Orioles manager Buck Showalter noted the contributions from the bottom of his lineup last night, and he's not making any changes to it tonight. Ryan Flaherty remains at second base after registering his first two-hit game of the season, including an RBI double. Steve Pearce remains the designated hitter after homering last night. 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 Ryan Flaherty 2B Steve Pearce DH Freddy...

Each summer, hundreds of Baltimore youth have the chance to play baseball through the Orioles' Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) program. Starting this year, 150 more young athletes will enjoy this opportunity through the addition of a six-team Youth Division for boys ages 10-12 and a four-team Softball Division for girls ages 13-17. In total, 450 Baltimore City youth representing 26 different RBI teams in four divisions (Youth, Junior, Senior and Softball) will play games at fields...

Outfielder Lew Ford, who made several key contributions to the Orioles' 2012 playoff run, has been out since May 10 after a sports hernia injury. Ford saw a doctor recently and surgery is a possibility. No decision on that has yet been made. It was quite a story last season when the Orioles signed Ford out of the Atlantic League on May 17 and called him up from the minors in late July. He was on the club's playoff roster in October. With a glut of outfielders at the higher levels of the...

Freddy Garcia is still looking for his first win at Camden Yards as an Oriole, and he's willing to work up a sweat for it. As if he has a choice. Garcia is nicknamed "Sweaty Freddy" for a reason. The man perspires while shuffling a deck of cards. He's drenched by the first inning. Heck, he's drenched by his first meal. If a manager gauged whether Garcia was fatigued by the way he looked, the bullpen phone would ring during the anthem. It's going to be a scorcher tonight. Game time...

If you were surprised to see the Nationals blow a three-run lead in the late innings last night with Jordan Zimmermann on the mound and Tyler Clippard coming in behind him, well, you weren't the only one. "It's surprising in the sense that those games, traditionally, we're going to win," Clippard said. "We got a lead early and felt good about things. Jordan was throwing the ball well. But again, (the Orioles) have a good lineup. This is an offensive park and they took advantage of some...

At this point in my life, as a sports fan, I'm not often surprised by much. So far this season, Chris Davis has me wondering if what I am seeing from him is for real, based on his track record. I was not sure if he could replicate what he did last season, especially toward the end, coming into 2013. However, he is exceeding that - and a whole lot more. His nickname among fans and the media is "Crush", based on his power at the plate, size and physique. Since opening day, he has been doing...

Chris Davis came to bat in the seventh inning last night and the Orioles had just taken a 7-6 lead on Washington. With Nick Markakis on second base and first base open, Davis didn't know if he'd even get a chance to swing the bat. He did, and he took a mighty swing and miss at the first pitch he saw from the Nationals' Tyler Clippard. Two pitches later, on an 0-2 count, he hit his second homer of the game and 19th on the year. "I wasn't sure if they would pitch to me or not," Davis...

I have to admit, I began to wonder yesterday whether the Orioles were considering a position change for reliever Pedro Strop. He was fielding balls at shortstop while the club videotaped him. And around here, guys change arm slots and pitches and positions as regularly as they change socks. Strop started out as a shortstop, so it wasn't that far of a reach. "He's not making a change to shortstop," said manager Buck Showalter, pointing out that Strop was simply taking part in a throwing...

BALTIMORE - Facing the Orioles, pitching in Camden Yards, things can get ugly in a hurry. Case in point: The seventh inning of tonight's ballgame. A 6-3 Nationals' lead became a 9-6 deficit seemingly in the blink of an eye. Jordan Zimmermann looked to be in good shape when the bottom of the seventh inning began, having thrown just 75 pitches to that point. You give the ball to Zimmermann with a three-run lead in that situation 100 times, and he probably gets the job done 95 of them. Not...

Chris Davis had the starring role tonight and a crush of reporters around his locker. Crush, get it? But other Orioles had a few things to say after the comeback win. Steve Johnson about the feeling on the bench in the last of the seventh: "It was awesome. We got on a roll. Even over the last few days, we've hit the ball hard and we always have the thought we can come back. We piled it on." Chris Tillman on his outing: "Not very good. Fell behind a lot. Call it poor execution and poor...