Will this be the night that the Orioles see one of their starting pitchers go seven innings or more? Will Jason Hammel become the first in 2013 to do that? Hammel may be the most likely of the O's starters to get that done. The longest outing by an O's starter is 6 2/3 innings, with Hammel doing that on April 7 against Minnesota. Chris Tillman equaled that on Monday against Toronto. The Orioles remain the only team in Major League Baseball yet to have a starter go seven or more. Hammel is...

A week's worth of frustration is all spilling out in the early innings tonight. The Nationals have put up six runs through the first three innings against the Reds, and they have a 6-0 lead. Jayson Werth said yesterday that the Nats had been neither lucky nor good during their recent slide. Tonight, they've been both. The Nats have seven hits, three for extra bases. Bryce Harper and Danny Espinosa both homered in a four-run third inning, with Espinosa's shot plating Adam LaRoche, who had...

The Nationals chose to open the season with just one left-hander in their bullpen, and that's the way things will stay for the time being. Despite the Nats having a bullpen ERA of 4.48 over 64 1/3 innings, 21st in the majors, general manager Mike Rizzo is happy with the current construction of the 'pen. Zach Duke is currently the lone left-hander, but the Nats have a number of righties (Tyler Clippard, Ryan Mattheus and Craig Stammen among them) who have good reverse splits, meaning...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled left-hander Zach Britton from Triple-A Norfolk. Britton, 25, has gone 1-0 with a 1.98 ERA (13.2IP, 3ER) in three starts with the Tides this season. The left-hander is 16-14 with a 4.74 ERA (214.2IP, 113ER) in 40 games (39 starts) in the major leagues since 2011. With this move, the Orioles' 25-man roster is now full.

The Orioles confirmed that they have recalled left-hander Zach Britton from Triple-A Norfolk. He's available in the bullpen tonight. Nate McLouth is back in the leadoff spot tonight, which comes as no surprise. Over his last five games, McLouth is batting .462 (6-for-13) with six walks and six runs scored. In the leadoff spot, McLouth is batting .321 (17-53) with 11 walks. McLouth is second in the American League in walks by a leadoff hitter behind Oakland's Coco Crisp (14), but Crisp has...

Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo decided to call up top prospect Anthony Rendon on Saturday night to replace Ryan Zimmerman, who was placed on the 15-day disabled list with a hamstring injury. Zimmerman attended batting practice and was stretching, but is not hitting yet. Manager Davey Johnson said Zimmerman is still a "couple days behind" Wilson Ramos in their recoveries from injuries, but is still on track to return when the 15 days expire. Rizzo said Rendon will "most likely"...

Given the way Adam LaRoche has been struggling at the plate lately, Davey Johnson knew LaRoche would be taking early batting practice today to try and find a groove. Johnson was curious how LaRoche's cage session would go, so he popped out to the field this afternoon to watch his first baseman take some cuts. Only problem was, LaRoche wasn't in the group rotating into the cage. The Nationals had so many players getting in early BP that LaRoche, mired in an 0-for-11 slump with eight...

It has not been the fastest start for Potomac Nationals first baseman Kevin Keyes. But Wednesday's home run at Carolina may change that. His first home run of the season, and 42nd of his minor league career, was a mammoth blast at Five County Stadium in Zebulon, N.C. that smashed a light bulb on the outfield light tower. Here is the description from Potomac Nationals Web site: "Keyes' majestic, Ruthian blast was a high-arching drive that collided with a band of bulbs on the left field...

The Oakland Athletics have already posted their lineup for tonight's series opener against the Orioles. For the Athletics Coco Crisp CF John Jaso C Seth Smith DH Jed Lowrie SS Brandon Moss 1B Chris Young LF Josh Reddick RF Josh Donaldson 3B Eric Sogard 2B Jarrod Parker RHP Reddick batted .343 with two homers and seven RBIs in eight games against the Orioles last season. The A's haven't lose a season series to the Orioles since 1998. The Orioles have lost 34 of their last 45 games in...

The Orioles begin a four-game series tonight and 11-game road trip against the Oakland A's. The A's have a 13-9 record while the Orioles are 12-9. But while Oakland has lost five of its last six games in series against Tampa Bay and Boston, Oakland has gone 6-0 against the Houston Astros who are in their first season in the American League. Later this year it could be that the Orioles will be battling with Oakland for a wild-card berth. This season the A's will play Houston 19 times and...