Matt Wieters caught 14 innings last night. In the heat. In August. His body is screaming for rest, but not tonight. Not with Steve Johnson making his first major league start. Wieters called the pitches for Johnson and made certain that the rookie would have lots of run support, too. He's 2-for-4 with two doubles and five RBIs, as the Orioles have taken a 9-2 lead over the Mariners at Camden Yards. In the last two nights, Wieters is 5-for-10 with three doubles, two home runs and seven RBIs....

Baltimorean Steve Johnson was more than up for the challenge. For Johnson, 23 years to the day after his dad got his first major league win, he got his first. The hometown kid did well tonight as the Orioles beat Seattle 9-2 to sweep the three-game series. Making his second major league appearance but first start, Johnson pitched six innings, allowing five hits and two runs with two walks and nine strikeouts. He threw 97 pitches, 67 for strikes. Johnson struck out the side in the first...

We've had a sacrifice bunt which scored a runner from first and left the bunter standing on third base. We've had a leaping catch against the wall in left-center which was one of the best grabs you'll see all season. We've had a sacrifice fly called back because the pitcher was called for a balk, scoring a run. We've had two extra-inning games in consecutive nights played between the best team in the majors and the worst team in the majors. Now, we have Gio Gonzalez crushing a two-run,...

Steve Johnson threw 12 pitches in the top of the first inning tonight, all of them for strikes. He struck out the first two Mariners, gave up a soft single on an 0-2 pitch and struck out the cleanup hitter. Who is the last Orioles pitcher to strike out the side in the first inning in his first major league start? Get Elias on the phone. Johnson disposed of Dustin Ackley and Michael Saunders on six pitches. Jesus Montero looped a single into right field, just in front of a charging Nick...

Barring a last-second change of heart, it appears that the Orioles are prepared to move pitcher Dylan Bundy from Single-A Frederick to Double-A Bowie after he pitches for the Keys tonight at home against Lynchburg. Bundy is 5-3 with a 2.57 ERA over 10 Keys starts. In 49 innings he has allowed 41 hits with 15 walks and 56 strikeouts. But over his last three starts, he has allowed just one earned run over 16 1/3 innings, lowering his ERA on the season from 3.58 to 2.57. He looks ready to move...

The Orioles are 64-36 against the Mariners at Camden Yards since it opened in 1992. The Orioles are on pace to win 87 games in Buck Showalter's second full season as manager, which would be an 18-game improvement over last year's 69-93 record. In 2004, Showalter's second full year in Texas, he led the Rangers to an 18-game improvement and was named the American League's Manager of the Year. Showalter led the Diamondbacks to a 35-game improvement in his second year in Arizona in 1999. The...

No knock at all on Taylor Teagarden, who has done a nice job defensively for the Orioles, but when Steve Johnson makes his first big league start tonight, the Orioles will have Matt Wieters back there catching him. Wieters has caught Johnson just once before and he said that was in a spring training game. But Wieters said he'll try to do what he can to help Johnson handle any nerves he might have. "Absolutely," Wieters said. "You just go out there and tell him it's the same game, just a...

Tommy Hunter is expected to start on Sunday against the Royals, taking Zach Britton's spot in the rotation, unless he's needed in relief tonight. Manager Buck Showalter said the Orioles may have kept Britton on the 25-man roster if last night's game hadn't gone into extra innings. Once it crept into the 14th, they needed to send him down and bring up Steve Johnson to start tonight and Miguel Socolovich to add depth to the bullpen. Ryan Flaherty actually was sent home before the last two...

Outfielder Jayson Werth returns to tonight's lineup after sitting out last night's 12-inning win with tightness in his legs. Kurt Suzuki is also back in the lineup and will catch left-hander Gio Gonzalez as he aims for his 14th victory. Suzuki and Gonzalez were teammates out in Oakland, and the two batterymates will reunite tonight. For the Nats: 2B Steve Lombardozzi CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmermann 1B Adam LaRoche LF Michael Morse RF Jasyon Werth SS Danny Espinosa C Kurt Suzuki P...

The Orioles have placed infielder Ryan Flaherty on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 2, with a bacterial infection and recalled reliever Miguel Socolovich from Triple-A Norfolk. Flaherty left the ballpark before last night's game with a 103-degree fever. He was getting blood work done today to determine whether he had mononucleosis. Socolovich has posted a 9.00 ERA in seven innings over four appearances with the Orioles this season. Also, Matt Wieters is behind the plate again...