Today is Photo Day at Nationals Park, which allows a group of fans to line the warning track all the way around the field and shake hands and pose for pictures with Nats players. What a perfect day for both players and fans to be standing outside for a lengthy period of time. Temperatures of 103 degrees with a heat index of close to 110 degrees? Just lovely. Bryce Harper and Ryan Mattheus came prepared to help the fans keep cool, as they brought a bag of freeze pops and tossed them out to...

The Orioles today announced that they have recalled infielder Steve Tolleson from Triple-A Norfolk. This is Tolleson's third stint with the O's this season (also May 9-June 12 and June 14-27). He has batted .220 (11-50) with two home runs and six RBI in 17 games for the Orioles. Tolleson has batted .291/.382/.379 with one home run and 13 RBI in 32 games with the Tides this season.

You can add left-hander Wandy Rodriguez to the list of pitchers who are on the Orioles' radar. The Orioles have contacted the Astros about Rodriguez, according to an industry source. No word on the level of interest or which players have been discussed, but executive vice president Dan Duquette is considering Rodriguez as a possibility for his ever-changing rotation. Rodriguez is owed about $5 million for the rest of 2012 and is signed through next season, when he'll make $13 million. The...

Yeah, it's a little bit warm in the nation's capital today. I don't envy Gio Gonzalez or Jeff Francis, the two starters who will be trying to fight through this heat at Nationals Park. It's bad enough trying to unstick myself from my chair in the press box, much less get a grip on a curveball. Here's the Nationals lineup today against Francis, who held the Nats in check in Denver last week: 2B Danny Espinosa CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman RF Michael Morse 1B Adam LaRoche SS Ian...

It's not difficult to pinpoint the most memorable of the six seasons Larry Sheets spent in an Orioles uniform. Just peruse his career stats and his stellar 1987 season - when he batted .316, hit 31 homers and drove in 94 runs - stick out as a high-water mark for a guy drafted 18 picks ahead of Cal Ripken Jr. by the O's in 1978. "It was magical," Sheets, now 52, said recently after participating in the Orioles Alumni Autograph Series. "Unfortunately, I wasn't able to duplicate it after...

Those pesky Rockies. They have the second-worst winning percentage in baseball and have a winning record against just three teams this season. Those three teams: the 32-52 Astros, the 39-44 Brewers and the 48-33 Nationals, who own the best record in the National League. Colorado has now won three of the five games it's played with the Nats this season. Surprisingly, two of those three wins have come against Stephen Strasburg, who has registered losses in three straight starts. Strasburg...

When the All-Star Futures Game, featuring some of baseball's best prospects, is played tomorrow, there will be seven players on the U.S. roster that were teenagers when the calender turned to July. Three of those seven are ranked as top ten prospects and two of that trio are from the Orioles. Pitcher Dylan Bundy, the 19-year-old O's 2011 first-round pick and shortstop Manny Machado, the O's 2010 top pick who turned 20 yesterday, will represent the Orioles in that game tomorrow in Kansas...

Joe Mahoney couldn't crack the Orioles' lineup again last night. On Thursday, he couldn't crack either one of them. Chris Davis was a late scratch that night with a strained right trapezius muscle, and he remained on the bench for the second game of the Angels series. The All-Star break is coming at a good time. Only two more games before the Orioles - with the exception of Adam Jones, Jim Johnson and Matt Wieters - get to enjoy a nice four-day vacation. Look for Steve Tolleson to be...

With a big eighth inning assist from Troy Patton, Miguel Gonzalez pitched the Orioles to a big win on Friday night, as they beat the Angels 3-2 to even the four-game series after the first two games. Gonzalez gave up just three hits and one run over seven innings. It was his first major league start. Now, he may get a second. Gonzalez improved to 1-0 and lowered his ERA to 1.93. He threw exactly 100 pitches, including 66 for strikes. His outing was impressive in several ways: * He...

The overwhelming feeling in the Nationals clubhouse after tonight's game was simple: We let one slip away. Rockies rookie Drew Pomeranz had a good fastball tonight. It sat in the low-to-mid 90s and had some cut to it at times, and the lefty was able to both work the ball in on hitters and get some tailing action away. But when 91 percent of a guy's pitches are fastballs, you'd think it wouldn't be too hard to see the ball and drive it. The Nationals just couldn't do that this...