After battling right shoulder inflammation in spring training, reliever Henry Rodriguez joined the Nationals on Wednesday afternoon ready to contribute out of the bullpen. The hard throwing right-hander was acquired from Oakland for Josh Willingham back in December. Rodriguez completed a rehab assignment in Double-A Harrisburg and Triple-A Syracuse before being recalled by the Nationals. "Everything went well," he said of his rehab. "I feel great and now I just have to go out there and do...

The Orioles have four stolen bases in five attempts this season to rank last in the majors. It hasn't gone unnoticed by manager Buck Showalter and his coaching staff. "We talked about it a little yesterday in the advanced meeting, but you'd probably be surprised how many guys are on their own to run," Showalter said. "You know what happens a lot is guys don't want to take the bat out of this guys hand, or 'I want to give him this hole to shoot.' You always have that, you can talk...

Brandon Snyder extended his batting streak to five games today with two hits and two runs scored in Triple-A Norfolk's 7-6 loss this afternoon at Indianapolis. Snyder is 7-for-22 with four RBIs during the hit streak and is now batting .288 on the season. He is hitting .353 with runners in scoring position and has an OPS of .876 through today's game. Nick Green added a three-run homer for the Tides and Tyler Henson knocked in two runs. Leadoff hitter Matt Angle went 0-for-5 to drop his...

In Jeremy Guthrie's 17 losses since the start of the 2010 season, the Orioles have scored 24 runs while he was in the game (1.41 runs per game), and 39 total (2.29 runs per game). They've scored three runs or fewer in 21 of his 36 starts, and eight runs in his four starts this year. They've scored two runs in his last three starts while he's been in the game. Guthrie has lost seven straight games to the Red Sox, and the Orioles have lost his last nine starts against them. "I think...

Jim Johnson is off to a great start with the Orioles. He has an ERA of 2.79 with 11 strikeouts to just two walks over 9 2/3 innings on the year. Over his last four games, he has pitched five scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Johnson has always been a hard thrower, but now an improved changeup has become a real weapon for him. "JJ has always had a good changeup," manager Buck Showalter said. "(Pitching coach) Mark (Connor) and he worked hard at taking a little more velocity off it...

Brian Matusz (intercostal) and Chris Jakubauskas (groin) will throw full bullpen sessions tomorrow. Matusz threw off the front of the mound yesterday and said he's pain-free and simply trying to build up his arm. Jakubauskas threw in the bullpen this week, but he didn't use all of his pitches, so tomorrow represents his first regular session. Both pitchers will have to go on injury rehab assignments. Matusz will report to the minor league complex this weekend while the Orioles are in...

Here are the lineups for tonight's 7:05 p.m. game between the Orioles and Red Sox at Camden Yards. For the Orioles: Brian Roberts 2B Nick Markakis RF Derrek Lee 1B Vladimir Guerrero DH Luke Scott LF Adam Jones CF Mark Reynolds 3B Matt Wieters C Robert Andino SS Jeremy Guthrie RHP For the Red Sox: Ellsbury CF Pedroia 2B Gonzalez 1B Youkilis 3B Ortiz DH Drew RF Lowrie SS Crawford LF Varitek C Beckett RHP Down on the farm, Nick Green replaced Josh Bell at third base today and hit...

If you watch Nationals baseball long enough, you eventually find that over time nothing really surprises you anymore. Nationals baseball is full of every strange play and freak occurrence you can probably think up and wrap your mind around. At this point I would not be surprised to see Jayson Werth drop a routine fly ball because some crocodile had slunk up from the Anacostia and run onto the field after him. I really wouldn't. I've seen it all. Until Tuesday night. In the ninth inning of...

The 2011 Washington Nationals have been hovering around .500 most of the season. They currently sit at 10-12 as a result of dropping five of their last six games, including Tuesday night's 6-4 loss to the New York Mets, an imminently winnable game as manager Jim Riggleman said in his press conference after the game. "A little something happen here or there and we could have won that ball game," Riggleman rationalized after the loss. That seems to be a popular sentiment. But the fact that...

Derrek Lee, one of the two old veterans that the Orioles signed this offseason to stabilize the lineup and inject the offense with some punch, is hitting an abysmal .222/.300/.284 thus far with only three extra-base hits. His .584 OPS is the worst among the regulars in the lineup. But fear not, I bring you good news about Lee and his apparent struggles: He's actually hitting much better than his stat line shows. Looking up his batted ball data on FanGraphs.com, Lee's Batting Average on...