Here is a good rundown of some of the pitchers in the Nationals system to get your week off to good start. I had a chance to catch up with Nationals pitching coordinator Spin Williams, who is (always!) on the road checking in with and checking out Nationals prospects and just got back from Florida, Single-A Potomac and the Dominican Republic. Williams had an update on several pitchers, including right-hander Wirkin Estevez, the Pitcher of the Year in the Dominican Republic last season. A...

Well, when the Orioles began the year with a record of 6-1 and quickly got to five games over .500, none of us probably figured that just 26 games later they would be five games under .500. It is just not a pretty picture right now for the Orioles. They were thoroughly outplayed in every facet of the game in losing the weekend series to Tampa Bay. I'll detail some numbers here and most of them are not good. The O's need to turn around this run which has seen them go 8-18 since starting the...

The Orioles are off tonight. Then again, they were off all weekend. See what I did there? They took a two-fisted beating from a team they swept on the road in the first series of 2011. They didn't pitch, they didn't hit. Losses usually ensue when that happens. There were plenty of opportunities. The Rays kept walking hitters and littering the bases. One night, Derrek Lee took a third strike in the ninth inning. The next day, he grounded into a double play. Brian Roberts broke too soon...

After he saw his team score three runs or less for the 18th time over 33 games and get swept by Tampa, manager Buck Showalter talked about some balls that were hit hard and said "the worm will turn." Luke Scott echoed those comments in the quiet of the Orioles' clubhouse, but also said the team-wide offensive slump is wearing on him. Luke Scott admits the lack of offense is bothersome to he and his teammates "We're humans," Scott said. "I take a lot of pride in what I do and I speak...

The Orioles were swept at home in a three-game series for the first time since Buck Showalter took over as manager. They haven't held a lead for 35 straight innings. Brad Bergesen is 0-5 with a 9.13 ERA in five career starts against the Rays. He allowed five runs and nine hits in 4 2/3 innings today. He'll need to do a lot better or he could lose his rotation spot when Brian Matusz and Alfredo Simon are ready. The same is true for Chris Tillman, who starts again on Wednesday. Buck...

B.J. Upton said he likes to hit at Camden Yards. I guess this weekend he proved it. Upton drove in four more runs today as Tampa completed a three-game sweep with a 5-3 win over the Orioles on a sunny Mother's Day with 16,359 in attendance at the Yard. The Orioles have lost four in a row and six of the last seven to fall to 14-19 and are now a season-high five games under .500. Upton had two-run singles in the fourth and fifth innings as Tampa improved to 20-8 since an 0-6 start. He went...

Today's attendance: 16,359 Michael Gonzalez tossed another scoreless inning today, getting a dazzling double play to end the eighth inning. Reid Brignac singled with one out, but John Jaso grounded into a 6-4-3 DP. Cesar Izturis ranged up the middle and flipped the ball to Brian Roberts, who snatched it with his bare hand and threw to first base. Gonzalez hasn't allowed a run in his last five outings covering 5 1/3 innings. He's given up three hits, walked none and struck out seven, and...

After retiring the last 22 batters he faced in his last start, today right-hander Oliver Drake of the Single-A Frederick Keys retired the first three hitters he faced at home versus Wilmington. When he gave up a leadoff single in the second, that ended a run of 25 straight hitters retired by Drake, a 43rd-round draft pick in 2008 out of Navy. He and the Keys lead that game 2-1 in the fourth. Drake, who made two starts earlier for Double-A Bowie giving up 11 runs, is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.02...

This game took a sudden, nasty turn for Brad Bergesen. Bergesen had retired nine of 10 batters, but he's done with two outs in the fifth and the Orioles trailing, 5-2. He allowed nine hits, walked two, struck out one and threw 85 pitches. B.J. Upton drove in two more runs with a two-out single. Matt Wieters went to the mound to give Clay Rapada more time to warm up, and manager Buck Showalter finally came out of the dugout. They had stalled long enough. Bergesen hasn't gone more than five...

Brad Bergesen had retired nine of 10 batters, the only baserunner coming on an intentional walk, but the first five Rays reached in the fourth inning, and the Orioles are behind, 3-0. Johnny Damon led off the inning with a double to left. Luke Scott didn't take the ideal route to the ball. Evan Longoria followed with a bloop single to center, and Damon scored when Adam Jones couldn't field the ball cleanly. No error charged, but there would have been a play at the plate. Matt Joyce...