Nick Markakis led off the bottom of the first inning tonight with the 1,452nd hit of his career, tying Brian Roberts for seventh place on the Orioles' all-time list. He's three behind Ken Singleton for sixth place. Markakis is batting .413 (26-for-63) in the first inning this season. Markakis had an easy trip around the bases. Delmon Young followed with his second home run of the season to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. Young's first homer came on April 8 in the Bronx. Young is 18-for-46...

The Toronto Blue Jays are leading the American League East by 4 1/2 games and play 10 of their next 13 games against the Orioles and Yankees, the two teams currently tied for second place. The division race could get real interesting over this stretch. This game is set to start on time following an afternoon of rain that has kept a lot of fans away. It's a small crowd with the possibility of more rain later. The Blue Jays' run against their closest pursuers begins as the O's are set to...

The Orioles are well on their way to signing the large majority of their 38 picks selected in the recent First-Year Player Draft. The club today announced the signings of five players: * Third-round pick left-handed pitcher Brian Gonzalez from Archbishop McCarthy High School in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. * Fourth-round pick, right-handed pitcher Pat Connaughton from Notre Dame. * Fifth-round pick right-handed pitcher David Hess from Tenessee Tech. * Eighth-round pick second baseman Steve...

There wasn't much news to come from today's pregame media session with manager Buck Showalter, beyond the announcement that the Orioles signed their top three picks in the 2014 First-Year Player Draft - third-rounder Brian Gonzalez, fourth-rounder Pat Connaughton and fifth-rounder David Hess. The Orioles are making all three players available to the media today. "We're going to see them today, we're going to talk to them," Showalter said. "I think one of the biggest things other than...

Currently on the disabled list with a strained right oblique, O's right-hander Miguel Gonzalez was back in the Baltimore clubhouse today after pitching a rehab outing last night at Double-A Bowie. Over 4 1/3 scoreless innings for the Baysox, he gave up four hits against New Hampshire on Wednesday night at Prince George's Stadium. He walked one, fanned five and threw 70 pitches. He said he feels fine today. "At first I was a little timid, first inning, just trying it out. After that I got...

Over his first three major league starts, right-hander Blake Treinen has pitched to a miniscule ERA of 1.78. However, he has yet to earn his first win in the majors, and is 0-2 on the season. If he wants to earn his first win today, he'll need the Nationals to mount a comeback. After pitching a scoreless first inning, Treinen allowed two runs in the second. The first run came on Tyler Colvin's monster hit that bounced at the base of the right field wall. Jayson Werth had a hard time...

Before today's game in San Francisco, manager Matt Williams met with the media and discussed the Nationals' improved defense before looking ahead to the finale. "I think guys have settled into the season a little more. It's cold early, playing in cold weather is a factor, but I wanted to say it to you guys early and I believe it. I think it was a little bit of aberration," Williams said to reporters in San Francisco. "There was some weird things, so that being said, they work hard and...

Major League Baseball, Target Corp (NYSE: TGT) and PEOPLE recently announced that Washington Nationals fans Sabrina Hayden, Jessica Valoris and Chad Wright are the team's finalists in the "Target Presents PEOPLE All-Star Teachers" campaign, which celebrates remarkable current and retired teachers who make an impact on the lives of their students and communities. The three finalists will visit Nationals Park next Tuesday, June 17 to take part in the pregame ceremony before the Nationals take...

Manny Machado is batting seventh again tonight for the Orioles, hoping to break an 0-for-18 slump. Delmon Young is batting second and serving as the designated hitter. Caleb Joseph is behind the plate. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Delmon Young DH Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Nelson Cruz LF J.J. Hardy SS Manny Machado 3B Jonathan Schoop 2B Caleb Joseph C Kevin Gausman RHP For the Blue Jays Jose Reyes SS Melky Cabrera LF Jose Bautista RF Edwin Encarnacion 1B Adam Lind DH Brett Lawrie...

I remember focusing on it last Saturday night as the Nationals battled the Padres. Down 2-0 in the top of the seventh, the Nationals got a rally going against San Diego reliever Nick Vincent. With one out, Adam LaRoche and Ryan Zimmerman smacked back-to-back doubles. Zimmerman's hit made it Padres 2-1. Wilson Ramos was next and forced Vincent to throw five pitches. Vincent threw Ramos two sliders and three four-seam fastballs. Ian Desmond was watching from the on-deck circle. Vincent threw...