The Orioles had interest in signing pitcher Jon Rauch over the winter, and they were able to secure a minor league deal with him over the weekend. Executive vice president Dan Duquette is hoping that his patience pays off. Rauch will report to Triple-A Norfolk on Monday and join the Tides bullpen. A spot must be cleared for him, since the current roster is at full capacity. "He's a qualified major league reliever," Duquette said. "He had a really good year last year. He can set up and...

The Orioles have signed 6-foot-11 pitcher Jon Rauch to a minor league deal and assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk. He will report to the Tides on Monday. Rauch, 34, was 1-2 with a 7.56 ERA in 15 relief appearances with the Miami Marlins this season, with 23 hits allowed, seven walks and 15 strikeouts in 16 2/3 innings. Rauch has played for eight major league teams, including Montreal/Washington, over parts of 11 seasons. He's 43-40 with a 3.90 ERA. He posted a 3.59 ERA in 73 games with the...

If the season ended today, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera would not win the Triple Crown and neither would Chris Davis. That is because they are standing in the way of each other right now. Cabrera leads the American League in batting and RBIs, but Davis has a 19 to 16 edge in homers. In many other years, Davis' .356 average and RBI total of 50 might be leading the league at this point, but Cabrera is at .372 and 61. They rank first and second in the AL right now in batting average, homers, RBIs,...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter isn't making any changes to his lineup this afternoon after his club rallied last night to defeat the Tigers 7-5 at Camden Yards. Chris Dickerson hit a walk-off three-run homer and he remains the designated hitter today. Ryan Flaherty gets another start at second base. For the Orioles Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters C J.J. Hardy SS Chris Dickerson DH Ryan Flaherty 2B Jason Hammel RHP For the...

ATLANTA - The list of Nationals players on the disabled list will probably be growing shortly, as Bryce Harper is "likely" heading to the DL with bursitis in his left knee, a team source confirmed. The Nationals will be bringing up right-handed reliever Erik Davis from Triple-A Syracuse to fill Harper's spot on the active roster and provide support to a bullpen that will likely be without Craig Stammen and Tyler Clippard today after those two had heavy workloads last night. Harper has...

Right-hander Nathan Karns made it through his first start with the Nationals and did his job, keeping his team in the game. Karns gets his second start Sunday in Atlanta. With lingering injuries to Ross Detwiler (oblique) and now Stephen Strasburg (oblique), Karns is not going anywhere. Suddenly, the right-hander with only 10 starts above high Single-A ball is critical to the Nationals, who are treading water as June begins. "The first one just came by and it was a complete shock," Karns...

He didn't get any stolen bases last night, but Nate McLouth ranks second in the American League with 17, four behind Boston's Jacoby Ellsbury. At his current pace, he would end the season with 50 steals, something done just three times in Orioles history. 57 - Luis Aparicio, 1964 53 - Brady Anderson, 1992 50 - Brian Roberts, 2007 The Orioles have gone from worst to almost first in the AL in stolen bases. After swiping just 58 bags total in 2012, they now have stolen 41 bases, one behind...

ATLANTA - For those who might've been out enjoying their Friday night and didn't catch yesterday's series opener between the Nationals and Braves, you missed quite a bit of action at Turner Field. As we await the details of a roster move that will bring right-handed reliever Erik Davis to the big leagues for the first time in his career and likely force either Bryce Harper or Stephen Strasburg to the disabled list, I've got some bonus quotes from an upbeat Nats clubhouse last night. Craig...

While Freddy Garcia was sweating profusely and putting the Nationals' offense in a deep freeze Thursday night during his eight scoreless innings, Orioles manager Buck Showalter glanced down the bench at young starter Kevin Gausman and noticed how he kept watching intently. Each pitch, each sequence, each out. Gausman throws 99 mph. Garcia celebrates if his fastball ventures into the upper 80s. They have little in common besides the uniform, but Gausman took advantage of another opportunity to...

ATLANTA - This incredibly eventful night in Nationals land just won't end. Right-handed reliever tweeted that he's getting called up to the big leagues. At this late hour, I'm not confident that I'll be able to get confirmation on the particulars of the roster move, but I can tell you there were rumblings that Davis was an option to get called up earlier in the week. The two most likely candidates to land on the disabled list to make room for Davis on the Nationals' 25-man roster are...