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...

Just a quick note to update you on Triple-A Norfolk third baseman Josh Bell, who left last night's game in Indianapolis in the fifth inning after a hard slide into second base. Bell is considered day-to-day after experiencing some swelling in his left knee. He's available tonight if needed, but is expected to miss one or two games. Bell is

While Manny Machado is the most well-known and most-interviewed Delmarva Shorebird and is playing very well right now in his first full minor league season, the infielder that plays next to him is probably playing as well as anyone on the O's farm right now. Xavier Avery went 4-for-8 as the Baysox split a doubleheader last night. Avery got thrown out once on the bases in each game, just the second and third times he has been caught stealing this year. Avery's 13 stolen bases leads the...

It's been a tough two weeks for the Baltimore Orioles and we all know it. After a promising start to the season, there's been a lot of losing thanks to inconsistent pitching and a lack of offense. After the sweep by the Yankees this weekend, a lot of fans either on sports talk radio and various places online started to question the decisions of Orioles manager Buck Showalter. It's hard to rationalize, but there's a difference in the perception of a manager when they are either losing or...

Don't look now, but since going

While wondering exactly when Carl Crawford stopped being good ... There were plenty of things to like about last night's 4-1 win over the Red Sox, and we pretty much covered all of them over the course of the evening. I'll go back to that 11-pitch at-bat from Adam Jones in the second inning. He struck out, but he also seemed to get Clay Buchholz out of rhythm after the Boston right-hander had retired the first five batters on only nine pitches. You can see Jones maturing offensively....