That three-run shot Nolan Reimold hit in the second inning tonight had to feel good. Reimold's three-run homer to left off Brian Duensing gave the Orioles a 4-0 lead and was followed a few batters by a Matt Wieters RBI double that made it 1-0. The homer was Reimold's eighth of the year, but he had just one over his last 21 games. He had hit just three in 111 at-bats since July 1. I would have to think it was just a coincidence that it came in Reimold's first at-bat after Felix Pie was...

Matt Angle pinch-hit for Adam Jones with two outs in the top of the second inning and struck out. I know the Orioles like Angle, but that's a pretty big responsibility. Batting for the likely Most Valuable Oriole in the second inning? Actually, the Orioles announced that Jones exited because of an illness. Though the Orioles recalled Angle today, Nolan Reimold figures to get most of the starts in left field as the club continues to evaluate him. But just in case...it's not a bad idea to...

Agent Scott Boras was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday to introduce the three newest members of the "Boras Nationals" to the media at a news conference. The top three selections for the Nationals this season - Anthony Rendon, Alex Meyer and Brian Goodwin - were welcomed officially to Nationals Park. Following the news conference, Boras spoke about last year's No. 1 selection, 18-year old left fielder Bryce Harper and how the young star has gotten acclimated to Double-A Harrisburg the last...

Tonight's Nationals-Diamondbacks game at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., is expected to begin at 7:25 p.m. As a precautionary measure following today's earthquake, the team delayed opening gates to the ballpark to allow D.C. inspectors and structural engineers to survey the facility prior to tonight's game. Due to the delay, unused game tickets for tonight's game may be exchanged at the Nationals Park Box Office in order to receive new tickets for seats of equal or lesser value to...

The Orioles are hoping that Felix Pie clears waivers and accepts an outright assignment to Triple-A Norfolk. Manager Buck Showalter just met with reporters before tonight's game in Minnesota. He talked about the risk of designating Pie for assignment. "The bad side of that is somebody could pick him up or he could become a free agent," Showalter said. "But we got to a point where if he can't get at-bats and get back to being what he's capable of being, it wasn't going to work out for...

Nationals right-hander Collin Balester has been through his share of earthquakes growing up in Huntington Beach, Calif., so you would expect today's 5.9 magnitude seism to be no big deal to him. But he said the earthquake that shook the east coast Tuesday afternoon makes the list of one of the bigger quakes he has experienced in his lifetime. "You feel earthquakes all the time (in California) and most of the time you don't even feel them," Balester said. "I guess the building structures...

The Orioles continued their roster shakeup by designating outfielder Felix Pie for assignment and recalling outfielder Matt Angle from Triple-A Norfolk. Pie has played only once since Aug. 13 and he had a rough day in left field during Sunday's game in Anaheim, losing one ball in the sun and failing to track down two others hit to the fence. He's batting .220 in 85 games. Angle is batting .272 with 13 doubles, three triples, four homers, 33 RBIs and 27 stolen bases in 107 games with...

When Danny Espinosa's playing career is over, the rookie second baseman has a bright future as a marketing executive to look forward to. On the heels of today's 5.9 magnitude East Coast earthquake, Espinosa sent out the following tweet, figuring there might be a few workers sent home earlier than anticipated as a result of the temblor: "If you get out of work early today because of the quake, come to the Nats game tonight!!!" The tweet came after Espinosa turned to the social media...

The Double-A Bowie Baysox are trying to become the fourth Orioles farm club to make the playoffs, joining the Gulf Coast and Dominican Summer League teams and the Single-A Frederick Keys. Bowie beat Akron 9-1 last night, snapping a six-game losing streak against that club. The Baysox are now a half-game behind first-place Harrisburg, but two games ahead of Richmond for second place and a playoff spot. Bowie is 70-57 with 14 games to play. The Baysox are 35-28 at home and 35-29 on the...

Right-hander Stephen Strasburg has said the major physical difference in his pitching makeup, besides the obvious new ligament in his right elbow, is his overall strength and conditioning. He has said his body is in the best shape of his life. Following Tommy John surgery late last season, Strasburg had 365 days to get the rest of his body in better shape. He is leaner and stronger than he was in June 2010 when he debuted for the Nationals against the Pittsburgh Pirates. Strasburg is also...