The Nationals were retired in order by A.J. Burnett in the first before watching the Phillies take an early lead on a three-run home run off the bat of Ryan Howard. After pitching his best outing in his last start, right-hander Tanner Roark is struggling early in Philadelphia. He retired Tony Gwynn Jr., but allowed a single to Jimmy Rollins, who then stole second base. Chase Utley walked, bringing Howard to the plate. He crushed an 0-1 pitch over the wall in left-center field, giving the...

Offseason acquisition Doug Fister, who is on the disabled list with a strained lat, is set to make his first regular season start in a Nationals uniform next week. Whether that start is on Wednesday or Friday has yet to be determined. Fister made a rehab start with Double-A Harrisburg last night. "Felt strong, felt right where I need to be," he said in Philadelphia. "I feel like I'm a little late obviously, but for the most part, came out of the game, felt strong, felt like I could go out...

Twins right-hander Kevin Correia had been struggling this season, but that all ended today. Correia held the Orioles to one run over seven innings as Minnesota beat the Birds 6-1 to even the three-game series at a win each. Correia began this start with an 0-3 record and 7.33 ERA over five starts. He gave up eight runs in 2 1/3 innings in his most recent start and had an ERA of 9.60 in three home starts. But this afternoon he allowed just five hits over seven innings with no walks and three...

Orioles starter Wei-Yin Chen has allowed three runs in five innings this afternoon at Target Field. He just surrendered an RBI single to Twins first baseman Joe Mauer in the fifth and sits at 101 pitches as the game moves into the sixth. Why is Mauer's hit noteworthy? Because left-handers began the day batting .457 against Chen, compared to .271 by right-handers. It's not supposed to work that way. Trevor Plouffe gave the Twins a 1-0 lead in the first inning with a run-scoring double to...

PHILADELPHIA - Despite leaving last night's game against the Phillies in the eighth inning with a tight quad muscle, first baseman Adam LaRoche is listed in the Nationals' starting lineup for tonight's game. Nate McLouth will play left field against Phillies right-hander A.J Burnett. For the Nationals CF Denard Span3B Anthony RendonRF Jayson Werth1B Adam LaRocheSS Ian Desmond2B Danny EspinosaLF Nate McLouthC Jose LobatonRHP Tanner Roark For the Phillies RF Tony Gwynn Jr.SS Jimmy Rollins2B...

The Orioles' lineup for today's game in Minnesota includes catcher Steve Clevenger hitting in the fifth slot against Twins right-hander Kevin Correia. His name jumps out at me each time I see it listed so high. I'm just glad it's not in a dark alley. That's not to say Clevenger is unworthy and should be lowered. It's just odd for me to find an Orioles backup catcher in the middle of the lineup. In case you haven't noticed, they've employed a lot of catch-and-throw guys over the years....

As the Orioles take the field today at Minnesota, they do so as the first-place team in the American League East. They are 14-8 since starting the season 1-4 and they are looking for a fourth win in a row this afternoon. Will Nelson Cruz continue his hot streak today? Cruz, who hit a 424-foot homer last night, is on a real tear over the last 13 games. In that stretch, he is batting .340 with six homers and 20 RBIs. He has seven multi-RBI games. Cruz has two homers over his last four games and...

The Orioles are 11-5 at Target Field since it opened in 2010. They will try to improve that record to 12-5 this afternoon in the second game of their three-game series against the Twins. I checked on Johan Santana's start in an extended spring training game this morning and found out it didn't happen. Apparently, it rains in Sarasota, too. Santana will pitch Monday, and you know manager Buck Showalter and pitching coach Dave Wallace will drive over there from St. Petersburg. Ubaldo Jimenez's...

The Orioles are sending left-hander Wei-Yin Chen to the mound today in Minnesota as they attempt to move a season-high four games above .500. Chen ranks second in the American League in run support average at 8.69 runs. C.J. Wilson is first at 9.53. The Orioles have scored just 40 runs (2.1 per game) in the 19 games when Chen has been charged with the loss in his major league career, and have scored 117 runs (5.3 per game) in the 22 games when he's won. Steve Clevenger gets the start behind...

Low Single-A Hagerstown third baseman Drew Ward is in the midst of a scorching run. The 6-foot-4, 210 lb. lefty-hitting Ward had a 4-for-4 performance May 1. He hit a home run in that game and is batting .425 his last 10 games. In the first game of the doubleheader that day, Ward drew three walks. Ward has made his way to pro ball similar to Bryce Harper's run - he did not go to college, graduating from high school early - so the 19-year-old is on a nice track. So far this season for the Suns,...