The numbers keep getting more impressive by the day. Ian Desmond is 2-for-2 today, and his two-run home run to the red seats in left-center in the fourth inning has given the Nationals a 2-1 lead over the Rockies. The All-Star shortstop now has 17 home runs and 51 RBIs on the season. A day before the All-Star break. Oh, and he added his 10th stolen base of the season this afternoon, as well. Desmond leads all shortstops in homers, RBIs, doubles and slugging percentage. He's tied for...

Davey Johnson isn't a big fan of team meetings. He doesn't feel he needs to stand up in front of his squad like a football coach and deliver a pep talk. But Johnson did walk around the Nationals clubhouse early this afternoon, talking to each player, giving out handshakes and wishing everyone well over the All-Star break. "I just talked to all the players individually, congratulated them on their first half," Johnson said. "Want them to relax. No horse riding, no jet skiing, no crashes...

Mark Reynolds is back in the lineup today, and Chris Davis is staying in it. Steve Tolleson, recalled yesterday from Triple-A Norfolk, is starting at third base. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B J.J. Hardy SS Matt Wieters DH Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 1B Chris Davis RF Steve Pearce LF Steve Tolleson 3B Ronny Paulino C Wei-Yin Chen LHP For the Angels: Mike Trout LF Torii Hunter RF Albert Pujols DH Mark Trumbo 1B Howard Kendrick 2B Erick Aybar SS Peter Bourjos CF Maicer Izturis...

While he'll have to see how things play out in the All-Star Game, Davey Johnson has set what he's calling his probable rotation after the All-Star break. That rotation has Jordan Zimmermann working the first game after the break, which will come Friday in Miami. Zimmermann will be followed by Gio Gonzalez, Stephen Strasburg, Edwin Jackson and Ross Detwiler. Johnson said there's "a little better probability than 50 percent" of that rotation coming to fruition. He'll wait to see how much...

As the first half comes to a close today, maybe fans may have some hope to see an improved O's pitching rotation after the All-Star break that, at least initially, will include Chris Tillman and Miguel Gonzalez. Who could have predicted that even as recently as a few weeks ago? But the Orioles' offense also needs to step it up a notch pretty soon. The Orioles have sure seen a steady diet of good starting pitching in recent weeks, and they were shut out last night for the third time in the...

The Nationals close out the first half today with a 1:35 p.m. game against the Colorado Rockies and right-hander Jeremy Guthrie. Here are the lineups for today's game: For the Rockies: CF - Dexter Fowler 2B - Marco Scutaro LF - Carlos Gonzalez RF - Tyler Colvin 1B - Todd Helton 3B - Jordan Pacheco SS - Jonathan Herrera C - Wil Nieves P - Jeremy Guthrie For the Nationals: LF - Steve Lombardozzi CF - Bryce Harper 3B - Ryan Zimmerman RF - Michael Morse 1B - Adam LaRoche SS - Ian Desmond 2B -...

The first time Nick Markakis played with the Double-A Bowie Baysox, in 2005 on his way through the Orioles' farm system, he hit .339 with three homers and 30 RBIs to go with a .993 OPS in 33 games. He hit those three homers then in 124 at-bats and last night, on an injury-rehab assignment with Bowie, he hit two in three at-bats, driving in four runs as the Baysox beat Akron 7-1. "He's been with us the last few days and yesterday he had a great BP," Bowie manager Gary Kendall said. "He...

Two days after being called into manager Buck Showalter's office and told that the Orioles were sending him down to Triple-A Norfolk, after having his baseball world shattered again like a fastball through a pane of glass, Brian Matusz headed for the bullpen at Camden Yards and picked up the pieces. Brady Anderson, the club's special assistant, put on full catching gear - including a left-handed mitt designed by Rawlings - and caught Matusz's side session Tuesday while the Orioles were in...

Nationals right-hander Drew Storen came in for the eighth inning Saturday and got hit a bit during the second game of his rehab assignment for high Single-A Potomac. Leading 3-1, Storen allowed two runs on two hits and a walk, with only one of the runs earned. He did finish out the inning. Storen faced six batters. Storen told reporters he was a little disappointed the outing did not go as well as Thursday, but that is not the most important reason for these rehab games. It is about making...

Rookie left fielder Xavier Avery misplayed Mark Trumbo's single leading off the fourth inning tonight for the Orioles' 75th error this season, tops in the majors. It came back to bite them. Trumbo moved to third on Alberto Callaspo's fly ball and scored on Howie Kendrick's single through a drawn-in infield to give the Angels a 1-0 lead against starter Jason Hammel. The defense wasn't done complicating Hammel's inning. Erick Aybar, who reached on a force play, went from first to third...