Orioles manager Buck Showalter will post today's lineup after batting practice. He wants to check on third baseman Manny Machado, who's going to hit, throw and run. The club is carrying three catchers for now, with Caleb Joseph starting today. A corresponding roster move for new catcher Nick Hundley will be announced after batting practice. An infielder will most likely be optioned if Machado is able to play. Could Steve Lombardozzi return to Triple-A Norfolk? Stay tuned. Chris Davis is on...

Triple-A Syracuse right-hander Taylor Hill continues to excel. He got off to a very good start in April and has been consistent in May. The first 10 games of the season have been close to masterful for the 6-foot-3 former Vanderbilt hurler. Hill has gone 6-1 with a 1.63 ERA in 10 outings, nine of them starts. In 60 2/3 innings, Hill has surrendered only 11 runs and struck out 47 batters with just eight walks. In eight of those 10 games, he has allowed six or fewer hits. He also has given up...

Nick Hundley's trade to the Orioles is less than 24 hours old. But it sure hasn't taken him long to adjust to it, it seems. In his first interview in the O's clubhouse this morning, you could tell the catcher was very excited to join this team. "I woke up (yesterday) to a call from our GM Josh Byrnes, our former GM and I didn't know where I was going. But if there is one place I'd want to be, it would be here," he said. "When he told me I was going to Baltimore, it was really, really...

Adam LaRoche is back from the left quad injury that landed him on the 15-day disabled list, and he'll go right into the Nationals lineup in his customary spots at first base and fourth in the batting order. For a team that's dropped a season-high four straight games, an infusion of offense is a welcome development. To make room for LaRoche on the 25-man roster, infielder Zach Walters was optioned to Triple-A Syracuse. The Nats will keep both Tyler Moore and Greg Dobbs, deciding their bench...

First baseman Adam LaRoche has been activated and returns to the Nationals lineup this afternoon for the series finale at Pittsburgh. Infielder Zach Walters was sent to Triple-A Syracuse in the corresponding move. With LaRoche back in the lineup, the bench gets better, with power hitter Tyler Moore now returning to a utility role. Maybe Moore's return to the bench will also help ignite the backup crew. But the bigger statement is that with LaRoche returning, the Nationals get a consistent bat,...

The Orioles are bringing their 1-6 Sunday record into today's series finale against the Indians at Camden Yards, their last game before hitting the road for an 11-day trip. No Sunday wins at home, and their lineup will be missing first baseman Chris Davis, who's going on paternity leave. It may also be missing third baseman Manny Machado, who's day-to-day with a strained right groin. The Orioles will activate reliever Preston Guilmet from the taxi squad and return to a 12-man pitching staff....

The first inning has been a bugaboo for Stephen Strasburg this season, but he got through the first against the Pirates in 1-2-3 fashion, then followed up with a six-pitch second inning, getting an inning-ending 6-3 double play off the bat of Pedro Alvarez after hitting Russell Martin with a pitch. In his first 10 starts of the season, opposing batters battered Strasburg for a .383 average and he posted a 7.20 ERA in the first inning. Second innings have been better: a .222 batting average...

A few observations after the Orioles were shut out 9-0 by Cleveland on Saturday afternoon. The Orioles have now lost five of their last seven and nine of the last 13 games. The Orioles were shut out for the fourth time this season and for the first time at home against Cleveland since April 3, 2003. If they lose today to the Tribe, they would fall to 10-13 at home and would drop back to the .500 mark for the first time since April 27 when they were 12-12. * Ubaldo Jimenez has to pitch much...

Today's trade with the Padres served two purposes for the Orioles. It gave them a backup catcher and it distracted from today's 9-0 loss to the Indians. Nick Hundley, acquired with cash considerations for left-hander Troy Patton, is expected to be activated for Sunday's series finale. The Orioles will make a corresponding roster move, most likely optioning Caleb Joseph to Triple-A Norfolk. They also will activate reliever Preston Guilmet from the taxi squad and place first baseman Chris...

Ubaldo Jimenez needed 99 pitches today to get just 12 outs. Not what he had in mind in going against his former Cleveland Indians teammates. Jimenez walked five on the day and two in the fifth inning when Cleveland scored five to break the 0-0 tie and knock him from the game on its way to a 9-0 win. "My first mistake was walking the leadoff guy," Jimenez said. "That got me in trouble. Base hit. Another little groundball base hit, but the big thing was walking the leadoff guy. "I felt...