The Washington Nationals today optioned catcher Jesus Flores to Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement. Flores, 26, appeared in two games and went 1-for-2 at the plate during his 10-day stint with Washington.

The Orioles are trotting out a familiar lineup for tonight's series finale against the Twins at Camden Yards. They've scored 16 runs in the last two games, so they're not going to shake it up. 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

The Single-A Delmarva Shorebirds play their 15th game of the new season tonight at Augusta trying to snap a four-game losing streak that has dropped their record to 5-9. The Birds have given up 41 runs over those four games. The Shorebirds lost a wild one, 11-10 at Augusta in 10 innings last night in a game that featured 21 runs, 28 hits and nine errors. During this losing streak, the Delmarva bullpen has allowed 17 earned runs and 27 hits over 14 innings. Tonight, Scott Copeland (1-0, 4.50)...

While Kevin Gregg may have already fallen out of favor with some fans, I'm sure Orioles manager Buck Showalter looks at the situation differently, He knows Gregg will be an important piece in his bullpen and that he has to get him right. Showalter has to help him to start pitching well. Maybe last night was a start. Despite a loud out that ended the game, Gregg did pitch a 1-2-3 ninth inning to pick up his second O's save in three chances. He got the job done, even if the fans' hearts...

Single-A Potomac Nationals third baseman Steven Souza feels like he has a new lease on his baseball life and he is taking full advantage of it. In July 2010, Souza made a mistake. Souza was feeling tired and worn down after a long road trip, so he took a pill to get himself up for an early doubleheader. That day he was tested for performance-enhancing drugs. Souza tested positive, and subsequent suspension ended his season with Double-A Hagerstown. Also implicated was teammate J.R....

The last two seasons have been unique for the Nationals in that they have realistically had to do little to no research for their first-round pick in the June first-year player draft. They became the first team in history to have back-to-back first overall selections, and they were fortunate enough to have those picks somehow coincide with two of the most hyped pre-draft prospects of all time. As a result, in 2009 and 2010, the question was never who the Nats were going to pick, but whether or...

After scoring 20 runs during their eight-game losing streak, the Orioles have totaled 16 in the last two nights. That's why it doesn't pay to panic. It's a 162-game season. The bats were bound to heat up. Nick Markakis went 2-for-4 after falling into a 1-for-20 slump. Vladimir Guerrero became the first Oriole to homer in consecutive games. Just when I started to get used to Matt Wieters producing loud outs and looping base hits, he's now producing loud hits. He's driving the ball with...

Checking in with some notes after the Orioles' 5-4 win over Minnesota. Matt at bat: Matt Wieters drove in one run in the first game of the series Monday, then had four RBIs Tuesday and two more last night. Over the three games of this series, he is 4-for-9 with a double, two homers and seven RBIs. Wieters' six RBIs over his last two games is more than he had in his first 13 games, when he drove in a total of five runs. Wieters has a four-game hitting streak and has homered three times on...

Zach Britton is the latest Oriole to be slowed by flu-like symptoms, but he took the ball tonight and turned in his third quality start in four outings. Zach Britton recaps his outing against the Twins Wednesday night "It could have been better," he said. "I wasn't happy with the walks, especially with the 5-1 lead and you put guys on base and it ends up being a close game like that, so I wasn't happy with the wildness. But we scored a lot of runs and kept us in the game. "I'm...

Manager Buck Showalter had no doubt that Denard Span's fly ball with two outs in the ninth would stay on the right side of the fence. He just wasn't sure whether it would actually hit the fence. "I thought at the very worst it would be off the wall," Showalter said following the Orioles' 5-4 victory over the Twins. "I'm glad he didn't hit it two hours earlier. The ball was flying. It was a weird wind earlier, so we were fortunate." Buck Showalter meets with the media to discuss the...