Everything's coming up Wilson Ramos. A night after posting a career-high five RBIs and hitting a game-winning three-run homer in his first game back off the DL, Ramos drove in two with a single to left, starting the Nationals scoring in a five-run second inning. Ramos missed 44 games while on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring, but he's been on fire since his return. In his first 14 games this season, Ramos had six RBIs. He now is 4-for-5 with seven RBIs the last two...

NEW YORK - The roll call from the bleacher creatures at Yankee Stadium has lost its appeal with this lineup. Instead of the fans in the center field bleachers chanting "De-rek Je-ter" until the future Hall of Famer turns and waves his glove - something I always looked forward to on my visits here - we're subjected to "Cruz, Cruz, Cruz." No offense to Luis Cruz, but it's a poor substitution. Same with "Da-vid Ad-ams." Might be time to shelve that tradition until the bigger names...

In just over 24 hours, we'll know how many Nationals have been selected to the 2013 National League All-Star team. We might as well use this time to speculate and talk about the possibilities. In Davey Johnson's eyes, he has two no-doubt-about-it All-Stars on his team: Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond. "Those guys, for sure," Johnson said. Zimmerman ranks first in the National League with 12 wins and has posted the sixth-best ERA in the majors at 2.46. Desmond ranks second among NL...

NEW YORK - Orioles manager Buck Showalter, sitting in the visiting dugout at Yankee Stadium while his club took batting practice, told reporters that he will make a decision on Wei-Yin Chen after the left-hander throws in the bullpen. "If he's physically ready, we'll activate him on the fifth or sixth day," Showalter said. "We've got some different options that present themselves now. We'll take it day to day. The big thing is I want him to get through his work day first and see how he...

When the Orioles beat the Yankees 4-2 last Sunday night on ESPN, they completed a three-game sweep of New York. At that point, the Yankees had lost five in a row and 13 of 18 games. The Yankees were reeling, but then headed to Minnesota to face their longtime whipping boys, the Twins. And, per usual, they whipped them, scoring 29 runs in a four-game sweep. The Yankees scored just eight runs in three games in Baltimore. That probably gives the Yankees some momentum as they return home to host...

NEW YORK - Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen is in the visiting clubhouse at Yankee Stadium today, though he remains on the 15-day disabled list. Chen tossed seven scoreless innings yesterday in his final injury-rehab start at Double-A Bowie. In two games, he allowed four runs and nine hits in 12 innings, with two walks and eight strikeouts. Chen said he will throw a bullpen session on Saturday while waiting for the Orioles to decide when he's going to be activated. "I'm not quite sure right now...

Aside from pitcher Gio Gonzalez, Nationals manager Davey Johnson will trot out the same lineup for tonight's opener of a three-game series against the Padres as he used yesterday in the finale against the Brewers. I guess when you score eight runs, you don't want to mess up a good thing. Gonzalez will be opposed by right-hander Andrew Cashner. Here are tonight's lineups: For the Padres SS Everth Cabrera CF Chris Denorfia LF Carlos Quentin 3B Chase Headley RF Kyle Blanks 2B Logan...

NEW YORK - Matt Wieters, Ryan Flaherty and Alexi Casilla took early batting practice this afternoon. Wieters is 6-for-42 with three RBIs in his last 13 games. He's batting .225/.282/.393 this season. But he's 9-for-21 with three doubles and three homers against Yankees starter Ivan Nova. Brian Roberts will serve as the designated hitter tonight and hit ninth, while Ryan Flaherty will get the start at second base for the Orioles. For the Orioles Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Nick...

Many O's fans may not even know his name right now, but one day the Orioles hope he turns into something that has been extremely rare in their organization - an O's signed and produced major leaguer from the Dominican Republic. In July of 2010, the Orioles signed the then 16-year-old Hector Veloz to a $300,000 bonus which is believed to be the largest the O's have ever given to a Dominican-born amateur. After batting .225 in 67 games for the Dominican Summer League O's in 2011 and .268...

NEW YORK - Since July 29, 2012, the Orioles have the best winning percentage in baseball at .605 and are tied with the Athletics for the most wins with 89. The Orioles are 15-8 in their last 23 games against the Yankees after going 12-41 in the previous 53. They're 6-3 against them this season, but they lost two of three in the Bronx April 12-14. Since the start of 2012, the Orioles are 2-4 in extra innings against New York, including the playoffs, and 20-2 against the rest of baseball. The...