The Nationals may be in first place in the National League East, but they are not well-represented in the 2014 All-Star Game voting. Actually, they're barely represented at all. In the most recent All-Star balloting figures, Bryce Harper is the only Nationals player listsed among the top vote-getters. He sits in 15th place among NL outfielders, and has amassed 680,930 votes. Harper has missed nearly two months recovering from surgery to repair a torn ligament in his left thumb. Before his...

Matt Williams won't be around to watch the remainder of the Nationals' first game of a seven-game road trip. Between the top and bottom halves of the second inning, Williams was ejected after a prolonged and animated discussion with home plate umpire Mark Wegner over his interpretation of the strike zone in an inning during which the Nationals loaded the bases with none out - and still failed to score. The key point that Williams seemed to repeatedly make was that Wegner called a 3-2 pitch to...

WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper played three innings in left field for the high Single-A Potomac Nationals in his first minor league rehab game as he recovers from a left thumb ligament injury. Wearing jersey No. 32, Harper went 1-for-1 with a single, a walk and a run scored. He came home on a three-run shot by catcher Wilson Ramos in a four-run third inning that gave the P-Nats a 4-1 lead over the Salem Red Sox. Ramos finished 3-for-4 with a single, double and three-run...

The Orioles haven't dropped a season series to the White Sox since 2008. The first step toward maintaining that streak comes tonight at Camden Yards. Wei-Yin Chen walked Gordon Beckham with one out in the top of the first inning and Dayan Viciedo with two outs. Chen had issued two walks over his last six starts and 12 this season in 83 1/3 innings. It's the first multi-walk game for Chen since April 26 against the Royals. Chen threw 20 pitches in the inning, only nine for strikes, but he...

Ryan Zimmerman was back at third base during pregame drills before the opener of a three-game series against the Brewers at Miller Park, and said he felt good after taking 15-20 ground balls at his former position. "This is the first time I've thrown in - I don't know, probably since I don't remember. ... It's been a while, just because there's been no reason," Zimmerman said. "But, yeah, it felt good. Everything went fine." Zimmerman said he would ramp up his activity at third base in...

Orioles executive vice president Dan Duquette indicated today that he's not looking to acquire a catcher despite losing Matt Wieters for the season following elbow surgery. Duquette seems comfortable with using Caleb Joseph and Nick Hundley. He also praised the catching depth in the farm system, which has been lacking in previous years. "It's always a challenge to change catchers during the season because the catcher is involved in so many facets of the game," Duquette said....

The next week and a half provides the Orioles with a chance to do themselves some good. But first they need to improve on a 16-17 home record as they settle in for an 11-game homestand that begins tonight against Chicago. Wei-Yin Chen (7-2, 3.78 ERA) faces left-hander Chris Sale (6-1, 2.20 ERA). One day after facing one of baseball's best starters, the Orioles see another. Some of Sale's numbers are crazy good. For instance, he has allowed just 39 hits over 65 1/3 innings for a batting...

Orioles pitcher Bud Norris remains optimistic that he can start the second game of Friday night's doubleheader against the Rays. If he's pushed back to Saturday, that also works for him. As long as the tightness in his right groin subsides and he's able to stay on his current roll. Norris will have a better idea about his availability after Wednesday's bullpen session. "I'm feeling a little bit better," Norris said. "I'm just going to take it a day at a time, another day of...

Lots of nuggets from today's session with manager Buck Showalter. Your world won't be rocked, but it may jiggle a little. Showalter expects the Orioles to have a resolution on the Manny Machado suspension by the end of the week. Showalter said 90 percent of the reason why Chris Davis isn't starting tonight is he wanted Delmon Young in the lineup. Showalter also confirmed that Davis will return to the lineup Tuesday night against White Sox left-hander Jose Quintana. That one should have...

MILWAUKEE - After Sunday's game, Nationals manager Matt Williams indicated that he hoped to give shortstop Ian Desmond and right fielder Jayson Werth a day off in the near future, but it won't be today. Both Desmond and Werth are starting tonight as the Nats open a series against the National League-leading Brewers at Miller Park. Williams had noted that Desmond seems worn down. The Nats shortstop is 0-for-7 over the last two games and is batting .176 (6-for-34) with one homer, three RBIs...