The Orioles are facing a left-hander tonight, the Angels' Jason Vargas, which could put Nate McLouth back on the bench. Manager Buck Showalter is inclined to go with his right-handed lineup, which includes Nolan Reimold in left field and Steve Pearce as the designated hitter. Reimold is 3-for-9 with a double and home run against Vargas. McLouth is 1-for-2 with an RBI. Pearce has never faced him. The Orioles might want to try something different, since Vargas has posted a 2.03 ERA against...

Major League Baseball released the draft order for the 2013 First-Year Player Draft set for Thursday, June 6. The Houston Astros will have the No. 1 overall selection. The Nationals do not have a selection in the first round this season. The Nationals forfeited that late round selection because they signed pitcher Rafael Soriano. The Yankees picked up a compensatory pick for the loss of Soriano. New York has three selections in the first round at No. 26, No. 32 and No. 33. The pick the...

PITTSBURGH - With Ryan Zimmerman ready to come off the disabled list today after missing the last 15 days with a hamstring strain, Anthony Rendon's first taste of the major leagues has come to an end. Rendon will return to Double-A Harrisburg's roster today, going back to the long bus rides and cramped clubhouses that minor league ball offers. But he'll go back with eight big league games and 30 plate appearances under his belt, and a sampling of what life is like on the big stage. "It...

Chris Tillman provided the Orioles bullpen with some much-needed rest Thursday night by pitching eight shutout innings against the Angels. In the process, Tillman became only the second Orioles starter to go more than seven innings in 2013, which has left the team's relievers to carry a heavy early-season load. Coming into the game, the O's bullpen had pitched a shade more than 42 innings in the previous 13 games. Tillman averaged 5.2 innings per outing in five starts prior to Thursday....

Redundancy isn't always a bad thing in spite of the negative connotations often associated with the word. In the case of the Washington Nationals' roster, it's actually a key to the way Nats GM Mike Rizzo, and general managers league-wide admittedly, construct their teams. The defending NL East champs have multiple closers for example. If 33-year-old veteran Rafael Soriano has had too much work, the Nationals can turn to the likes of Drew Storen, their '09 first-round pick who saved 42...

The announcement earlier this week that Roberto Alomar would be the latest inductee into the Orioles' Hall of Fame this summer sparked a debate over his worthiness and who should be next in line. The knock on Alomar: He only played three seasons here - the minimum requirement for induction - and only posted two really good ones. The third season was sub-par by his standards. His heart wasn't in it. He's probably the best overall player that I've covered. As a former teammate once noted,...

ATLANTA - In case you missed the final out of last night's 3-1 Nationals win, you missed a postgame celebration that's starting to grow in popularity. For years now, Rafael Soriano has untucked his jersey after notching a save. Last night, MASN's cameras caught Ian Desmond

Orioles fans have marveled at the play of the now 20-year-old Manny Machado since his call up to the major leagues last August. The kid has clearly taken his game to a new level in recent weeks and a lot of people are noticing. That includes the national media. On MLB Network's "MLB Now" Wednesday, former Oriole and current network analyst Bill Ripken anchored a segment where he said when you talk about the top young players in the game - and the current crop is pretty outstanding - you...

After their starting pitchers had worked a total of 20 1/3 innings over the last four games, the Orioles were hoping Chris Tillman could get them a deep outing in the series opener at Anaheim against the Angels - and he delivered. Pitching near his Fountain Valley, Calif., home, Tillman gave up just three singles over eight shutout innings as the O's beat Los Angeles 5-1 to improve to 5-3 on this road trip. Tillman gave up two walks and a single in the first, but Nick Markakis threw Mike...

ATLANTA - If you've read any of Dan Haren's quotes following a start or seen his postgame interviews on MASN, you've probably noticed that Haren is as self-aware and honest a player as you'll find in the majors. If Haren stinks, he'll tell you he stinks. If he needs to stop messing around and throw more strikes, he'll say so. Tonight, following his eight-inning gem in a 3-1 Nationals win over the Braves, Haren discussed what went right in his outing while also reflecting on what had...