Roster move in the minors: Righty Pat Egan, who has had a great year for Double-A Bowie, today moved up to Norfolk to join the Tides roster. The 25-year-old Egan is 6-1, 2.12 with five saves. Over 46 2/3 innings, he has allowed 29 hits with seven walks to 25 strikeouts. Eastern League batters have hit just .177 vs. Egan. He was drafted in round 36 in 2006 out of Quinnipiac University. Meanwhile, it has been a trying season for Baltimore native Brandon Erbe. The right-hander remains...

O's hitting coach Terry Crowley gave a short, but honest answer to the question. I asked him if he thought Nick Markakis' comments about players needing a better approach at the plate had anything to do with the improved O's offense in recent games. "Um, probably not," Crowley said. So what is the difference with the offense in the past week? "I think they all basically look the same to me. We always have tried to practice patience on balls that are not ones we want to swing at and...

Meet Matthew Kaminski, organist for the Atlanta Braves at Turner Field. Kaminski began playing the organ when he was five and eventually studied music at the University of Arizona and Georgia State University under the tutelage of some of the world's finest musicians. But Kaminski is also a baseball fan. Born in Chicago, Kaminski recalls Harry Caray's 7th inning stretch as the highlight of the games he attended as a child. When the Braves offered him the organist position last season,...

I'll give Karl Ravech and ESPN's Baseball Tonight crew credit for not ignoring the elephants in the room. Two of the network's studio analysts, Bobby Valentine and Buck Showalter, have recently interviewed for managerial jobs. Ravech talked to them separately on the air before last night's game between the Yankees and Dodgers. Valentine mentioned how the Marlins are going through "the process." It sounds like he's still interested in the job - and still the favorite. Showalter...

Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg makes his fifth start of his career tonight in Atlanta before another nationally televised audience. Strasburg has been close to unstoppable in his first four outings, going 2-1 with a 1.78 ERA, and setting a major league record with 41 strikeouts. It seems that almost every pitcher he has faced in his first 20 days has brought their "A" game and you would expect nothing less than the same from veteran Tim Hudson. This will also be a chance for the...

During a weekend when the O's starters pitched to an ERA of 8.16, the performance of the Baltimore bullpen was a real key in the O's three-game sweep of Washington. Here is the game-by-game rundown: Friday: 4 2/3IP, 4H, 0R, 0B, 3K Saturday: 5IP, 1H, 0R, 1B, 2K Sunday: 3IP, 2H, 0R, 1B, 4K Totals: 12 2/3IP, 7H, 0R, 2B, 9K. That is 12 2/3 shutout innings over the last three games. Mark Hendrickson and Jason Berken pitched twice in the series while Alfredo Simon and Will Ohman pitched in...

Harrisburg Senators left-hander Ross Detwiler had his next start pushed back to Thursday against Trenton. Detwiler missed his most recent opportunity to get extra treatment for back spasms but told me he is good to go for Thursday. He has not started since June 18 at Bowie when he went four innings. He expects to go longer in this upcoming start, looking to get extended to 75 pitches, and is hopeful he is that much closer to getting back to the Nats. His hip is feeling better and he feels...

Michael Gonzalez's injury rehab assignment continued today in Aberdeen, where he gave up two runs and two hits in one inning. The big blow off Gonzalez was a two-run homer by Brooklyn's Cory Vaughn. Gonzalez induced three ground balls, one of them back to the mound that he turned into a force at second base. Tyler Sexton replaced him in the second inning. Gonzalez had thrown two scoreless innings for the Gulf Coast League Orioles, allowing one hit and striking out three, before moving up...

Interim manager Juan Samuel didn't excuse Julio Lugo's baserunning blunder in the eighth inning. Lugo broke for third base with one out and Corey Patterson at the plate, tried to get back to second and was picked off by Nats catcher Wil Nieves. Patterson doubled and scored the go-ahead run on Miguel Tejada's single. "That is not a smart play. That is just not a smart play," Samuel said. "Lugo knows it. He's trying to help the club win, but that is just not something we want to try in...

Alfredo Simon recorded his ninth save, and the Orioles pieced together their first four-game winning streak with a 4-3 victory over the Nationals. Simon struck out Mike Morse to open the ninth, but he walked pinch-hitter Willie Harris. Pinch-hitter Ivan Rodriguez flied to right, with Nick Markakis making an outstanding running catch in the corner, and Nyjer Morgan grounded sharply to first baseman Scott Moore. Moore had moved over from second base, and he made a clutch play on a ball that...