Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 14, with nerve inflammation in his cervical spine, and he is scheduled to undergo surgery next week. The Orioles recalled infielder Danny Valencia and selected the contract of outfielder Henry Urrutia. They designated outfielder Chris Dickerson for assignment to clear room for Urrutia on the 25- and 40-man rosters. Reimold, 29, has batted .195/.250/.336 in 40 games with the Orioles this season....

The Orioles today announced that they have selected the contract of outfielder Henry Urrutia and recalled infielder Danny Valencia from Triple-A Norfolk. To make room for them on the 25- and 40-man rosters, outfielder Nolan Reimold has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 14, with nerve inflammation in the cervical spine, and outfielder Chris Dickerson has been designated for assignment. Urrutia, 26, has batted a combined .365/.427/.531 in 67 games with Double-A Bowie...

Davey Johnson has done some more tinkering to his lineup for the first game of the second half, and one of the moves makes me wonder if something's up. Adam LaRoche is not in the Nationals lineup today. Chad Tracy will instead play first base. The Nats are facing Dodgers right-hander Ricky Nolasco today, and Tracy (like LaRoche) is a left-handed hitter, so it's not as if Johnson is taking LaRoche out as some sort of platoon. The first game after the All-Star break, LaRoche just isn't in...

A few quick notes and thoughts as the second half is about to begin: * Chris Davis has homered in his last four games, tying his best mark of the season. He homered in each of the first four games of this season. In the last four games before the break, Davis went 6-for-14 with four homers and eight RBIs. He has hit nine homers his last 15 games, 15 in the last 27 and 26 homers in his past 55 games. Just as impressive, Davis now has 41 RBIs his last 31 games. A player driving them in on that...

The Orioles are listing Scott Feldman, Jason Hammel, Wei-Yin Chen and Miguel Gonzalez as their four starters for the series in Kansas City that begins Monday night. Manager Buck Showalter is keeping the same five starters after the All-Star break, but he's tweaked the order by moving Feldman ahead of Hammel. Hammel pitched Saturday against the Blue Jays at Camden Yards. and allowed six runs and 10 hits in six innings, falling to 7-6 with a 5.24 ERA in 19 starts. He hasn't won since May 27...

The Nationals' top prospect, right-hander Lucas Giolito, has now made three starts for the rookie level Gulf Coast Nationals, and with each start he makes improvements. On July 15, Giolito made his longest start, going three innings, allowing three hits, no runs, one walk and striking out three batters. The 19-year old is 0-0 with a 1.69 ERA in three games, totaling just 5 1/3 innings. It is a small sample size, but still lots of fans are asking when Giolito will be moved to short-season...

I'm curious whether the Orioles will toss Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia into the deep end of the major league pool or let him dip his toe into it. Urrutia has climbed up the minor league ladder. Maybe he'll climb down the one leading into the pool, if you know what I mean. The Orioles are facing a left-hander tonight, the Rangers' Derek Holland, which could put Danny Valencia in the lineup at designated hitter. They also will face southpaw Martin Perez on Sunday. Urrutia was 6-for-17...

Let second-half baseball begin! Even though the Orioles were off for just a few days, for many fans, it seemed like much longer. Granted, with five Orioles being named to the American League All-Star team, it may not have seemed like such a long break given the black and orange at Citi Field. Before we officially begin the second half of the season, we're looking back at the first few months. Holding a 53-43 record and in the middle of a very tight AL East race, the Orioles have surprised...

The second half begins tonight when the Nationals host the Los Angeles Dodgers. Here are the top five storylines to keep track of during the remainder of the 2013 season: 5. Krol and Abad: The Nationals started the season with a right-handrf-heavy bullpen they thought could handle left-handed hitters. The Nats continued to add left-handed pitchers to the mix in the organization throughout the offseason, however. Former Astros lefty Fernando Abad, 27, signed with Washington in November. Ian...

If you've struggled with the lack of real baseball this week, if you feel like there's been a hole in your summertime routine without the Nationals and hundreds of