NEW YORK - Nate McLouth is back in left field and atop the Orioles lineup tonight, and Nolan Reimold again is serving as the designated hitter. Pretty sure this lineup is the exact same as the one posted yesterday. 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 Wei-Yin Chen LHP For the Yankees: Brett Gardner CF Vernon Wells LF Robinson Cano 2B Kevin Youkilis 3B Ben Francisco...

This series has gone from bad to worse. After dropping the first two games of this three-game set against the rival Braves, each by two runs, the Nationals find themselves in a monster hole through 2 1/2 innings this afternoon. They trail 7-0 in the third inning. Gio Gonzalez has gotten smacked all over Nats Park by Braves hitters, allowing two homers and four extra-base hits overall. The Braves brought in three runs in the first inning and put up another crooked number in the third, with...

Yesterday was not a good day to listen to the sports talk shows in Baltimore. I generally listen when I can, and have hosted many shows over the years, but some of the comments about Adam Jones and the Orioles were overreactions and way over the top. When I was a guest with Ken Weinman on his show this afternoon on 105.7 FM The Fan in Baltimore, he presented an interesting theory: He said in a town like Baltimore, with so many die-hard Ravens fans, that some fans are taking a football...

NEW YORK - Conor Jackson was the Orioles' final cut in spring training, losing out to Steve Pearce for the last bench spot on the 25-man roster. He figured to get back into the majors this summer. It was only a matter of time. Nine games into his Triple-A season, Jackson has decided to retire. Jackson informed team officials of his decision today, and the Norfolk Tides sent out a tweet confirming it. Outfielder Lew Ford has been promoted from Double-A Bowie to Norfolk as Jackson's...

While it's certainly tough to see Wilson Ramos land on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring after all he's been through in the last couple of years, the Nationals don't believe Ramos will be on the DL for more than the required 15 days. General manager Mike Rizzo said today that the Nats got positive news from an MRI taken on Ramos' hamstring and that doctors believe Ramos won't be out long term. "We don't think it's too serious," Rizzo said, "but it's not something we...

The Nationals placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 15-day disabled list Sunday morning, and recalled catcher Jhonatan Solano from Triple-A Syracuse to take Ramos' spot on the 25-man roster. Ramos strained his left hamstring in Saturday's loss to the Braves. He was hitting .300 with two homers and three RBIs while splitting catching duties with Kurt Suzuki. Solano, who was hitting .150 in five games at Syracuse, batted .314 with two homers and six RBIs in 12 games with the Nationals last...

The Washington Nationals today recalled catcher Jhonatan Solano from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League and placed catcher Wilson Ramos on the 15-Day Disabled List with a left hamstring strain. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Solano batted .314 with three doubles, two home runs, six RBI, two walks and six runs scored in his 12-game debut last season with the Nationals. He posted .351 on-base and .571...

NEW YORK - I was flipping through Sports Illustrated's baseball preview issue, because I tend to fall behind in my reading, and noticed an ominous prediction regarding Orioles closer Jim Johnson. Strikeout rate is the single-best predictor of a pitcher's longevity and effectiveness, according to the magazine, and Johnson fanned only 15.2 percent of the batters he faced last year while setting a franchise record with 51 saves. Since 2000, nine pitchers have recorded 40 or more saves with a...

When the Orioles bullpen gave up six runs in the second game of the season against Tampa Bay, there were already some observers firing off a certain type of comment: "I told you so," they said. They said the Orioles' 2012 bullpen performance could not be duplicated. It was not sustainable. I love that word. Not really. First of all who are they and why do they talk so much? I digress. Listen, the Orioles bullpen may well have plenty of struggles yet, but this 'pen looks good again and...

NEW YORK - Here's a sampling of manager Buck Showalter's comments following today's 5-3 Orioles win over the New York Yankees. On Jason Hammel: "He was pretty good. His command was good. He threw a lot of strikes, threw enough breaking balls, got some big outs when he needed it, like you always say. He made the lead matter. He got it over to our bullpen. They did a great job and Ham was the difference-maker today. You've got to have a quality start. He continues to keep our bullpen in a...