PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals today officially made a move that has been expected for the last couple of weeks: They optioned second baseman Danny Espinosa to Triple-A Syracuse. Espinosa was placed on the disabled list back on June 4 with a fractured right wrist. He got a cortisone shot in the wrist in order to relieve some of the inflammation in there and had played six games with Syracuse on a minor league rehab assignment. Today, the Nats reinstated Espinosa from the DL and officially sent...

With just over two weeks of voting left, the Orioles are continuing their push to be well-represented at Major League Baseball's All-Star Game in New York this July by hosting four Vote Orange rallies over the next week. The Vote Orange Street team will visit restaurants and taverns in Federal Hill this Friday, June 21, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and will then canvass Canton Square restaurants and taverns on Sunday, June 23 from 1:00-3:00 p.m. Orioles outfielder Nate McLouth will appear at Modell's...

The Washington Nationals today returned from rehab and reinstated second baseman Danny Espinosa from the 15-Day Disabled List. The Nationals then optioned Espinosa to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Espinosa, who played in six games for the Chiefs during his just-completed rehab assignment, is a career .230 hitter (329-for-1428) with 79 doubles, eight triples, 47...

Chris Tillman has thrown 47 pitches in two innings today, but the Orioles and Tigers remain scoreless at Comerica Park. Tillman has allowed four hits and walked a batter. He's been aided by outstanding plays by third baseman Manny Machado and left fielder Nate McLouth. Tillman has allowed eight runs in the third this season, his highest total in any inning. McLouth singled in the first inning, giving him hits in six of his last eight games and four in a row. He's 7-for-27 in those eight...

The Orioles have begun serious negotiations with their top draft pick, right-hander Hunter Harvey out of Bandys High School in Catawba, N.C., according to an industry source. All along it has seemed like once the talks heated up that an agreement could follow pretty quickly. That is still quite possible. This may only take a few days. Harvey was rated by Baseball America as the 33rd-best player overall and the seventh-best right-hander in the draft after a senior year when he went 8-0 with an...

The Orioles' Adam Jones, Chris Davis, J.J. Hardy and Nick Markakis are leading the All-Star voting at their respective positions, but third baseman Manny Machado's chances to make the team present interesting twists. Machado, who turns 21 on July 6, deserves to be at New York's Citi Field on July 16. At this point, he is more than a million votes behind Detroit's Miguel Cabrera to start at third base. Unless he overcomes Cabrera in the fan voting, Machado's being an All-Star depends on...

Travis Ishikawa is starting at first base today for the Orioles in the series finale against the Tigers at Comerica Park. Chris Davis will get a partial break as the designated hitter. Taylor Teagarden is catching today. For the Orioles Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Chris Davis DH J.J. Hardy SS Travis Ishikawa 1B Ryan Flaherty 2B Taylor Teagarden C Chris Tillman RHP For the Tigers Austin Jackson CF Andy Dirks LF Miguel Cabrera 3B Prince Fielder...

Of all of the positive developments we've witnessed in Birdland over the past 18 months or so, the best one (outside of the playoffs) might be this year's All-Star voting results. As of Monday, four Orioles - Adam Jones, Nick Markakis, Chris Davis, and J.J. Hardy - were in position to start the All-Star Game. Not just make the team. Start. One more player - Manny Machado - is a near lock to be selected even if he isn't voted a starter (he's currently second behind Miguel Cabrera at third...

Of the Nationals' current healthy lineup, only Ian Desmond is performing above his career average OPS of .744 at .791, and Ryan Zimmerman is the only Nat with an OPS over .800 at .808. Everyone else is either on the disabled list or underperforming their career averages, some to a comical degree. One of the largest problems with the Nationals is that their best player is currently on the DL and with no timetable for the return of Bryce Harper, the rapid descent into the depth of the NL...

PHILADELPHIA - The good news for Jayson Werth - and the bad news for everyone else in the Philadelphia area - is that Werth's team slump-busting strategy of showing up today ready to "eat somebody's face" jives with his gluten-free eating habits. If you're planning on attending tonight's game at Citizens Bank Park, be alert. A man with an incredibly long beard is talking about eating faces later on. I don't know much about cannibalism, but I do know that the Nationals will need more...