BOWIE, Md - In his first at-bat since May 16, 2011, Brian Roberts drew a five-pitch walk to lead off the bottom of the first for the Double-A Bowie Baysox tonight. You might have been looking for something more dramatic than that, but Roberts watched five consecutive pitches from Richmond Flying Squirrels lefty Mike Kickham and then ran down the line to take first base. Yes, this is a blog entry about a walk. But, heck, we've come all this way. After Buck Britton struck out, Roberts...

PHILADELPHIA - Stephen Stasburg threw a bullpen session earlier today at Citizens Bank Park, and all went well. The Nationals' ace felt no effects from his last outing, in which he was pulled after five innings due to fatigue, and said he felt "great" during today's mound session. He will make his next planned start, this Saturday against the Braves. Strasburg thinks that if he wasn't coming back off Tommy John surgery, he would've been allowed to stay in the game on Sunday, even after...

BOWIE, Md. - It was nice to see the familiar swing of Brian Roberts in the batting cage earlier today at Prince George's Stadium. Roberts sprayed some line drives around the ballpark batting left and right-handed. Richmond is starting a lefty tonight in Mike Kickham, who is 2-4 with an ERA of 4.04 and Roberts will leadoff and play second base for the Double-A Baysox. Bowie manager Gary Kendall talked about the plan tonight for Roberts as he plays in his first game since May 16, 2011 when he...

I have some updates on the pitching staff at Double-A Harrisburg, with a focus on the bullpen. The Senators swept a doubleheader from Altoona on Wednesday, once again thanks to the pitchers keeping the score down, 5-3 and 3-2. A lot of talk has surrounded the emergence of former Yankees prospect right-hander Christian Garcia, who has fought back from a pair of Tommy John surgeries. He recorded his sixth save of the season in game one. Senators pitching coach Paul Menhart said Garcia has...

Jake Arrieta allowed the leadoff hitter to reach base in four of his six innings today, running up his pitch count and lowering his chances of winning. "When you're pitching with a guy on and no outs to start off an inning, you put yourself in a tight situation," he said after a 6-5 loss to the Red Sox. "To start the game, my sinker was running all over the place. Had great life today, felt really good. Breaking balls were really spotty. Wasn't able to command them very well. Started them...

Orioles manager Buck Showalter was left to explain another disappointing outing from Jake Arrieta and his club's failure to take advantage of some late opportunities in a 6-5 loss to the Red Sox before 27,806 at Camden Yards. Arrieta was charged with four runs and eight hits in 5 2/3 innings. "He's a pitch away from getting out of there with three runs in six innings," Showalter said. "He was so deep in the count. He had a lot of counts in his favor and couldn't put people away. I...

BOWIE, Md. - Hello from Prince George's Stadium, where the Bowie Baysox host the Richmond Flying Squirrels tonight in Eastern League baseball at 7:05 p.m. It is here where the Orioles' Brian Roberts will begin his 20-day minor league rehab assignment, playing in a game for the first time since May 16, 2011. He has missed 166 games since that time, playing in just 98 games combined for the Orioles over the last two seasons. Roberts has only played in 27 career games at Bowie. He began the...

PHILADELPHIA - The Nationals have a two-game sweep over the Marlins, but have yet to register a three-game sweep this season. They've got yet another shot tonight. Ryan Zimmerman, who sat out last night with shoulder soreness, returns to the Nationals lineup, playing third base. Here are the lineups for tonight's game: For the Nationals: 2B Danny Espinosa RF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian Desmond CF Rick Ankiel LF Xavier Nady C Jesus Flores P Edwin Jackson For the...

Jake Arrieta's maddening inconsistency reared its ugly head again this afternoon. Arrieta was charged with four runs and eight hits in 5 1/3 innings, with three walks, two strikeouts and a home run. He threw 98 pitches, 58 for strikes. The fourth run scored on Kelly Shoppach's two-run homer off reliever Luis Ayala, only his second this season. Daniel Nava hit No. 2 off Arrieta earlier in the inning, after the first two batters were retired. Arrieta held the Nationals to one run over seven...

After much deliberation, the Orioles have decided to promote pitcher Dylan Bundy to Single-A Frederick, where he'll start Saturday night against Salem at Harry Grove Stadium. The original plan called for Bundy to make three five-inning starts with low Single-A Delmarva before moving up, but the Orioles have decided to accelerate his program. Bundy, the fourth overall pick in the 2011 First-Year Player Draft, tossed five more scoreless innings Sunday against Hagerstown, keeping his ERA at...