When I was in Salisbury recently to watch Dylan Bundy pitch, I had a chance to talk with Shorebirds pitching coach Troy Mattes. He is in his third season with that club and, at just 36, is the young coach that has been entrusted to work with and help develop some of the Orioles' most promising young pitchers. The Single-A Delmarva staff is off to a very good start with an ERA of 3.27 that ranks second out of 14 teams in the South Atlantic League. Bundy, with his 17 shutout innings of one-hit...

I love the historical tidbits that regularly work their way into baseball game stories. Two such tidbits came out of the Orioles' series win this week against the Yankees in the Bronx, and both had to do with strong pitching performances. First, on Wednesday, Jake Arrieta became the most recent Orioles pitcher to toss eight or more shutout innings against the Yankees since September 2004, when Sidney Ponson recorded a complete-game shutout. Specifically, Ponson shut out the Yankees on Sept....

With Ross Detwiler and Ian Kennedy both dealing tonight, this game moved along at a crisp pace. And thanks to their red-hot fifth starter (yeah, it's still tough to believe Detwiler is really a fifth starter), the Nationals earned a second straight win over the Diamondbacks, this one by a 2-1 count. Detwiler went 6 1/3 innings, giving up just one run on three hits with three walks and two strikeouts. He didn't allow a runner to reach scoring position until the sixth inning, and now has a...

BOSTON - Joel Pineiro was added to Triple-A Norfolk's roster and made his debut tonight, going six innings against Indianapolis. Pineiro, signed as a minor league free agent after being released by the Phillies, allowed one run and three hits, walked none and struck out five. He threw 75 pitches, 55 for strikes. One of the hits off Pineiro came from former Oriole Jake Fox, who's batting .385. The Orioles envision Pineiro as a long reliever, which they've been lacking. Not that the bullpen...

I honestly feel like there's a decent chance a Nationals starter throws a no-hitter this season. All five guys currently in the rotation have legit no-hit ability, and the way these guys keep one-upping each other, it almost seems like it's only a matter of time until one of them finds a zone and holds an opponent hitless. That night won't be tonight, however. Ross Detwiler held the Diamondbacks without a hit for 4 1/3 innings tonight, but Ryan Roberts' single to left ended any hopes of...

Davey Johnson was asked why he decided to write Bryce Harper's name into the third spot in tonight's lineup. His response was a simple one. "Why not?" Johnson said. The strange thing is that even though this is just Harper's fifth major league game, given the way the 19-year-old has hit lately and the way the bulk of the Nats' lineup has struggled around him, Johnson's response makes perfect sense. There's no reason for him not to move Harper up to a spot where he'll have a greater...

The Nationals' most consistent hitter, the one who leads the team in home runs, RBIs and batting average (with a minimum 20 at-bats), has been scratched from tonight's lineup. Just what this offense needed. First baseman Adam LaRoche will not start tonight due to right oblique soreness, leaving an even bigger hole in the middle of the Nats' lineup. Jayson Werth will move up to the No. 4 spot in the order, and Chad Tracy will now play first base and hit fifth. LaRoche enters today hitting...

If you live or work near Camden Yards, you now have a new dining option for days when the Orioles aren't playing at home. Beginning today, Dempsey's Brewpub and Restaurant is now open for both lunch and dinner. You can eat, drink and be merry on the first floor of the B&O Warehouse beginning at 11 a.m. Slide into Dempsey's - the namesake of former O's catcher, 1983 World Series MVP and current MASN broadcaster Rick Dempsey - for a midday meal, then stop back after work for another of the...

Nationals second baseman Danny Espinosa wants to get going at the plate. Manager Davey Johnson wants his young infielder to do so as well, and sees Espinosa making progress. Shortstop Ian Desmond said it earlier this season when asked why he likes Johnson as a manager. One of the reasons he spotlighted was how Johnson sticks with you, even when you go through a rough spell. "I could go 0-for-5 and he wouldn't pull me. I knew I was going to be in the lineup the next day," Desmond...

After Bryce Harper went 3-for-4 with two doubles last night, manager Davey Johnson suggested that Harper might be deserving of a bump in the order. Harper got quite a bump, alright. The 19-year-old will hit third tonight against the Diamondbacks, this after hitting seventh in each of the first four games of his major league career. Harper is batting .385 with five hits in 13 at-bats thus far in his big league tenure. Three of his five hits have been for extra bases. Here are the Nationals'...