ST. LOUIS - The Nationals lead 4-0 after the top of the first thanks to what is easily one of the strangest scenes I've ever witnessed on a baseball field. Up with the bases loaded and none out, Michael Morse went with a Kyle Lohse, first-pitch, two-seam fastball and drove it to right. The ball bounced off an advertisement banner just above the right field wall and kicked back on the field. The guys on the bases for the Nationals all seemed to think the ball was gone and Morse should have...

Brooks Robinson received plenty of loud ovations today during his statue unveiling and his on-field ceremony. The crowd really erupted when he said, "I don't like to call you fans, I like to call you friends." Among the players attending the statue unveiling were Adam Jones, Mark Reynolds, Jim Thome, Chris Davis and Ryan Flaherty. Robinson summoned manager Buck Showalter to come over and say hello before the ceremony started. Hall of Fame manager Earl Weaver had tears in his eyes as...

ST. LOUIS - It's not difficult to keep tabs on the out-of-town scores at here Busch Stadium. They've got an entire big screen dedicated strictly to what's going on around the rest of the majors, so the scores kind of jump out and smack you in the face. The Nationals will be glancing up at that scoreboard throughout the night tonight, keeping tabs on what's going on down in Atlanta. Should the Mets beat the Braves, and if the Nats win as well, Davey Johnson's team will get to break into...

In typical Brooks Robinson fashion, he spent most of a roughly 17-minute speech after the unveiling of his statue today, talking about others and thanking them, much more than himself or anything about his career. "You know Paul Blair, the last six or seven years we played together, he'd always say 'when is your next Brooks Robinson day?' This is it Paulie. You won't have to do that anymore. "I just want to say to all the fans here. I don't like to call you fans, I like to call you...

The Orioles have arranged for Jason Hammel to pitch four or five innings in a simulated game Monday morning at Ed Smith Stadium in Sarasota. He will face both left-handed and right-handed hitters. Hammel threw a sim game in the bullpen yesterday and said his knee felt good today. Steel Russell, son of Orioles bench coach John Russell, will catch Hammel on Monday. Pitching coach Rick Adair will attend the game, and manager Buck Showalter may join him. The Orioles won't know whether Hammel...

ST. LOUIS - We should have a good one at Busch Stadium tonight. Both Jordan Zimmermann and Kyle Lohse, tonight's starting pitchers, rank in the top seven in ERA in the National League going into tonight's game, so we can expect quite the pitchers' duel. Of course, I said pretty much the same exact thing back on Sept. 1, when these pitchers faced off at Nationals Park. What happened then? Zimmermann allowed eight runs over 3 2/3 in his worst start of the season, while Lohse gave up eight...

Adam Jones passed by Matt Wieters' locker a few minutes ago with a congratulatory handshake and a question. "Where's my cigar?" he said. "They're coming," Wieters said back. Matt and his wife, Maria, are the proud parents of a baby boy. Maverick Luther Wieters, weighing 8 lbs and 2 ounces and just more than 21 inches long, arrived at 5:11 a.m. yesterday. Wieters is back with the team today and will bat fourth and catch tonight. Now about that name. "It was not because of Top...

Matt Wieters has rejoined the Orioles and will bat cleanup tonight against Red Sox left-hander Felix Doubront. Lew Ford, who had an MRI on his hip earlier this week, will serve as the designated hitter. For the Orioles: Nate McLouth LF J.J. Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Chris Davis RF Mark Reynolds 1B Manny Machado 3B Lew Ford DH Robert Andino 2B Steve Johnson RHP

Baseball's circle of life has taken another spin, bringing Steve Pearce back to the Orioles. The Orioles claimed Pearce off waivers from the Yankees today, reuniting him with a team that's trying to catch one of his former teams in 2012. There have been a few of them. To review: Pearce signed with the Yankees as a free agent on March 29. The Orioles purchased him from the Yankees on June 2 before he could opt out of his contract. The Astros claimed Pearce off waivers from the Orioles on...

It happened in the last of the eighth inning on Wednesday night. The Orioles were well on their way to a 12-2 win over Toronto and L.J. Hoes, the Orioles minor league Player of the Year, walked to the plate for his first major league at-bat. The crowd rose to its feet to give the 22-year-old Bowie, Maryland native a very warm welcome. It was quite a moment for the young man. Here is what Hoes posted on his Twitter account about that: Still shaking from last night. The "let's go hoes"...