Blake Treinen pitched his heart out tonight in the Nationals' 8-3 loss to the Dodgers, allowing just three unearned runs over five-plus innings against a dangerous Los Angeles lineup. Now Treinen will head back to Triple-A Syracuse and try and build off a strong first major league start. The Nationals optioned Treinen back to Syracuse after tonight's game, but they are not yet ready to announce a corresponding roster move. "We don't know that at this point," manager Matt Williams said....

Ryan Flaherty began tonight batting just .194 with just three hits over his last 20 at-bats. But his bases-loaded single in the eighth gave the Orioles the lead and they beat Tampa Bay 5-3 at Tropicana Field to open a three-game series. After Tampa Bay tied the game 3-3 in the seventh, the Orioles scored twice in the eighth. Matt Wieters singled and went to third on Steve Clevenger's double. A walk to Steve Pearce loaded the bases for Flaherty. His single off Joel Peralta made it a 4-3 and...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles have grown accustomed to bizarre occurrences at Tropicana Field. Having the lights go out in the middle of a rally didn't faze them. The Orioles scored twice in the top of the eighth inning to break a 3-3 tie, but only after enduring a 19-minute delay. As Steve Pearce stood on deck following Steve Clevenger's double, the transformer carrying incoming power lines to the facility was struck by lightning. Players headed to their respective dugouts except for...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles loaded the bases with no outs in the fourth inning tonight and settled for one run. They loaded the bases with no outs in the fifth and settled for one run. A 3-2 lead over the Rays doesn't seem sufficient. The Orioles could have delivered a knockout punch to Rays starter Chris Archer. Instead, they've taken a slim lead against him and pushed his pitch count to 100 in five innings. Nelson Cruz and Adam Jones singled to lead off the fourth and Matt...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Matt Wieters is serving as the designated hitter tonight in the Orioles' series opener against the Rays, and the decision is tied to his right elbow. I can confirm that Dr. James Andrews will examine Wieters' elbow on Wednesday, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports. There's apparently a growing concern that Wieters tore a ligament. Caleb Joseph was scratched from Triple-A Norfolk's lineup tonight and is headed to Tampa. Keep in mind that the Orioles outrighted...

It is a pretty big night for Blake Treinen. In one day, he is called up again to the big leagues and later that night he makes his first major league start. Oh, and he has to face the Los Angeles Dodgers' potent offense and ace left-hander Clayton Kershaw. The Nationals right-hander has pitched well for Triple-A Syracuse to begin this season, with four starts and a 1.59 ERA. Last season, he made 22 starts for the Chiefs, going 6-7 with a 3.47 ERA. As a reliever for the Nationals this season,...

Nate McLouth peeled back the white bandage covering the fleshy section of his right hand between his thumb and index finger to reveal a dime-sized divot, the result of his eighth-inning sliding catch Monday night and his collision with the wall in foul territory in left field. The Nationals left fielder left the game after tumbling into the wall to make the catch of Dee Gordon's foul slice, and the chunk taken out of his hand was the most significant problem he experienced after making a catch...

The Orioles return to Tropicana Field tonight. That is the place where the 2013 season unofficially ended. The O's lost an 18-inning game there late last September and three more losses followed. They fell out of any wild card contention with a week left in the season. Going 6-13 last year against Tampa Bay didn't help their chances either. In 2012, when the Orioles returned to the playoffs, they had a winning record against every American League East team, including a 10-8 mark against...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled left-hander T.J. McFarland from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned right-hander Brad Brach to the Tides. McFarland, 24, was with the Orioles earlier this season from April 22-25, posting a 2.25 ERA (4.0IP, ER) in two appearances. He has gone 0-1 with a 3.44 ERA (18.1IP, 7ER) in four starts for the Tides. Brach, 28, made two appearances for the Orioles after being recalled on May 2, allowing three earned runs in 1.2 innings.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles got through batting practice without any health issues and announced that reliever Brad Brach has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. Brach's removal creates a spot for T.J. McFarland, recalled from Norfolk, and gives the Orioles four left-handers in their bullpen. Brach made two appearances with the Orioles and posted a 16.20 ERA in 1 2/3 innings. He served up a three-run homer to Minnesota's Joe Mauer on Saturday in his debut with the club. Brach,...