HAGERSTOWN, Md. - The Hagerstown Suns lineup is in against the Hickory Crawdads from Municipal Stadium. Stephen Strasburg is starting for the Suns again, his third rehab start at Municipal Stadium this month. He is scheduled to go four innings and a max of 65 pitches. Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo is in attendance to watch Strasburg pitch. Hickory lineup: Jurickson Profar SS Odubel Herrera 2B Tomas Telis DH Christian Villanueva 3B Jack Skole CF Alejandro Selen 1B Josh Richmond...

Washington Nationals third baseman Ryan Zimmerman today was named the National League Co-Player of the Week. Major League Baseball made the announcement this afternoon on MLB Network. Zimmerman, 26, hit .500 (12-for-24) with two doubles, three home runs, eight RBIs, one walk and five runs scored on the week to earn citation. Zimmerman's efforts helped the Nationals go 4-2 on the week and post series victories over the Reds and Phillies. In Friday's home win, Zimmerman hit a game-ending...

Ryan Adams, recalled today from Triple-A Norfolk, is starting at second base for the series-opener in Minnesota. Robert Andino is starting at third. Mark Reynolds is back in the lineup at first base. For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Mark Reynolds 1B Robert Andino 3B Nolan Reimold LF Ryan Adams 2B Zach Britton LHP For the Twins: Revere CF Plouffe SS Mauer 1B Cuddyer RF Kubel LF Thome DH Valencia 3B Hughes 2B...

Zach Britton will be back on a major league mound tonight when the Orioles play at Minnesota. He'll be looking to regain the form that saw him win five of his first six Orioles starts and had him being mentioned as an early Rookie of the Year candidate. On May 18, Britton pitched seven shutout against the New York Yankees and, at the end of that night, had an ERA of 2.14 through nine big league starts and a batting average against of .210. Who knew then that down the road he would face...

To answer one of the extra credit-seeking students at School of Roch, Angels outfielder - and weekend Orioles tormentor - Peter Bourjos does, indeed, have a Baltimore connection. Bourjos is the son of Orioles scout Chris Bourjos, who is based in Scottsdale, Ariz. The elder Bourjos is a former major leaguer, having had a cup of coffee with the San Francisco Giants in 1980. Chris Bourjos joined the Orioles' scouting staff in 2010 after serving in a similar capacity with the Blue Jays...

Triple-A Norfolk pitcher Rick VandenHurk has been named the International League's Pitcher of the Week for the period from Aug. 15-21. VandenHurk tied for the league lead with two wins and 18 strikeouts, and he posted the lowest ERA (0.75) among all pitchers with multiple starts. VandenHurk fanned 13 batters in Game 1 of last Monday's doubleheader against Charlotte. He allowed four hits in six scoreless innings in a 1-0 victory. Facing first-place Durham on Saturday, VandenHurk allowed...

The Orioles announced after today's game that they have optioned third baseman Josh Bell to Triple-A Norfolk. Bell has batted .174 (8-46) in 17 games for the Orioles this season. A corresponding roster move will be announced at a later time.

The Washington Nationals start play today with a record of 61-64. They eclisped a milestone of sorts last week without anyone recognizing it, which I guess should be taken as a good thing. Two seasons ago, in 2009, the Nationals won just 59 games. In years past, the mere fact that the Nats moved past a previous year's win total with so many games left to play would have been cause for celebration. Last season, they picked up 10 wins for a total of 69 victories. Barring an historical collapse,...

Brian Roberts and Jerry Hairston Jr. were once part of the same sentence in Baltimore, two much-talked-about second basemen living less than a mile apart during the offseason and competing for the same roster spot when it came time to play ball. They were the Pepsi Challenge of Orioles baseball - Roberts or Hairston? You decide. Considering the similarities between the players, a fan's choice at second base largely became a matter of taste. Here's how a Washington Post writer described the...

They clogged subway cars and traffic routes to Nationals Park. They wore red T-shirts sporting the names of Utley, Howard and Halladay. They erupted in cheers when Jayson Werth struck out, and they chanted, "Ruuu,'' when Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz came to bat. And, when the Phillies' Raul Ibanez scored the go-ahead run in the ninth inning, the crowd noise was so loud, it was more like Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Thanks to thousands of Phillies fans, the Nationals' Sunday...