Chris Tillman's streak of quality starts has ended at six tonight, but he leaves the game with a 10-3 lead. Seems like a fair trade. Tillman allowed a season-high 10 hits, but he also tied his season high with seven strikeouts and didn't walk a batter. Tillman also fanned seven against Oakland on April 27 and May 14 against San Diego. Tillman still hasn't allowed more than three runs since April 17 against Tampa Bay. This is Tillman's first start at Rogers Centre since Sept. 24, 2010....

The Nationals have had no trouble getting runners on base against Phillies right-hander Kyle Kendrick, who has issued three hits and four walks through the first four innings. The problem has been converting those baserunners into runs. It's a 2-1 Phillies lead here at Nats Park heading to the bottom of the fifth inning, despite the fact that Jordan Zimmermann has outpitched Kendrick, for the most part. The Nats put two runners in scoring position in the second inning, but both Kurt Suzuki...

Toronto left-hander Sean Nolin received a rude introduction to the majors tonight, courtesy of Nick Markakis and the Orioles. Nolin lasted only 1 1/3 innings and left with the Orioles leading 6-1. Markakis led off the top of the first with a single and later scored on J.J. Hardy's three run homer. He brought home three runs in the second inning with a bases-loaded double, making him 2-for-2 with three RBIs and a run scored. Markakis now has a nine-game hitting streak, going 14-for-37 (.378)...

We now know that Danny Espinosa has been playing for the last five-plus weeks with a broken right wrist. Espinosa says that he won't use the injury as an excuse for his poor hitting this season - he has a .163/.196/.291 slash line over 39 games played - but he did say that the wrist felt "stiff" when he was hitting left-handed and it affecting him trying to get his top hand to the ball when hitting right-handed. With Espinosa taking at least 2-3 days to rest the wrist, the Nationals will...

The Nationals got some news today that is both surprising and in some ways not unexpected: Danny Espinosa has been playing with a broken right wrist for more than five weeks. Espinosa initially injured the wrist on April 14, when he was drilled on the right wrist by a pitch from Atlanta's Paul Maholm. After initial X-rays on the wrist came back negative, Espinosa was diagnosed with a sore wrist, and he was held out of the Nats lineup for the next four games in an attempt to get the second...

Right fielder Steven Souza Jr., returned to the Double-A Harrisburg Senators lineup Friday. It will be his first game since April 13. He has been recovering from a shoulder injury. Souza was batting an impressive .370 in his first nine games, with two doubles, two homers and four RBIs. He has a 1.194 OPS and a .528 on-base percentage. Third baseman Anthony Rendon was out of the lineup to have his wisdom teeth pulled, according to the tweet below from Geoff Morrow of The Patriot-News and...

Steve Johnson won't make tonight's start for Triple-A Norfolk, but it isn't a health-related decision by the Orioles. According to a member of the organization, Johnson is being kept available in case the Orioles need to recall him Saturday as an extra reliever. Tonight's game in Toronto may dictate whether a roster move is forthcoming. Left-hander Chris Jones, acquired from the Braves for reliever Luis Ayala, is starting tonight for Norfolk. Johnson made one start with the Orioles this...

Manager Davey Johnson said he will make a decision on the status of left-hander Ross Detwiler for Tuesday's start depending on how his bullpen session goes on Saturday. Johnson said Detwiler, who missed his last start with a slight oblique strain, was a little tight but was all right following his most recent throwing session. "I think the big time is how he does in his pen tomorrow," Johnson said. "Everything so far has gone according to plan. He threw yesterday and didn't have any...

The Orioles have somewhat quietly put together a real nice run on offense. They rank third in the American League and also third in MLB with 232 runs scored. Over the last 12 games, that offense has been humming real well with a team average of .302 and 62 runs scored with 33 doubles, three triples and 21 homers. The Orioles averaged 3.2 extra-base hits a game during the season's first 35 games and that number is 4.8 over these last dozen games. The downside is all those hits and runs have...

Adam Jones is back in center field tonight for the Orioles after serving as the designated hitter for three consecutive games. Danny Valencia is the DH against the Toronto Blue Jays, and Yamaico Navarro gets the start at second base. Shortstop J.J. Hardy is batting third. For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B J.J. Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Chris Davis 1B Matt Wieters C Danny Valencia DH Steve Pearce LF Yamaico Navarro 2B Chris Tillman RHP For the Jays: Melky Cabrera LF Jose...