If the sixth inning doesn't jump up and bite Chris Tillman - it tends to happen to Orioles starters - he's headed toward an outstanding start in his first game in Anaheim. Tillman's having quite a time at his homecoming. He's retired 11 batters in a row and holding tightly to a 2-0 lead over the Angels. Joe Blanton had allowed only one run until the sixth. Insane. But Adam Jones singled with one out and scored on Chris Davis' double - his 29th RBI on the season. Jones had fouled a ball...

ATLANTA - Two nights ago, after an 8-1 Nationals loss, Davey Johnson started his postgame session with reporters by asking whether he really needed to discuss another defeat at the hands of the Braves. Tonight, Johnson was more than happy to talk about the Nats' second win over Atlanta in as many nights. "That was fun," a smiling Johnson said to open his postgame press conference. Dan Haren went eight innings, allowing just one run on four hits in what was far and away his best start as...

The Orioles' lineup is definitely top-heavy again tonight. The first five batters are posting averages of .329 (Nate McLouth), .311 (Manny Machado), .284 (Nick Markakis), .333 (Adam Jones) and .337 (Chris Davis). The bottom four are posting averages of .228 (Matt Wieters), .194 (J.J. Hardy), .117 (Ryan Flaherty) and .203 (Nolan Reimold). Wieters is 5-for-15 in his last four games, with a double, home run and five RBIs. That's encouraging. Hardy has registered his first two multi-hit games...

ATLANTA - After four starts to begin the season that ranged from average to ugly, Dan Haren might be turning a corner. Haren has been tremendous tonight, throwing seven frames of one-run ball against the Braves, allowing just three hits and striking out three. Perhaps even more remarkable than the pitching line has been Haren's efficiency. He's needed just 69 pitches to get through his seven innings of work, and 47 of those pitches have been strikes. That's an average of 9.9 pitches per...

For the second night in a row, the Orioles face a pitcher who doesn't look very good on the stat sheet. It didn't turn out that well for Baltimore last night. That is when Aaron Harang began the night with an ERA of 11.37 and batting average against of .362 and then shut out the Orioles for the first five innings of the game and got the win, allowing two runs over six innings for Seattle. Tonight, the Orioles face the Angels' Joe Blanton, who is 0-4 with a 7.09 ERA in five starts. Opposing...

ATLANTA - The Nationals have now retired 29 of the last 30 Braves hitters to come to the plate. Dan Haren has faced just one over the minimum through three crisp innings tonight. Strangely enough, the only batter to reach base during this 30-batter stretch was tonight's Braves starter, Kris Medlen, who Haren walked on five pitches. Outside of that meeting with Medlen, Haren's been absolutely cruising. He's needed just 30 pitches to get through his three innings so far, and 20 of those...

The bottom of the Orioles lineup tonight remains shortstop J.J. Hardy, second baseman Ryan Flaherty and designated hitter Nolan Reimold. The top may look familiar, as well, with left fielder Nate McLouth leading off and third baseman Manny Machado batting second. Machado will try to extend his hitting streak to 11 games. 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 Nolan Reimold DH Chris Tillman...

The Orioles have won one season series against the Angels since 2003. They went 6-0 in 2010, the only time they've swept the series in franchise history. Here's the lineup they will be facing tonight: For the Angels Erick Aybar SS Mike Trout CF Albert Pujols 1B Mark Trumbo DH Josh Hamilton RF Howie Kendrick 2B Hank Conger C Brendan Harris 3B J.B. Shuck LF Joe Blanton RHP Pujols went hitless against the Orioles in a three-game series in Anaheim on April 20-22, 2012, the first time he was...

ATLANTA -- We're still waiting for the Nationals' official lineup, but both Bryce Harper and Jayson Werth are set to take batting practice, and barring any setbacks, they'll be in the Nats' starting nine. Harper suffered a nasty bruise on his left side after colliding with the right field wall Tuesday and he needed to leave last night's game in the sixth inning after a check-swing aggravated the injury. Werth has missed the last two games with a sore left ankle and hamstring...

First baseman Chris Davis has been voted the American League Player of the Month for April, the first Oriole to receive the honor since Melvin Mora in August 2008. Davis batted .348 (32-for-92) with eight doubles, nine home runs, 28 RBIs, 16 walks and 19 runs scored in 27 games to claim his first career Player of the Month award. Among league leaders last month with a minimum of 81 plate appearances, Davis finished first in slugging percentage (.728) and total bases (67), tied for first in...