Orioles manager Buck Showalter brought Alexi Casilla into tonight's game as a pinch-runner with the score tied in the bottom of the eighth inning. Casilla was 4-for-4 in stolen base attempts this season, and 25-for-26 since the start of the 2012 season. Nice weapon to have on the bench, and Showalter picked the right time to use him. Casilla, running for Ryan Flaherty, swiped second base and raced to third on a throwing error by Padres catcher Nick Hundley. Steve Pearce followed with an RBI...

Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy extended his hitting streak to 10 games tonight with a single leading off the bottom of the fifth inning. Hardy, who grounded out in his first at-bat, is 13-for-37 (.351) with three homers, seven RBIs and five runs scored during the streak. It's been a slow climb, but Hardy's average is up to .228. Hardy was doubled off first base on Ryan Flaherty's scorching line drive to Padres first baseman Yonder Alonso, who made the leaping catch and stepped on the bag....

Danny Espinosa, Steve Lombardozzi and Roger Bernadina all have something in common - and they shouldn't. Each and every one of them has an under-.300 on-base percentage and all of them have batted second. Overall, Nationals No. 2 hitters are hitting .176/.216/.275. That isn't just bad production, that is horrid. The plan for the Nationals was to have career .267/.361/.460 hitter Jayson Werth in that spot, but that hasn't worked out as Werth moved down in the order when Ryan Zimmerman was...

Jake Arrieta threw 30 fastballs today in a bullpen session at Triple-A Norfolk, and he didn't report any discomfort in his right shoulder. Arrieta will be re-evaluated on Wednesday and the Tides will determine when he's able to make his next start. Arrieta was scratched from Sunday's assignment because of discomfort in his right shoulder that was diagnosed as a strain. Reliever Adam Russell started in his place. Apparently, the discomfort first surfaced during Arrieta's last start, and...

Not surprisingly, Bryce Harper is out of the Nationals' lineup the day after crashing face-first into the right field wall at Dodger Stadium, a collision that left him with a bruised knee and shoulder, as well as 11 stitches in his chin. Harper will miss his third game in the last five days. He sat out last Friday and Saturday's games against the Cubs after having surgery to remove an ingrown toenail. That procedure surely hurt (I had an ingrown toenail removed a handful of years ago, and...

During a live video chat this afternoon here on MASNsports.com, a fan asked Adam Jones about Manny Machado and how well he is playing right now. In 38 games, the 20-year-old Machado is batting .331 with five homers, 24 RBIs and an .891 OPS. "This kid is special, to be honest with you," Jones said. "He fouled that ball off his ankle the other day in Minnesota. He crushed himself. But the kid is tough. He shows up every day ready to play and he's only 20. That is the remarkable part about...

Miguel Gonzalez played catch on flat ground today and is scheduled for a bullpen session Wednesday. Gonzalez threw his breaking ball today, but he continued to wear a bandage to cover the blister on his right thumb. He will remove it Wednesday for the bullpen session. Gonzalez could be sent out on an injury-rehab assignment Thursday, and it's possible that the Orioles start him Tuesday night against the New York Yankees at Camden Yards. Executive vice president Dan Duquette said Kevin...

To take the roster spots of Mike Belfiore, who was optioned to Triple-A yesterday, and Wei-Yin Chen, who was placed on the disabled list today, the Orioles recalled pitcher Alex Burnett and infielder Yamaico Navarro from Norfolk. Both players have been on the O's roster already this season, twice before in the case of Burnett. The 25-year-old Navarro, who returns for a second stint, was with the Orioles from April 5-6 but did not see game action. In 34 games with Norfolk, Navarro was batting...

Left-hander Wei-Yin Chen said he is "very disappointed" that he's been diagnosed with a strained right oblique that forced him to go on the 15-day disabled list today. "I really wanted to help the team win and hoped the result was just a cramp, but things went in a different direction. I hurt myself and I hope I can get well sooner," Chen said through his interpreter. "The only thing I can do is heal very fast and just come back sooner and help the team. I hope my oblique can heal up...

That blister on the right thumb of Orioles pitcher Miguel Gonzalez is finally healing. The Orioles are hopeful he can pitch in a minor league game, perhaps as soon as Thursday, which could line him up for a return to the rotation next Monday or Tuesday against the Yankees. Manager Buck Showalter said today that Gonzalez might not even need to throw six or seven innings in what could be one rehab start and could just throw between two and five innings. But Gonzalez, who is eligible to return...