WASHINGTON - Jeremy Accardo replaced Zach Britton and retired one of the four batters he faced. He issued a leadoff walk to Wilson Ramos, gave up a double to former Oriole Jerry Hairston Jr. and walked reliever Sean Burnett before Roger Bernadina flied to left. Accardo is charged with three runs after Jayson Werth's RBI single and Ian Desmond's sacrifice fly off reliever Jason Berken. Nationals 7, Orioles 4. Accardo has been scored upon in four straight appearances and five of six, and his...

WASHINGTON - Welcome to National League baseball, where the starting pitcher is removed after five innings and 81 pitches, and another pitcher is used as a pinch-runner. Vladimir Guerrero batted for Zach Britton in the top of the sixth and lined an RBI single into center field off reliever Todd Coffey. Chris Jakubauskas, scheduled to face the Nationals on Sunday, pinch-ran for him. J.J. Hardy's sacrifice fly scored Robert Andino, who doubled with one out, to tie the game, 4-4. The Orioles...

WASHINGTON - Left-hander Zach Britton has driven in one more run than he's allowed tonight. Britton is shutting out the Nationals on one hit over four innings, with one walk and three strikeouts. He's thrown 49 pitches, 31 for strikes. The Orioles are 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position through five innings. Twice tonight, they've put the first two runners on base and failed to score because of a double play. Update: The Nationals scored four runs in the bottom of the fifth - three...

The Washington Wizards star point guard John Wall threw out the first pitch before Friday's matchup with the Baltimore Orioles at Nationals Park. It didn't quite do what he had planned. Wall's pitch bounced twice before the Nationals closer Drew Storen made a nice play to catch it. Wall said the 56-minute rain delay allowed him to cool down too much and affected the throw. "That was my All-Star game bounce pass right there," Wall said. "I will come back out and redeem myself sometime...

WASHINGTON - The Orioles returned left-hander Pedro Viola to Double-A Bowie without recalling him, but they've summoned two more minor leaguers. As first reported by The Sun's Jeff Zrebiec, Triple-A Norfolk pitcher Brad Bergesen and infielder/outfielder Blake Davis are heading to D.C. Bergesen could be recalled and start Tuesday if Jeremy Guthrie goes on the disabled list, or he could give the club another long reliever in the bullpen while Alfredo Simon's on the disabled list. Davis...

WASHINGTON - Orioles manager Buck Showalter said it's "probably too soon" to know whether Jeremy Guthrie will avoid a trip to the disabled list, but he added, "We like our chances after today." "I'm sure Andy (MacPhail) talked about it some, but from talking to Richie (Bancells), who talked with Dr. (John) Wilckens, and the MRI results and everything, it's pretty encouraging compared to what it could be. I think the next couple of days will give us a pretty good idea of what we're...

While Zach Britton has to bat in tonight's game in Washington, how he pitches against a hot team will still very likely be the bigger determining factor in whether he and the Orioles get a win tonight. After giving up 14 earned runs in 16 2/3 over a three-start stretch, Britton returned to earlier form in his last start against Oakland on June 8 when he gave up just one run over 6 1/3 innings to post his first win since May 1. Britton is 2-2 with an ERA of 4.94 in four road starts in...

First off, I would like to extend a very happy Father's Day to all dads out there, particularly those currently away from their families serving in the military. For me, the word "dad" conjures up memories of grilling outside, weekend bike rides and, of course, trips to the ballpark. In fact, if not for my dad introducing me to the sport, I'm not sure I would be as passionate about baseball as I am today. This weekend will be no different for a lot of families, as the Battle of the...

WASHINGTON - The Orioles are looking favorably on the MRI result on Jeremy Guthrie's upper back. He's been diagnosed with a mild strain and remains as the listed starter Tuesday night in Pittsburgh. "This was about as good as one could hope," said president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail. "It's good news. He's still in line potentially, no sure thing, to make his next start. We'll just see how he responds the next two days." The Orioles could have officially recalled...

WASHINGTON - An MRI taken on Jeremy Guthrie's back revealed only a minor muscle strain. No word yet on whether he's going on the disabled list, but left-hander Pedro Viola is here. For the Orioles: J.J. Hardy SS Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF Matt Wieters C Luke Scott LF Derrek Lee 1B Mark Reynolds 3B Robert Andino 2B Zach Britton P UPDATE: The Orioles won't make a roster move today. Guthrie is hoping to make his next start, so he's considered day-to-day.