Nolan Reimold has returned to the Orioles' lineup tonight after being bothered yesterday by neck spasms. Mark Reynolds is serving as the designated hitter. For the Orioles: Nolan Reimold LF J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Wilson Betemit 3B Mark Reynolds DH Chris Davis 1B Robert Andino 2B Brian Matusz LHP A series win in Anaheim would mark the first time that the Orioles have won each series of a three-city road trip since Aug. 7-16, 1998 at Minnesota, Tampa Bay...

While manager Davey Johnson pulled Jayson Werth from yesterday's game after six innings because of a minor hip injury, Werth insists he's fine. The Nationals right fielder told me today that he felt a little something in the hip a handful of days ago, but feels OK now. Werth, who is hitting .327 this season, says the injury is a non-issue going forward. Mark DeRosa might have gotten off to a rough start to the 2012 season, recording just two hits in 26 at-bats, but he's not the only...

With Michael Morse out of the lineup, Davey Johnson hasn't been happy with how he's used his outfielders this season. Against right-handers, Johnson's gone with a rotation of Xavier Nady, Mark DeRosa and Roger Bernadina in left field. But that's going to change. Johnson said today that DeRosa is going to see less time in the outfield as he looks to develop more consistency in his lineups. "I've kind of been wishy-washy in using the three of them in the outfield," Johnson said. "And I...

The new-look Miami Marlins arrive this weekend for another critical series. The Nationals are off to their best start since arriving in D.C. in 2005, and face a confident Marlins squad that has won four straight and stands at 7-6. "I think they had a great offseason," manager Davey Johnson said of the Marlins. "They have a lot of quality players. We have had trouble with them in the past. We saw them quite a bit in spring training. I am looking forward to this series. They have a fine ball...

The Orioles activated catcher Luis Exposito, claimed on waivers from the Boston Red Sox, and assigned him to Triple-A Norfolk. That move was expected. The surprise for me is the Orioles released catcher John Hester to make room for Exposito. Hester was batting .265/.342/.471 with a home run in 10 games. He went 3-for-6 with a homer on April 13, which began a five-game hitting streak that's still active. Well, the streak's active, but not Hester. The Orioles invited Hester, 28, to spring...

Pretty standard lineup for Davey Johnson's Nationals today, with the only change to the normal starting eight position players being Jesus Flores getting the nod behind the plate in Wilson Ramos' stead. Jayson Werth is in today's lineup after being pulled from yesterday's game after six innings. Werth has been dealing with a mild hip injury. The Nats will look to tee off against Carlos Zambrano, who is 0-0 with a 3.75 ERA in two career starts against Washington. Here are the lineups for...

The Orioles have been hammering the homers so far this year. They have hit 21 in the season's first 13 games and they have hit 14 in the seven games on this road trip. The Orioles hit seven homers in Toronto and seven in Chicago. The Orioles are second in the majors in homers behind only Texas with 23 and third in the majors in slugging percentage, back of only Texas and St. Louis. The Orioles have five multi-homer games. They have hit 15 solo shots They have hit five two-run shots They have...

After opening their homestand by going 6-1, I guess you could say a game like last night's was inevitable. There are only so many comebacks, only so many times when the Nationals could pull some eighth inning magic and send the fans home happy. "Can't win every game," Ryan Zimmerman said. On top of that, you can't get seven or eight shutout innings from your starters every single night out. It just won't happen. We've been spoiled by some stellar starting pitching through the first...

Not all young players will thrive instantly in their first seasons of pro baseball like Dylan Bundy has. Bundy plays on a Single-A Delmarva squad filled with some young talent but some of his teammates have already experienced some struggles at the minor league level. This time last year Nicky Delmonico was playing for Farragut High in Knoxville, Tenn. In June, the Orioles selected him in the sixth round of the draft. To get him out of a firm college commitment to Georgia, he was signed to an...

There's not much a baseball team can do about games like the Nationals' 11-4 loss Thursday night to the Houston Astros. The pitching, overpowering so far in 2012, was shelled for 17 hits, including three triples off starter Edwin Jackson in the first inning. The bullpen offered little relief, with Tom Gorzelanny surrendering six runs and eight hits of his own. Aside from Ryan Zimmerman's first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the third inning, the offense was unproductive with...