After getting two hits last night in the Eastern League, Derrek Lee returned to the Orioles and got two hits tonight in four at bats in the American League. He had been out since May 16 with a strained left oblique and said he came through the game with no issues physically. "I feel fine, felt good," he said. Batting fifth in the order for the first time on the year, Lee came up with singles in the second and sixth innings and scored both times. "I am just going to go out there and play...

Tonight's attendance: 20,086 It never fails. The Orioles are victorious after a tough loss or a stretch of bad outings, and manager Buck Showalter is asked whether it was an important game. The Orioles followed last night's 8-4 loss to the Blue Jays by rallying for a 5-3 win tonight. "I got the same question last game in Seattle, and they're very pertinent questions," Showalter said. "Season over if you lose? Is the season going to be a success if you win? You can't dwell too much,...

Mark Reynolds came to the plate with the bases loaded in the sixth inning tonight, but he wasn't thinking about trying to hit a grand slam. "No, I wasn't," he said. "That would be the best result possible, but I was trying to get a pitch to hit, trying to barrel the ball. The home run was a bonus. I was just trying to hit a hard ground ball up the middle or shoot a gap, just tie the game. It's a bonus that the ball went out." It did and, with one swing, Reynolds produced his first...

In his 53rd career at-bat with the bases loaded, Mark Reynolds delivered his first grand slam. His shot to left in the last of the sixth tonight unloaded the bases and gave the Orioles a 5-3 lead. They won by that score over Toronto in front of 20,086 at Camden Yards. It was just the O's seventh win in their last 28 meetings with Toronto. Until the slam, Reynolds was a career .115 hitter with a slugging percentage of .192 with the bases loaded. He was 6-for-52 with four doubles and 26...

Before tonight, Mark Reynolds was 6-for-52 with 26 strikeouts lifetime with the bases loaded. Make it 7-for-53 with 26 strikeouts. And one home run. Reynolds received a huge ovation as he circled the bases and disappeared into the dugout. It doesn't happen often around here. He's hitting .190, and he struck out for the 57th time this season, but none of that matters at the moment. Jim Johnson needed six pitches to get through the seventh after replacing starter Jake Arrieta, but manager...

The Orioles wanted to stretch out Jason Berken at Triple-A Norfolk to make him a more effective long reliever and give them the option of starting him if the need arises later this summer. Berken threw 84 pitches over 5 2/3 innings tonight, so the plan with Berken most definitely has not changed. Berken allowed two runs and five hits, with one walk and five strikeouts, and he left with Norfolk trailing Rochester, 2-1. The 5 2/3 innings matches Berken's total in his first two starts with the...

There has been a lot of talk over the past few years regarding the Nationals building up their minor league system by stocking it with pitchers. After all, pitching has taken a front seat in the major leagues the past few seasons and you can never have enough good pitchers as bargaining chips when you are looking for a certain position player to get you over the hump. But then there are those pure athletes or can't-miss prospects on the offensive side you have to take a look at. The Nationals...

With the First-Year Player Draft now less than 48 hours away, is it becoming more likely that the Orioles take a college pitcher rather than Dylan Bundy, the high school right-hander that so many mock drafts have linked the club with? The answer is: Quite possibly. In a tweet tonight, Baseball America's Jim Callis said his best projection now has Bundy going with the third pick to Arizona after Pittsburgh, picking first, takes Gerrit Cole of UCLA and Seattle nabs Rice infielder Anthony...

Orioles farm clubs have a combined record of 106-114 beginning play tonight after going 2-2 last night. Single-A Frederick has the best record at 32-22 and is leading its division by 2 1/2 games in the Carolina League North. Here are some O's minor league leaders through Friday's games. Homer leaders: 9 - Josh Bell (Norfolk) and Tyler Townsend (Frederick) 8 - Ronnie Welty (Bowie) 7 - Jonathan Schoop (Delmarva) and Brandon Snyder (Norfolk) RBI leaders: 46 - Kipp Schutz (Frederick) 33 -...

The Washington Nationals today placed left-handed pitcher Doug Slaten (left elbow ulnar neuritis) on the 15-Day Disabled List and recalled right-handed pitcher Craig Stammen from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Stammen went 5-3 with a 3.84 ERA in 10 starts with Syracuse, posting a 4.0/1 (52 SO/13 BB) strikeout-to-walk ratio in 63.1 International League innings pitched...