After the success of last year's sold-out inaugural event, the Orioles today announced that they are bringing back Father's Day Catch on the Field on Sunday, June 15, prior to the game vs. the Toronto Blue Jays. Due to the tremendous turnout last season, a third session has been added to accommodate more fans. Beginning this Saturday at 11:00 a.m., fans may purchase one of two ticket packages that include a pair of tickets for the 1:35 p.m. game and a 25-minute pre-game session of catch on...

In the face of a position change, Anthony Rendon has gotten off to a solid start with the bat in 2014. Despite a 2-for-12 showing against Oakland Athletics pitching extinguishing his dalliance with a .300 batting average for the time being, the third baseman is still in good shape, putting up a .349 weighted on-base average (league average is currently .310), good third on the Nationals. Currently manning the hot corner while Ryan Zimmerman is on the mend with a thumb injury, Rendon has done...

Before an arm injury put him on the 15-day disabled list and placed his entire season in doubt, Matt Wieters was terrorizing American League pitchers in April. His slash line of .338/.370/.554 had made some wonder if he has finally figured things out and become the offensive wunderkind so many in Baltimore had originally thought he would be. You may have noticed that Wieters was wielding a bat made of ash. This, in and of itself, is not very remarkable. Ash bats are still a common sight and, as...

PHOENIX - By no means would it have been time to panic if the Nationals had lost last night's game to the Diamondbacks. But, man, after a rough weekend in Oakland, getting swept by the A's and outscored 21-4 in that three-game set, last night's 6-5 comeback win over the D-backs sure felt good for the guys in the Nats clubhouse. "We needed that win," Danny Espinosa said. "Coming off the series we just came off, I thought we really needed that." "Let's be honest here: This weekend...

Maybe lost a bit last night in all of the postgame talk about Bud Norris hitting Torii Hunter was that besides Norris hitting the Tigers right fielder, the Orioles didn't hit much of anything else last night. They aren't hitting much of anything at all these days. Where has the offense gone? The Orioles went to Minnesota and scored six runs in three games. They went to Tampa and scored 12 runs in three games. They came home against Houston and scored 11 runs in three games. They scored one...

PHOENIX - Talk about a roller coaster of a ballgame in the desert. Four lead changes, four multi-run half-innings, 13 extra-base hits and a ninth-inning comeback that featured two solo shots from guys who started the season on the Nationals bench. This one had quite a few twists and turns, all right. In the end, the Nats escaped with a dramatic 6-5 win, thanks largely to ninth-inning homers off the bats of Danny Espinosa (a shot that tied the game) and Kevin Frandsen (a shot that gave the Nats...

Steve Clevenger collected three more hits last night and is batting .304. Let me put this another way: An Orioles backup catcher is batting .304. Another silver lining in another Orioles injury. Jonathan Schoop was given regular playing time while Manny Machado rehabbed his left knee, accelerating his development at the major league level. Steve Pearce became the starting first baseman in Chris Davis' absence and flourished at the plate and on the bag, solidifying his spot on the team. Now...

Plate umpire James Hoye ejected Orioles starter Bud Norris tonight in the eighth inning after Torii Hunter was hit in the ribs following Ian Kinsler's two-run homer. Norris insisted it wasn't intentional. Hunter offered his own opinion. "I was actually thinking he's got good stuff today," said Hunter, who jawed at Norris while the pitcher was on the mound and again when he headed to the dugout. "He's pitching pretty well, and what, he just all of a sudden lost it? I want all the...

Most of the talk tonight following the Orioles' 4-1 loss to the Tigers at Camden Yards centered on the heated exchange between pitcher Bud Norris and right fielder Torii Hunter. You were expecting something else? Hunter kept jawing at Norris after being hit in the eighth inning following Ian Kinsler's two-run homer. Norris said it wasn't intentional and plate umpire James Hoye ejected him only because of Hunter's overreaction. "Hit Torii with a pitch, the umpire deemed it intentional...

Bud Norris said this was the first ejection of his career tonight and he didn't feel it was justified. Norris was ejected after hitting Torii Hunter in the top of the eighth. That followed a two-run homer by Ian Kinsler that gave Detroit a 4-1 lead. "First of all I respect Torii Hunter and the game he has played for a long time. But I'm out there trying to do my job late in the game," Norris said. "I threw a first-pitch slider. He took a really aggressive hack at it, so I felt he was...