Cliff Lee can relax. Josh Bell is not in the Orioles' lineup today. The last time Lee pitched against the Orioles, here with Texas on August 21, 2010, he got ripped for eight runs and 10 hits in 5 2/3. Bell hit two homers to right-center, driving in five runs off him. Ty Wigginton, his current teammate, and Luke Scott also homered off him that day. Today Lee can get his revenge when he faces Jason Hammel here in the series finale at Camden Yards. In his career against the Orioles, Lee is...

Matt Wieters is serving as the designated hitter today, with Ronny Paulino settling behind the plate. Paulino is batting fifth for the 18th time in his major league career. He's 2-for-5 lifetime against Phillies left-hander Cliff Lee. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B J.J. Hardy SS Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters DH Ronny Paulino C Mark Reynolds 1B Steve Pearce LF Steve Tolleson 3B Endy Chavez RF Jason Hammel RHP For the Phillies: Jimmy Rollins SS Juan Pierre LF Hunter Pence RF Jim...

Today is the last game of the series between the Orioles and Phillies, but it is also possibly the last game the Orioles will have to play without Brian Roberts. His injury rehab assignment ends Monday, and it's possible Roberts could be in the Orioles' lineup here Tuesday for the first time since last May 16. If Roberts is back Tuesday, catcher Matt Wieters said it could provide a big lift to this team in several ways. "It's big," Wieters said. "One, to have a veteran guy in the...

BOSTON - Since getting called up to the majors on April 28, Bryce Harper had started all 37 games that the Nationals had played. That streak ends today. With the Nats looking to earn the sweep of the Red Sox, Harper will get the first day off of his major league career. Roger Bernadina will start in center, with Tyler Moore in left and Xavier Nady in right. Johnson said after Thursday's game that Harper had been dealing with some "tenderness" in his back, and there was a chance that the...

If you check the box score from yesterday, you'll find that shortstop J.J. Hardy walked in six plate appearances and scored a run in the Orioles' 6-4, 12-inning victory over the Phillies. Here's what you won't find: A defensive play that made it possible for the Orioles to even this series. I mentioned it yesterday, but I want to revisit it this morning while waiting for both teams to post their lineups and for manager Buck Showalter to meet with reporters in the home dugout, which should...

Left-handed prospect Matt Purke is set to make his third start of the season today at 5:05 p.m. for the low Single-A Hagerstown Suns at the Kannapolis Intimidators. Purke is 0-1 with a 6.52 ERA in two starts. He has walked eight batters and has nine strikeouts in 9 2/3 innings. The 96th overall selection in the 2011 amateur draft said it will take time for him to build back to where he was before the two extra months of extended spring training he had to undergo due to an undisclosed...

Adam Jones entered Saturday's game with just three hits in his last 24 at-bats and with just one RBI over his last eight games. He was also in a season-long, 14-at-bat hitless stretch that reached 18 at-bats when he finally got a base hit with a single in the last of the ninth. Three innings later, Jones did better than that. He hit the second walk-off homer of his career, a two-run shot, to give the Orioles a 6-4, 12-inning win over the Phillies. Jones also hit a walk-off shot on May 24,...

BOSTON - There was a time not too long ago when the Nationals' middle infield defense was considered a liability. OK, their defense as a whole was a liability, with the team leading the majors in errors in both 2009 and 2010. But up the middle, the Nats struggled mightily. This season has been a different story. Ian Desmond and Danny Espinosa have been exceptional defensively, making the routine plays and the fancy ones, as well. Today, both guys flashed the leather, with Desmond ranging...

BOSTON - For the ninth time this season, the Nationals put up five hits or fewer and still won. This is what happens when you have the level of starting pitching, and pitching in general, that the Nationals do. Gio Gonzalez and four Nats relievers combined to hold the potent Red Sox lineup in check today, allowing just two runs and five hits in a 4-2 Washington win. Gonzalez gave up just two hits through six innings, but he allowed three of the four hitters he faced in the seventh to reach...

Adam Jones hit a game-winning homer in the last of the 12th today as the Orioles beat the Phillies and won another extra-inning game. The Orioles are now 8-2 on the year in extras with eight wins in a row, which ties the team record for most consecutive extra-inning wins. The 1997 and 2010 teams also won eight in a row. "I think we just enjoy playing longer than nine innings," Jones said. "We enjoy the overtime. I don't know man, think we have played the most innings by any team. If we...