The Orioles confirmed today that pitcher Steve Johnson has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and joined the team in Seattle. He's wearing No. 52. Johnson and his father, Dave, will become the sixth father-son duo to play for the Orioles, joining Bob and Terry Kennedy, Don and Damon Buford, John O'Donoghue Sr. and John O'Donoghue Jr., Dave and Derrick May, and Tim Raines Sr. and Tim Raines Jr. Including today, the Orioles have made 10 moves on the 25-man roster involving nine players in...

Chris Tillman no longer is scheduled to start tonight for Triple-A Norfolk. Tim Bascom, the Orioles' minor league Pitcher of the Year in 2011, will take Tillman's turn in the rotation. Bascom is moving up from Double-A Bowie. Tillman is expected to move up to the majors and start Thursday night's game in Anaheim. Tillman is 8-8 with a 3.63 ERA in 16 games with Norfolk, including 15 starts. He's allowed 85 hits, walked 30 and struck out 92 in 89 1/3 innings. Tillman has allowed two earned...

There has been a lot of focus recently on the Orioles' pitching and the starting rotation and for good reason. Since giving up just five runs in a three-game series against the Nationals, the Orioles have allowed 52 runs in losing five of six games. They have allowed 13 homers with a team ERA of 8.17 in that stretch and yes, that is terrible. But at the same time, the Orioles' offense, which put up amazing numbers in that home series with Pittsburgh in mid-June, has not come close to doing...

The Nationals' recent three-city road trip might not have seemed that lengthy, given one of the stops was just a 45-minute drive from D.C. The visit to Baltimore was followed by trips to steamy Colorado and Atlanta, where the Nationals literally worked up quite a sweat over the last week. They now return home having gone 5-5 on the 10-game trip, which helped give them a winning month of June. The Nats went 15-11 last month, and after going 14-8 in April and 15-13 in May, they have now put up...

Yesterday, Nationals fans saw - for the first time this season, really - the Ryan Zimmerman who has been the most enduring Nationals All-Star since 2006. His two-run double in the first inning off Tim Hudson was the telling blow in an 8-4 win to take another road series against perennial National League contenders, the Atlanta Braves. He had a solo home run as well, his third longball in a week, and another clutch hit in the ninth to help put the game out of reach. He is hitting .378 for the...

The voting is complete, the rosters are selected, so now it's time to dissect how everyone did in the All-Star voting for next week's game in Kansas City. First of all, it's a good thing that fans, players and managers each get to have a say on which players make the team. The system works. Here's the nutshell: Every team needs to be represented, but the rosters should be cut to 27 and starters should be required to play at last four innings. The winner shouldn't get home field advantage...

About midway through the Saturday afternoon game at Camden Yards, the comment at work was made that the mentions of the Orioles on Twitter were blowing up. Granted, it wasn't for the Birds' game in the least, as they eventually dug their own graves in an 11-5 loss to Cleveland. Instead, attached to every tweet was the name of Jim Thome. A veteran in the truest sense of the word, the 41-year-old is once again on an American League roster and serving as the O's designated hitter. As an...

When it comes to the Orioles these days, the great debate centers on the biggest concern. The defense? It's been tagged for 69 errors in 78 games, most in the majors. The offense? It perked up a little over the weekend with a combined 14 runs in two games, but the Orioles managed only two yesterday and didn't have a baserunner until the fifth inning. The pitching? The starters have a 4.82 ERA that's the fourth-highest in the majors. So what's a team to do? Well, the Orioles traded for...

So, did anything happen the last two days at Camden Yards? Well, first Earl Weaver was honored and it was amazing, emotional and special. Just as we were finishing writing our stories on that came word of a trade and that Jim Thome would be headed to Baltimore. Then we interviewed the other players talking about Thome's addition. Then we found out the Orioles had three All-Stars and Jason Hammel could become a fourth. Then we interviewed them to talk about the honor. Then the game...

The Orioles are preparing to recall right-hander Steve Johnson from Triple-A Norfolk and insert him into their bullpen during their West Coast trip that begins tomorrow night in Seattle. Johnson will replace left-hander Brian Matusz on the 25-man roster. Matusz was optioned after today's 6-2 loss to the Indians at Camden Yards. Johnson, 24, is 3-5 with a 2.73 ERA in 14 games, including nine starts. He's allowed 43 hits, walked 24 and struck out 63 in 62 2/3 innings, and opponents are...