Saturday's second game of the series features Nationals right-handed starter Jordan Zimmermann (2-5, 3.98 ERA) against San Diego Padres' right-hander Tim Stauffer (0-3, 3.88). Despite allowing a game-deciding, two-run homer to Vladimir Guerrero in a 2-1 setback at the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday, Zimmermann finished with 6 and 1/3-innings allowing only four hits, those two earned runs, one walk and five strikeouts. "The outing was great," Zimmermann said. "I felt awesome. (Guerrero) is...

Nationals starter John Lannan had a 1-2-3 first frame against the San Diego Padres. Lannan is looking to bounce back from a rough outing in Baltimore last weekend. He is trying to end a six-game winless streak (2-5, 5.03 ERA). Lefty Clayton Richard countered with an identical 1-2-3 first inning for San Diego. The Padres ended a five-game skid Wednesday with a 3-1 win over St. Louis. No score, second inning.

Chris Tillman takes the mound for the Orioles tonight for his 10th start of the season. Tillman has pitched very well over his last three starts. In that time, his ERA is 1.13 and he has allowed 14 hits and two runs over 16 innings. Now the Orioles would like him to get deeper into the games as he has pitched six, five and five innings over those starts. His mound opponent tonight is a very talented lefty in the A's Gio Gonzalez, who is 5-2 with the sixth-best ERA in the American League at...

Nolan Reimold is back in left field tonight after going 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs in yesterday's 6-5, 12-inning win over Kansas City. Robert Andino is the leadoff hitter in Felix Pie's absence. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B Adam Jones CF Nick Markakis RF Vladimir Guerrero DH Matt Wieters C Nolan Reimold LF Mark Reynolds 3B J.J. Hardy SS Jake Fox 1B Chris Tillman RHP Guerrero is 4-for-21 lifetime against Oakland left-hander Gio Gonzalez. Wieters is 2-for-5 with a...

Nationals first baseman Adam LaRoche continues rehabilitation from the torn labrum in his left shoulder and a small tear in his rotator cuff, injuries that landed him on the 15-day disabled list. He hopes to return to the lineup in two to three weeks. But that is a big if. And if you saw him swing in Baltimore last week, even when he connected on a base hit with what appeared to be an all-out swing, it turned into a soft single to right-center field. LaRoche is hopeful the next two weeks...

Nationals manager Jim Riggleman said he has spoken to Jayson Werth following the right fielder's comments during a postgame interview in Milwaukee earlier in the week. Werth said after the 6-4 loss to the Brewers on Wednesday that "things needed to change" and he had "some ideas." Riggleman said during his pregame meeting with the media Friday that he had a meeting with Werth and does not believe Werth was referring to the manager's job status when talking about those needed...

The Orioles begin a six-game west coast road trip with a three-game series at Oakland tonight. Now that they have reached the .500 mark at 24-24 with a five-game win streak, the O's could go over that mark tonight. A win would put Baltimore over the .500 mark for the first time since the Orioles were 6-5 on April 14. The Orioles are now 58-47 (.552) in 105 games since Buck Showalter took over last August as manager. Vladimir Guerrero is batting .380 during an 11-game hitting streak and Nick...

Former Oriole Leo Gomez will manage the short-season Single-A Aberdeen IronBirds this season. Aberdeen opens a new year in the New York-Penn League on June 17 at home against Hudson Valley. The last two seasons, Gomez was a field coach for the O's Gulf Coast League and Bluefield clubs. He played with the Orioles from 1990 to 1995, batting .245 over 475 games. Gary Kendall, now the manager at Double-A Bowie, was Aberdeen's manager the last three seasons. Meanwhile, the Orioles are expected...

C'mon, you know you've got some memorabilia stashed in your basement, attic or garage. Maybe you managed to protect your prized baseball card collection from your mother's evil clutches. Perhaps you were lucky enough to snag a Cal Ripken Jr. autographed baseball during one of the Iron Man's marathon signing sessions at Camden Yards. Did you luck into a World Series ring from the O's glory days? Or are you still holding onto that Gus Triandos chewing gum you picked up off the field at...

Well, that didn't take long. The Orioles finally named their manager at short-season Single-A Aberdeen. Former third baseman Leo Gomez will call the shots from the IronBirds' dugout. Gomez has spent the past two seasons as a field coach for the rookie-level Gulf Coast League Orioles (2009) and Bluefield (2010). Gomez spent six of his seven major league seasons with the Orioles, batting .245 with 62 home runs and 203 RBIs in 475 games. I forgot that he played for the Cubs in 1996, tying his...