On Friday, Kevin Gregg and members of the Orioles training staff, in conjunction with the PLAY Campaign, will welcome 100 youth from the Y of Central Maryland and HC Drug Free. PLAY, which stands for Promoting a Lifetime of Activity for Youth, is a public awareness campaign of the Professional Baseball Athletic Trainers Society (PBATS), in conjunction with the Taylor Hooton Foundation. The PLAY campaign combats childhood obesity and promotes healthy living and decision making among young people...

Dylan Bundy is receiving the kind of national press treatment previous phenoms, such as Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper, know all about. Tonight, the Orioles' 19-year-old top pitching prospect will be featured on the premiere episode of the NBC Sports Network's "Sports Illustrated" show at 9 p.m. This afternoon, a Tom Verducci SI feature on Bundy and O's pitching development coordinator Rick Peterson went live on the web. The print edition, which labels the story "The Dylan Bundy...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - Once the Nationals blew open last night's game in the 10th inning and took a four-run lead, Davey Johnson decided he didn't need to waste another bullpen arm for the bottom of the frame. Instead, he just left Tom Gorzelanny in the game, asking him to notch the final three outs. Before Gorzelanny could work the bottom of the 10th, however, he had to hit in the top half. Getting a rare plate appearance, Gorzelanny, who already had two singles this year, looked at five pitches...

What a difference a week makes. Just seven days ago, the Orioles appeared to be a team that had slid out of wild-card contention in the American League, their starting rotation was in shambles with Jason Hammel's knee injury and the downward spiral had officially begun. Over the weekend, the Orioles picked up four games in the AL East race thanks to a nifty little winning streak and some help from the Oakland Athletics. As of this morning, the Birds are half-game back in the wild card race...

The brand-new Washington Nationals, attracting 35,000 fans a per game in D.C., visit Atlanta tied for first place with the Braves, who have ruled the National League East since 1991. The team that wins the three-game series will own first place. In Game 1, after eight innings, the Nationals lead 2-1. Ace and All-Star Livan Hernandez is masterful, baffling the Braves with his pinpoint control. However, to quell the Braves' strong lineup, he has thrown more than 100 pitches. Manager Frank...

Last night was a real rarity for the Orioles. Not only did they lose for just the sixth time this year when their starting pitcher produced a quality start, but they lost for just the second time when their starter went seven innings or more. Tommy Hunter gave up just three runs over seven innings, but took the 3-1 loss at Cleveland. It was the sixth straight quality start for the Orioles - a season high - and the starters' ERA is 2.21 in those half-dozen contests. The Orioles are now 23-2...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - Chris Young's fastball tops out at about 85 mph. He doesn't have a dazzling curveball or possess any dynamite secondary pitch. Still, he manages to keep the Nationals at bay. Including tonight's seven-inning performance in which he allowed just two runs, Young has pitched to a 3.00 ERA over 18 innings against the Nats this season. "Chris pitched against us the last few times and he's been tough," Ryan Zimmerman said. "He's done a great job keeping that ball right...

FLUSHING, N.Y. - For much of tonight's game, the Nationals couldn't touch whoever was standing on the mound for the Mets, Chris Young or otherwise. After the first inning, which featured a two-run homer from Bryce Harper, the Nats went seven straight innings without a hit and went eight innings without getting on the scoresheet. Then, they finally broke through in a big way in the 10th, pounding out six runs and grooving to an 8-2 win. "It was nice that the bats woke up," said a muted...

Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang displayed a signature performance Monday, earning the victory for Double-A Harrisburg, 5-1 over New Hampshire. Wang (1-1) went 6 1/3 innings, allowing just two hits, striking out six and walking none. He fired 85 pitches, 52 for strikes, and lowered his ERA to 1.74. It was his second Double-A rehab start and eighth overall in the minors. He faced 21 hitters and forced them into 12 groundouts and one flyout. "Wang had excellent sink on his best pitch," according...

Single-A teammates Michael Taylor and Nathan Karns have been recognized with Player of the Week honors in the Carolina League. Taylor was selected as the Hitter of the Week thanks to a 14-for-29 surge (.483) in seven games, with three home runs, eight RBIs and eight runs. One of the homers was a grand slam, giving Taylor a .931 slugging percentage for the week. He also had hits in eight consecutive plate appearances during the weekend against Myrtle Beach. Taylor is batting .245 for the...