick in the First-Year Player Draft. Few players in the game's storied history arrived with the rock star hype as Harper, who was still just 17 when he officially signed with the Nationals in August 2010. Harper didn't waste much time proving his worth. He belted 22 homers and hit .270 to coast to the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2012. Harper's...

Manager: Chip Hale (1st season) Record: 14-16 Last 10 games: 5-5 Who to watch: 1B Paul Goldschmidt (.345/.444/.646 with 9 HR, 27 RBIs), LF Ender Inciarte (.304 with 11 RBIs), CF A.J. Pollock (.306 with 3 HR, 10 RBIs), RF Mark Trumbo (.287 with 4 HR, 15 RBIs), RHP Brad Ziegler (1.35 ERA), RHP Josh Collmenter (3-3, 3.40 ERA) Season series vs. Nationals: First meeting (1-6 in 2014) Pitching probables: May 11: RHP Max Scherzer vs. RHP Josh Collmenter, 9:40 p.m., MASN2 May 12: RHP Stephen Strasburg...

The Nationals continue to be careful with center fielder Denard Span, who is coming off two offseason abdominal surgeries. Span receives a day off this afternoon and third baseman Yunel Escobar slides into the leadoff spot, while rookie Michael A. Taylor will play center. Escobar's .308 batting average is second on the Nats behind Wilson Ramos. In the last six games, Escobar is 10-for-24 (.417) with five RBIs, two walks and four runs scored. Meanwhile, Ramos brings a 12-game hitting streak...

NEW YORK - Orioles pitcher Kevin Gausman will visit with team orthopedist Dr. Michael Jacobs on Monday and undergo an MRI on his right shoulder the following day. Manager Buck Showalter said the condition of Gausman's shoulder has improved. He went on the disabled list retroactive to Thursday with tendinitis. Matt Wieters will catch eight innings Tuesday at extended spring training and extend to nine innings on Thursday and Saturday. The next goal, of course, is getting him to catch on...

After hitting three homers and scoring six runs in a win over the Yankees on Saturday, the Orioles have a chance to even the four-game series today. But they'll have to get past right-hander Michael Pineda (4-0, 2.97 ERA). Pineda has pitched to an ERA of 1.27 over his last three starts for New York and leads the American League with a strikeout-to-walks ratio of 12.67, with just three walks to 38 strikeouts over 39 1/3 innings. In his last start in a win over Toronto on Tuesday, Pineda pitched...

The way Nationals first baseman Ryan Zimmerman's season has been going so far, the events surrounding his three-run homer yesterday were no surprise. Zimmerman has been hitting ropes this year with unlucky results. Sure, he has 22 strikeouts in 121 at-bats, but his .223 average isn't reflective of how well he has hit the ball. After battling though seven pitches in his fifth inning at-bat, Zimmerman ripped a slider from Braves right-hander Julio Tehran into the flower bed just above the left...

NEW YORK - Right-hander Bud Norris will make his scheduled start this afternoon against the Yankees. The Orioles sent Norris back to the team hotel yesterday when he experienced chills, placing his start in doubt. For the Orioles Manny Machado 3BJimmy Paredes DHAdam Jones CFDelmon Young RFChris Davis 1BJ.J. Hardy SSAlejandro De Aza LFCaleb Joseph CRyan Flaherty 2B Bud Norris RHP For the YankeesJacoby Ellsbury CFBrett Gardner LFAlex Rodriguez DHMark Teixeira 1BBrian McCann CCarlos Beltran...