NEW YORK - Remember that two-out single by Ryan Flaherty in Boston that broke an 0-for-17 streak and ignited a late game-winning rally? He's staying hot. Flaherty homered off Yankees starter Phil Hughes with one out in the second inning to give the Orioles a 2-0 lead. It's his first homer of the season, and his first since Game 3 of the American League Division Series on Oct. 9 in the Bronx. Flaherty is now 2-for-19, which only sounds bad if you didn't know about the 0-for-17...

Single-A Frederick outfielder Trent Mummey is headed for surgery on an injured hamstring. The estimated rehab and recovery time is six to eight weeks for the Orioles' fourth-round pick in 2010 out of Auburn. Mummey played in the season's first two games, going 2-for-5 with a homer and four RBIs. He dealt with some hamstring issues last season when, over 72 games with the Keys, he hit .228 with four homers and 22 RBIs. Single-A Delmarva shortstop Adrian Marin is listed as day to day with a...

NEW YORK - Besides the full-season minor league affiliates that began playing this month, the extended spring training games in Sarasota also hold a great deal of importance to the Orioles. Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia served as the designated hitter again for the second straight day and is scheduled to play right field on Monday and Tuesday. The Orioles are close to assigning him to an affiliate, with Double-A Bowie his likely destination. Steve Johnson pitched three innings today and...

For the third time in the last two days, Ryan Zimmerman has delivered an off-target throw. Two of those three throws have cost the Nationals. I'm of the mind that not too much blame should be heaped on Zimmerman for his throw to second base in the ninth inning last night. Zimmerman was off-balance and needed to get the throw off in a hurry in order to beat Jason Heyward to the second base bag, and he missed his target by a few feet. The ball rolled into right field and two runs...

NEW YORK - Alexi Casilla held up on Manny Machado's low line drive to second base last night, broke late to third after Robinson Cano played the ball on one hop, and realized that he had no shot at reaching the bag. Glancing back at Machado, his priorities changed in a hurry. "I stayed in the rundown to give Manny time to get to second so we could keep somebody in scoring position, but we couldn't do it," Casilla said this afternoon. "I tried my best to stay in it as long as I can and...

In an effort to allow more fans to honor Earl Weaver, the greatest manager in the history of the franchise, the Orioles have announced that "A Celebration of Earl" will now begin at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 20 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The memorial was previously scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. "A Celebration of Earl" will include a video tribute and a collection of notable guest speakers, including Jim Palmer, Brooks Robinson, Frank Robinson, Buck Showalter, National Baseball...

This morning, I wrote that it might be time for Nationals manager Davey Johnson to start giving his starters a little bit of a longer leash, letting them work deeper into games when their low pitch counts and level of effectiveness dictate that another inning or two is a possibility. Doing so would, in turn, take some pressure off a struggling Nats bullpen. But Johnson said this morning that he isn't planning on loosening that leash on his starters just yet, instead sticking with his...

NEW YORK - Nate McLouth is back atop the order today after sitting out last night's 5-2 loss to the New York Yankees. Nolan Reimold is serving as the designated hitter after starting in left field last night. Orioles DHs are 1-for-33. Reimold, at 1-for-13, has the only hit. 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 Jason Hammel RHP For the Yankees Brett Gardner CF Robinson...

Will the real Orioles offense please stand up? Over the first five games, it looked like a juggernaut and over the last five games, it has looked feeble at times. The real offense certainly lies somewhere in the middle, not as good as the group that got out of the gates so fast or the one we've seen in recent days. The Orioles scored twice as much in those first five games and had exactly twice as many extra-base hits. After scoring five runs or more in each of those opening five contests,...

One night after a disappointing extra-inning loss to the Braves, the Nationals are sticking with their regular lineup. Stephen Strasburg gets the start with Wilson Ramos behind the plate. The Braves have Ramiro Pena at shortstop after he hit the go-ahead homer in the 10th on Friday. For the Nationals: CF Denard Span RF Jayson Werth LF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond 2B Danny Espinosa C Wilson Ramos RHP Stephen Strasburg For the Braves: CF B.J. Upton RF Jason...