On Tuesday, April 9 the Washington Nationals Racing Presidents will welcome the mascot of Vice President Selina Meyer, star of HBO's hit comedy series "Veep" as a guest competitor in the GEICO Presidents Race. Meyer will make her appearance at Nationals Park to promote season two of VEEP, which premieres on HBO on Sunday, April 14. Earlier today, Vice President Meyer accepted an invitation to partner with Teddy to challenge George, Tom, Abe and Bill in the first presidential relay of 2013....

The Orioles will try to put an end to a two-game losing streak today and a Red Sox streak as well. The Red Sox have won their last eight home openers since 2005, the longest streak in club history and the longest active streak among major league teams. Boston is 16-4 in home openers since 1993. By the way, with Boston at 4-2 and in first place, yes it's very early, but it's fair to ask this: Are the Red Sox in for a big turnaround season after going 69-93 and finishing in last place in...

BOSTON - Reliever Luis Ayala is available to pitch today after becoming dizzy yesterday at Camden Yards and spending a few hours at a local hospital. Ayala is throwing in the bullpen during batting practice to make certain that he's physically up to the task. "He wasn't feeling well and doctors took some of his vitals and decided to check it out a little further at the hospital, just to be on the safe side," said manager Buck Showalter. "I think for Louie to tell you that he wasn't...

Double-A Harrisburg Senators first baseman Matt Skole has been placed on the disabled list with hairline fracture in his left wrist, according to a team source. Skole is expected to miss three to four weeks. Skole was injured Friday night when his arm was hit by a runner on a play up the baseline. Justin Bloxom is a good possibility to be moved to first base while Skole recovers. The team announced that outfielder Jerad Head had been called up from extended spring training. The Nationals'...

Lessons learned from the season's first week: * The Red Sox are going to be better than most thought. Lefty Jon Lester is back on track. The always-shifting defense, which some times has third baseman Will Middlebrooks playing in short right field, has been an improvement. Shortstop Juan Iglesias, outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and catcher David Ross are important ingredients in the Red Sox's run prevention, and Red Sox fans aren't going to like when Stephen Drew comes back this week and...

BOSTON - If you've never stepped inside the visiting clubhouse at Fenway Park, imagine trying to fit your sectional sofa inside a phone booth. I volunteered to scrape the paint off the walls, just to create more space. It's so small, the mice are hunchbacked. It's so small, I had to step outside to change my mind. It's so small, the clubhouse attendant put a key in the door and broke a window. But seriously, folks ... Nolan Reimold rode a stationary bike to loosen the ol' hamstring....

You say you want some stats on the Orioles? OK, here you go. Even if you don't, take a look. Something may be of interest to you. * Adam Jones is the American League leader today or tied for the league lead in batting average (.538), hits (14), runs (nine) and multi-hit games (five). He is second in OBP at .556 and tied for sixth in RBIs with seven. * Jones has four straight multi-hit games, batting .588 (10-for-17) in that stretch with two doubles and five RBIs. He is currently batting .571...

Right-hander A.J. Cole showed flashes of how dominant he could be in his first start with the high Single-A Potomac Nationals on Sunday. Cole struck out the side in the first inning, but later allowed a few hits and runs, going 5 1/3 innings. All seven strikeouts were swinging. He used a lot of fastballs and Lynchburg started to figure out the timing, according to a source. He has a spike curve, a slider and changeup. One question might be is how much he will integrate the slider and...

BOSTON - Nolan Reimold is listed among the Orioles reserves today at Fenway Park, and said he should be ready to go by Wednesday. Reimold reports that his right hamstring feels better, but it still a little tight. Also, Miguel Gonzalez will start Friday's opener of a three-game series at Yankee Stadium. 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 Steve Pearce DH Wei-Yin Chen LHP For the Red...

It was a tough weekend for the Nationals. After a glorious opening series against Miami that included back-to-back shutouts, the Nats found the going much tougher on the season's first weekend in Cincinnati. They lost two of three to the Reds, including a 15-0 thumping on Friday night - the most lopsided loss since the team moved to Washington in 2005. Their first series loss in the magical 2012 season did not come until a sweep at the hands of the Dodgers in the final series of April. If...