The Orioles have now won their last three games without scoring many runs. They have scored a total of eight runs in the wins over Los Angeles and Toronto. Jason Hammel pitched seven shutout innings tonight as the Orioles beat the Blue Jays 3-0 for their first shutout of the year. The Orioles have allowed just three runs over the last three games. The Orioles improved to 11-7 on the year, going four games over the .500 mark for the first time in 2012. Wilson Betemit and Chris Davis backed...

Jordan Zimmermann allowed a run? Boy, this rotation is getting soft. The Nationals' scoreless innings streak from their starters ended at 26 tonight when Zimmermann allowed a run in the fifth inning, but that was about all the Padres could muster off Nats pitching today, with the exception of a tack-on run in the ninth. Backed by six strong innings from Zimmermann, the Nats beat the Padres 7-2, moving to 14-4 on the season. Washington now has tied the Rangers for the best record in...

Jason Hammel gave up a leadoff single to Edwin Encarnacion in the top of the seventh inning, which constituted trouble on this night. Then he retired the next three batters, which made this a typical night for Hammel. Hammel blanked the Blue Jays over seven innings, allowing four hits, walking one and striking out seven. He threw 105 pitches, 65 for strikes, before Matt Lindstrom replaced him in the eighth. Hammel's ERA is down to 1.73. He hasn't allowed more than two runs in any of his...

The Orioles are leading, 2-0, in the bottom of the fifth, and there's a lot to like about this game. Adam Jones made another hard slide into second base, this time in the fourth inning while trying to break up a double play on Matt Wieters grounder after his leadoff walk. Blue Jays shortstop Yunel Escobar took exception to the slide, gesturing to second base umpire Todd Tichenor and barking at Jones. Jones appeared to return the volley. He wasn't backing down. Both runs have scored on...

If Jordan Zimmermann isn't going to get much run support from the eight guys above him in the order, he might as well get the job done himself. Zimmermann smacked an RBI single to center in the second inning, giving the Nationals a 2-0 lead over the Padres. The righty is actually a pretty good hitter, and now has six career RBIs. His base knock brought in Rick Ankiel, who doubled in Adam LaRoche earlier in the second inning. This is Zimmermann's first outing in his last right times to the...

Orioles third baseman Wilson Betemit had plenty of time to throw out Toronto's Jose Bautista and end the top of the first inning tonight, but he skipped the ball past first baseman Chris Davis for an error. Betemit took a few steps to his left to field Brett Lawrie's bouncer with two outs in the second, but he misplayed the ball and threw late for another error. The Orioles are now tied with the San Diego Padres for the most errors in the majors with 21. They broke a tie with the San...

The Orioles are looking to get their offense going tonight against Toronto right-hander Kyle Drabek. After going 4-5 with a 6.06 ERA last year, Drabek is 2-0 with an ERA of 2.00 so far this season. He beat the Orioles on April 15, giving up two runs (one earned) over 7 1/3, throwing 103 pitches. Through three starts, left-handed batters are hitting .143 against him and right-handed batters are hitting .296. The last two games, the Orioles scored just three and two runs yet won each game due...

With Robert Andino on the paternity leave list, the Orioles have added Jason Berken from Triple-A Norfolk and the right-hander that pitched in 105 games over the last three seasons was today back in the Orioles clubhouse. "I'm excited," Berken said. "I was fortunate to pitch pretty well in Triple-A and I'm excited about doing the same here. It's just great to see all the guys, that is the biggest thing. You miss your teammates and getting a chance to see these guys again is...

You've got the news. Now read the quotes. Doctors are still running tests on closer Jim Johnson, and they "eliminated some things," manager Buck Showalter said. That's the good news. The bad news is they're still trying to pinpoint the cause of Johnson's illness. It's a bacterial issue. "They haven't completely identified it," Showalter said. "He's getting a little frustrated. Texted back and forth a little with him today." Nolan Reimold is trying to avoid the disabled list....

He is not in tonight's starting lineup, but Orioles outfielder Nolan Reimold is hopeful that he will soon be in there. For now, he feels like his neck spasms are making progress to that end and that he will avoid going on the disabled list. "I assume I can and am going to (avoid the DL). I think I'm almost ready," Reimold said. "I think we are being cautious. It was there when I played in Anaheim (on Friday) and then it just tightened up real bad after the game and the next morning. I...