It's pouring right now at Camden Yards. No, pouring may be too tame a word. The rain is coming down so hard that I can barely see the tour group stuck in the visitors dugout from my fifth-floor Warehouse window. I don't know about you, but I can't see the tarp on the field in the middle of a rainstorm and not think of ex-Orioles catcher and current MASN broadcaster Rick Dempsey, who turned rain delay boredom into laugh-inducing pantomime on many a major league diamond. Sometimes Dempsey...

The short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds begin a new season in the New York-Penn League tonight at 7:05 p.m. at Hudson Valley. Coming off the first playoff appearance in the 12-year history of the franchise, the IronBirds will play their first seven games on the road and open at home a week from tonight against Brooklyn at Ripken Stadium. Former big league catcher Matt Merullo, who led the club to a 40-32 record last season, returns as manager. Justin Lord is the pitching coach and Scott...

ST. LOUIS - In case you missed it, Gio Gonzalez went four innings at high Single-A Potomac last night, allowing one run on two hits with four walks and seven strikeouts in his second rehab start as the left-hander works back from left shoulder inflammation. Scheduled to throw five innings and around 80 pitches, Gonzalez tossed 79 pitches in four frames, and while the walks weren't ideal and he didn't work as deep into the game as he or the Nationals would have liked, Gonzalez will almost...

Anthony Rendon was considered the top hitting prospect in his draft class in 2011. The hard-hitting third baseman was limited to designated hitter duties by a shoulder injury in his final year at Rice University, however, after he suffered ankle injuries in the 2009-2010 seasons, both of which required surgery. So there was some concern about his durability as the First-Year Player Draft approached that June. Five teams passed on Rendon, in spite of the fact that he finished his collegiate...

Memorial Stadium, the horseshoe-shaped ballpark on 33rd Street, is gone, but a plaque at the site marking home plate keeps memories alive. One day, Boog Powell stood at the plaque and went back in time. "Jim Palmer and I went over there and stood at home plate,'' Powell says. "We were standing in the middle of nowhere and put myself right back to the old ballpark. I could envision the left field wall, right field, everything. I could hear the fans. I felt the intensity and the atmosphere....

Left-hander Gio Gonzalez made another firm step forward toward returning to the Nationals rotation with his second rehab start at high Single-A Potomac on Thursday night before 4,176 at Pfitzner Stadium in Woodbridge, Va. Gonzalez twirled 79 pitches over four innings, striking out seven, allowing one run on two hits with four walks in a 3-2 victory over Winston-Salem. He induced four groundouts and faced 18 batters. Gonzalez has been on the disabled list with left shoulder inflammation since...

Would I appreciate Mark Belanger today? That's the question that's been on my mind lately as I watch Jonathan Schoop try to find his way a the plate, Manny Machado struggle to return to the preternatural form he displayed on offense last season or Ryan Flaherty serve as a jack-of-all-trades on defense while mastering none on offense. How much defense makes up for lousy offense? Let me state unequivocally that I'm not putting Schoop or Flaherty in the same category defensively as Belanger,...

Manager: Mike Matheny, third year Record: 34-32 Last 10 games: 4-6 Who to watch: 3B Matt Carpenter (.294/.385/.385, 19 XBH, 24 RBIs); LF Matt Holliday (.265/.380/.378, 19 XBH, 30 RBIs); RHP Shelby Miller (7-5, 3.59 ERA); RHP Lance Lynn (6-4, 3.49 ERA) Season series vs. Nats: 2-2, 15 runs scored, 9 runs allowed Pitching probables June 13: Lance Lynn vs. Jordan Zimmermann, 8 p.m., MASN2 HD June 14: Shelby Miller vs. Stephen Strasburg, 7 p.m., FOX June 15: Jaime Garcia vs. Doug Fister, 2 p.m.,...

The Orioles' pitching roll continued last night, even though they gave up twice as many runs in the game against Toronto as they had the previous three games. They gave up two last night and had allowed just one in the three-game series against Boston. That is a team ERA of 0.75 over the last four games for Orioles pitchers. After the win last night, Nick Markakis talked about the recent run of solid pitching and how Kevin Gausman kept it going against Toronto. "It's big," Markakis said....

Manager Buck Showalter confirmed again yesterday that the Orioles will bring up an infielder and likely go with an 11-man pitching staff when third baseman Manny Machado serves his suspension. Machado didn't drop his appeal and a hearing could take place next week in New York. Which infielder will get the call? Jemile Weeks hasn't played since May 27 due to a couple of health issues, the most recent being conjunctivitis. He also lacks typical utility skills, mostly playing second base and...