An impressive Orioles comeback attempt came up short today when the Toronto Blue Jays pushed across a run against closer Jim Johnson in the top of the 11th this afternoon, to beat the Orioles 6-5 and avoid a sweep. The result snapped the Orioles' 17-game winning streak in regular season extra-inning games. After the potential winning run for the Orioles was thrown out at the plate in the last of the 10th, Toronto went ahead against Johnson. With two outs and none on, two straight singles and...

It took Stephen Strasburg an inning to get settled in. Once he did, he was almost unhittable. Strasburg allowed three runs on three hits and a walk in the first inning, but in his final six frames, the Nationals ace allowed just two hits, holding the Cardinals at bay. Overall, Strasburg struck out seven and walked just one. He threw 110 pitches, 76 for strikes. At one point, Strasburg set down 10 Cardinals hitters in a row. He struck out two in his final inning of work, a 1-2-3 sixth....

The Orioles scored three runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to tie the Blue Jays 5-5 and take Josh Stinson off the hook. It happened in part because Nate McLouth keeps getting on base. McLouth has doubled, walked twice, singled, stolen a base and scored three runs. He's got the only single in this game among the 10 hits. The Orioles didn't have a hit after the first inning until Ryan Flaherty followed Nolan Reimold's one-out walk in the seventh with an RBI double to right-center...

The Nationals and Cardinals have played just half an inning this afternoon, and we've already gotten a sample of the same issues that have been plaguing this Nats team for much of the first 20 games of the season. Stephen Strasburg allowed three hits and a walk in the top of the first, Anthony Rendon committed his second error in four big league games and the Nats trail 3-0 midway through the first inning. Strasburg got a bit of bad luck in the inning, allowing bloop hits to Matt Carpenter...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled right-hander Josh Stinson from Class-A Frederick and optioned right-hander Alex Burnett to Triple-A Norfolk. Stinson, 25, was claimed off of waivers from Oakland on April 4. He went 1-0 with a 0.77 ERA (11.2IP, ER) in two starts with the Tides. He also made one appearance with Class-A Frederick. Stinson will wear #60 and start this afternoon's game against Toronto. In seven minor league seasons in the Mets and Brewers organizations,...

With last night's win, the Orioles have now won 100 straight regular season games when leading after seven innings. Their last loss was on Aug. 8, 2011. It is the second-longest streak for any club during the expansion era (since 1961), trailing just the 1998-99 Yankees at 116 games. No doubt it is impressive for the entire team, but especially for the bullpen to have held those leads. Buck Showalter said the streak was impressive, but figured most of his players didn't even know about it....

Nate McLouth immediately got into scoring position for the Orioles today with a leadoff double to center field, the ball clearing the fence on one bounce off the natural-surface warning track. I guess it's not a synthetic thing. Blue Jays starter Brandon Morrow retired the next two batters, bringing Adam Jones to the plate. Morrow could have pitched around Jones with first base open, but he challenged the center fielder. And he lost again. Jones lined an RBI double to right field to...

Right-hander Henry Rodriguez is starting to put together a few good outings and is gaining the confidence of manager Davey Johnson to put him in for longer stints. Johnson said because of the operation on Rodriguez's elbow last Aug. 31, the rehab prevented the hard thrower from having a full offseason of workouts and games. "He didn't have any winter ball," Johnson said. "He went through that arm operation. It is kind of a trust thing. The more he gets more comfortable and the more he...

A frustrated Davey Johnson promised lineup changes after last night's 2-0 loss to the Cardinals, the Nationals' eighth defeat in their last 11 games. Today's lineup card, however, only saw two tweaks: Tyler Moore playing first base in place of the slumping Adam LaRoche and Jhonatan Solano behind the plate instead of Kurt Suzuki. With the Nats facing Cardinals left-hander Jaime Garcia in this afternoon's series finale, sitting LaRoche serves a dual purpose. It provides the 33-year-old a...

The Orioles don't expect to receive an update today on pitcher Dylan Bundy, who traveled to Gulf Breeze, Fla., yesterday to be examined by orthopedist Dr. James Andrews. Bundy threw on flat ground from 90 feet on Monday and still experienced tightness in his right forearm near the elbow. He may have undergone a second MRI after the first one on his elbow came back clean. Manager Buck Showalter is focused more on his team and the pending flight to Oakland that kicks off a three-city West...