I don't know whether to criticize Jason Hammel for allowing a run in each of the first three innings or praise him for minimizing the damage. Admonish him for the nine baserunners or admire his escape routine. I'll choose all of the above. Hammel has allowed three runs and eight hits in three innings, with one walk and two strikeouts. He's thrown 54 pitches, 33 for strikes. He forced manager Buck Showalter to phone the bullpen, where T.J. McFarland began to warm up. However, the Royals...

Nicky Delmonico's night began with him batting fifth and playing first base for the Single-A Frederick Keys at Winston-Salem. In the top of the second inning, he flied out. As he was preparing to go back on the field to play defense, his tenure in the Orioles organization was about to come to an end. "I was playing, and I'd had one at-bat," Delmonico told me tonight by phone from the visiting clubhouse in Winston-Salem. "I came back in the dugout to get my stuff and go back on the...

Before tonight, the Orioles hadn't trailed in 36 innings since the All-Star break and hadn't fallen behind in the last 45 innings overall. Their last deficit came at the end of the July 13 loss to Toronto. All good things must come to an end. The Royals loaded the bases with no outs against starter Jason Hammel, and Alex Gordon scored on Billy Butler's double play grounder to third. Hammel is fortunate that he only surrendered one run after the first two Royals reached on singles and...

Right-hander A.J. Cole, promoted from high Single-A Potomac to Double-A Harrisburg Tuesday, will make his Double-A debut Thursday at Portland against the Sea Dogs, according to a club source. Cole was 6-3 with a 4.25 ERA in 18 starts for Potomac. He has 102 strikeouts and 23 walks. In his last start July 20 against Lynchburg, Cole went six innings, allowed two hits, two runs, one earned run, one homer, one walk and struck out three batters. Cole has allowed only one earned run in his last...

Once the Orioles traded for starter Scott Feldman, their focus shifted to acquiring a veteran reliever, which they did tonight. The Orioles announced that they obtained right-hander Francisco Rodriguez from the Milwaukee Brewers for minor league infielder Nicky Delmonico. Rodriguez will join the team Wednesday in Kansas City, at which point they will make a corresponding move to clear space on the 25-man roster. Jairo Asencio figures to be optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. The Orioles...

The Orioles today announced that they have acquired right-hander Francisco Rodriguez from the Milwaukee Brewers in exchange for minor league infielder Nick Delmonico. Rodriguez, 31, is 1-1 with 10 saves, a 1.09 ERA (24.2IP, 3ER), 26 strikeouts and nine walks in 25 appearances for Milwaukee this season. He has recorded double-digit saves in nine of the last 10 seasons, including a major league record 62 in 2008 with the Los Angeles Angels. His 304 career saves are third most among active...

Taylor Jordan allowed three runs in the second inning, but in reality, he should've been out of the frame with the Nationals trailing 1-0. Sure, Jordan loaded the bases with none out and fell behind in counts too many times, putting pressure on himself and his defense. But with one out and runners on the corners, Jordan got a tailor-made double play ball hit to Ryan Zimmerman at third base. The ball was struck well by Jordy Mercer, for sure, but Zimmerman picked it clean and delivered an...

For the Orioles, there are 100 games down and 62 to go in the 2013 regular season. The Orioles are 57-43 and 2 1/2 out in the AL East. After 100 games last season, the Orioles were 52-48 and 8 1/2 games out of first place. Jason Hammel will again try to get his season pointed in the right direction tonight. Hammel gave up six runs and 10 hits over six innings in his last start before the All-Star break. He is now 7-6 with a 5.24 ERA over 19 starts. After that last outing, Hammel said, "This...

The Nationals welcomed Rick Schu as their new hitting coach Tuesday, looking to turn around a team that has struggled with inconsistent hitting all season. The Nationals are 13th in the National League in batting average (.240) and 14th in runs scored (367). Schu spent the last four seasons as the Nationals' minor league hitting coordinator. He has watched and coached six teams in the organization before arriving in D.C. to replace the fired Rick Eckstein Schu has been a hitting coach for...

I saw Ross Detwiler in the player parking lot as I was driving up to Nationals Park this afternoon. Detwiler won't be around the park too long before hopping on a plane for the West Coast. Manager Davey Johnson said Detwiler is heading out to Los Angeles today to meet with Dr. Robert Watkins to get another opinion on the lower back strain that landed Detwiler on the DL back on July 7 (retroactive to July 4) and has bothered him since. Detwiler threw a bullpen session Saturday, but was...