Vladimir Guerrero's presence in the cleanup spot is a major irritant to fans here, but the matchup clearly favored him today. Guerrero has two more hits off Yankees starter Ivan Nova, including his 12th home run and a leadoff double in the fourth inning that led to another run. Yankees 4, Orioles 2. Guerrero is 6-for-8 with two homers lifetime against Nova. He just missed clearing the fence in right-center field in the fourth and settled for a double after slowing up as he rounded first...

In Game 2 of the Carolina League playoffs tonight in Frederick, lefty Rick Zagone will take the mound trying to pitch the Keys to a 2-0 edge in the best-of-five series with Potomac. Zagone, the Orioles' sixth-round pick in 2008, spent a lot of this season with Double-A Bowie, going 4-6 with a 4.84 ERA over 19 games and 16 starts. He went 4-2 with a 2.97 ERA in seven starts for Single-A Frederick. The Nationals' starter tonight is lefty Sammy Solis, Washington's second-round pick in 2010....

Alfredo Simon retired the side in order in the top of the first inning on a pop up, fly ball and strikeout, but the first four Yankees reached base against him in the second. He also issued a two-out walk and gave up a two-run single to Derek Jeter. Vladimir Guerrero led off the bottom of the second with his 12th home run. He's 5-for-7 with 2 homers against Ivan Nova. Yankees 3, Orioles 1. Simon has faced 11 Yankees and we're only in the bottom of the second. He's thrown 47 pitches, 24...

The Orioles were hoping to have a better picture of what Chris Davis could do by this point, but his right shoulder injury and recent trip to the disabled list slowed their evaluation process. "No, I haven't seen enough of him yet," hitting coach Jim Presley said this morning of his evaluation of Davis as a hitter. "Injuries happen. Nothing we can do about it. Being around him, he's a great kid and he wants to get after it. These next two or three weeks will be a big indication....

Orioles manager Buck Showalter has chosen Rick VandenHurk to start Saturday's game in Toronto. Showalter also considered left-handers Jo-Jo Reyes and Brian Matusz, but he's going with VandenHurk, who has allowed one run and two hits, with three walks and two strikeouts, in two relief appearances covering 3 2/3 innings. VandenHurk went 9-13 with a 4.43 ERA in 26 starts at Triple-A Norfolk, with 40 walks and 108 strikeouts in 154 1/3 innings. He allowed one earned run or fewer in each of his...

The Potomac Nationals fell, 5-1 in Game 1 of their divisional series with the Frederick Keys. Steven Souza smacked a solo homer for the only offense for the P-Nats. Paul Demny did well in the first two innings but the Keys managed a three-run shot by Miguel Abreu to take the lead for good. The game was shortened to six innings due to the torrential rains. Game 2 is tonight at Harry Grove stadium with Sammy Solis getting the call to even the series against Rick Zagone at 7:05 p.m. I am...

It's a one-game homestand, but the lineup looks pretty normal today. Nothing here that should surprise you. For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Nolan Reimold LF Chris Davis 3B Robert Andino 2B Alfredo Simon RHP

FREDERICK, Md. - The Single-A Frederick Keys began the Carolina League playoffs with a win last night as they seek the fourth title in their 23-year history. The Keys beat Potomac 5-1 in Game 1 of a best-of-five series in a contest that was shortened by rain to six innings. Frederick needs two more wins to reach the Mills Cup championship series. Miguel Abreu drove in four runs for Frederick and had the game's biggest swing. He hit a three-run homer in the fourth off Nationals right-hander...

After a mutual agreement between Livan Hernandez and the Washington Nationals, the 245-lb. right-hander will be shut down for the rest of the season to make room for the excess of young pitching talent making their auditions for the 2012 season. It was a classy move by the man who threw the first pitch in Nationals history way back in 2005. I know most of you are thinking: Why would the Nationals retire the number of a guy who went 70-72 with the Expos/Nationals franchise? This is a fair...

Don't be fooled by that open date on your Orioles pocket schedule or refrigerator magnet. We're supposed to have a game today if it stops raining long enough to get the tarp off the field and separate the animals that have already been paired up. The Orioles will fly out to Toronto for a three-game series that starts tomorrow. They're one and done against the Yankees at Camden Yards. Or the fifth game between the two teams this season will be postponed because of the weather. It could go...