If you wondered whether Manny Machado would be part of a platoon at third base, he's starting again tonight against Royals right-hander Luke Hochevar. Wilson Betemit slides over to first base. Chris Davis is the Orioles' designated hitter. Mark Reynolds is on the bench. For the Orioles: Nick Markakis RF J.J. Hardy SS Chris Davis DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Wilson Betemit 1B Nate McLouth LF Manny Machado 3B Omar Quintanilla 2B Miguel Gonzalez RHP

The Orioles' attendance is up over last year and the club is on pace to attract over two million fans to Camden Yards for the first time since 2007. But they have not exactly been packing them in on this current homestand. Even though the Orioles returned home Monday riding high off winning back-to-back series on the road against New York and Tampa Bay, the four home games this week have averaged just 18,789 fans. The average for the season is 25,821. To me, it's been a little surprising to...

Michael Morse's first home run last night was measured at 434 feet by hittrackeronline.com. Call me shocked the thing wasn't projected to travel at least 460 feet. That ball was crushed. It registers as Morse's second-longest homer of the season, apparently not even coming all that close to his mammoth 465-foot blast back at Nats Park on July 20. Outside the Mid-Atlantic region, you probably won't hear Jordan Zimmermann's name tossed around during many discussions about the top pitchers...

The kind of success the Nationals are seeing this year isn't even a once-in-a-generation thing. It's more like several generations. A ballclub from the nation's capital hasn't contended for a title this late in the season since 1945, when a Senators team full of rookies, castoffs and even an amputee pitcher made an improbable run that went down to the last week of the season and ended all too early, literally. If it wasn't for Senators owner Clark Griffith, baseball might have been called...

After the Nationals finish this 10-game, three-city tour, they will have 27 regular season home games left and 17 on the road. Put another way, the Nationals will have 27 of their final 44 regular season games at Nationals Park. That will be big as they drive to control the NL East. The home schedule includes visits from the Dodgers, Cardinals and Phillies to end the regular season. With 37 road wins, the Nationals have the most road victories of any major league team. Next closest? Try...

This will be a short blog entry, as you can imagine. The Orioles optioned Steve Johnson yesterday because they don't have a game on Monday and won't need a fifth starter until Saturday. They don't want him sitting in the bullpen or throwing 30-40 pitches in a relief outing and then being expected to throw 90-100 in a start. A Sept. 1 call-up is assured, and he could be here a lot sooner. J.J. Hardy isn't moving off shortstop. Suggesting that he shift to third or second is wasted energy....

On his first day in the major leagues, Manny Machado got to hear the roar of the crowd several times tonight at Camden Yards, and he got a standing ovation when he came to bat his first time up. The cheers for the Orioles' top position player prospect began several minutes before first pitch. "When I went out there, the fans started clapping once I started walking out," Machado said. "It was a great feeling. J.J.(Hardy) started laughing and said, 'Sink it in.' It was great. The fans love...

Do you want the good or the bad first? Let's start with the good, which would be Manny Machado going 2-for-4 with a triple and run scored in his first major league game. "I thought Manny did well," manager Buck Showalter said following an 8-2 loss to the Royals that halted the Orioles' winning streak at five games. "Presented himself well tonight. I'm proud of him. There was a nice calmness about him and a good start. He handled the situation well, all things considered. "He's up...

Here is all you need to know about Wei-Yin Chen's night. He had given up just seven earned runs over five starts since the All-Star break. Tonight, he gave up seven in just 4 2/3 innings. Kansas City batters jumped on Chen early and often on their way to an 8-2 win over the Orioles tonight in front of 21,226 at Camden Yards in the opener of a four-game series. The loss snapped the Orioles five-game win streak, which matched their season best. The last time they had a six game winning streak...

Hey, the game's in Texas; I figured I should toss a country reference in there. After struggling a bit (and getting some bad breaks) in his last outing, Jordan Zimmermann is back to his dominant self tonight down in Houston. Zimmermann has cruised through five innings, allowing just two hits and striking out nine. He has a 2-0 lead going to the sixth. The righty has already tied his season high for strikeouts in a game, which he posted back on May 12. Zimmermann needed seven innings to...