Shortstop J.J. Hardy and left fielder David Lough have returned to the Orioles lineup for tonight's game against the Blue Jays. Hardy had been absent for six of the last seven games due to spasms and tightness in his lower back. Lough was tested for a concussion Wednesday due to dizziness and eye floaters, the same symptoms that caused the Orioles to shut him down in spring training. Lough was out of the lineup on Tuesday, served as a ninth-inning defensive replacement on Wednesday and sat out...

Orioles minor league infielder Anthony Caronia is in a Baltimore hospital after getting hit in the face by a pitch last night while playing for the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds at home against Greensboro. During his first at-bat, in the last of the third inning, Caronia took a fastball from Greensboro starter right-hander Domingo German up and in and the lefty hitter could not avoid getting hit. He walked off the field with a trainer, but was later transported from Salisbury to...

Orioles reliever Brian Matusz was released from a local hospital late last night, but his status remains uncertain for tonight's game against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. Matusz never made it to the ballpark yesterday due to flu-like symptoms that have swept through the clubhouse. Hitting coach Jim Presley also missed the game, though he reported Camden Yards earlier in the day. Without Matusz in the bullpen, left-hander Zach Britton was called upon last night to face Adam Lind with two outs...

ATLANTA - It could easily be argued that Tyler Clippard was one of the more dominant late-inning relievers in the league last season. Clippard posted a 2.41 ERA in 72 games, had a 3.04-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and allowed just 37 hits in 71 innings. Yeah, 37 hits allowed in 71 innings. This season, things haven't started so smoothly for Clippard. The Nationals right-hander has allowed four runs in seven appearances, has already walked four batters and has surrendered two homers. Two of the...

Outfielder Brandon Miller displayed impressive power number last season for low Single-A Hagerstown, and hopes to continue that trend as he graduates this season to high Single-A Potomac.Coming into Saturday's game, Miller had hit home runs in two of his last three games with the P-Nats. While with the Suns, Miller slammed 18 home runs in 103 games. He also had 26 doubles and two triples to go along with 72 RBIs. "Yeah, last season was fun," Miller said. "I struggled at the very beginning....

The Nationals may have lost to the Braves last night, but that didn't stop Ryan Zimmerman from having himself a night at the plate and in the field. With the Nats trailing 4-1 in the fifth, Zimmerman tied the game with a three-run shot to left. The blast tied the game and seemingly gave the Nats new life, but Zimmerman had more fun to come. At the bottom of the inning, Zimmerman made a spectacular play. Now, you may have already seen the highlight or this might be your first time witnessing...

ATLANTA - Last night's game had it all. And then some. Ryan Zimmerman was nearly decapitated by a broken bat, then started a 5-4-3 double play after letting the splintered barrel fly over his head. A ball in play drilled second base umpire Angel Hernandez. Denard Span and Dan Uggla collided between first and second base. Adam LaRoche tried to score from second on a wild pitch and nearly made it. Multiple manager/umpire conversations on close calls. Multiple blown leads. Wackiest game I've...

OK, through 10 games to start the 2014 season, the Orioles have not played overall crisp baseball. I think we are certainly going to see better. So far, we've seen some baserunning mistakes and some mental errors. We saw a couple of physical miscues that were costly last night. The Orioles had made just one error all year until Jonathan Schoop made two at third base within a span of three batters in the top of the fourth. He just made two bad throws. The O's had just 10 multi-error games all...

I'm not going to predict whether shortstop J.J. Hardy returns to the Orioles lineup tonight. We keep hearing that he's expected to play, and then he winds up on the bench. But I like his chances in the second game of the series against the Blue Jays. Maybe I am predicting. Hardy was supposed to work out Thursday and start last night. Instead, he underwent an MRI and had a cortisone injection, and he didn't play. That's why I'm hesitant to make any declarations. I may be scarred for...

ATLANTA - We saw another ridiculously entertaining, tight ballgame between the Nationals and Braves tonight, one filled with twists, turns, quirks and plenty of action. In the end, the Braves picked up a 7-6 walk-off win in the bottom of the 10th, their third win in four Washington-Atlanta games so far this season. It was a wild ballgame, and a weird one, too. "Players trying to score from second. Guys running into each other in the middle of the infield. Strange, yeah," manager Matt Williams...