The X-rays taken on shortstop J.J. Hardy's ribcage came back negative. "They're fine," he said. "They hurt, but they're fine. They hurt a lot." The Orioles have a few guys feeling under the weather and icing their bumps and bruises. And now, their hitting is contagious. (See what I did there?) "Yeah, that's kind of what I'm talking about," Hardy said. "We're dry for a while. We're not scoring anything, and we got out there and score five in an inning. It's definitely...

The Orioles were challenged by the heat, the quick turnaround and the Tampa Bay Rays, and they overcame all three in a 6-2 victory at Camden Yards. "It's a day you don't want to make too many visits to the mound," said manager Buck Showalter. "That's a challenging day. I'm proud of them. Short rest, turnaround. That's why they're different. Of course, there's a lot of people who work hard in the heat in our country." Including sportswriters, but back to the game. Here's Showalter...

It was bound to happen again. Chris Tillman took a shutout into the seventh inning today before being charged with two runs. He's registered back-to-back quality starts for the second time in his career, and the first since August 2009. Ryan Roberts opened the seventh with a walk and Carlos Pena followed with a fly ball to left field that Chris Davis appeared to lose in the sun. It bounced on the warning track and hopped the fence for a ground-rule double, and San Fuld's double scored two...

Interested in watching Tyler Clippard, Sean Burnett, Craig Stammen and Ryan Mattheus read segments from "Fifty Shades of Grey"? Of course you are. During the Nationals' stop in New York this week, the four relievers went by the MLB Fan Cave, and took part in a few video shoots. One of them had the guys reading clips from the sultry book which has swept the nation. Stammen told me that the group needed a bunch of takes to get the video segments down, largely because Burnett couldn't stop...

Nationals prospect Anthony Rendon will continue his rehab from a fractured left ankle and start at third base tonight for the short-season Single-A Auburn Doubledays. Doubledays manager Gary Cathcart said Rendon will also serve as the designated hitter for some games and have some days off. Rendon is expected to be with the Doubledays for at least one week, but it could be longer. With the GCL Nats, Rendon played three, five or seven innings as they slowly ramped him up. He never got more...

One of the many reasons why the Nationals have been able to maintain consistency throughout the season is the team's ability to replace starters in the field and not lose momentum. Ryan Zimmerman, Drew Storen, Jayson Werth, Michael Morse, Wilson Ramos and others have gone down to injury and have had to be replaced quickly with very little dropoff. Now, without All-Star shortstop Ian Desmond for what will likely be a month, Danny Espinosa will have to switch from second base to shortstop for...

The Orioles had an opening on their 40-man roster after designating outfielder Steve Pearce for assignment, so they only had to make one move today when purchasing left-hander Dana Eveland's contract from Triple-A Norfolk. Eveland takes the 25-man roster spot previously occupied by infielder Steve Tolleson, leaving the Orioles with a three-man bench. It could expand to four before tomorrow night's game. Tolleson has an illness in the family and will stop in North Carolina before reporting...

The Washington Nationals and Union Square Events today announced the launch of Round 2 of the "Eat for the Cycle" in-park promotion, in which one lucky fan will win the Grand Giveaway, including field access to watch batting practice and dinner for four at the Union Square Events' in-park eatery of their choice. Round 2 will be available to fans of all ages from July 31 through September 9, 2012. The exciting promotion will be offered as follows: Guests can pick up their "Eat for the...

The Orioles today announced that they have selected the contract of left-hander Dana Eveland from Triple-A Norfolk and optioned infielder Steve Tolleson to the Tides. Eveland went 0-1 with a 4.73 ERA (32.1IP, 17ER) in 14 games (two starts) in his first stint with the Orioles, May 11-July 15. Tolleson batted .194/.242/.339 with two home runs and six RBI in 23 games for the Orioles in three stints this season. With the addition of Eveland, the Orioles 25 and 40-man rosters are now full.

Still waiting to see which player - likely a reliever - walks into the Orioles clubhouse and is placed on the roster. In the meantime, here's today's starting lineup against James Shields and the Rays: Nick Markakis RF J.J. Hardy SS Jim Thome DH Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Chris Davis LF Wilson Betemit 3B Mark Reynolds 1B Omar Quintanilla 2B Chris Tillman RHP Update: Dana Eveland has arrived and will be activated before today's game. Update: The Orioles have selected Eveland's...