The Washington Nationals today placed catcher Ivan Rodriguez on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to July 7, with a right oblique strain and recalled catcher Jesus Flores from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Flores, 26, joins the Nationals after batting .234 (49-for-209) with 15 doubles, five homers and 30 RBIs in 56 International League contests with Syracuse....

He was just named the Orioles organization's minor league Pitcher of the Month for June: Right-hander Oliver Drake is on quite a roll right now as he heads into his next start for Single-A Frederick tonight at home against Potomac. Drake has put together a current streak of 22 consecutive scoreless innings. That counts a two-inning stint on June 23 for Triple-A Norfolk and 20 innings with Frederick. On the year, the 24-year-old Drake is 7-3 with an ERA of 2.24. Over 88 1/3 innings he has...

Things have been pretty bleak of late for the Orioles and their fans, but it can't possibly be all bad news for the Birds, can it? Let's look at some of the facts and locate the elusive silver lining for the orange and black. The Orioles allowed six home runs in a 10-3 loss in Boston on Thursday. The good news is they didn't give up six runs in the ninth inning at Fenway. The Texas Rangers scored a combined 30 runs in a three-game set with the Orioles earlier this week. The good news is...

The Nationals couldn't sweep the Cubs this series though they tried. On the upside, they're still above .500 with a 44-43 record. Whether or not last night's dropped contest should define a half-season's worth of progress is irrelevant. Fact of the matter is that the Nationals have shown improvement from the 2010 season and that should be noted. There are few lessons to be learned from this four-game series: A tired bullpen is not a strong bullpen. Bullpen coach Jim Lett and his squad of...

They are two of the best prospects in the Orioles' organization and both are just 19 years old. But, after putting up some big stats in the South Atlantic League, both Manny Machado and Jonathan Schoop have struggled in the Carolina League. They will both play in the Futures Game this Sunday. Here is how they have done this year: Machado at Delmarva: .276-6-24 in 38 games with .859 OPS Machado at Frederick: .209-1-3 in 13 games with .616 OPS. Scoop at Delmarva: .318-8-34 in 51 games with...

Left-hander Sean Burnett said it was his slider that the Cubs' Carlos Pena turned on and tied the game up at 8-8 in the seventh. It was a major turning point in the series finale that Chicago trailed 8-0, coming all the way back to stun the Nationals, 10-9. Burnett said the location of the slider was not where he wanted it to end up and Pena took advantage. Sean Burnett talks about giving up a home run in the Nats' 10-9 loss to the Cubs "It was a badly executed slider," Burnett said....

Nationals catcher Ivan Rodriguez suffered a strained right oblique during batting practice Thursday against the Chicago Cub, and the injury is likely to send the veteran backstop on the 15-day disabled list. "Those things happen just like this and got me today," Rodriguez said. "I have never experienced this kind of injury. It never happens to me. We will see what happens tomorrow. We will take it day to day. If tomorrow is not better, (then) we will need a catcher." Rodriguez said...

Manager Buck Showalter is taking heat from a lot of fans for the Orioles' collapse, if that's what we're calling it, as we near the All-Star break, but I'll give him major props for not burning out his bullpen. He's on the phone more than a teenage girl. I'm waiting for him to start texting instructions to bullpen coach Don Werner. "OMG, get JJ 4 me. LOL!!" Jason Berken replaced starter Jake Arrieta last night and gave up a home run. Pedro Viola replaced Berken and gave up a home...

The bullpen isn't doing any better than the rotation tonight. The Red Sox have hit six home runs, the last four off Orioles relievers. Jacoby Ellsbury took Jason Berken deep in the sixth inning. Pedro Viola replaced him in the seventh and gave up consecutive bombs to David Ortiz, Josh Reddick and Jarrod Saltalamacchia. Red Sox 10, Orioles 3. I guess this is rock bottom. Viola walked the next batter and was gone. He didn't record an out. It was the first time that the Orioles...

The Orioles committed 18 errors in their last 23 games before tonight. And that total didn't include plays that should have been made and were scored as hits. Jake Arrieta and Nick Markakis were charged with errors in the fourth inning tonight, and the Red Sox reclaimed the lead 4-3. Arrieta missed the bag after taking Derrek Lee's flip, allowing Josh Reddick to reach, though I swore that his heel nicked it. Jarrod Saltalamacchia followed with a single into right field, and Reddick took...