Ross Detwiler's third start of the season has gone much the same as his first two. And that's a good thing for the Nationals as they look to leave Miami with a series win. Through four innings tonight, Detwiler has held the Marlins scoreless, allowing four hits and striking out four. He's thrown 61 pitches thus far, 45 for strikes. In typical Detwiler fashion, he's been attacking opposing hitters tonight, throwing 56 fastballs among those 61 pitches. Despite the heavy dose of two- and...

The Tampa Bay Rays entered this series in Baltimore trailing the Orioles' Chris Davis in homers for the season. Davis had six and the entire Rays roster had five heading into Monday's series opener. But in the first 11 innings of this series, Tampa Bay hit five homers and they have now moved ahead of Davis on the year, 10-6 in the homer race. Desmond Jennings led off last night's game with a first-pitch homer off Jake Arrieta, and Tampa hit two in the eighth off Pedro Strop, with Kelly...

First baseman/outfielder Matt Skole, the Nationals' fourth-ranked prospect, is expected to miss three to four months after undergoing successful Tommy John surgery, general manager Mike Rizzo told reporters in Miami. Skole was injured on a freak play at first base in a game with Double-A Harrisburg last week when his non-throwing arm was hit by a runner. He fractured his wrist on the play. A second examination revealed the torn ligament (UCL) in his left arm. He had surgery early...

The Orioles hadn't allowed a run in the first inning before last night. Now they can't stop doing it. Desmond Jennings led off last night's game with a home run. Kelly Johnson, the second batter tonight, homered to right field. I guess that's progress. Johnson has gone deep in back-to-back games. He hadn't faced Chris Tillman until tonight. All three outs recorded by Tillman came on fly balls to right fielder Nick Markakis. I'm not sure of the significance, but that's what...

As they try to go two games over the .500 mark tonight and improve to 4-1 this season against Tampa Bay, the Orioles face tough lefty Matt Moore tonight. He is 2-0 this year and has not allowed a run in 11 1/3 innings. Moore went 2-2 with a 1.83 ERA over four starts against the Orioles last year, when he was 11-11 with a 3.81 ERA over 31 starts for the Rays. Tonight, Moore is attempting to become the seventh major leaguer since 1916 to win his first three games of a season, all starts,...

Not much news to report this afternoon from Camden Yards, but there are plenty of updates. Steve Johnson will pitch four innings on Thursday at extended spring training, and Tsuyoshi Wada will pitch three. Wada most likely will need at least one more outing before the Orioles consider sending him on an injury rehab assignment, but Johnson is likely to begin one after Thursday. Johnson could join any affiliate on a rehab assignment. Cuban outfielder Henry Urrutia could be assigned to...

Chris Davis had a pretty good view of the play. There was one out in the top of the ninth last night, with his club nursing a one-run lead, when speedy Desmond Jennings hit a slow roller toward third. Manny Machado charged in, made a barehanded pickup and then a quick and accurate throw to first. The kid made another tough play look very easy and he looked so smooth in doing so. Some said it was a Brooks Robinson-like play. "He never ceases to amaze me," Davis said of Machado and that...

The Nationals get the reigning National League Rookie of the Year back in their lineup, but their leadoff hitter and starting second baseman are still sidelined. Bryce Harper returns to the Nationals lineup tonight after missing yesterday's game with flu-like symptoms. Center fielder Denard Span (flu-like symptoms) and second baseman Danny Espinosa (right wrist) will not start tonight's series finale against the Marlins, however. This will be the third straight game that Espinosa has missed...

Through a strong and continuing partnership with Baltimore City Schools, OriolesREACH and Coca-Cola will host a youth baseball clinic for pre-selected youth tomorrow, April 18, from 10:00 a.m. to noon at Oriole Park. The Live Positively: Get the Ball Rolling healthy lifestyle and baseball clinic will feature instruction from Orioles players Nate McLouth and Brian Matusz as well as former Orioles Al Bumbry, Larry Sheets and Bill Swaggerty. The 200 middle school students from Baltimore City...

There's a new member of MASN's Nationals broadcast team. MASN has hired Julie Alexandria as its new sideline reporter for Nationals broadcasts, the network confirmed this afternoon. Alexandria will begin appearing on-air as a part of MASN's in-game broadcasts as well as the "Nats Xtra" pregame and postgame shows sometime during the next homestand. Alexandria most recently worked as a sideline reporter for FOX Sports, covering college football. She was part of the broadcast team that...