BOSTON - Pitcher Jason Berken broke his nose during today's start with Triple-A Norfolk when he slammed into first baseman Joe Mahoney while chasing a foul ball in Rochester. Berken could make his next start. It depends on the amount of swelling around his eyes. "He's not going to do anything as far as resetting it," manager Buck Showalter said. "Right now, he's scheduled to start again. Of course, it depends on what goes on with (Jamie) Moyer. Tommy (Hunter) might be pitching Saturday...

As Davey Johnson puts it, when Chien-Ming Wang is throwing from the correct arm slot, his stuff is "almost unhittable". The problem was, Wang was rarely throwing from the proper arm slot today. As a result, he was very hittable. Wang allowed 12 baserunners (eight hits, three walks and a hit-by-pitch) during his 5 1/3 innings against the Mets today, and while he only gave up two runs, it wasn't the type of outing the Nationals were looking for. Since returning to the Nats' rotation eight...

With each good outing, Brian Matusz, who can pitch the Orioles to another sweep at Fenway Park tonight, continues to distance himself from his terrible 2011 season when he had an ERA of 10.69. It wasn't that long ago - from last June 12 to this April 20 - that Matusz went 0-12 with an ERA of 11.64 and an opponent batting average against of .387 during a 13-start stretch. Yeah, that is a run of bad pitching. Contrast that with Matusz now, when he is 4-1 with an ERA of 2.87 over his last five...

There is a reason Mets knuckleballer R.A. Dickey has nine wins already this season: His knuckleball is very good, and Dickey can throw more than one variation of it. His best is a hard knuckleball that caused the Nationals serious trouble in a 3-1 setback Thursday at Nationals Park. In Dickey's first meeting with Bryce Harper, he threw the young phenom seven straight knuckleballs that varied in speed from 75 mph to 81 mph. He then struck out Harper on the eighth pitch, a 63 mph,...

Bryce Harper gave Nationals fans a scare when he dropped to his knees following a failed attempt at a diving catch in the top of the ninth inning this afternoon. Manager Davey Johnson made things sound even scarier when he said that Harper has been nursing a tender back lately, and that there's a chance the 19-year-old might need to miss tomorrow's game at Boston as a result of the injury. Harper brought the panic level down a few notches during his session with reporters. During that...

BOSTON - The Triple-A Norfolk roster is getting another pitcher. The independent Lancaster Barnstormers announced on their website that the Orioles have purchased the contract of left-hander

BOSTON - Endy Chavez is batting leadoff tonight for the Orioles, and Mark Reynolds gets another start at first base. Nick Johnson remains out of the lineup against a right-hander, as manager Buck Showalter again chooses Chris Davis as his designated hitter. For the Orioles: Endy Chavez RF J.J. Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Chris Davis DH Mark Reynolds 1B Wilson Betemit 3B Ryan Flaherty LF Robert Andino 2B Brian Matusz LHP For the Red Sox: Daniel Nava LF Dustin Pedroia 2B Kevin...

The Orioles, along with the Orioles Wives, Oriole Advocates, WJZ-TV and MASN personalities, Von Paris Moving and Storage and the Maryland Food Bank, will hold their 26th annual Food and Funds Drive at Oriole Park at Camden Yards this weekend, June 8-10, during the Orioles' series with the Philadelphia Phillies. Members of these groups will collect non-perishable food items and monetary donations from fans at each entrance from the time gates open until the middle of the 2nd inning during games...

Since getting inserted into the Nationals' starting rotation, Chien-Ming Wang has made two starts. Neither have been awful. Neither have been that good, either. Wang went 5 1/3 innings today against the Mets, allowing two runs on eight hits. The veteran righty walked three and struck out one, throwing 81 pitches, 54 for strikes. He tossed a 1-2-3 first inning, but things slowly went downhill from there. Wang loaded the bases in both the second and third innings, and was able to get out of...

Nationals director of scouting Kris Kline met with reporters via conference call Thursday to discuss the draft, which wrapped up earlier in the week. The Nationals selected right-handed pitcher Lucas Giolito, out of Harvard-Westlake High School in Calif., at No. 16. The 6-foot-6, 230 lb., hurler has an explosive fastball and a power curve. Kline said general manager Mike Rizzo will handle negotiations with Giolito's representatives in hopes of getting him signed before the July 13 deadline at...