Anyone else heard enough about that Phillies pitcher hitting that 19-year-old phenom? OK, good. We can talk about something else now. While tonight will mark the first game of many that the Nationals will play without right fielder Jayson Werth, they could very well be getting both Ryan Zimmerman and Adam LaRoche back in their lineup in Pittsburgh. We can be almost certain Zimmerman will come off the disabled list today after missing the last 17 days because of inflammation in his right...

Minutes after his team had lost last night to the Texas Rangers by 11 runs, Buck Showalter could have said his club was tired and his pitching staff taxed after playing 39 innings over three days in Boston. There was an excuse to be had for the loss there if Showalter chose to use it. He did not. "I know that's a real easy area to go down, but I don't think anybody in our locker room would," Showalter said. "(Matt) Harrison pitched well. Their whole pitching staff is very deep. But...

For fans and media types who are freaking out over the rotation's poor showing the past two games, second baseman Robert Andino offers a little reminder. "Our pitchers aren't machines, either," he said. "It's a grind. You're going to have your ups and downs, but we'll come back out tomorrow and play again. You can't stress one game." Baseball doesn't offer mulligans, but I'm giving one to the Orioles last night after their 17-inning game on Sunday. "No one here is going to make...

J.J. Hardy has reached base safely in 13 of his last 14 games. He's 8-for-12 in his last two. Matt Wieters has a hit in eight straight games and 13 of his last 14. Robert Andino has now homered in consecutive games twice in his career. The bullpen had allowed one earned run in the last 35 2/3 innings before Jason Berken gave up two earned (seven total) in the ninth inning. Stu Pomeranz blanked the Rangers over three innings, allowing three hits, walking one and striking out two. Was he...

It would have been easy for manager Buck Showalter to refer back to yesterday's 17-inning game in Boston, and the harm it did to his bullpen, while dissecting tonight's 14-3 loss to the Rangers before 11,938 at Camden Yards. Easy, but unacceptable. Showalter didn't blame a carryover from the marathon win over the Red Sox for tonight's dismal showing. "I know that's a real easy area to go down, but I don't think anybody in our locker room would," Showalter said. "(Matt) Harrison...

The Orioles came home after a 5-1 road trip with the best record in the major leagues at 19-9, but tonight a former Oriole had a big night against them as Texas beat the Orioles 14-3 at Camden Yards. The Orioles' five-game win streak ended as they lost for just the second time in nine games and third time in 14 games. Brandon Snyder, the Orioles' first-round pick in 2005 out of a Virginia high school, homered and drove in six runs to lead Texas, which improved to 19-10. Snyder had a two-run...

Miguel Tejada passed his physical today in Sarasota and is expected to sign a minor league contract tomorrow and begin workouts at the Ed Smith Stadium complex. Tejada will be evaluated for seven to 10 days before the Orioles decide whether to keep him. He'll stay at extended spring training. The Orioles consider Tejada to be a possible defensive upgrade at third base, though it's unclear how his presence would affect Bill Hall at Triple-A Norfolk or Mark Reynolds here. As for tonight's...

Single-A Delmarva's Dylan Bundy gave up his first run in his sixth start as a pro tonight, but it was unearned on the road at Charleston. After pitching around a two-out double to left in the first and striking out the side in the second, Bundy gave up that run in the last of the third. With two outs and no one on, he struck out Mason Williams but Williams reached first on a wild pitch. He then scored on a somewhat bizarre sequence where catcher Gabriel Lino threw a ball back wildly toward...

Brandon Snyder got a little revenge on his former team tonight, driving a two-out, two-run single into center field off left-hander Brian Matusz in the top of the second inning. Adrian Beltre led off with a walk and Nelson Cruz doubled with one out. Mike Napoli flied to shallow right, but Snyder singled on a 2-2 pitch. Matusz got a called strike with a slider to even the count, and he came back with the same pitch. This time, Snyder got a hold of it. J.J. Hardy singled with one out in the...

Sunday will be a big day for Tammy Kestler, a mother of three from Glen Burnie. And not just because it's Mother's Day. The Orioles, Major League Baseball and Susan G. Komen for the Cure have announced Kestler as the O's winner of the Honorary Bat Girl contest, a campaign to recognize incredible MLB fans who are going to bat against breast cancer in their daily lives. Kestler, a one-year survivor of breast cancer, has served as team captain for her Young Survivors Group for Komen's Race...