The injuries keep mounting for the Orioles. Second baseman Robert Andino left today's game in the top of the sixth inning after appearing to jam his left shoulder while diving for a ball. Alex Avila singled to score Prince Fielder and extend Detroit's lead to 3-0. Andino continued to lie face-down on the ground, as if frustrated that the ball got past him. He actually was dealing with the pain. Andino paced around the infield with assistant athletic trainer Brian Ebel at his side and...

Any concern that the Nationals' pitching staff would waver in the second half was dispelled by the first three games in Miami. "Quality start" hardly describes what Jordan Zimmermann, Gio Gonzalez and Stephen Strasburg served up over the weekend. They limited the Fish to three runs in three games which should have been enough for more than two wins. But the All-Star break turned a simmering debate about the Nationals' pitching into an open debate. During a slow sports week, the topic...

There's been no shortage of fireworks through the first few innings of today's ballgame. We've got Ozzie Guillen dropping F-bombs in the direction of Nationals players or their manager, Roger Bernadina laying out to make a diving, run-saving grab, Davey Johnson giving it to first base umpire D.J. Reyburn and Stephen Strasburg sending his OPS to ridiculous levels. The Nationals lead 2-0 in the sixth thanks to RBI singles from Strasburg and Steve Lombardozzi. Strasburg's base knock came...

Miguel Gonzalez has allowed one run with his name spelled incorrectly on the back of his jersey and one run with the proper spelling. Maybe he should try "Miguel" and see how that works for him. Austin Jackson hit a leadoff home run in the first inning while Gonzalez wore a jersey with "Gonzales" stitched on the back. He changed jerseys in the second inning and the Tigers scored again on Brennan Boesch's double and Jhonnhy Peralta's RBI single. Gonzalez allowed only one run over seven...

Let's start with Steve Johnson, who found out late last night that the Orioles were calling him up for a second time. "It was after the game," he said. "I was about to head out the door and they told me to hold up and called me in. I packed my stuff and started driving." Johnson spent two days with the Orioles in Seattle, but he never got in a game. He has no idea how long he'll be with the club or whether he's going to accompany them to Minnesota. The only certainty is that Johnson...

Here is an interesting stat: Eight of the players in the Orioles' starting lineup today have combined for just one career homer off Justin Verlander in 85 at-bats. But the other player in the lineup today has seven career homers in 49 at-bats against the Detroit right-hander. Jim Thome is the guy with all the homers. He is 12-for-49 in his career vs. Verlander for a modest .245 batting average. But he has one double and those seven homers off Verlander to go along with 11 RBIs and career OPS...

The Orioles' rotation for the series in Minnesota that begins tomorrow will not include left-hander Brian Matusz. Chris Tillman will start tomorrow after making it through yesterday's bullpen session without a recurrence of the back spasms that flared up on Thursday. Manager Buck Showalter confirmed that Zach Britton will start Tuesday, marking the left-hander's first appearance in the majors this season. However, Showalter eliminated Matusz from consideration for Wednesday's...

The Orioles today announced that they have placed right-hander Jason Hammel on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 14, with a right knee injury and recalled right-hander from Triple-A Norfolk. In 18 starts for the Orioles, Hammel is 8-6 with a 3.54 ERA (109.1IP, 43ER). Johnson, 24, was 3-6 with a 3.11 ERA (66.2IP, 23ER) in 15 games (20 starts) for the Tides. He was acquired by the Orioles with infielder Josh Bell on July 30, 2009 in exchange for left-hander George Sherrill....

Orioles pitcher Jason Hammel told reporters a few minutes ago that he has decided he will have surgery on his right knee. The arthroscopic procedure will take place at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Monday. "Obviously, it's not what I want to do, but it's what needs to be done," Hammel said. "I can't keep pitching on a bad leg and start doing things with my arm and hurting stuff there. I'm bummed out, but it will be a pretty routine surgery. I figure a few weeks, maybe four...

For the first time in 71 games, Ian Desmond will not be at shortstop when the Nationals take the field today. Desmond and his sore oblique will get the day off, with Danny Espinosa sliding over from second base to play shortstop and Steve Lombardozzi filling in at second. Interestingly enough, Desmond needs the day off just two games into the second half of the season, after getting four days of rest over the All-Star break. Desmond started all but one game over the first half, and has...