Needing another long reliever for tonight, the Orioles have made arrangements to purchase Brad Bergesen's contract from Triple-A Norfolk. Reliever Miguel Socolovich is expected to be optioned to Norfolk after replacing starter Chris Tillman in the first inning last night and working 2 1/3 innings. The Orioles must create room on the 40-man roster for Bergesen, who's been in the minors all season. As I just stated on "The Mid-Atlantic Sports Report," one solution is to transfer Nick...

Yet again, Ian Desmond will watch from the bench as his Nationals teammates take on a division rival. Desmond will remain sidelined tonight because of a sore left oblique, an injury which has now knocked him out of the lineup three straight days. Unfortunately for Desmond, it appears that the time off so far - both the four days of rest over the All-Star break and the last two days in which he's been held out of the Nationals lineup - hasn't allowed the oblique to make major strides in the...

He has a signed Mace Windu purple lightsaber from Samuel L. Jackson hanging in his room. He played water polo and occasionally snowboarded in California. He had never visited Washington, D.C., before July. He now pitches for the Washington Nationals. Who is he? Meet new right-hander Lucas Giolito. The Nationals' top selection (No. 16 overall) in the 2012 first-year draft met with the media Tuesday in the Nationals' dugout, sporting jersey No. 30. The agreement with the Nationals came...

Rule 5 pick Ryan Flaherty gets the start tonight at second base against Twins right-hander Samuel Deduno. Left-hander Zach Britton makes his debut with the Orioles tonight. No roster move has been announced, but second baseman Robert Andino will be placed on the disabled list. For the Orioles: Nick Markakis RF J.J. Hardy SS Jim Thome DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Chris Davis LF Wilson Betemit 3B Ryan Flaherty 2B Zach Britton LHP For the Twins: Denard Span CF Ben Revere...

If there was ever a player that didn't let his slump on offense carry over to his defense, it's Orioles shortstop J.J. Hardy. He continues to give the club superior defense at a premium position and that is important on a team that makes so many errors at other spots on the diamond. But at the same time, the duration of Hardy's slump has to be baffling to the player, his manager and coaches - and to the fans. Hardy has never been a big hitter for average. But he batted .269 for the Orioles...

For years, the Potomac Nationals and their fans have yearned for a stadium that matched the product on the field. That dream appears to finally be moving closer to reality. Prince William County, the Potomac Nationals, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and PTC Roadside Development LLC announced at a news conference today, that a public and private financial marriage has been put in place that would bring a 6,000-seat state-of-the-art minor league baseball stadium to Prince...

It may be hard to believe if you watched them play last night, but the Orioles would still grab an extra wild card and play postseason baseball for the first time since 1997 (as of this morning, they're a half-game out). It's shocking for a team with a minus-55 run differential (second worst in Major League Baseball), but I guess that's what a 27-14 start will do. Of late, I've seen more tweets declaring the Orioles dead than I have about what Justin Bieber had for lunch - which is saying...

As the Nationals continue to own the best record in the National League and maintain a 2 1/2-game lead in the NL East, injured catcher Wilson Ramos seems like a forgotten man. Unnoticed though he may be, Washington's baseball club misses Ramos more than most fans think. Jesus Flores, himself healthy for the first time in four years after overcoming a myriad of injuries, has filled in capably for the injured starter. Flores has excelled defensively and capably handled the Nationals excellent...

For a while, the Orioles bullpen had the best ERA in the majors and/or the American League. Yesterday, before the game, the Orioles' bullpen ERA of 2.87 ranked second-best in the AL, but after giving up 12 runs in the 19-7 loss at Minnesota, the Orioles' bullpen ERA is up to 3.16 and they have fallen all the way to fifth in AL. 2.75 - Oakland 3.04 - Boston 3.13 - Seattle 3.14 - Kansas City 3.16 - Orioles In four games since the All-Star break, Orioles starters have pitched just 15 1/3...

The Orioles need a second baseman, and since they have a fondness for signing veterans to Triple-A contracts, I'm recommending Rich Dauer, Billy Smith, Lenn Sakata or Davey Johnson - if he tires of that managing gig down the road. RIP Alan Wiggins. Brian Roberts remains on the disabled list and is facing the very real possibilty that he'll need surgery to repair a labral tear in his right hip. Robert Andino is going on the DL today with a strained left shoulder that's expected to keep him...