In a brief phone conversation yesterday morning with executive vice president Dan Duquette, I asked whether the Orioles were comfortable platooning Steve Tolleson and Ryan Flaherty at second base, or whether they needed to bring in someone from outside the organization. "We'll see what comes on the market," Duquette replied. "If Tolleson and Flaherty can do it, we'll let them do it. If they can't do it, we'll have to look for some other alternatives." Later that afternoon, the Orioles...

What was a 9-0 Nationals lead entering the sixth turned into a 10-9 deficit. How the heck did this happen? The Nats were cruising over the Braves through five, smacking Atlanta pitchers around and putting up crooked numbers. Then Stephen Strasburg got ambushed in the sixth, allowing hits to four of the five hitters he faced and getting charged with four runs. In the eighth, the Braves hit up Drew Storen and Sean Burnett for four more. Storen, who manager Davey Johnson surprisingly went to...

The highest minor league promotion of the week goes to centerfielder Eury Perez, who moved from Double-A Harrisburg to Triple-A Syracuse. In his Syracuse debut Friday night, Perez went 1-for-4 with a fourth-inning RBI single in a 6-5 win over Norfolk. Perez had the groundball single for the run-scoring hit. On defense, Perez misplayed a ball over his head in center field but also made one nice running catch. The 22-year old hit .299 in 82 games for the Senators with two doubles, 26 stolen...

Orioles reliever Matt Lindstrom took a Johnny Damon line drive off the inside portion of his left knee, forcing him out of the game with two outs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Lindstrom bent at the waist a few times and kept grimacing as manager Buck Showalter and assistant athletic trainer Brian Ebel checked on him. He didn't bother to throw a few warmup tosses. His night was over. Kevin Gregg replaced Lindstrom with the bases loaded and retired Casey Kotchman on a fly ball to center...

For a team struggling to get big hits with runners in scoring postion, it was a welcome sight. Not just scoring 10 runs tonight in a 10-2 win at Cleveland, but the two big hits the Orioles got came seconds apart in the top of the third. With the Orioles leading 2-1, one inning removed from stranding the bases loaded, Mark Reynolds came up with the sacks full and one out in the third. Reynolds crushed a two-run double to left center that didn't miss being a grand slam by much. The next...

If you're driving around the district tonight and happen to have a baseball land on your car, you can thank Michael Morse. Morse just destroyed a Tommy Hanson offering, and there's a decent chance it still hasn't landed. The Nationals have a 3-0 lead thanks to the Morse homer, which brought in Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche. Both guys reached with two outs. It's Morse's fifth home run of the season, and he's now up to 23 RBIs on the year. He took a 89 mph fastball from Hanson and...

J.J. Hardy was in a 7-for-70 slump before doubling in the first inning tonight and racing home on a wild pitch by Indians starter Derek Lowe. The lead didn't last long. Asdrubal Cabrera homered off Miguel Gonzalez in the bottom of the inning, and the Indians left the bases load. Gonzalez threw 25 pitches in the inning. Lowe threw 26. Gonzalez surrendered one home run with Triple-A Norfolk. He's given up one in each of his three starts with the Orioles. Since June 29, 19 of the last 21...

Former Nationals pitcher Chad Cordero was honored by his former team by throwing out the first pitch before Friday's match-up with the Atlanta Braves. Cordero threw the pitch in flip-flops, shorts and a red Nationals uniform top with his name and number on it. The pitch was outside and high to Drew Storen, the first time they had been on the same field in eight years. Cordero was in his rookie season in 2004 in a game at Cincinnati and saw a 15-year old Storen standing in the outfield...

For the Orioles, it has been nearly two months since their pitchers recorded three straight quality starts. Yes, it has been that long. They can make it three in a row tonight when Miguel Gonzalez pitches at Cleveland. From May 25 to May 27 against Kansas City, the Orioles posted three in a row. Jason Hammel pitched six scoreless innings, then Wei-Yin Chen gave up two earned runs over six and Brian Matusz allowed three earned runs in six innings against the Royals. The Orioles season high is...

There have been some national media members who have said or written that they expect the Nationals to be major players before the trade deadline. Some have talked about the Nats being in the mix for a big-name position player, like Justin Upton. Others have discussed the need for the Nationals to go get another starting pitcher to fill in for Stephen Strasburg once he's shut down. I've opined that such moves aren't necessary, barring some sort of injury over the next couple weeks....