If anything good came out of last night's repeated failures with runners in scoring position and less than two outs, it's that closer Jim Johnson ceased to be the center of attention among frustrated fans. Manager Buck Showalter continued to field questions today about his club going 2-for-14 and stranding a season-high 15 runners. It was the topic du jour at Camden Yards. Adam Jones, often criticized for his aggressive approach at the plate, is actually a .338 hitter with RISP this season,...

ABERDEEN, Md. - Wearing his bright white No. 23 Aberdeen IronBirds jersey, Orioles' first round draft pick Hunter Harvey has pitched two scoreless innings tonight here at Ripken Stadium in his debut with short-season, Single-A Aberdeen. Harvey pitched around a two-out jam in the second when he fanned Hudson Valley's John Alexander after allowing back-to-back singles with two outs. Harvey threw a 94 mph fastball by Alexander for his fourth strikeout after a two-out infield single followed by...

CHICAGO - Adam LaRoche is making the most of his day off today, as the first baseman spent part of batting practice getting some ground balls at shortstop, rotating in with Ian Desmond. LaRoche was casually scooping grounders with his first baseman's mitt and then whipping the ball across the diamond to first. It's a bit weird seeing a left-hander on the left side of the infield, I'll tell you that. The day off for LaRoche comes as a result of Davey Johnson wanting to get Tyler Moore into...

One day after promoting top prospect Lucas Giolito to short season Single-A Auburn, according to a source the Nationals have announced plans to promote three more prospects. Left-hander Brett Mooneyham will start for Single-A Potomac on Thursday, weather permitting. Mooneyham was 10-3 with a 1.94 ERA in 17 starts with Single-A Hagerstown. Austin Voth and Jake Johansen will also be promoted to Hagerstown. Both started the season with Auburn. Johansen, the Nats' top pick in the June draft,...

With two more right-handers scheduled to start against the Orioles after tonight, Danny Valencia may not return to the lineup until Saturday against Oakland left-hander Tommy Milone. You can bet that he'll start against David Price if the Orioles are matched up against him during the final road series of the regular season on Sept. 20-23. Valencia is 9-for-12 lifetime against Price after going 2-for-2 with a walk last night. "He may have a career doing this," manager Buck Showalter said....

ABERDEEN, Md. - After five outings in the Gulf Coast League, the Orioles first round draft pick, right-hander Hunter Harvey makes his debut tonight for short-season, Single-A Aberdeen. Harvey will face the Hudson Valley Renegades here at Ripken Stadium at 7:05 p.m. after working to a 1.35 ERA over 13 1/3 innings in the GCL with two walks and 18 strikeouts. Harvey is the son of former big league pitcher Bryan Harvey, who is here for this game. He is scheduled to throw around 75 to 80 pitches...

According to a Major League Baseball source, neither right-hander Stephen Strasburg nor manager Davey Johnson will be suspended for Saturday's incident in Atlanta during which the Nationals starting pitcher hit Justin Upton with a first-inning pitch and later threw behind Andrelton Simmons, earning ejections for both himself and Johnson. After Strasburg drilled Upton with a first-pitch fastball in the first inning, home plate umpire Marvin Hudson warned both benches that any further...

Kevin Gausman picked up his first Triple-A win last night with five scoreless innings for Norfolk, and the reports on him were quite good. Gausman's fastball was 96-98 mph. One of his finest outings of the year. The Orioles are expected to add Gausman to their expanded roster in September. He's likely to pitch out of the bullpen, though manager Buck Showalter left open the possibility that he could make a start. "He could do either, depending on what the need is, if he's called up,"...

CHICAGO - Davey Johnson is again loading up his lineup with right-handed hitters against a left-handed starter, leaving Adam LaRoche and Denard Span on the bench in favor of Tyler Moore and Scott Hairston. Moore will play first base and bat sixth, while Hairston will play left field and bat eighth. Bryce Harper will slide over and play center field tonight and hit leadoff as the Nats face Cubs left-hander Chris Rusin. Rusin has a 3.06 ERA in six starts this season, and he's surrendered just...

Catcher Matt Wieters will attempt to further inflate his career average against the Rays tonight as the Orioles try to even the series following last night's one-run loss. Wieters fell a triple short of the cycle last night and is batting .337 lifetime against the Rays, the highest average for any player with a minimum of 40 games. He's 2-for-5 with a home run lifetime against right-hander Alex Cobb, who's making his second start since being hit in the head by a line drive on June 15. Cobb...