Remember all the O's offense we were talking about just a few games ago? It has taken a vacation recently. Coming into the Detroit series last weekend, the Orioles were batting .311 in their previous 19 games and scoring 5.6 runs per game in that stretch. In the eight games since then, the O's are batting just .235 and scoring only 3.6 runs per game. They have scored four runs or less in six of their last seven games. Remember all the runs the O's had been getting against Tampa Bay? They...

Another frustrating loss, another postgame press conference where Davey Johnson tries to sum up what's going wrong with his team. The Nationals fell to the Twins 4-3 in 11 innings today, dropping Johnson's team two games under .500 for the first time this season. The Nats had 10 hits but went 1-for-7 with runners in scoring position and didn't draw a single walk. Over their last seven games, the Nats have drawn a total of five walks. The offensive woes and overall effort might end up...

The Nationals have completed the First-Year Player draft, making their final seven picks (click here and here to get a rundown of today's previous draft action from MASNsports.com's Byron Kerr). At this point, most clubs are doing some serious prospecting on guy who may or may not pan out, but the Nationals came up with a couple of interesting names in the draft's later rounds. They took left-hander Jake Walsh out of Missouri with thir 34th-round pick, then followed up in the 35th with...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter was more concerned about the lack of offense in today's 8-0 loss to the Rays than anything that happened to rookie starter Kevin Gausman. The Orioles have scored once in the first two games of the series. The last 15 batters were retired today. Gausman was charged with seven runs in 4 1/3 innings, the last three on Luke Scott's bases-loaded triple off Rule 5 pick T.J. McFarland. "I think he was pretty good, all things considered,"...

The Washington Nationals today selected 30 players on the third day of Major League Baseball's 2013 First-Year Player Draft. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo, Nationals Assistant General Manager & Vice President of Player Personnel Roy Clark and Nationals Director of Scouting Kris Kline made the joint announcement. Over the three-day Draft, the Nationals selected a total of 39 players: 14 right-handed pitchers, eight left-handed...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Major League Baseball released the latest round of voting results in the American League for the All-Star Game on July 16 at Citi Field in New York, and there's a new leader at shortstop. J.J. Hardy has overtaken the Rangers' Elvis Andrus, joining teammates Chris Davis and Adam Jones as leaders at their respective positions. Nick Markakis moved up to fourth among outfielders. Hardy, an All-Star in 2007, is aiming to become just the third Orioles shortstop to earn a...

The Nationals have been lacking any real offensive production out of the No. 2 spot in their lineup for much of the last five weeks. Jayson Werth is now back after missing nearly all of May with a hamstring injury, and he's brought the pop back to the No. 2 hole. Werth crushed a two-run homer to left with two outs in the third inning, putting the Nats on the scoreboard. It was Werth's fifth homer of the season and first since he returned to the Nats' lineup earlier this week. That's been...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter was asked before today's game whether he will use reliever Pedro Strop in the same role or ease him back into competition after a stint on the disabled list. "He's physically ready to go," Showalter said. "We'll let the game dictate it and the needs of our bullpen physically. But I'm hoping there was a byproduct of him having the injury in that it gave him a fresh start, something he didn't get with the WBC." Strop hasn't pitched...

Following the selection of center fielder William Ballou in the 15th round, the Nationals picked another center fielder in the 16th round. At No. 496, the Nationals picked Willie Allen out of Western Oklahoma State College. The 6-foot-2, 191-pounder, is in his second season at the JuCo level, and throws and bats right-handed. In the 17th round, the Nationals selected catcher Geoffrey Perrott out of Rice University. The 22-year-old batted .271 in 57 games, with nine doubles, one triple, one...

The Orioles today announced that they have reinstated right-hander Pedro Strop from the 15-day disabled list. Strop was placed on the DL on May 25, retroactive to May 24, with a lower back strain. He is 0-2 with a 6.11 ERA (17.2IP, 12ER) in 22 appearances for the Orioles this season.