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...

Good news this week for Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs first baseman Chris Marrero, who has been slowed the last month as he recovers from an offseason torn hamstring. Manager Tony Beasley said Marrero has made big progress the last few weeks. "He has been running the bases," Beasley said. "He will run them again (today). He has been taking batting practice. He is feeling pretty good right now. We anticipate him back in probably (five) days or so. He will probably go and get some A-Bs...

The Orioles were respectable in extra innings last season, going 8-8. This season they are a remarkable, AL-best 12-2. The Orioles lost their first two extra-inning games of the season, and have now run off a win streak of 12 in a row. They have not lost in extras for nearly four months, since April 11. Last night's win took 14 innings and nearly five hours, making the Orioles 5-0 this year in games that last at least 13 innings. It probably won't surprise you to learn that the real key to...

The Baltimore Orioles have been confounding sabermetricians and national pundits all year. The Orioles currently sit eight games over .500 and are tied for the second wild card spot, even though they have been outscored this year. And not just outscored, but outscored badly. The Orioles' current run differential is currently -55 (447-502), which is awful. It is one of the worst run differentials in baseball and should not belong to a team in a legitimate playoff hunt. Bill James developed...

Ryan Flaherty sat at his locker yesterday afternoon, a smile on his face, and talked to a small group of reporters about his favorite NFL team (he's from Maine, so cut him some slack) and how much he looks forward to Sundays in the fall. He asked about the Ravens, another team he roots for, and we agreed that their rivalry with the Steelers is the best in football. It was a nice, relaxed chat, different from the usual baseball talk or quick exchange of pleasantries, before the clubhouse...

These streaks are getting pretty serious for the Orioles. They have now won 11 consecutive games decided by one run and 12 consecutive extra-innings games. The Orioles lost in extra innings on back-to-back nights at home to New York on April 10 and 11. They have not lost in extra innings since, going 5-0 in games that went to the 13th inning or later, like last night's 8-7 win over Seattle in 14 innings. A lot has been made of the Orioles -54 run differential on the year. But in extra-inning...

Tyler Clippard owes Roger Bernadina a big, juicy steak. Or 12. If not for Bernadina's dazzling defense, we'd be talking about how Clippard had blown four saves since the All-Star break, including two in as many nights. Instead, Clippard gets his 23rd save of the season thanks to a scoreless 12th inning. Looks pretty nice in the box score. I know Mike Trout's home run-robbing grab at Camden Yards earlier this season was just an insane play. There have been a few other ridiculous outfield...