The Orioles' experiment of making Brian Matusz a reliever begins tonight. Matusz no longer will start Thursday night at Triple-A Norfolk. He's available to pitch out of the bullpen for tonight's game against Gwinnett. Tides manager Ron Johnson summoned Matusz into his office yesterday and discussed the role change, which the Orioles believe could create a shorter path to getting the left-hander back into the majors. Left-handed hitters are batting .223/.281/.384 against Matusz during his...

It's taken a while, but the Nationals have finally posted their lineup for this afternoon's 3:45 p.m. finale at AT&T Park in San Francisco. Michael Morse, who sat out last night's game after jamming his right thumb Monday night, is back in left field. Here's Davey Johnson's batting order against San Francisco's Tim Lincecum: 2B Steve Lombardozzi CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche LF Michael Morse RF Jayson Werth SS Danny Espinosa C Kurt Suzuki P Stephen Strasburg The...

You might have heard by now that Stephen Strasburg's innings will be limited this season. If you haven't, flip on one of the talking-head shows on the national networks. I'm sure you can find some intelligent, thought-provoking discussion on the topic there. Does my sarcastic tone jump off the screen at you? Good. Strasburg has thrown 133 1/3 innings this season. Despite some of the numbers floating around out there, general manager Mike Rizzo does not have a set limit at which he will...

There once was a time when the Orioles lost to the Red Sox - a lot. Things are different now. A win by the Orioles in one of the next two games would give them the series win in five of the last six series against Boston. The Orioles lead the season series this year 7-3 and have won 10 of their last 14, and 13 of the last 17 games versus the Red Sox. That is a 13-4 run against the same club that the Orioles went 2-16 against in 2009. It's a new day, indeed. There are eight games left in the...

The Orioles today announced that they have selected the contract left-hander J.C. Romero and recalled right-hander Steve Johnson from Triple-A Norfolk. Additionally, left-hander Troy Patton has been placed on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to August 13, with a right ankle sprain. To make room for Romero on the 40-man roster, right-hander Miguel Socolovich has been designated for assignment. Romero was acquired from the Cleveland organization yesterday. He will wear #48. This will be...

Cultural change comes with winning in baseball. That's why this is a good time to embrace the changes. It's fair to say that the consensus is that this Nationals ballclub is a good ballclub. They've garnered respect throughout their division, league and all of baseball. In fact, they've got the best record in all the game at the moment and continue to set club milestones as the season progresses. There's a Joe DiMaggio quote in the aisle leading from the clubhouse to the dugout. It says,...

If you've read me over the course of the season either here or at The Loss Column, you've probably noticed a pattern: I'm excited by the results, but hesitant to draw big conclusions. Baseball's a superstitious game and I'm somewhat the same myself. I wouldn't want a selfish declaration to jinx things for everyone. Nobody ever said "fan" and "logic" always went together. So today I'm still hesitant to say anything like "the Orioles have finally turned a corner" or "this group is...

Of course Jordan Zimmermann would be the Nationals starter to see his team put up 14 runs and 21 hits the night before he takes the mound only to watch the Nationals record just a single run and five hits the night he starts. Only Jordan Zimmermann. The righty's run support has been better lately, but I can't help but wonder if he was jokingly asking teammates last night if they could've just saved some of that firepower from two nights ago and carried it over for his outing. Zimmermann...

The Orioles have a chance tonight to move 11 games above .500 for the first time since June 18, when they were 39-28 after the first of three straight losses to the Mets at Citi Field. They're 10 games above .500 for the first time since June 24, right before they lost six of their next seven games. Brian Matusz and Jason Hammel each lost twice during that span. Matusz is currently at Triple-A Norfolk and on the verge of moving to the bullpen. Hammel is on the disabled list and on the verge...

BOWIE, Md. - After his first start at Double-A Bowie, right-hander Dylan Bundy was generally pleased with his outing. But in answering the first question about his night, Bundy noted the one area on the stat sheet that he wasn't pleased with. "Three walks," Bundy said. "You know I'm disappointed about that, I always am. Other than that, they weren't squaring too many balls up. I think they had two or three doubles, but I made quality pitches pretty much when I needed to with guys on...