First baseman Derrek Lee will be activated from the disabled list today, start at first base and bat fifth against Toronto Blue Jays left-hander Ricky Romero. Left-handed reliever Pedro Viola will be optioned to make room for Lee, who went 2-for-3 with a walk last night at Double-A Bowie. Viola pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in his only appearance after being recalled from Bowie. Also, Adam Jones will bat third tonight. For the Orioles: Robert Andino 2B Nick Markakis RF Adam Jones CF...

I'll be posting the lineup within the next 30 minutes, unless manager Buck Showalter is waiting for a health update on a specific player. It would seem to be an opportune time to sit Luke Scott, who's 2-for-21 and hasn't homered since May 3 in Kansas City. The Blue Jays are starting a left-hander, Ricky Romero, and Scott is 1-for-12 with three strikeouts lifetime against him. That one hit, however, is a home run. Jake Fox isn't here to serve as a right-handed hitting first baseman. Mark...

I published some comments today from ESPN's Keith Law as he sized up some of the best pitching prospects in this year's draft, which begins Monday. Law appeared on my radio show this week on 105.7 FM The Fan in Baltimore. While he was on air, I asked his opinion of Orioles' scouting director Joe Jordan. Law said overall Jordan has a done a good job with more successes than failures and he talked about his selections of Billy Rowell and Matt Hobgood. You can hear that comment below. ...

In his mock draft from May 18, ESPN's Keith Law had the Orioles taking Oklahoma high school pitcher Dylan Bundy with the fourth pick in Monday's draft. In his mock draft out yesterday, Law now projects University of Virginia lefty Danny Hultzen to be the O's pick. He has Pittsburgh taking UCLA pitcher Gerrit Cole with the first pick before Seattle takes Anthony Rendon of Rice and Arizona selects UCLA hurler Trevor Bauer. Law was a guest on my radio show this week on 105.7 FM in Baltimore...

The Nationals' three-game winning streak has come to an end, thanks to a 4-0 victory Friday night by the Arizona Diamondbacks. Washington managed just three hits off Arizona right-hander Josh Collmenter, while Michael Morse, the team's hottest hitter, went 0-for-4, including striking out for the game's final at-bat. It was the first time Morse had been held hitless in 12 games. Johnny and Phil ask Jim Riggleman his thoughts on the Nats' 4-0 loss to the Diamondbacks Nationals right-hander...

Derrek Lee went 2-for-3 with a walk last night at Double-A Bowie, proving that you don't have to be a prototypical leadoff hitter to bat first. Manager Buck Showalter and president of baseball operations Andy MacPhail have discussed whether Lee is ready to come off the disabled list. We'll get confirmation later today. You can believe that Showalter wants him in tonight's lineup. Does Lee slip back into the third spot in the order once he's activated? That's the assumption. And does...

Zach Britton met with reporters after tonight's 8-4 loss to the Blue Jays. As usual, he didn't make excuses or sugar-coat his outing. He offered another honest critique. Here are some of his comments: "I don't think I did a good job out there. Falling behind too many hitters. Watch on video and the hits I gave up were all balls out over the plate (and) up. That's what a good-hitting team does, they hit those pitches. The last two outings I haven't executed well and those are the...

The Orioles and Blue Jays each had 10 hits tonight. That's pretty much where the similarity ended. "We had as many hits as they did. It certainly didn't feel like it," manager Buck Showalter said following tonight's 8-4 loss. "It took a while for us to get adjusted to what we knew he (Carlos Villanueva) was going to be doing. It was kind of frustrating early because he was doing exactly what we expected. We finally made the adjustment and got him out of there, but by then there was...

In his last three starts, left-hander Zach Britton has allowed 14 earned runs (16 total) and 25 hits in 16 2/3 innings. He's also walked eight batters. OK, it isn't quite as easy as he made it look when he first came up. Britton didn't really make a bad pitch to catcher J.P. Arencibia, who golfed it into the left field seats for a grand slam. But the rookie wasn't sharp and he's no longer breezing through the early innings. Down on the farm, Derrek Lee is 2-for-3 as Double-A Bowie's...

The homestand isn't off to a promising start. The Orioles are losing, 3-0, to the Blue Jays in the fourth inning. Two of the runs off Zach Britton are unearned after third baseman Mark Reynolds committed his 11th error, but Britton has allowed four hits, issued an intentional walk and thrown a wild pitch. Britton hadn't allowed an earned run in two straight starts covering 16 innings before surrendering nine runs and 19 hits in his last two outings covering 11 1/3 innings. He's having...