Single-A Potomac Nationals shortstop Rick Hague is done for the season with a shoulder injury suffered in early April. Hague has been attempting to rehabilitate the shoulder for two months in extended spring training. Hague told Will Flemming on P-Nats' radio that the shoulder "keeps popping out," so he will have surgery today. The former Rice University standout played two seasons alongside Nationals first-round selection Anthony Rendon. Hague batted .357 in four games, going 5-for-14...

George Washington University redshirt senior left-hander Bobby Lucas Jr. lost his breath for a moment when the Washington Nationals called to tell him he had been selected in the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft. The Nationals selected the talented southpaw from Baltimore's Calvert Hall College High School, in the 27th round. Lucas concluded his GW career with 12 victories and 233 strikeouts in 193.2 innings. He appeared in 81 games with 25 starts. "It was something unreal,...

Tim Nordbrook's "Aha!" moment came a few games into his rookie season, part of a commonplace baseball activity that's often taken for granted. The 25-year-old shortstop had just ranged into the hole to grab a ground ball, then thrown the batter out at first base. Orioles infielders were whipping the ball around the horn when the native Baltimorean got an attaboy from third baseman Brooks Robinson, his childhood idol. "I turn to throw it to Brooksie and Brooksie says, 'Great play,...

The Frederick Keys are one of the hottest teams in minor league baseball right now. The Keys beat Potomac 7-2 last night and that extended the club's win streak to seven games, the Keys' longest since August of 2005. The Keys have won 12 of their past 13 games and have the Carolina League's best record at 36-22, a .621 winning percentage. They are closing in on the first-half title in their division with a lead of 5 1/2 games with 12 contests to play. After finishing April a game under...

Rhyne Hughes tied a Triple-A Norfolk record last night by striking out five times. Then he hit a walk-off single in the bottom of the 13th inning to give the Tides a 4-3 win over Pawtucket. Left-hander Troy Patton improved to 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA by allowing one hit over four scoreless innings. He retired nine straight batters and 10 of the last 11 that he faced. Then he flew to Baltimore, sat at one of the lockers for a few hours and flew back to Norfolk. Pedro Viola threw two scoreless...

I want to begin by congratulating the Orioles on their fine selection of Matt Taylor in the fifth round of the Major League Baseball First-Year Player Draft with the 155th pick. I don't know a thing about Taylor other than the fact that we share the same name, so I fully support the move and look forward to his first T-Shirt Tuesday at Camden Yards. And while I'm handing out plaudits, here's to Luke Scott for taking over sole possession as the career leader in Eutaw Street home runs....

It isn't often hype matches and then surpasses expectation, but last year on this very date, that's what Washington watched live at Nationals Park. Pitching phenom Stephen Strasburg became a part of Nationals folklore when he made his major league debut against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The start was by no means shaky, but there were a few moments where the victory almost slipped away. Thanks to a few offensive heroics from Ryan Zimmerman and Adam Dunn, combined with a nasty fastball and a...

If you look at the Orioles' draft picks this year through 30 rounds, the O's have certainly grabbed much more college than high school talent with the picks so far. Of the Orioles' picks through the first 20 rounds, they selected 16 college players. Through 30 rounds, they took 21 college and nine high school players. Over the last three years of drafts combined, from 2008 to 2010, the Orioles selected 100 college players to 49 from high schools. After the Orioles took high school pitcher...

The Orioles will make their last 20 picks today in the First-Year Player Draft. Maybe there's the son of a coach or team employee who will get the call in the late rounds. The sons of Mike Hargrove, Jeff Newman and Sam Perlozzo have been drafted by the Orioles in past years. The Orioles face another left-hander tonight, Oakland's Josh Outman, who held them to two runs in six innings in a 4-2 victory on May 28. Outman gave up six hits and walked five. It's not like the Orioles didn't...

Chris Jakubauskas held the Athletics to three hits over five scoreless innings, walking one and striking out five to earn his first win since Aug. 12, 2009. He also came away with a bruise on his left shin, courtesy of Cliff Pennington's smash up the middle, but he stayed in the game long enough to record the final out in the fifth. "It hurt pretty good right off the bat," he said. "I threw it, he hit it, I was like, 'Let it miss me,' but it didn't. As Buck (Showalter) said on the...