WOODBRIDGE, Va. - Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman (right thumb fracture) went 1-for-3 with a single in his second rehab game for high Single-A Potomac Saturday night, playing for the first time in left field. He played five innings. There was a standing room only crowd of 7,000 at Pfitzner Stadium. "It felt good," Zimmerman said. "I think just getting my legs back under me and getting on the field and being in the pace of the game instead of DHing is always nice. So we will kind of...

HOUSTON - The Orioles will go for the series split today by sending left-hander Wei-Yin Chen to the mound against the Astros. Chen is 3-1 with a 5.33 ERA in five road starts this season. He's received 8.17 runs of support per nine innings. Maybe that will perk up the offense. Chen is 2-0 with a 3.14 ERA in two starts versus the Astros. He beat them on May 9 in Baltimore after allowing two earned runs in seven innings. Matt Dominguez is 3-for-6 with two doubles against Chen. Jose Altuve is...

Anytime a minor league player starts to produce very good stats at one level, the inevitable question comes up: Should he now get promoted to the next level? That topic came up earlier this week when I had a conversation with Orioles director of player development Brian Graham, one of the key front office staff members that is heavily and directly involved in such decisions. Talking about potential promotions is not an area where Graham wants to say much publicly. He doesn't want players...

HOUSTON - Nelson Cruz leads the majors in home runs and RBIs. He's homered in five of the last seven games. He's driven in five of the Orioles' last nine runs. He's still a bargain at $8 million. Manager Buck Showalter says Cruz is "in a good place." He's just glad to have Cruz in his own clubhouse. "Yeah, I see the ball well," Cruz said following today's 4-1 win over the Astros. "Like I said, I tried to be consistent for that long. I just stay with my routine and do it on a...

HOUSTON - Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis made one of the most important plays of the today's game by running down Jose Altuve's fly ball in the second inning to leave the bases loaded and the score tied. To think, he almost came out of the lineup. Manager Buck Showalter told reporters following a 4-1 victory over the Astros that Markakis reported to the clubhouse with neck stiffness. "It kind of loosened up during the latter part of BP," Showalter said. "That's another typical...

Chris Tillman needed a good outing and the Orioles needed a win. They got both today as Tillman gave up just one run over 6 2/3 innings. The Orioles got back to the .500 mark at 27-27 and ended a four-game losing streak. They snapped Houston's seven-game win streak and denied the Astros their first eight-game streak since 2008. Nelson Cruz hit his 20th homer as the Orioles won 4-1 at Houston. He was once again a big part of an O's victory. He went 2-for-2 with a double, solo homer, sac fly...

HOUSTON - Steve Pearce has thrown out a runner at second base today and walked to force in the go-ahead run. He's a professional hitter and fielder. Pearce registered the Orioles' 11th outfield assist this year when he nabbed Marwin Gonzalez trying to stretch a single into a double in the fourth. He walked with the bases loaded and two outs in the fifth to break a 1-1 tie. Manny Machado reached on an infield single, his second hit in his last 19 at-bats. Caleb Joseph singled with two outs,...

First of all, before I get into some notes on Anthony Rendon's defensive play at third base this season, I want to make sure to point out how much fun the Nationals Dream Gala was last night. The event itself - held this year at the new Marriott Marquis - was a great time, and all of the fans, viewers and readers that I had a chance to meet were so nice. I really did enjoy myself, and thank the Nationals for inviting me. Now on to some baseball talk. It might go slightly unnoticed because...

HOUSTON - Nelson Cruz did more today than give the Orioles a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. He also tied a team record. Cruz's sacrifice fly scored Nick Markakis, who led off with a double, and gave him 50 RBIs to match Chris Davis for most by an Oriole before the end of May. Davis set the record last season. J.J. Hardy doubled with one out in the second, but was stranded. He hasn't homered since Sept. 5, 2013, but his average has climbed to .301. Chris Tillman retired the Astros...

The seeds for Saturday's 10-2 shellacking of the Texas Rangers were sewn on Friday afternoon, when Nationals right-hander Doug Fister made a guest appearance as the position players gathered to pore over an American League opponent they rarely face. Fister was there to discuss the approach he'd employ with each Rangers hitter in hopes that understanding his pitch sequences and tendencies would help his fielders better position themselves for what might happen when bat hit ball. "You get a...