ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles played with a short bench yesterday, and they could be doing the same thing today.

The Nationals have selected the contract of left-handed reliever

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Each day brings another unique lineup from Orioles manager Buck Showalter. Today, he's got Steve Pearce in right field and Ronny Paulino serving as the designated hitter against Rays left-hander Matt Moore. Robert Andino is leading off, with Endy Chavez batting second. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B Endy Chavez LF J.J. Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Ronny Paulino DH Steve Pearce RF Steve Tolleson 3B Jake Arrieta RHP Pearce is...

Davey Johnson's Sunday lineup looks exactly same as Saturday's. Except Stephen Strasburg isn't pitching again. That'd just be weird and uncalled for. Gio Gonzalez takes the hill for the Nationals, looking to improve on his 7-1 record. Gonzalez went 5-0 in May. He'll try and carry that success into a new month and give the Nats a mini two-game sweep over the Braves. Here are the lineups for the two teams: For the Nationals LF Steve Lombardozzi CF Bryce Harper 3B Ryan Zimmerman 1B...

Beyond ending a losing streak on Saturday, which was pretty important, another aspect of Brian Matusz's strong start against Tampa Bay was that it brought the Orioles' late-inning relief back into play. It had been a while since the team turned to Pedro Strop and Jim Johnson to protect a late lead. But that duo, and the rest of the bullpen, has been doing that about as well as anyone in the American League this year. In fact, the Orioles are the only AL team that has yet to lose this year...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - The Orioles snapped a five-game road losing streak yesterday, and now they have a chance to win this series after dropping the last three. Left-hander Brian Matusz's gem made it easy to overlook the offense, which continued to scuffle. Two runs were enough yesterday, but that won't usually be the case. The Orioles have scored 16 runs in their last seven games, an average of 2.3. I'm sure Jake Arrieta would appreciate more support today, just in case he doesn't bring...

When Michael Morse stepped to the plate with two outs in the bottom of the first inning today, he was focused on his approach in what would be his first at-bat of the 2012 season. The Nats were threatening, with two runners on base, and Morse was facing Braves starter Brandon Beachy, who came into today with a 1.77 ERA this season. This was not the time for Morse to let his mind drift elsewhere or start reflecting on the long road he took to battle through a lat injury and rejoin the...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Brian Matusz worked a season-high 7 1/3 innings today in a 2-1 win over the Rays before 21,693 at Tropicana Field. It was his longest outing since Aug. 19, 2010, when he pitched eight innings against the Rangers. "It's as good as I've felt in a while," he said. "I like pitching here in The Trop. You expect it to be 72 degrees every time you go out there to pitch, so it's nice. "I had a great feel. Worked well with (Matt) Wieters. And the defense was great. The...

Notoriously hard on himself after a poor performance - or at least what he considers a poor performance - Stephen Strasburg has nothing to complain about today. Strasburg went seven scoreless innings, marking the first time in his career that he has worked seven shutout frames, allowing just four hits, striking out nine and earning his sixth win in the Nationals' 2-0 victory over the Braves. This comes after three straight starts where Strasburg failed to work into the sixth inning and...

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - Orioles manager Buck Showalter told reporters to hurry with their postgame questions. LL Cool J is performing at Tropicana Field, and Showalter wanted to rush back into the dugout and enjoy the concert. Winning is fun, especially after six straight losses. Brian Matusz held the Rays to one run and two hits over 7 1/3 innings for his fourth consecutive quality start. He's 5-5 with a 4.41 ERA. And he's now the club's stopper. "Brian's a rare left-hander in that...