The Mets grabbed the early lead on Stephen Strasburg in the first inning. Ian Desmond committed his sixth error of the season on a Jordany Valdespin grounder. Later, a Strasburg wild pitch scored a run and John Buck had a two-out RBI single. Buck already has 20 RBIs early in the season. The Mets led 2-0 after one inning. The Nationals were unable to record a base hit against Matt Harvey in first two innings. Update: Strasburg and Harvey are in a pitcher's duel through five innings. The first...

After Orioles manager Buck Showalter spoke at length yesterday about his praise and admiration for former teammate and former player Don Mattingly, it was Mattingly's turn today. Sitting in the visiting dugout at Camden Yards, the Dodgers manager remembered his days as Showalter's minor league teammate in 1981 and 1983, and as his player with the Yankees from 1992-95. "Just the respect that you get for a guy over time and you realize his ability. As a young guy going through the minors,...

The Orioles are 8-for-9 (88.9 percent) in stolen base attempts this season following Chris Dickerson's swipe of second base last night, the second-best percentage in the American League behind the Toronto Blue Jays, who are 14-for-15 (93.3). On the flip side, the club's catchers have thrown out 8-of-10 runners to lead the majors at 80 percent. Matt Wieters has thrown out seven of the nine runners who have run on him, including Tampa Bay's Desmond Jennings last night. Credit goes to...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter bit his tongue today to avoid going on a prolonged rant about the recent comments made by Jets head coach Rex Ryan, but his point still came through loud and clear. Ryan told the New York Daily-News that it's "unfortunate" that the Orioles didn't move their Sept. 5 home game against the Chicago White Sox so that the Ravens could open their season that night at M&T Bank Stadium. Ryan ignored how the Orioles also would have needed the cooperation of the White...

Here is a stat that may get your attention: Matt Wieters has thrown out 77.8 percent of base stealers this year, getting seven of nine runners. The rest of the AL East is a combined 9-for-57 for 15.8 percent. The AL average right now is 24.7 percent. Was anyone surprised last night when Wieters threw out Desmond Jennings trying to steal in the top of the ninth? Yeah, he's been pretty special back there. Orioles pitcher Jake Arrieta provided some pretty interesting insights today on Wieters....

Left-hander Hyun-Jin Ryu will oppose Orioles right-hander Jason Hammel in tonight's opener of a three-game interleague series at Camden Yards. It's the Dodgers' first visit to Baltimore since 2002 and the Orioles' first series against a National League club this season. Here are tonight's lineups: For the Orioles Nick Markakis RF Manny Machado 3B Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Chris Davis 1B J.J. Hardy SS Steve Pearce DH Nolan Reimold LF Alexi Casilla 2B Jason Hammel RHP For the...

The Nationals continue their road trip after a day off Thursday. Tonight it is the beginning of 17 games in 17 days with game one against the New York Mets at Citi Field. The pitching matchup features a gem with right-hander Stephen Strasburg (1-2, 2.95 ERA) facing right-hander Matt Harvey (3-0, 0.82 ERA). The big news is Ryan Zimmerman is out of the lineup. Manager Davey Johnson had talked about Zimmerman's sore hamstring after Wednesday's win over Miami. Second baseman Danny Espinosa is...

Then-27-year-old 2001 first-round pick Gavin Floyd downplayed the significance of facing a then-21-year-old Stephen Strasburg when the two first-round picks met for the first time during the Nats' 2009 No. 1 overall selection's rookie campaign in 2010. "It's the last thing you need to worry about, is the opposing pitcher," Floyd told MLB.com before the game in the nation's capital, "You're facing their lineup, not the opposing pitcher." The match-up brought the best out of the White...

Led by several 2012 Orioles draft picks, the Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds are 10-5 and off to their best 15-game start since 2005. Delmarva is in first place in the South Atlantic League's Northern Division with a season-best, four-game win streak. Creede Simpson, a 25th-round pick last June out of Auburn, is batting .395 with two homers, 13 RBIs and an OPS of 1.097 after hitting .234 in 62 games last year with short-season Single-A Aberdeen. Simpson is third in the league in batting, fourth...

As a fan of Orioles history, I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to visit Camden Yards on Saturday night to hear Hall of Famers Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson and Frank Robinson, and others celebrate the baseball life of the late Earl of Baltimore. At some point during the evening, I'll amble out beyond the bullpens and pay my respects at Earl Weaver's statue. I imagine it will be a popular stop for O's fans that evening. I have a second, less popular ballpark locale in mind to visit...