Fresh off his 22nd birthday, Nationals right-handed pitcher Stephen Strasburg gets the call tonight against the Reds Bronson Arroyo. With the win last Friday night in Miami, Strasburg is now the last Nats starter to post a win. He has won his last two decisions for Washington. It seems he has been counted on to stop losing streaks for the Nats in almost every outing this season. Strasburg has been "lights on" at night for the Nats this season. According to STATS, Inc. he is in the...

INF Josh Bell optioned to Tides; RHP Jim Johnson transferred to 60-day disabled list The Orioles announced a series of roster moves prior to today's game against the Tampa Bay Rays. LHP Michael Gonzalez has been reinstated from the 60-day disabled list, LHP Troy Patton has been recalled from Triple-A Norfolk and INF Josh Bell has been optioned to the Tides. In addition, to make room for Gonzalez on the 40-man roster, RHP Jim Johnson has been transferred from the 15-day disabled list to the...

Josh Bell had to figure it could come to this. Today he was optioned back to Triple-A Norfolk. As he packed his bag to head out of Camden Yards, he was nice enough to take a few minutes to reflect on his first few days at the big league level. "Just being here, I don't take it for granted at all. I enjoyed being at this level and definitely it teaches you stuff even when you are not playing. "Whatever they need, I'm ready to do. Even when I wasn't playing it was beneficial to me to...

Michael Gonzalez understands that he won't regain his closer duties immediately upon getting dressed for today's game. He'll have to earn it. "Whatever they want to do, that's fine," he said. "My goal was to get back up in the big leagues. That's definitely where I needed to be. I think everything's going to even itself out once I'm up here and showing them I'm healthy. It's just going out and showing them I'm healthy. You can't go out and say much from their standpoint when they...

Just to review: Josh Bell has been optioned to Triple-A Norfolk, Troy Patton has been recalled and Michael Gonzalez has been activated. The Orioles made room for Gonzalez on the 40-man roster by transferring reliever Jim Johnson to the 60-day disabled list. For the Orioles: Corey Patterson LF Miguel Tejada 3B Nick Markakis RF Luke Scott DH Ty Wigginton 1B Adam Jones CF Jake Fox C Julio Lugo 2B Cesar Izturis SS Brad Bergesen RHP

Troy Patton is using Chris Tillman's locker, which is a sure sign that the Orioles recalled him from Triple-A Norfolk last night. Patton is 6-9 with a 4.91 ERA in 18 starts with the Tides. He gave up five earned runs (seven total) and 10 hits in 4 2/3 innings in his last start. Patton is insurance for the next few days. His next scheduled start was today, so he's available to pitch out of the bullpen. It appears that Josh Bell has been optioned, though we're waiting for official...

Did the last one end? The clubhouse opens at 9 a.m. today, but players aren't required to report that early. Interim manager Juan Samuel will meet with reporters at 11:15 a.m. Go back to bed. The Orioles are 7-3 in extra innings this season. I'd like to avoid watching them try to build on that record. A tidy 2 hour, 20 minute victory will suffice. Brad Bergesen, the subject of all sorts of roster speculation, will make another start today. The pressure eases a little now that Chris...

CINCINNATI, Oh. --- It would have been very easy for the Nats to give up in this one. Fresh off a long two and a half hour rain delay, Washington allowed three more runs and suddenly found themselves down 8-1 to the Reds in the fifth inning. Cincinnati ended up winning 8-7 but not without a battle to the end. A six run comeback in the sixth inning showed what this team is capable of and their never-say-die attitude. It all came from extra base hits the Nats had not been able to produce in...

Two right-handers that have been pitching with the Norfolk Tides this season will join the Aberdeen IronBirds this weekend on injury-rehab assignments. Brandon Erbe and Kam Mickolio are expected to pitch for Aberdeen this Saturday at Ripken Stadium. It's been a busy week in the O's minors on the injury rehab front with Brian Roberts at Bowie and Brandon Snyder joining Aberdeen yesterday. Erbe has been on the DL since June 25 and has not pitched since June 20 due to right shoulder soreness....

Luke Scott: "Hitting is contagious. We help each other out in the lineup as a group and we were able to put together solid at-bats and make the pitcher work." "Anything positive is going to be a confidence builder. The way things have gone with the adversity that we faced, it's refreshing to have days like this." Ty Wigginton (on Carl Crawford's injury): "When he (Jake Arrieta) was throwing over, I just reached for the ball and I wasn't sure what it hit. But I had a pretty good idea...